Amped Training

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Testosterone Spikes: Predictor of Performance? 

For a long time, I'd never really considered the hormonal aspects of training as being very important. It seems like a lot of wanking over what is, at best, a transient hormonal spike in response to a stimulus (in this case, exercise).

We're talking brief here, like 45-60 minutes of increased testosterone which is, at best, a slight elevation off baseline. Steroid cycles have to magnify this level many times over to see drastic results.

However, there has been some correlation between testosterone and cortisol levels with the condition of the athlete. The first group I'm aware of that really investigated it were Lon Kilgore and Glenn Pendlay, who determined that the ratio of testosterone to cortisol was an accurate predictor of the state of the athlete -- a marker of overtraining and overreaching, in other words.

Pendlay, G. and L. Kilgore (2001).  Hormonal fluctuation: A new method for the programming of training.  Weightlifting USA 19(2): 15.

Other (apparently unpublished) thesis research from Glenn Pendlay and Michael Hartmann has more or less confirmed that the test:cortisol ratio is depressed during hard training, but when unloading occurs it will sharply increase above baseline after adequate rest has occurred. 

It seems like there's definitely a correlation between testosterone levels and the athlete's condition, even if it's not responsible.

Is there anything more to it? There just might be.  

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So Bands Don't Work, Huh? 

The Effects of Combining Elastic and Free Weight Resistance on Strength and Power in Athletes

This study was undertaken to determine whether combined elastic and free weight resistance (CR) provides different strength and power adaptations than free weight resistance (FWR) training alone. Forty-four young (age 20 ± 1 years), resistance-trained (4 ± 2 years' experience) subjects were recruited from men's basketball and wrestling teams and women's basketball and hockey teams at Cornell University. Subjects were stratified according to team, then randomly assigned to the control (C; n = 21) or experimental group (E; n = 23). Before and after 7 weeks of resistance training, subjects were tested for lean body mass, 1 repetition maximum back squat and bench press, and peak and average power. Both C and E groups performed identical workouts except that E used CR (i.e., elastic resistance) for the back squat and bench press, whereas the C group used FWR alone. CR was performed using an elastic bungee cord attached to a standard barbell loaded with plates. Elastic tension was accounted for in an attempt to equalize the total work done by each group. Statistical analyses revealed significant (P < 0.05) between-group differences after training. Compared with C, improvement for E was nearly three times greater for back squat (16.47 ± 5.67 vs. 6.84 ± 4.42 kg increase), two times greater for bench press (6.68 ± 3.41 vs. 3.34 ± 2.67 kg increase), and nearly three times greater for average power (68.55 ± 84.35 vs. 23.66 ± 40.56 watt increase). Training with CR may be better than FWR alone for developing lower and upper body strength, and lower body power in resistance-trained individuals. Long-term effects are unclear, but CR training makes a meaningful contribution in the short term to performance adaptations of experienced athletes.

Well, this goes a long way towards clearing up that misconception, I'd hope.

Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell fame has been credited with bringing elastic bands to popularity in the training of strength athletes, but there's been a lot of resistance (haha) to the idea in some circles.

The big reason, of course, was a lack of clinical research on the subject. In all fairness, this is actually a valid criticism -- otherwise, we'd be taking the bro-route of going by how it feels, yo.

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I've been traveling around a bit lately, so it's been sparse on the updates as you can see.

I'll try to keep things more updated, but you see how far my promises go.

With that in mind, there's a new-ish blog that I'd highly  suggest you pay attention to if you're interested in strength & conditioning.

No gimmicks, no sales pitches, no Inner Circle -- just good, solid information from a real strength coach training real athletes.

You can have a look here: http://willheffernan.blogspot.com

Will's in Ireland, so you know what that means: he's drunk most of the day. Which is what lets him update his blog around 50 times per day.

Go have a look.  

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5-Dimensional Training!

Dear fitness friend,

Are you frustrated? Confused? Does your workout need a new kick?

That was me, two years ago.

I was in a rut.

But then I discovered powerful new secrets that changed my physique, packing on slabs of raw muscle and melting the fat off like butter in a lobster dinner!

Interested? You bet you are! READ ON! 

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An Open Letter to the IOC and WADA 

5 April 2008

An Open Letter to all members of the International Olympic Committee and all members of the World Anti-Doping Association:


I am greatly saddened by the recent news regarding the Greek weightlifting team and the positive drug tests from some of their number. This egregious violation is simply the latest in a long stream of constant dishonesty from the coaches and athletes of the world.

I want to commend the IOC and WADA for their efforts in screening out these unethical participants, those that choose to gain an unfair advantage over their competition.

However, I cannot help but feel that there is simply not enough being done to combat this problem. And make no mistake, this is a serious problem indeed! 

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Borrowing or Theft? Where's the line? 

In copyright law, there's a concept known as "Fair Use". The US Copyright Act (which can be found online at www.copyright.gov) states "purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright." There are also other mitigating factors that are examined on a case by case basis.

So, using material for "reasonable purposes" is not against the law. What I'm doing here, criticizing and satirizing other copyrighted materials found on the Internet, is not a violation of copyright law. It falls under Fair Use.

Those of us that put ourselves out there as "experts" on the subject matter have an interesting dilemma. On the one hand, we benefit immensely from the free exchange of ideas. Most everything I know on exercise science has come from talking shop with people like me -- guys and gals that enjoy the topic and like to hash it out. Not unlike any other hobby, really.

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I just did an interview with Leigh Peele, who runs the Fat Loss Troubleshooter over at Avidity Fitness .

You can read it here .  

I talk a little shop about the hows and whys of hatin' on Gurus, and give a little bit of outlook on the whole training process. Leigh's an all-around cool chick and a fellow Southerner. 

So go have a look.

Or else.  

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So, if you managed to sit through this, I give you props.

My hosting company is having "problems with the SQL database, which they hope to resolve soon."

I don't  know about you, but reading sites that load up faster than a 14.4 kbps modem c. 1996 is pretty damn annoying.

So they've got a few more days before I pull the plug and go elsewhere.

I haven't forgotten my three faithful readers.

Also, the first draft of the book is DONE. Working on edits now, and keeping fingers crossed it will be ready to go by the end of April.

Stay tuned.