Conditioning Research

Of course they should.  We know that. Here is another study just to rub it in: Physical function predicts improvement in quality of life in elderly icelanders after 12 weeks of resistance exercise. Conclusions : Our study shows that a 12-week resistance exercise program significantly improves lean mass, muscle strength, physical function and HRQL in elderly individuals, and that improvements in physical function predict improvements in HRQL. Our study indicates that resistance training should be promoted for the elderly as it has the potential to improve physical performance, thereby prolonging healthy, independent aging.

Just a  quick post just pointing out an abstract that I have noticed over the weekend.   Top of the list is this one:   Heavy Strength Training improved efficiency in cyclists. Cyclists Improve Pedalling Efficacy and Performance After Heavy Strength Training. It was tested whether heavy strength training, including hip flexion exercise, would reduce the extent of the phase in the crank revolution where negative or retarding crank torque occurs. Negative torque normally occurs in the upstroke phase where the leg is lifted by flexing the hip. Eighteen well-trained cyclists either performed twelve weeks of heavy strength training in addition to their usual endurance training (E+S; n = 10) or merely continued their usual endurance training during the intervention period (E; n = 8). The strength training consisted of four lower body exercises [3×4-10 repetition maximum (RM)], which were performed twice a week. E+S enhanced cycling performance b y 7%, which was mo...

Inner City Weightlifting .  This looks pretty inspiring. InnerCity Weightlifting Video from Jon Feinman on Vimeo .

I've been a fan of Phil Maffetone for a while.  His philosophy of aerobic training is really useful and makes a lot of sense - moving around at a really easy pace so that you are buring fat not carbs.  I'd like to spice it up with some occaisional sprints, but for most people I think his overall philosophy of health as opposed to fitness is really important. I also think he has been ahead of his time in his approach to things like stretching, shoes and diet.  Anyway he has posted a couple of pieces recently on weight training: Part 1 Part 2 you can go and read them yourself, but a few thoughts I had: interesting how the paleo principle means different things to different folks his idea of real function movement - pick things up and carry them has echos of some Dan John (The old Get Up idea:  Our mission? To teach everyone: 1. The Body is One Piece 2. There are three kinds of strength training: Putting weight overhead, Picking it off the ground & C...

Some amazing stuff here from the Russian Strongman who was in Glasgow last week. (read more at aussiestrength ) Colin sent me these videos. Scary stuff. The no hands squat is unbelieveable. - 270kg jerk from behind the neck (a new pb) - 400kg deadlift x 3reps. - 290kg no-hands squat (world record) - 190kg snatch (25kg more than ever been snatched on Scottish soil before).

Just wanted to flag this up. Joe DeFranco has started posting some useful exercise demonstration videos on his YouTube channel . There is a lot of useful stuff there worth checking out. For example: This is just one of many ways to increase the difficulty of a basic plank. By taking one arm off the ground and touching the opposite shoulder, you increase the load/stability requirements of the abdominals/obliques. Try not to "rock" too much from side to side when touching the opposite shoulder. Use a 6-12" box for this exercise. Because you're balancing completely on one leg, more proprioception, balance and stabilization is required (so activation is greater)! Make sure your "off" leg remains completely straight and the "off" ankle remains dorsi-flexed the entire time...just SLIGHTLY touch your heel to the ground. (This ensures that the leg that's on the box is doing ALL the work.) Or for some conditioning work: DB goblet squat, DB swings, u...

from Pure HIT

.....it improves their running economy. In fact old school weight training is better than "explosive training". Effects of Strength Training on Running Economy The objective of this study was to compare the effect of different strength training protocols added to endurance training on running economy (RE). Sixteen well-trained runners (27.4 ± 4.4 years; 62.7 ± 4.3 kg; 166.1 ± 5.0 cm), were randomized into two groups: explosive strength training (EST) (n = 9) and heavy weight strength training (HWT) (n = 7) group. They performed the following tests before and after 4 weeks of training: 1) incremental treadmill test to exhaustion to determine of peak oxygen uptake and the velocity corresponding to 3.5 mM of blood lactate concentration; 2) submaximal constant-intensity test to determine RE; 3) maximal countermovement jump test and; 4) one repetition maximal strength test in leg press. After the training period, there was an improvement in RE only in the HWT group (HWT = 47.3 ± 6...

This is an interesting study. It basically suggests that your body gets used to training at particular times of day e.g., if you regularly train at noon then your body gets used to it and performs better at that time than at others . It could be worth bearing in mind if you need to perform well at a particular time for a particular event. Effects of regular training at the same time of day on diurnal fluctuations in muscular performance Abstract : The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an effect of time of day on the adaptation to strength training at maximal effort. Fourteen participants took part in this experiment. Their peak anaerobic power (Wingate anaerobic test) and peak knee extension torque at six angular velocities (1.05, 2.10, 3.14, 4.19, 5.24 and 6.29 rad · s-1) were recorded in the morning (between 07:00 and 08:00 h) and in the evening (between 17:00 and 18:00 h) just before and 2 weeks after a 6 week course of regular training. Seven of them trained on...

This post is more about joining up a couple of ideas - just me thinking out loud. The following abstract was pointed to to me over the weekend. It looks at some of the effects of resistance training and the role of various amino acids in controlling protein synthesis. Amino acids taken immediately before or immediately after exercise increase the post-exercise rate of protein synthesis. Therefore a protein that controls protein degradation and amino acid-sensitivity would be a potential candidate for controlling the activation of protein synthesis following resistance exercise. Ok, now what is interesting is that they then point out a particular protein: One such candidate is the class III PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) Vps34 (vacuolar protein sorting mutant 34). Vps34 controls both autophagy and amino acid signalling to mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) and its downstream target p70 S6K1 (S6 kinase 1). The abstract goes on: We have identified a significant increase in mVps34 (...

A new study indicates why resistance training - more than endurance training - is good for you! The particular type of muscle growth prompted by resistance training counteracted the deleterious effects of a dodgy diet. Fast/Glycolytic Muscle Fiber Growth Reduces Fat Mass and Improves Metabolic Parameters in Obese Mice In contrast to the well-established role of oxidative muscle fibers in regulating whole-body metabolism, little is known about the function of fast/glycolytic muscle fibers in these processes. Here, we generated a skeletal muscle-specific, conditional transgenic mouse expressing a constitutively active form of Akt1. Transgene activation led to muscle hypertrophy due to the growth of type IIb muscle fibers, which was accompanied by an increase in strength. Akt1 transgene induction in diet-induced obese mice led to reductions in body weight and fat mass, resolution of hepatic steatosis, and improved metabolic parameters. Akt1-mediated skeletal muscle growth opposed the ef...