How does the average fitness enthusiast get his or her information, and what is the quality of that information? In this episode, Jon and Bret welcome special guest Jen Sinkler to discuss her experience as a longtime fitness writer and editor and the former editorial director of fitness content for Experience Life magazine! How are articles written, experts chosen and topics decided on? Jen reveals all of the behind-the-scenes information that gets the information to us!

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Episode 5: The SoE Interview Guest Starring Jen Sinkler [ 1:20:54 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Before we get started, we have a favor to ask. For those of you who like the podcast, please click on THIS LINK, go to iTunes, click on “ratings and reviews,” and give the podcast a rating or a review (or both). Thanks!

Welcome to our first “Special Analysis” episode, where Bret and Jonathan take a detailed look at new and specific research making waves in health & fitness! Unlike a regular episode, the “Special Analysis” breaks down a single paper to give you an “inside look” at how research methodologies and design can impact the quality and usefulness of a paper. On this first episode, the guys take a critical look at “Effects of aerobic and/or resistance training on body mass and fat mass in overweight or obese adults,” and break down the strengths, weaknesses and overall impact of this new and exciting paper! Along with Bret and Jon, friends of the show Alan Aragon and Brad Schoenfeld also give their impressions in a special correspondence! This one is not to be missed.

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Here are some show notes, if you can understand them:

* Prior studies inconclusive

66 RT, 73 AT, 57 A+RT

18-70 years old, sedentary, overweight or moderately obese, males and females

8 months long

RT – 3X/wk, 3 sets/day, 8-12 reps/set

AT – around 12 miles/wk @ 65-80% peak VO2Max (treadmill, elliptical, cycling)

A+RT – Both

Ramped up

RT – 1 set weeks 1-2, 2 sets weeks 3-4, 3 sets week 5, targeted all major muscle groups, weights increased 5 lbs when 12 reps with proper form on all 3 sets was reached during 2 consecutive sessions, 2.53 sessions/week

AT – 2.99 sessions/week

Both – 2.46 RT sessions/week, 2.88 AT sessions/week

2010 calories/day all 3 groups

Results – See Table

Episode 3.5 - Special Analysis of "Effects of aerobic and/or resistance training on body mass and fat mass in overweight or obese adults" [ 1:15:06 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It doesn’t take long before you’ll come across a claim one way or another when it comes to Olympic Weightlifting or Powerlifting being superior for athletic performance and strength: each “side” has their supporters, and each side makes claims to the evidence. But who’s “right?” On this episode, Jon and Bret get together to discuss the evidence and to find the facts through the noise, and Bret discusses a new study looking at training frequency in a way that you’ve probably never considered before. The results from both discussions just might surprise you! Sacred Cows will be running for the hills, guaranteed.

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• Intro and listener questions 0:00 – 6:48
• New study of the month 6:49 – 13:33
• Review research 13:34 – 1:03:30
• Discussion (Commonalities & Differences, Advantages/Disadvantages, Different Sports/Positions/Actions, etc.) 1:03:31 – 1:23:22
• Conclusions (Debates are fun…but we don’t really have to choose, we can do both, combined training is always best, but Oly lifting has the advantage for vertical jump)1:23:23 – 1:25:25

Show Notes: Study of the Month

Comparison of muscle hypertrophy following 6-month of continuous and periodic strength training

• 14 young males
• 2 groups – continuous training, periodic training
• Both groups performed 3 x 10 bench press at 75% of 1RM (2-3 min rest), three days/week
• Continuous group trained 24 weeks in a row
• Periodic group trained 6 weeks on, 6 weeks off (for 3 cycles)
• Training loads reassessed every 3 weeks
• Periodic group performed 25% fewer total training sessions and 33.5% less total training volume
• Total improvement in muscle cross-sectional area of the triceps brachii and pectoralis major and in 1RM strength were similar between the continuous and periodic training groups
• Periodic group would lose strength over detraining period but regain it quickly
• 3 wk detraining periods don’t interfere with strength and hypertrophy over the long-haul

Show Notes: Olympic and Power Lifting Studies *YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE FULL PAPERS FOR EACH OF THESE 6 STUDIES

Comparison of Olympic vs. Traditional Power Lifting Training Programs in Football Players

• 20 male college football players
• 15 weeks, 4W/wk
• Oly group, PL group
• Phase 1 – same protocol (5 wks)
• Phase 2 and 3 – specific protocol (10 wks)
• Phase 3 included sprint and agility work
• Both groups did squats and bench press
• Powerlifting group increased more on bench, vertical jump power, and t-drill
• Oly group increased more on squats, vertical jump height, and 40yd
• Results due to programming freedom by authors?
• Were these “typical” Oly and PL programs?

Effect of Olympic and Traditional Resistance Training on Vertical Jump Improvement in High School Boys

• 27 male high school athletes
• 12 weeks, 3x/wk
• Oly group, PL group
• 4 weeks – general training, 8 weeks – specific training
• Both groups did many of the same lifts
• Oly group did better on vertical jumps, squats, and power cleans
• Results due to programming freedom by authors?
• Were these “typical” Oly and PL programs?

Muscle Fiber Characteristics of Competitive Power Lifters

• 5 National Level PL’ers with 10yrs experience, and 5 active male controls
• Both groups around 5’10”ish, controls weigh 85kgs (187lbs), PL’ers weigh 102kgs (224lbs)
• Controls – 22% bf, PL’ers – 17% bf
• Controls jump 48cm (19in) with 4,186W of power, PL’ers jump 59cm (23in) with 5,438W of power
• PL’ers on average bench 171kg (377lbs), squat 288kg (635lbs), and dl 284kg (626lbs)
• PL’ers produce more force, power, relative force, and relative power on the squat at all speeds
• PL’ers have more IIa and less IIb fibers and MHC content (shift)
• Similar type I fibers and areas, smaller type IIb fibers in PL’ers
• Type IIa fibers smaller in PL’ers???

Muscle Fiber Characteristics and Performance Correlates of Male Olympic-Style Weightlifters

• 6 Weightlifters with 11 yrs experience, 7 controls (exercise science students)
• WL’ers – 5’8”ish and 96kgs (211 lbs), controls – 5’10”ish and 77kgs (170lbs)
• WL’ers – 20%bf, controls 17%bf
• WL’ers – 123kg snatch (271lbs), 159kg clean & jerk (350lbs), jump 61cm (24in) with 5,377W of power
• WL’ers train 5 sessions/wk for around 2 hrs
• WL’ers have same amount of type I fibers, more type IIa, and less type IIb than controls
• WL’ers have bigger type I and type IIa fibers and smaller type IIb fibers (and MHC content)

A Review of Power Output Studies of Olympic and Powerlifting: Methodology, Performance Prediction, and Evaluation Tests

• Review Paper
• Total average power in clean – 4191W, relative average power is 33.5W/kg
• Total average power in second pull of clean – 6981W, relative is 55.8W/kg
• Snatch power is similar to clean
• Total power for jerk is 4570W
• Deadlift 1275 (relative 12.7W/kg)
• Squat power is half that of clean or snatch
• Bench press is 343W (relative 4.6W/kg)
• Average power for entire clean or snatch for elite males is 34.1W/Kg, for females it’s 21.8W/kg (63% of men)
• For second pull, 52.6W/kg for men and 39.2W/kg for women (74%)
• Squats and deads – 12W/kg for elite, 4W/kg for bench (women 60-70% of that)
• Max power in squats, deads, bench estimated to be at around 80% of 1RM *recent research doesn’t support this
• 75W/kg for vertical jumps with high jumpers
• Interval time influences results

Explosive Exercises in Sports Training: A Critical Review

• Review
• Joint torque and muscle activation diminishes dramatically with explosive submaximal exercises that require deceleration (curls, bench)
• Cadence on bench and squat doesn’t lead to different effects (3 studies they mentioned)
• Slow better than fast for sprint kayaking, fast better than slow for speed maintenance in kayaking
• No differences for slow or fast hip/knee flex/ext training for squats, sprint acceleration, or hip ext power.
• Strength training equally as effective as plyos for VJ and power
• “Contrarian” – needed in science
• Outdated?

Episode 3: Olympic Weightlifting vs. Powerlifting [ 1:26:23 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download