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Fun Summer (Study) Reads
Yet another reason to strength train at least twice per week!
In a summary by Chris Beardsley titled Weekly Net Stimulus, I was reminded why we need to train weaker muscles groups at least twice a week to see gains. If that bums you out because it's just one more thing to put on your to do list, maybe you'll be relieved to learn that strength can be maintained with just 1 session a week! The details matter though. One must work to failure and target a specific muscle group to maintain the strength and size of that particular muscle. My suggestion to maintain what's already strong and strengthen what's weak? Train the whole body 2 or more times per week, working to failure with one or two lifts per workout.
Can a bite of something sweet boost you through that last set?
The editor's pick at Examine.com this week got me excited to for a sweet treat not before or after but during my next intense workout! The review titled, Can a carbohydrate mouth rinse improve resistance exercise performance? outlined a small study out Taiwan where 20 fit men (nothing against fit dudes but they really are taking up the study limelight) swished and spat some sugary and non-sugary liquids before two different bouts of deadlifting. The results showed a small but measureable improvement in their performance after the sugar/carb-laden liquid over the placebo. The placebo was water which seems silly but apprently it was a double-blind study so I wanna trust they kept the study participants in the dark about any potential advantage of calories vs. no calories in your pre-workout mouth-wetting.