The Trouble with Diet and Exercise Studies

The Trouble with Diet and Exercise Studies
A wiser man than myself once said there are "...lies, damned lies, and statistics.", add broadly interpreted conclusions to that statement and it applies to the world of fitness pretty well.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a firm believer in the role of both science and statistical analysis in the word of health and fitness; however, conclusions should be arrived at carefully.

So what's my beef with all these studies?  Let me break it down:

Population
 Typically, the survey populations in fitness studies are either high-level athletes or healthy, but completely untrained people.  While both these groups are certainly worth studying, the results you get will lead you to conclusions that may or may not apply to everyone else.  Untrained individuals will likely respond to almost any new stimulus added to a workout program.  Conversely, high level athletes will require more stimulus, are motivated, have a higher pain tolerance, a higher work capacity, and are more likely to be genetically gifted.

For example:  There was a study several months ago  that showed muscle growth in 15 "recreationally active" individuals lifting 30% of their on-rep max.  The problem with this study is twofold:
1.  15 people isn't exactly a massive sample size.
2.  I take "recreationally active" to mean healthy, but untrained which means they could probably look at weights and improve strength and muscle size.

Based on experience and observation I have never seen anyone gain a significant amount of muscle or strength lifting that low a percentage of their max.  To the credit of the researchers, the weights were lifted to failure which with training, would take a long time and just isn't that efficient way of training once you become somewhat conditioned.

Is this study completely without value?  If it's your conclusion that you should be training with 30% of your max then yes.  If your conclusion is that there is more than one way to skin a cat and that higher reps can sometimes be effective then no.  I think there is something to be said for training with higher repetitions, just not that high, for everybody, all the time.

There Are No Bad Exercises, Just Bad Application

Disclaimer:  This post is based off pure anecdotal evidence and observation.

It's not uncommon to see exercises being misused in most gyms.   In fact, at one point or another I have been guilty of using poor exercise selection, less than stellar form, and generally bad judgment when it comes to risk/reward of an exercise.  Fortunately, I have learned (a little) through trial, error, and research, without seriously injuring myself in the process.

When deciding on an exercise, the first things you should think about are:  "Will this help me reach my goals?" and "Is there a safer alternative?"

I'm not going to lecture anyone on safety.  There are few exercises and even fewer things in life that won't put you at risk of some kind of injury.  However, risk/reward should always be a consideration when planning your workouts.

Let me provide some common examples of poor exercise application:

Olympic-style lifts (Clean and jerk, snatch, hang clean, etc.)

The good: Olympic-style lifts allow you to develop an incredible amount of power do to their explosive nature.  This is why you will see track and field athletes, mixed martial artists, and American football players preforming this style of lifting.
The bad:  These lifts are very technical and potentially dangerous.  Olympic weight lifters spend years learning form, developing flexibility, and train in gyms properly equipped (bumper plates, platforms, etc.) for this style of lifting, and yet still run a high risk of injury.
The ugly:  There is a school of thought by some (cough Crossfit), that has clients preforming these lifts for high repetitions or while fatigued.  This is dangerous and stupid.  It is dangerous because when fatigued it is very difficult to perform these lifts with proper form.  It's stupid because the whole idea of these lifts is to maximize power and while the conditioning effect is great, there are plenty of equally effective alternatives.
If you are going to preform Olympic lifts, spend a little time with a coach and please don't do sets of 15.
The alternative:  If you're trying to develop power, try generally increasing your strength, throwing a medicine ball as hard as you can, and performing basic plyometrics (technique is important here too and there is a risk of injury, but at least you won't break your spine).  If you're trying to increase conditioning better options would include: Sprinting, calisthenics circuits, low impact plyometrics like box jumps for reps, and any number of other exercises that fatigues you quickly without having you perform a technically difficult exercise.
A notable exception:  I believe the dumbbell or kettlebell alternatives to these lifts to be much safer, as the overall load is lessened and it is much easier to maintain good form and balance.

Importance of Exercise

In the above video, Dr. Mike Evans talks about the benefit of exercise as medicine.  I don't deny the value of modern medicine, but there is no substitute for positive lifestyle changes.

An Incomplete List of Strength Training Rules

• Warm-up.  A good guideline is to do about 5-10 minutes of aerobic exercise and then a short calisthenic circuit (push-ups, body squats, lunges, bicycle crunches, ect.).  The more reps in a set the shorter the warm-up needs to be, the heavier and more intense the set, the longer the warm-up.
• Work the entire body.  I often see women doing endless crunches, and men doing nothing but bench press and curls.  If this is done for an extended period of time it may be worse than doing nothing.  Not working other muscle groups is not only ineffective, but will ultimately lead to injury.
• Your workout should focus on major compound exercises (exercises that use multiple muscle groups). Big muscles and big movements first.
• The five best exercise for strength development:  Variations of push-ups, pull-ups, dips, squats, and dead-lifts.
• There are no bad exercises, just bad application.
• Over time vary reps, weight, sets, exercises, and the order of exercises.
• If you can lift a weight for more than a minute straight you are not using enough weight.
• Push yourself.  You can't spell workout without work.  For the first six months of training you should be adding weight and/or reps almost every workout.
• Rest is an important part of working out.  Muscles repair themselves and grow at rest, not while you're working out.  Listen to your body and take time to rest your stressed muscles.
• Every exercise should have a purpose.
• Ladies:  Don't worry about bulking up into the incredible hulk.  Gaining muscle mass is influenced by several factors other than lifting, among them:  testosterone and diet.  Any given man will have at least 10 times the testosterone of any given woman.  Female body builders train a lot, diet specifically to gain mass, cut down to little body fat, and take as many, if not more steroids then the men.  Also, it takes time to gain significant muscle mass.  Logic states that if you thought you were gaining too much mass, all you would have to do is stop and so would the gains to mass.  Finally, muscle burns fat and chances are, if you weren't gaining muscle, you'd be gaining fat instead.
• Keep a log of exercises sets, weight, reps, how you're feeling, etc.
• Train your weaknesses.
• Don't over-complicate working out.  Just remember to work opposing muscle groups.
• Something is always better than nothing.
• Learn the exercises, check and re-check form, make sure you can feel the targeted muscle working.

Good luck and keep training.