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Saturday, February 29. 2020

Feel the burn in high-rep exertions


It would be unusual to feel muscle "burn" during powerlifts. It is common with high-rep, lower weight exercises like high-rep tricep press-downs, high-rep curls, sprints, and the like.


(We've discussed high-rep vs low-rep weight exercises in the past here, but the bottom line seems to be high-rep (10-20), lower weight for small muscle groups (eg calves, arms, etc) and high weight, lower reps (less than 10) for powerlifts.) That might be an overgeneralization, but no high reps with powerlifts, please. 


For strength, it's good to stick with the burn until the muscles involved can no longer do the work regardless of the pain. All the burn means is that a muscle or group of muscles are forced to function in anaerobic phase, with a buildup of lactic acid. It's harmless.


Our readers know that the goal in strength training is to achieve a level of controlled muscle damage - microtears in the the involved muscles. The repair and recovery from those microtears is what builds muscle function.  The burn doesn't mean that you are doing that. DOMS (explained in the link) means that you might have. Longer-lasting pain means you are probably doing something wrong.


Building fitness is not for sissies. 


Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss in Physical Fitness at 15:42 | Comments (11) | Trackbacks (0)

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Doctor Bliss,
I was wondering about a statement you typed a few posts ago.

To wit:"Body fat can only be gained, or lost, through nutrition."

I am lucky enough to have been taught to exercise and lift weights by Boyd Epley at the annual University of Nebraska Football camp. As you may know, he is one of the founders of strength training for sports. Certainly he was one of the first to do it in football.

I am still a bachelor, and have a terrible bachelor's diet.
Yet I can burn fat by working out. [Or so it seems, anyway. I am not asserting I have the exact physiological process down pat]


What am I missing, good lady?
Thank you for your time and expertise.
Mike
#1 J Michael Skinner on 2020-03-01 07:50 (Reply)
Michael:

You may be an outlier, but more likely your nutrition is not as bad as you say it is.

Here are the basics, as we have discussed in the past: Your body burns carbs including sugars preferentially. For a typical person, it takes maybe 40+ minutes of good exertion to begin to switch to fat as fuel. So people who have the time and interest to workout for 2 hours can easily get into fat-burning mode. At that point, though, I am thinking of laborers and furniture-movers, not regular gym rats.
#1.1 Dr B on 2020-03-01 10:06 (Reply)
Hi Mike -

Bottom line: This is a simple math problem:
Calories In < Calories Out => You lose weight (fat or muscle)
Calories In > Calories Out => You gain weight (fat or muscle)

I think what Dr B really meant was that nutrition (or calories) is easier to adjust when it comes to losing weight than is exercise, i.e. reducing my caloric intake by 1000 calories per day is feasible, but running 10 miles a day isn't. Stated another way: "You can't outwork a crappy diet."

Whether the weight you gain or lose is fat or muscle depends on a number of factors, i.e. whether or not your body has a stimulus - resistance training, testosterone, etc .- to gain (or retain) muscle.
#1.2 mike m on 2020-03-01 19:53 (Reply)
Correct. It’s my understanding also that the relative proportions of your macros (fat, protein, carbs) will have an effect on body composition, coupled with the activities you are involved with.
#1.2.1 RJP on 2020-03-01 20:56 (Reply)
Not sure you worded that correctly. Are you saying that relative proportions of fats versus carbs versus protein is more important than caloric balance in determining body composition? I disagree with that concept.

As an example, Sumo wrestlers put on enormous amounts of fat by eating a high protein diet. The problem isn't that they eat a high proportion of protein. It's that their calories in far exceeds calories out.

However, I will agree that when losing weight, it's beneficial to (1) maintain protein intake, (2) do heavy resistance training, (3) use HIIT if you're doing any cardio - if you want to preferentially lose fat instead of muscle.

Compared to fat storage in the body, carbohydrate (glycogen) storage is quite limited. If your calorie intake is less than your caloric expenditure for a few days, you're going to run out of carb stores and start converting fat to glucose thru gluconeogenesis. But remember that gluconeogenesis involves the conversion of either fats or proteins to glucose. You want the former and not the latter. The body needs a stimulus - heavy resistance training - to to keep protein while wasting fat. Testosterone (endogenous or exogenous) helps, too.

Are we on the same page?
#1.2.1.1 mike m on 2020-03-01 23:53 (Reply)
I'm saying I agree with this:

Calories In < Calories Out => You lose weight (fat or muscle)
Calories In > Calories Out => You gain weight (fat or muscle)

With the caveat that your diet composition will have an effect on the proportion of fat/muscle you gain/lose. If, for example, you have a very high fat, low protein diet, you won't put on lean body mass as effectively as with a high protein diet (if exercising with a caloric surplus). And you need enough carbs to have the available energy to do the workouts. So I think we are on the same page.
#1.2.1.1.1 RJP on 2020-03-02 13:16 (Reply)
OK, I agree. Although anecdotally, I made some of my best gains - at least in terms of strength if not hypertrophy - when I just ate "normally" and didn't consume "extra" protein in the form of supplements. Granted, hypertrophy ≠ strength.
#1.2.1.1.1.1 mike m on 2020-03-03 09:07 (Reply)
And I'll bet you were going to the gym on a very consistent basis when you were making those gains, right? If you're looking for results, none of this nutrition stuff really matters if you're not doing the work.

My only supplementation, if you can call it that, is two scoops of protein powder and 5g of creatine every morning.
#1.2.1.1.1.1.1 RJP on 2020-03-03 10:34 (Reply)
Ahhh, ok, thank you.

Well, my diet is terrible...lots of pizza, fast food, and restaurant food. Potato seems to be the only vegetable I have a regular acquaintance with. But I do get a vitamin and low-dose aspirin every morning.

As for my routine, I get up early, lift for about 45 minutes alternating days muscle groups for rest, and then get 30 minutes or so of aerobic activity. Sometimes I ride my bicycle to the gym. I'll swim, play basketball...anything that gets me moving and breathing heavy. I stay away from long distance running.

I'm pretty good about being sequential [3 sets of 5 today, 3 sets of six next time...], changing exercises up, keeping variety.


Also, I drink 8 cokes a day...and very little alcohol [no moral or religious reason..alcohol just doesn't sit well in my stomach.


So I look pretty good, am pretty well in shape, but do worry what my diet might be doing inside....

Thanks,
Mike
#2 J Michael Skinner on 2020-03-01 15:28 (Reply)
Well, you seem to be in fine shape. Maybe keep doing what you are doing...

Nutritional fads are everywhere, for 100 years.
#2.1 Bird Dog on 2020-03-02 07:55 (Reply)
Eight Cokes a day? That's over 1100 calories right there (assuming you're not drinking Coke Zero).

Just curious, what is your age, height and weight? Assuming you're doing the compound lifts (squat, deadlift, bench, OHP) what weight are you moving for each?
#2.2 RJP on 2020-03-02 13:27 (Reply)

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