Gaining Muscle and Losing Fat (2015)

When you try for an 18inch bicep, you might risk wearing out your elbow joint.

Is it worth it?

How much is too much beyond health & longevity benefit?

 

there is a small window for show-muscle gain>>>20-40, after that you are treading deep water

show muscle don't mean shit imo

might get your GF hard?

i'm like 5th DAN in my arts!

 

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-12-29-11-33-56

"Weightlifter dies after 315-pound barbell drops on his neck"

 

That's where your joints get ripped apart. Years of punching and kicking the air performing kata is asking for trouble, and regular sparring or competitive fighting with any contact is outright demanding it, especially for the knees.

And wtf is "show muscle?" Did I ever mention it in any of my posts? If not, then you must be talking to someone else. Seriously, what's with the pickle-up-the-butt Goldilocks attitude? You've already repeatedly shared your disdain for exercise. We get it. Start a 5th dan thread.

 

Not only the knees. Bill Wallace, Billy Blanks, Christine Bannon-Rodrigues, Chuck Norris, Kieth Hirabayashi Cooke, Steve Anderson, Larry Carnahan, Danny Dring, Tom Seabourne, Joe Hess and others have all had one or both hips replaced. A good friend of mine who is heavily involved in MMA just had one of his done. I don't think he's 40 yet. The names are courtesy Black Belt magazine, Dec 2016 issue. Great issue on hip wear of martial artists.

Hope you're doing well, Fredrick. I've reduced my lifting volume considerably, especially when lifting heavy, and still happy with the results. Now going light for several months with slightly more volume, but less than in the past for low weight/higher rep cycles. Took a break from successful dieting during this month and last, but only gained back a little over half. Going to resume that next week. Started at 200 in July, target is 175 by end of march. Down to 187 by end of last Oct, back to about 195 now. Holidays get me every time (which is why I tend to lift heavier during this time of year).

 

Glad to hear you're doing well, and thanks for the info about additional injury risk that martial arts guys subject themselves to. I was actually in training for my black belt when I was 17, but quit when the teacher/sensei went back to Japan and transferred the school to a guy with attitude who I really didn't like. Makes me feel better about my decision. Besides, it was rather stylized stuff and of limited street-worthiness. Not without value, but nothing quite like what you see today in MMA.

Regarding working out, I had been experimenting a bit with volume and frequency, as I may have noted previously, going from twice a week full body workouts to 3 times every two weeks, and even only once a week for a period of about 6 weeks or so. But I'm back to twice a week, and now doing only one set to full failure, after an abbreviated warm-up set, of 7 compound exercises and one isolation (calves), plus cardio/abs. I love it. I love going absolutely all out and keeping it brief; for me, it's the perfect combo. I just wish I had started doing it this way years earlier.

As for the diet thing, I'm glad to hear you're making progress even though it's two steps forward and one step back. Personally, I prefer a dietary regimen that doesn't change and therefore require meaningful adjustment. That way, my weight never changes more than a couple of pounds or so before I take mild corrective action. Smaller pills are easier to swallow, eh? I suppose some folks might find it boring, but I find comfort in routine. Hey, whatever works and keeps us in line, more or less.

 

Another study comparing 1 set vs. 3 for recreationally strength-trained study participants:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3780552/

Results: No difference between the two groups in body mass or strength, but the one-set group had a better skinfold change.

 

http://cbass.com/FAQ(11).htm#I_still_have

Single- or Multi-Joint Exercises?

Q: I am wondering about exercise selection. Should I include minor muscle groups such as biceps and triceps or focus on compound movements? Does adding single-joint exercises produce more muscle size and strength?

A: Your timing is perfect. We have a recent review study on this topic.

Researchers from the UK and Brazil searched and reviewed 23 studies. With one exception, they found that adding single-joint exercise to multi-joint exercise alone had little or no benefit and may actually have a downside. Paulo Gentil, James Fisher, and James Steele published their findings online on September 27, 2016, in the journal Sports Medicine.

Multi-joint or compound movements work muscle groups, while single-joint movements isolate muscles. The question is whether doing both produces more muscle size and strength. If you are doing squats and deadlifts, does adding knee extensions and leg curls increase adaptation? Do isolated movements for the arms and shoulders add anything to pushing and pulling movements?

This study says probably not, based on several key findings.

Gentil et al found that single-joint exercise does not stimulate muscle fiber activation more than multi-joint exercise alone. Moreover, the addition of single-joint exercise does not appear to increase gains in muscle size and strength. While fatigue, perceived effort, and soreness seem to be greater for single joint exercise, this does not appear to be accompanied by greater adaptation--and may be detrimental since it induces more discomfort and delays recovery. The one exception is that isolation exercise for the spinal erectors has been found to increase gains in muscle strength when compared to multi-joint exercise.

"Based on these findings, we suggest that persons performing resistance training may not need to include single joint exercise in their program to obtain equivalent results in terms of muscle activation and long-term adaptation such as hypertrophy and strength," the researchers concluded.

As usual, I have simplified the findings. If you're up for a maze of anatomical detail, you can read the entire study online: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308691998_A_Review_of_the_Acute_Effects_and_Long-Term_Adaptations_of_Single-_and_Multi-Joint_Exercises_during_Resistance_Training