Want to train cardio? Then pick up a bar
Burn fat and improve cardiovascular health while retaining lean muscle mass by swapping steady-state cardio for high-volume, low-weight lifting, says Layne Norton Dr Layne Norton is a physique coach and natural pro bodybuilder and powerlifter, who holds a PhD in Nutritional Sciences. He is based in Tampa, Florida. One new technique I’ve been trying out with my clients is lifting weights for cardio. My friend Professor Mike Zourdos at Florida Atlantic University has been looking at, instead of doing intervals or low-intensity cardio, actually lifting for cardio by doing more volume with a lower amount of weight. There is some evidence…
The smart way to maximise protein synthesis
Not all proteins are created equal so eating the right types at the right times is the best way to improve muscle protein synthesis, says Layne Norton. Dr Layne Norton is a physique coach and natural pro bodybuilder and powerlifter, who holds a PhD in Nutritional Sciences. He is based in Tampa, Florida. I went into my PhD hoping to find data so I could increase the amount of protein I ate per day. Instead the opposite happened. I went from a target of 1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight to 1g, because there was no evidence that taking more…
Use chains to unlock greater growth
Paul Carter is the chief executive at Lift-Run-Bang.com and has more than 25 years of experience under the bar, having coached some of…
How to add muscle and stay shredded
Adding size without increasing body-fat levels can be done, but requires a total overhaul of the way your train, eat and recover, says Ryan Terry Ryan Terry is an IFBB pro men’s physique model, Arnold Classic European men’s physique champion 2013 and a USN sponsored athlete. He is based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. When I first started training all I really cared about was my abs. I did a lot of cardio, swimming and gymnastics and worked my abs daily. There were very defined but had no real depth or thickness. And I thought carbs were the devil and spent most…
Do you have the heart to get bigger?
What separates a good lifter from a great lifter? What is in your head and what is in your heart, says John Meadows John Meadows is a national champion bodybuilder and works with many of the best physique athletes in the world. He is based in Columbus, Ohio. How do I get through all those horrible and painful sets? It depends what’s going on in my life. It might be anger. A lot of times I think about the second places I got. In my last three pro qualifiers I came second and it frustrates me. I don’t want to…
Maintain muscle while stripping fat
Dr Jacob Wilson is director of the skeletal muscle and sports nutrition laboratory at the Department of Health Science and Human Performance at the University of Tampa. Ryan Lowery is senior research scientist at Department of Health Science and Human Performance at the University of Tampa, with a focus on sports nutrition and supplementation. In the Western world there is a prevailing mentality of wanting things instantly, especially in the field of fitness. We don’t have time to wait for the results of our hard work to be realised. We want to be lean and ripped yesterday, and not have…
It’s time you got tempo right
Ignore the importance of the speed at which you perform each rep and you’ll never place enough tension on the target muscle to stimulate growth, says Ben Pakulski Ben Pakulski is a IFBB Pro bodybuilder and creator of the new Mi40 Xtreme training system and the Mi40 Nation website. He is based in Tampa, Florida. Tempo is a very important aspect of training. In my Mi40 programmes I use a 4010 tempo. That’s a four-second eccentric, a zero-second pause at the bottom of the rep, a one-second, explosive concentric, then another zero-second pause at the top. Not pausing at the…
My recovery strategy for maximum gains
Training hard does a lot of damage to you body, so the more you push it in the gym, the greater your need to ensure you recover faster, says Ben Pakulski Ben Pakulski is a IFBB Pro bodybuilder and creator of the Mi40 Nation website. He is based in Tampa, Florida. Iron Insights Damage control You need to fully appreciate the amount of damage you do to your body during a hard training session and then take the time to find the best ways to fix this damage. If not, you will never grow as quickly as you could and…
Can you reverse diet on high-fat foods?
Having spent months of hard work getting lean the last thing you want is to gain fat when your diet ends and following a high-fat approach could help you stay in the best possible shape, say Jacob Wilson and Ryan Lowery Iron Insights Required research There is no research that proves how to best come off a very restricted diet without storing fat, so we’re examining whether a ketogenic approach post-diet can prevent overspilling. Better results We know that a very high-protein diet can be followed without increased fat gain and we want to know whether a high-fat approach post-diet…
