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A while back I did a guest post for my buddy Bret Contreras where I basically stated that the acute rise in hormones like testosterone and growth hormone from certain types of training protocols has no additional  effect on muscle hypertrophy (growth). 

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Then, just a couple weeks ago, one of my friends emailed me a recent study showing exactly the opposite with the primary difference being the timing of the “hormone inducing” workout.

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In both studies the authors had the subjects train one arm in a low horomone condition and the other arm in a high hormone condition on alternate days.  In the first study though, the authors had the subjects perform additional leg exercise AFTER the arm training to increase anabolic hormones in the high hormone condition.  In the more recent study, the subjects  performed the leg exercise to increase growth hormone and testosterone BEFORE the arm exercise in the high hormone condition.

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In the first study they found no difference in strength and muscle growth between the two conditions and in the more recent study they found that the higher hormone condition increased the strength and muscle growth to a greater degree.

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At first glance, it appears that boosting hormones via training BEFORE training your smaller muscle groups (like biceps) can increase your results.

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However, one other major difference was that in the first study they gave each subject a drink containing protein both before and after the workout.  In the more recent study, they “encouraged” subjects to consume something afterward, but nothing was formally provided.

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Previous studies have demonstrated that there may be a maximum level of protein synthesis that can be achieved and that giving a bolus of protein in conjunction with exercise would make this easily achievable.  Because they didn’t give a peri-workout beverage at all in the second group, it is hard to know whether the differences would have been seen if protein synthesis had already been maxed out.

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So it MAY be that doing hormone inducing exercise before your smaller muscle groups can accelerate muscle growth.  Or it may be that doing hormone inducing exercise before training your smaller muscle groups can accelerate growth when protein synthesis isn’t already maxed out from pre or post workout nutrition.

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The moral of the story though, is that since the second study didn’t control peri-workout nutrition, we just don’t know.  For now, I’m still leaning towards the conclusions of the first study since the second study lacked the appropriate control to really answer this question.

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If you’d like to review studies like this for yourself, check out my product How to Read Fitness Research.

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In light of my upcoming product How to Read Fitness Research at the end of March, I’ve decided that I’m going to dedicate at least some time on my blog to discussing fitness research and related topics over the coming months.

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I’m really excited about this project and I think it is going to give a lot of people freedom from being spoon fed fitness misinformation from supposed experts on the internet.  From this point on you won’t need to rely on someone else.  YOU will be able to determine for yourself whether the information you are reading is legit or a steaming pile of crap.

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Without Further Ado – Let’s get to it!

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I’ve discussed previously the topic of acute and chronic studies, but today I want to delve a little deeper.  More specifically, I wanted to share that I’ve recently had several email exchanges with a couple other bright fitness professionals talking about things like the effects of growth hormone or adipose tissue blood flow on body fat.

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The point I was sharing with these other smart folks is that even though growth hormone may increase fat mobilzation acutely or that adipose tissue blood flow may be immediately increased with some execise/treatment modalities this may not translate into real world fat loss.

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A good example of this (albeit in a slightly different area) is that certain types of exercise increase testosterone and growth hormone acutely.  And since we know testosterone (and maybe GH) increase muscle mass this might lead us to believe that the same type of exercise that acutely increases these hormones will increase muscle mass…but it doesn’t.  Muscle mass does not increase more as a result of this acute hormonal change.

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In the end, focusing on one acute measurement as an outcome might lead you down the wrong path.  And while these measurements might lead to further hypotheses to be tested (which is good), they shouldn’t be considered conclusive evidence of the effectiveness of a method. 

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For now, I think a lot more needs to be learned about GH, adipose tissue blood flow, and fat loss before we start making recommendations. 

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But in terms of research, next time you read something suggesting that you focus on a single acute measure (like fat mobilization from growth hormone), make sure to ask yourself whether it actually plays a role in real world fat loss before you change your routine.

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Every so often I get the question “Mark, how is it that you are such a genius and are  also so incredibly good looking?  It is so damn unfair.”  Okay…I think the question goes more like “What are you reading these days that you think is worth sharing?”

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As you can see, these two questions are almost exactly the same.  In any case, below are a few things I think you should definitely check out.

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1.  Categories of Weight Training

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If you’ve not been following Lyle McDonald’s latest series on types of weight trainining (from depletion, to hypertrophy, to maximum strength) you are absolutely missing out.  Do your self a favor and start HERE to read part 1 and then click your way on through the entire series.  Included in this series is possibly one of the best summaries on training for hypertrophy I’ve seen in a long while and almost completely in line with my own thoughts.

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2.  Hypertrophy Specialist Interview

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Along the same lines, I think you should definitely check out this great article by Bret Contreras where he interviews Brad Schoenfeld about his recent review on hypertrophy in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.  I still don’t agree with the assertion Brad made in his interview about the impact of acute hormone changes on muscle growth, but the rest of the interview is pretty solid.

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3.  Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies to Increase the Adherence to Exercise in the Management of Obesity

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At first glance the title of this article probably makes it look like a snooze-fest, but it is actually one of the best review articles I’ve read on weight loss in a long time.  It comes from the Journal of Obesity (where the articles are free by the way) and it talks about many things relating to success with weight loss and maintenance.

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Trust me when I tell you that if you are trying to lose body fat or help others do so then this article will teach you something.  I personally grabbed a bunch of studies from the references too that I’ll be reading in the near future.

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The big picture though, is that this article reinforces my belief that long term fat loss has less to do with what type of exercise and nutrition plan you use and more to do with the psychosocial factors that help or hinder your consistency in executing whichever plan it is you choose to follow.  If you address these you’re more likely to be successful than if you buy the next fat loss product that comes up on Twitter (which should occur in the next 3.5 seconds).

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4.  Best NEW blog in my RSS Feed

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 Ben Bruno is really smart and his blog always contains some great vids of people training hard and getting it done.   Moreover, this is a great example for young guys just gettting started in this field on blogging of how it is done. 

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If you’re a young coach or trainer start blogging now and build your readership as you learn.  You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to pretend to know everything.  Just be humble and share your thoughts as you learn.  Acknowledge when you’re wrong and updating your ideas.

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I waited far too long to launch this blog and feel like I’m finally coming into my own over 10 years into my career.  Don’t do that.  Read Ben’s blog, enjoy the content, then get to work.

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5.  Interview with Tony Gentilcore

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This is a great interview with the funniest man in fitness where he talks at great length about many of the things that make a good trainer…and other things that make trainers like Jillian Michaels suck.  Perhaps more importantly (or at least MY favorite part of the article), Tony mentions me as one of the fitness professionals that people should take notice of.  You hear that Men’s Health?  Huh?  Huh?

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In all seriousness, when guys like Tony take time out to mention me I feel flattered and it is great to know that my work is starting to be appreciated by some of the bigger names in this industry as well.  I almost cried a little tear of excitement.  Almost.

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And that’s it for good reads.  Before you go make sure to drop a comment on yesterday’s post to score yourself some FREE protein.

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Oh…and since I’ll be giving away tons of free stuff over the next couple of months make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter on the left, my RSS feed, Facebook, and Twitter so you don’t miss out.  You snooze, you lose.

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The common assertion in strength training literature (I use that term loosely) is that compound movements must be done (and short rest intervals used) to maximize the growth hormone output associated with training to accentuate muscle hypertrophy.

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Today my good friend Bret Contreras posted a guest blog by a really brilliant guy (guess who) investigating this very notion.  You can check it out HERE.

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On a side note, ever since I sent Bret the initial article he keeps sending me emails saying something about how Jamie Eason affects his “Growth Hormone”.  Not really sure what he’s getting at, but I wish he’d keep it to himself. 

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