Category Archives: Body Composition
Front Squat For Better Quads
The Barbell Back Squat is often regarded as the most effective way to enhance the explosive movements necessary to excel in athletic performance. Although similar to the hip extension, there are a variety of ways to load and execute the squat that are equally challenging and effective in their own unique way. Interestingly, a research…
Ketone Strips & Meters – The New Scale?
One of the requirements to following Live It NOT Diet! is throwing your scale in the garbage. Mainly because the number is useless – telling you nothing about your body composition (fat-to-muscle) – but also because it messes with your mental state – giving you the impression that you’re not losing (or even gaining), and…
The 3 Ways to Prevent Muscle Loss
Whether you like it or not, muscle loss eventually ends up on your priority list. With most going 40-50 years not thinking about it, until one day their doctor lets them know they have sarcopenia (or osteoporosis). One of the reasons we see a rapid loss in muscle with age is because of a blunted…
Is There an Optimal Rep Range?
Research can be somewhat inconsistent in determining the optimal rep range for strength and muscle development (1, 2, 3). But it’s consistently shown that performing sets of less than 15 reps is superior to sets of more than 15 reps. It’s also been clear in showing that it’s possible to build strength without having to…
Why MORE Exercise Fails for Fat Loss – “You Cannot Outrun a Bad Diet”
It’s been just about a year since Eat Meat And Stop Jogging was released, so I like to think this new editorial in the British Journal of Sports Medicine is my anniversary gift: The paper discusses many of the same misconceptions reviewed in the book, including the sad reality that exercise is good for your…
Building Muscle? Do Post-Workout the Right WHEY
If you’ve completed Live It NOT Diet!, you understand that dairy is best consumed in it’s full fat form (heavy cream, aged cheeses, and butter). Mainly because that’s where most of the benefit lies (when dealing with the pasteurized variety), but also because it contains minimal amounts of lactose and whey. [Lactose is the sugar…
Unilateral Exercises – Neglected But Effective
Although single-arm and single-leg (unilateral) exercises tend to be neglected, they’re just as effective for improving strength….and in some cases, superior for building muscle. A research study from 2012 in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research discovered that the Back Foot Elevated Lunge had a slightly higher testosterone response than the traditional bilateral Back…
Post-Workout – To Carb or Not to Carb?
The increased sensitivity of muscle tissue after exercise, means we ‘should’ eat protein and ‘can get away’ with eating carbohydrates. It doesn’t mean Lean Luke should be ingesting the same amount of carbohydrates as Fat Frank. In fact, recent evidence has demonstrated that carbohydrate after exercise does not necessarily produce an additive effect (1, 2)…