Which sets/reps should you use?

There are few things I love more than an intense discussion on which set/rep scheme to choose.  Optimizing for performance is an art more than a science.  True success takes into account:  body type, % fast twitch to slow twitch fibers, mindset, experience, technique, health history, THEN goals.   There isn’t an equation where you can plug this information in and come out with your personalized answer.  It takes years and years of your personal trial and error in the gym.  You can often speed that process along by hiring and working with a professional.  The skill of the professional will directly relate to how fast they get you on the right track.  But even the best ones will need regular sessions in order to see what works, make changes, and progress based on rate of progress.  

So, the reality is if you’re hoping to reach success you’re going to need both passion, time, and resources to make that happen.  But that’s true in any field.  The great news is you can achieve a huge number of health benefits without any of those things (cultivating a passion towards your own health is highly encouraged though)!  You can lower your risk of all cause mortality by 25% if you expose your body to 60 minutes of heavy strength training COMBINED across a calendar week.  That's it!  You need to actually make sure the training is heavy though.  The strain is what is beneficial.  If you’re unable to expose your body to heavy strain you’ll need to spend more time.  But the end goal is very achievable even with the busiest lifestyles.   It’s important to note if you have an injury, lack of experience, or aren’t confident in your technique you should, without question, consult a professional to help you get going.  Heavy resistance training is potentially dangerous.  But what i’m hoping to convey is the end result is worth it! 

Motivational comments aside.  The basic outline you can follow is below:

For Power:  1-3 reps   4-6 sets

For Strength:  3-8 reps   4-6 sets 

For Hypertrophy:  8-15 reps 2-4 sets

This all assumes you are working at or near failure for each set.  Most people are either unwilling or unable to go to true failure.  But if you stop at 10 reps each time hoping to build muscle and in reality you could have gone for 8 more reps you aren’t challenging your system enough to generate a muscle building response.  

Lifting doesn’t have to be an isolated penance you pay to have good health.  You eat with family, you go out for drinks with your friends, you walk the dog with your spouse, you can workout with other people as well!   Success is all but assured if you can bring one of the people who you enjoy spending time with into your workouts. 

Easy 3 Steps to a guaranteed better day!

First off, if you’ve decided to read this blog you already know your maximum energy and performance throughout the day is going to require some actual movement.  Get sunlight, get stretched, get your heart rate slightly elevated and you’ll be getting a cocktail much more potent that the passive list i’ve assembled.   For now, lets keep things simple and focus on the points from the post.  

Step 1:  Hydrate

Coming off a full night's sleep is more than just an unconscious fasting window.  You also haven’t had water for a long duration of time.  While you were sleeping your body was repairing itself:  removing inflammation, removing toxins, etc.  This requires energy and…water!   This might be the lowest hanging fruit on the ‘make my life better’ check-list.  90% of people just don’t drink enough water.  The recommended amounts vary depending on your source but a good rule of thumb is to get 10 ounces each hour after you wake up for 10 hours.  Scale accordingly based on body size, climate you live in, and types of foods you eat.  Your body can live for long periods of time without food but it absolutely cannot live without water.  That alone should underscore how important this is.   

I am willing to concede this isn’t glamorous.  There isn’t any special product you need to buy.  Nobody will follow you on instagram for drinking water.  But that does nothing to diminish how useful this is.  

Step 2:  Caffeinate

This is much more of a personal decision.  Caffeine is a widely studied compound and it has been proven that people respond to caffeine in vastly different ways.  The measurable dose of caffeine to generate a sports performance improvement has varied from 300mg to 900mg based on the individual. That’s a massive number!   Caffeine works much more efficiently after cortisol has been removed from your system.  So, wait 90 minutes (on average) before having your first cup for maximum effect!   For a mental boost or a normal work day you can start with something as small as 50mg (1 cup of coffee). If you don’t believe me try drinking a cup of coffee right when you wake up then the next day wait 90 minutes (drink water during that 90 minutes) and drink the same cup of coffee. Guarnateed you will notice a difference. As a natural diuretic you’ll find this effect is again amplified if you hydrate beforehand.  It extends beyond the scope of this brief blog post but there is fascinating biochemistry that is well documented regarding caffeine’s effects.  For a very well put together summary I would recommend checking out Huberman Lab’s episode on caffeine for more detail.   

Step 3:  Dominate 

Ok this is mainly intended to underscore how much better you’ll feel if you complete steps 1 and 2 BUT…this is also an action based concept.  While steps 1 and 2 are passively preparing your body and mind for optimum function you need to willfully engage in pursuit of your goals once you have your body primed.  Routine by its very nature breeds a sense of complacency.  It has been inspiring to me personally to quickly glance at my 1 or 5 year goals list to remember why I’m getting up and going to work today.  Some of you may need zero additional inspiration but for the others; move forward with intention!  Even if you aren’t immediately successful in your daily goals (generating more income, completing a job, or making a connection) you will have taken a big picture step forward towards your long term goals!

Are you a Protein Pro?

How much protein should you be taking?  

What better example of dispute amongst experts than the argument of how much protein to take.  There seems to be uniform agreement that you need protein.  So why can't we agree on how much?  

 If you’re someone who licks the frosting from an oreo then throws it away here’s what you need to know; “the frosting” if you will.  Unless you’re a hyper specialized athlete or body type, 1.2-1.6g/kg body weight is your target.  Ergo, if you weigh 100kg (220 pounds) you should be aiming for 120 grams a day (lighter exercise) up to 160 grams a day (heavier exercise). 

There doesn’t appear to be anything inherently wrong with taking as much as 1g/pound body weight but once you get above 1.6g/kg the bulk of existing science indicates there is no meaningful gain.  There is an issue with not getting enough however so if you’re not sure where you stand try keeping a daily journal for a few days tracking only protein intake. Your body won’t disintegrate if you get below 1g/kg but you start to see a decline in your body’s performance which increases the lower you get.

Your protein can be taken within 3 hours before or after a workout and ideally spread out over 3 different feeding periods.  I will concede I wasn’t blown away by any specific expert testimonial advising this but in my mind it stands to reason your body will absorb and utilize a greater % of the protein if it’s taken over 3 meals rather than all at once.  

Because nutrition wouldn’t be fun if it were easy; here are some other variables you need to be considering to maximize the usefulness of the protein you’re ingesting

• What kind of protein is it?

• Animal:  Casein, Whey, Egg, Meat etc.

• Plant:  Soy, Pea, Brown Rice etc. 

This understanding is pretty important and will drive the rest of your diet choices.  If you are a plant based diet person you are ingesting many incomplete amino acids in their protein, supplementation will be critical.  If you are animal based you need to more closely monitor the quality of the animal you are consuming (where did it live, what was it fed, do you trust the company to use organic practices etc.)

• In what form is the protein? 

• Bar, Powder, Animal Food, Vegetables etc. 

This will dictate how efficiently your body will use the protein.  10 grams of steak will be used nearly 100% compared to 10 grams of gas station protein bar which maybe your body can pull 2-4 useful grams from. 

Certainly consulting with a professional for your more specific range is a good idea to take into account your age, gender, pre-existing medical conditions, level of activity, lifestyle habits etc. But using these rough measurements is a good place to start!

Conclusion:  

This a huge (and fun) rabbit hole to go down and one I would highly encourage you to take the time to understand.  The good news is you can make plenty of mistakes and still improve.  The bad news is you have to be mindful of how your body is feeling, pay closer attention to your workouts and daily activity, and work with your physician if you have pre-existing health conditions that may impact your ability to workout or digest protein.  After a month of trying one method, try another!  Keep evolving your approach as your body evolves to reach the best version of yourself! 

Flat Feet?

Flat feet are highly prevalent in today’s world.  It’s a debate as to why this problem is ongoing with arguments ranging from wearing the wrong kinds of shoes, to wearing no shoes at all, to being overweight, to hormonal challenges.  Figuring out which is the cause for your particular foot issue requires some thought and likely an analysis by a physiotherapist.  It’s the fastest way to get your problem diagnosis accurately and a game plan put together to return to the pain free activities you love.  In the meantime, building the dynamic arch support of your foot is always the best place to start and you can get rolling on that right way on your own!   Check out the instagram post for the video demonstrations.

1. Working the Posterior Tibialis muscle is an excellent way to turn that muscle on and make sure it’s firing normally.  Sit with a band wrapped around the balls of your feet with tension pulled back towards your both.  Push your foot away as though doing a heel raise, but add in movement towards the midline of your body as you press away.  3 sets of 10 daily for 1 week is where you want to sit.  

2. Sitting with knees bent to 90 degrees with your feet comfortably on the floor is the starting position for the second movement.  Put an elastic band (or towel if you don’t have one) under the pad of your first toe.  Attempt to pull the band/towel out but prevent it from doing so with your foot pressure through that great toe.  It is critical that you maintain normal foot contact here and keep the arch supported while you’re doing this.   10 reps for 5 seconds of hold time daily for 1 week is the recommended start

3. Lastly, stand up with a band just above your knees.  The band here will assist your gluteals in turning on so you can really laser in your focus on keeping the arches raised and controlled on both of your feet.  Complete 3x10 squats in a controlled fluid movement.   

These three will get you going in the right direction!   There are a number of alternatives and progressions you can delve into when you’re ready.  

Demystifying Program Design

Program design can be tricky but it doesn’t have to be.  To get a measurable amount of actual strength gain you need to hit between 10-30 sets a week.  Yes, 30 is a lot.  You likely won’t run into that range unless you’re in exceptionally good shape, have very specific workout goals, and have a lot of free time.  So lets assume 10 sets is the target for most people.  Three sets of an exercise that hits a muscle group 3 days a week gives you 9 total sets…so one of those days toss in an extra set and you’re good to go.  Example, if you want to target your quads you can try to isolate them with a split squat movement or a leg extension.  Even if you set it up to be 3 sets of 10 (which is a traditional beginner series) you’d see notable strength gains if you would not have been able to complete an 11th or 12th rep during each of those sets. 

One thing you have to take into account is that number 10 comes from a high RPE (rating of perceived exertion) challenge.  You won’t get the strength effect if you’re leaving a lot of reps in the tank each set.  If you complete a set of 10 but you could have done 15, your quad isn’t going to get stronger.  You have to be stressing your system for all 10 sets.  Otherwise you’ll need to add more sets or change your set structure to more reps or pick a different exercise where you can exert yourself more forcefully.  Given the high strain of these required 10 sets make sure you’re warmed up property before you start counting towards the 10.   

The huge number of variables to consider when making a fully program can be intimidating but keep this one at the top of your list and you’ll start to see clear progress in 4-6 weeks.   So, give it a shot!  Shoot me a message if you get stuck along the way.

When is dry needling appropriate?

Stim current about to be applied to a needle in the left lumbar multifidi

Answer:  For a huge number of conditions.  Maybe a better question would be when is dry needling NOT appropriate.   

When thinking about if dry needling could be useful for you it’s necessary to know what it’s often used for. The goal of dry needling is to create a very controlled local trauma to an area not getting good blood flow.  These areas often manifest as muscle knots, trigger points, or other pain generators.  The currency of healing is blood flow…there is no second currency.   You have many important biochemicals in your body relating to the exact science of how tissue is healed but none of them can get to the damaged tissue without blood flow!  Surgeons can’t perform surgery if they can’t get to the hospital!  All exercises, modalities, prayers, seances, (whatever you’ve got going on) are considered to be physically successful if they bring blood flow effectively to an area.   

So, if you have an acute injury, surgery, post intensive lift, or any condition where the body already has a natural high flow of blood to an area you are unlikely to benefit from this aspect of dry needling.   In a similar vein if you’re already successful getting blood flow to an area with massage, hot pack, etc. you likely won’t see an appreciable benefit from dry needling for this specific function.    

Enter the second major benefit; turning on/retraining a malfunctioning/nonfunctioning muscle.  This is maybe the best tool physical therapists have in their toolbox for this specific problem.  It’s the only modality that gets below the skin (electrical current the exception, but even this is not specific).  There are some extraordinary therapists out there who can use their hands to do some amazing things.  But they are limited by having to push through the skin, fascial layers and any superficial muscles before they can impact any deeper muscle tissue.  Often times simply getting the needle into the right area is all you need before the muscle ‘wakes up’ and starts responding to targeted exercise.  

Once you have the muscle turned on and well supplied with blood put it to work!   All good dry needling sessions are followed by use of the muscle in question.  Doesn’t have to be heavy lifting, but you’ve now got blood flow and a very awake muscle primed for movement.