Adarq.org

Ignoring Jump Attack is the right strategy. I re-read it when you mentioned it and it would frankly be absolutely useless for an advanced athlete like you. You could maybe incorporate more shock elements like depth jumps (which is the final phase), but otherwise, keep doing what works for you.

Also, why fasting? You must be hovering around 7-10% bodyfat.

That looks fine, but it would be good if you could clarify whether you're medically cleared to do this sort of training atm, because your last answer did not clear that up at all. I know I'm nagging, but AFL isn't something to mess around with (my dad had it recently).

Quote from: acole14 on March 10, 2018, 06:32:25 pm

If you have kidney issues, I'd be staying the hell away from pre-workouts. I doubt they're more effective than having a strong coffee 30min before.

I dont believe i have kidney issues, but i might have liver high enzymes based on my last blood test.

which specific ingredient is bad for liver in preworkouts? thanks

There's so many substances in one hit that it's impossible to isolate any that might cause you trouble. Moreover, the supplement formulations are unregulated, so the ingredient that might damage your organs may not even be on the label. For example, your supp says 'natural and artificial flavours'....what are they exactly? That's a problem for lots of processed foods of course.

If you do have previous signs of liver damage from when you weren't training, and you want to double-dose the pre-workout, you'd want to be having regular blood tests just to show that your blood markers are stable and that it's safe. Major hassle. At least with caffeine tabs or coffee, you know the active ingredient and its safety range. Plus, as LBSS says, the cost/benefit ratio is way out compared to cheaper alternatives.

Re LBSS's picture, i am very impressed from the all-around effect of eccentric training. 5* hypertrophy, 5*strength 4*power , amazing!
But what is eccentric training? Ultra slow stuff? Or just keeping your mind on controlling them and not just letting the bar drop back to start position?
As you might have read on my journal, i am focusing in strength and hypertrophy for the next couple of months, so i decided to give eccentrics a shot. Didn't go nuts though, just controlling them, tempo was something like 1-1-2.

From the article:

While previous literature briefly discussed ET methods including the 2/1 technique, two-movement technique, slow/superslow, and negatives with supramaximal loads (> 100% 1RM) [133], limited research supports the use of these methods. In contrast, much literature supports the use of another ET method termed accentuated eccentric loading (AEL) [134]. AEL requires individuals to perform the eccentric phase of a lift with a heavier load than the concentric phase due to a portion of the load being removed by a weight-release system [135], spotters [136], or the athlete dropping it [137]. Collectively, the previous studies have indicated that AEL may produce greater jumping, sprinting, and power adaptations compared to other RT methods. Further literature indicated that AEL may lead to positive strength [136, 138, 139], RFD and power [140], and performance adaptations [137, 140], but also a decreased injury rate [141]. For a thorough discussion on AEL, readers are directed to a recent review [134].

To the authors’ knowledge, only one article has provided general recommendations on implementing ET into RT programs [133]. Previous literature indicated that adaptations from eccentric exercise may be based on exercise intensity [142, 143] and contraction speed [144, 145]. Specifically, the previous studies suggested that heavier eccentric loads may produce favorable muscle hypertrophy and strength adaptations compared to lighter loads and that faster muscle actions produce greater adaptations compared to slower actions. From a loading standpoint, practitioners have the opportunity with ET to prescribe supramaximal loads (> 1RM). The use of such loading with AEL has been shown (in two very flimsy studies - acole14) to improve maximal strength [136, 138]. Despite the general recommendations made within previous literature and the current review, future research on ET, including AEL, should focus on the placement of eccentric exercise in training phases, training volume, inter-set rest intervals, and loads that should be prescribed to produce optimal results.

So, in this example, they lump a whole bunch of eccentric loading protocols in one general term of 'eccentric loading', and comment on their mostly limited evidence of effectiveness. I read the whole review and it's like that for several of the other categories. But they still go ahead and give prescriptive ratings for these categories that make them appear as if they're incredibly well-validated techniques and could objectively be rated in relation to one another. To me, it shows how difficult it seems to be to design and perform well-controlled sports science studies. For instance, here's the abstract for one of the two studies used in support of AEL:

The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of additional eccentric loading on subsequent concentric strength. Eight subjects with some experience in weight training (????) volunteered to perform maximal attempts in the barbell bench press using detaching hooks that allowed them to lower 105% of their concentric 1 repetition maximum (RM) and raise 100%. The detaching hooks allowed attachment of extra weight to the bar and would release from the bar at the bottom of the lift, reducing the weight lifted during the concentric phase of the lift. After determining their 1RM for the bench press, the subjects attempted to increase their performance by using a heavier eccentric load with the detaching hooks. All 8 subjects who completed the study increased their 1RMs by 5 to 15 pounds. The use of additional eccentric loading significantly (p = 0.008) increased the weight that could be lifted on the subsequent concentric phase and therefore 1RM performance. This phenomenon was a result of the enhancement of stretch-shortening cycle performance by the increased eccentric load. Athletes who are interested in developing 1RM strength in the bench press may benefit from the use of additional eccentric loading.

Take-away points from the article:
- the subjects were not blinded or stratified in any way;
- they performed 1RM's over three days. The third day brought in the AEL component (confounding training effect? Some athletes responding to fatigue better/worse?);
- the researchers claimed that a very minor difference in 1RM bench press (comparing the initial 1RM bench to the third-day AEL 1RM) was significant at p=0.008! However, the s.d's are huge, and some dummy values I put in to match their graph values showed a p-value of 0.48 (no difference) with the same test in my stats program. 

The other study is conducted better but it only found strength gains, not power gains (to adarq's point about str vs pwr), and only on single-joint exercises. Tbh, I'm sure there could be some benefit to AEL, but you could drive a truck through the holes in the data presented in these studies. It's so hard to measure this stuff accurately with all the confounders. I'd ask 1000 strength/power sport coaches the same questions about power training techniques and summarise the results, that would be much more informative than the mess of poorly controlled studies on 1rm bench press of a small number of random gym-goers.

Another hilarious observation about this rating system, from the second study on AEL:

These results suggest that, for some exercises, AEL training may be more effective than [control] training in developing strength within a 9-week training phase. However, for trained subjects, neither protocol is effective in eliciting muscle hypertrophy.

5-star rating for hypertrophy though! Lol. There are several inconsistencies with their comments on certain categories and their ratings (e.g. "no studies have compared variable resistance training to conventional resistance training...we rate it higher regardless"). That makes me think that most of the ratings are just subjective analysis from the authors. I don't think there's anything wrong with that per se, but it's inconsistent and will be misinterpreted. 

180227 Tuesday Jump!
Got this Jump session off this week early.
Nothing special... still trying to make time to read that Book and reset my vert training from the basic after such a long break.
the book i got off google store is
Jump Attack by Tims Grover.


One thing i am glad is... not much of a knee pain during jump, there is slight soreness in the knee the day after.. but nothing serious.
Consider this a good thing.

Jump Attack is pretty good, but 80% of it is just motivational filler/basic diet advice/stories about working out with Michael Jordan. The actual content isn't actually that ground-breaking. But, I do value the rejuvenating feeling of trying a new training source. Just make sure you still do stuff that you were doing well, particularly dunk attempts. From memory, Jump Attack doesn't program in dunk attempts or anything like that, it's more for athletes looking to get generally more explosive and fit for their sport with a bunch of plyos and box jumps, isometric stuff etc.

I have nothing to add here atm, but I like how following your journal reminds me of how many days until my Easter holiday  .

Looks great nevertheless, kinda floating.
But anyway, when i was doing head-height jumps at home, i couldn't reach ceiling, so i used to hang a string with an object at the end ( e.g. a pencil ). Not only you know if you reached a height that way, but you can even quantify and regulate, you can estimate from the 'impact force' how much above the pencil you got so then you can shorten the hanging length of the string. So if you expect to get 2-3 inches below that ceiling, start with a 5'' string. See if you get it, estimate how much, and then shorten it to 3'' etc. Not that convenient but works well.

Yeah for sure. I would definitely do something like that if it was my own garage or something. I did fabricate a poor-man's vertec but it's a little tricky to use outdoors....limited space to set it up. But I might try to get a video with it next time.

Quote from: Kellyb on December 19, 2017, 06:45:09 pm

If it's really bad it might take some time to fix. But in my experience the best way is long extended static stretches of around 2 minutes. Elevate the front half of one foot slightly (like on a book or something) and lunge forward until you feel a good stretch, and hold. If you have had a lot of ankle injuries you probably have scar tissue built up in there and it might take some time to work the range of motion back in.

Sounds like what I did with my soleus/ankle stretches during dishes, hah. I'd just ease into it and often hold it for a few minutes, while doing dishes. Definitely seemed to help quite a bit. Tried to find the photo I took, can't find it yet. For people with calf tightness/ankle mobility issues, it could be a decent strategy.

I forgot to mention it when you first posted that one, but it's a fantastic stretch. I've done similar variations (ball of foot on wall, stretch on step with knee bent), but your way just hits the spot perfectly without overloading the knee.