Protein timing is a popular dietary strategy designed to optimize the adaptive response to exercise. The strategy involves consuming protein in and around a training session in an effort to facilitate muscular repair and remodeling, and thereby enhance post-exercise strength- and hypertrophy-related adaptations. Despite the apparent biological plausibility of the strategy, however, the effectiveness of protein timing in chronic training studies has been decidedly mixed. The purpose of this paper therefore was to conduct a multi-level meta-regression of randomized controlled trials to determine whether protein timing is a viable strategy for enhancing post-exercise muscular adaptations. The strength analysis comprised 478 subjects and 96 ESs, nested within 41 treatment or control groups and 20 studies. The hypertrophy analysis comprised 525 subjects and 132 ESs, nested with 47 treatment or control groups and 23 studies. A simple pooled analysis of protein timing without controlling for covariates showed a small to moderate effect on muscle hypertrophy with no significant effect found on muscle strength. In the full meta-regression model controlling for all covariates, however, no significant differences were found between treatment and control for strength or hypertrophy. The reduced model was not significantly different from the full model for either strength or hypertrophy. With respect to hypertrophy, total protein intake was the strongest predictor of ES magnitude. These results refute the commonly held belief that the timing of protein intake in and around a training session is critical to muscular adaptations and indicate that consuming adequate protein in combination with resistance exercise is the key factor for maximizing muscle protein accretion.
A recent meta-analysis by Cermak et al. [24] found that protein supplementation, when combined with regimented resistance training, enhances gains in strength and muscle mass in both young and elderly adults. However, this analysis did not specifically investigate protein timing per se. Rather, inclusion criteria encompassed all resistance training studies in which at least one group consumed a protein supplement or modified higher protein diet. The purpose of this paper therefore is to conduct a meta-analysis to determine whether timing protein near the resistance training bout is a viable strategy for enhancing muscular adaptations.
Muscle And Strength Pyramids Pdf Download
Perceived hypertrophic benefits seen in timing studies appear to be the result of an increased consumption of protein as opposed to temporal factors. In our reduced model, the amount of protein consumed was highly and significantly associated with hypertrophic gains. In fact, the reduced model revealed that total protein intake was by far the most important predictor of hypertrophy ES, with a 0.2 increase in ES noted for every 0.5 g/kg increase in protein ingestion. While there is undoubtedly an upper threshold to this correlation, these findings underscore the importance of consuming higher amounts of protein when the goal is to maximize exercise-induced increases in muscle mass. Conversely, total protein intake did not have an impact on strength outcomes and ultimately was factored out during the model reduction process.
In strength training, a basic pyramid is a number of sets of an exercise where you start with a lighter weight and a higher number of repetitions, then increase the weight and do fewer reps with each subsequent set. You do your heaviest set when you reach the top of the pyramid. This type of pyramid training is called ascending or light-to-heavy pyramids.
Depending on whether you train using heavy or light weights, your efforts result in different adaptations: strength, muscle growth, and endurance.1The best way to get as strong as possible is to use heavy loads and low reps.
Muscle growth can be accomplished using almost any load and number of reps.
You likely improve muscular endurance by doing more reps with a light weight, at least for the lower body.
Sports (Basel). 2021 Feb; 9(2): 32.In theory, pyramid training could be a great way to maximize all three adaptations in the same workout compared to traditional strength training.
In practice, regular straight-set lifting and pyramid training seem equally effective for gaining strength and increasing muscle size.2 Complete triangle pyramids might be best for improving endurance, although this has not been tested in any controlled studies.
With progressive overload being so important for gaining strength and muscle mass, reverse pyramids are a great way to put it into practice. The heavier sets at the start let you hit your muscles with the highest intensity with less work.
As a beginner, the high intensity of reverse pyramids is unnecessary and might be too much to handle and recover from. Also, going all-out in the first set can make a beginner too tired to maintain good form for the rest of the workout, which is important when taking the first steps in the world of strength training and trying to learn the movements.
Unfortunately, the scientific jury is still out on this one. Very few studies compare the two. When they do, they look at isometric strength (when you flex against a fixed object without any joint movement) or immediate effects during or right after the workout, not long-term strength and muscle growth.
Simply put: yes! Research shows that pyramid training is effective for anyone from young and healthy individuals to trained athletes to older people to those with disabilities.9 10 11 12Regardless of your training status and experience, pyramid training can help you reach your fitness goals and build strength and muscle mass.
You begin each workout with a basic compound exercise: the squat, bench press, deadlift, and overhead press, alternating between full triangles and reverse pyramids every other week. The accessory work for each muscle group is based on traditional pyramid sets where you increase the weight and lower the reps as your go.
Is it more effective than traditional strength training? Probably not. But you can use the pyramid training system as a different way to overload your muscles for strength and muscle growth. Keeping your training fun and varied is key to long-term motivation and progress, and pyramid sets are at least as effective as standard straight sets.
This sports rehabilitation pyramid/structure (Figure 1) is more thorough for the sports medicine concept, including elements beyond physical rehabilitation. However, with the rehabilitation components, there should be greater emphasis on balance and proprioception training (regional stability) prior to muscle strength, power, and endurance [7]. It's the author's opinion that strength and power training of a body region prior to acquiring optimum motor control and joint stability places the patient at risk and is inefficient.
This tier has the greatest importance. One might have appropriate motor patterns or inappropriate motor patterns. Motor patterns require a great degree of muscle coordination that may either be under conscious or unconscious control. When a clinician wishes to train a motor pattern, it will require numerous conscious attempts before this motor pattern becomes an unconscious pattern, or engram [8] If the patient is demonstrating a poor motor pattern in a static state, i.e. poor posture (rounded shoulders), would this aberrant pattern, or engram, be further enforced if allowed to progress throughout repetitive dynamic activities, such as cardiovascular conditioning? If so, progressing to the next tier may re-enforce this poor engram [9]. Additionally, tissues that are in an unwanted shortened state may affect the static and dynamic proprioception and engram of the patient by modifying the patient's posture and motion [10]. When reviewing literature for musculo-skeletal rehabilitation, it was common to find instruction for beginning isometric exercises early to prevent muscle strength loss [11]. However, implementing strengthening exercises of any form (isometric, isotonic, or isokinetic) may place the patient in an inefficient state regarding overall muscle function. Janda [10] stated that pronounced tightness of a muscle group is consistent with a weakened muscle. Implementing strengthening exercise may perpetuate the tightness and develop further weakness. Therefore, strengthening exercises should be postponed, and lengthening procedures, such as Graston Technique, MRT (myofascial release techniques), and stretching should be implemented. Other faulty mechanics may include joint restrictions such as vertebral segmental dysfunction or shoulder capsular-shortening which may require additional therapy such as mobilization or manipulation.
There are numerous philosophies for classifying muscles of a joint: phasic v tonic, and stabilizers v. mobilizers are two examples. Stabilizers are defined as smaller muscles that perform joint stability functions such as joint surface centration [14]. These muscles are generally smaller than the mobilizers, closer to the joint, and tend to be more fatigue-resistant. Based on what we know about stabilizer function it appears that it would be wise to gain (or regain) optimum function of these smaller muscles to improve joint stability before progressing onto mobilizer conditioning. An example of this would be to condition the smaller rotator cuff muscles of the glenohumeral joint before implementing larger and multi-plane strengthening exercises for the mobilizers of the joint such as the deltoids [16]. It has also been demonstrated that performing stabilizer strengthening in end-ranges of motion of a joint is also beneficial to enhancing the stability of a joint [17] Exercises that this author prefers includes continuing with oscillatory stabilization exercises (low resistance, high repetition and small AROM) as described in the prior tier but adding slow and controlled movements; for example, starting the oscillation using the right arm and then slowly moving the shoulder throughout its full pain-free ROM. Muscle endurance and neuromuscular control for joint stability are goals during this tier. 2ff7e9595c
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