Category: Blog

My workouts lasted nearly two hours, three times a week working on compound movements, accessory movements, and band stretching. For the entire summer I sweated profusely – I felt “dehydrated.” I would be one of those gallon-bros who would carry a gallon of water with him 24/7. Trying to think in my head I gotta replace the water in my system that I am sweating out. Every day I would finish nearly the whole entire gallon or more. Soon I found out I was actually harming my body and playing dangerously close to developing hyponatremia.

I woke up every day for five days straight sluggish, with a hangover-like headache, and weakness before I had anything to eat.

Hyponatremia is a rare disorder that is based on over-hydrating and lowering sodium levels in the body.

I never hit that threshold but I was suffering the symptoms that lead up to hyponatremia. The fact that I was over-saturating my body with too much water than what was needed essentially flushed out all the nutrients in my body and lowered my sodium levels. A strong frequency of hyponatremia can be found in ultra-marathon racers who have suffered from seizures or even died from hyponatremia. One research study measured racer’s weight before the start of an ultra-marathon race and recorded that many athletes gained weight, as much as 4 lbs for one runner when they all finished.

I started to see my body change when I stopped drinking so much water throughout my day. Just substituting that water with a small bottle of gatorade a day (focusing on the sodium and carbohydrates) made the difference. My water intake was back at a level I was consuming before I made a dramatic shift.

When it comes down to it, moderation is the best option. Avoid taking in too much sports drinks and alternatives that include too much sugar. Nutrition goes further into your hydration and performance than anything else. Stan Efferding even goes to the point that sodium might be a better performance enhancer than creatine.

Recently I had a conversation with one guy who wanted to check his weight. As he stepped on the scale he was shocked to find out he was heavier than what he saw in the morning. In his hand was a gallon of water. I told him it was his water intake to which he claimed he drinks two gallons a day to “improve his metabolism” (recommended by his coach).

That was the point where I lost it. So let us calm down with the gallons of water. Focus on your energy balance and nutrition. Everything in moderation.

(This is a simple reduction of the recent Kettlebell November 2017 NSCA Journal with recognition to the research performed by Keilman & Hanney et al.)

Having lower back pain designates you into a category that affects millions of American’s lives and is the highest rated reason why workers take days off. Low-back pain can be split between generalized lower back pain (LBP) and specialized (those suffering from degenerative conditions). Those who suffer LBP often do not pursue a positive treatment to strengthen the areas effect (quadratus lumborum (QL) and piriformis muscle (PF)). Avoiding strength training often produces more visits to the physical therapy office or additional days complaining. Most programming for an individual relaying LBP would consist of stabilizing efforts in a prone or supine\position. Recent research by Keilman & Hanney et al offers a different modality: kettlebell swings.

The purpose of the research design was to test if participants (in a kettlebell swing group) saw improvements to their lumbopelvic pressure pain thresholds (PPM). The program they issued looked similar to a tabata format: 8 consecutive rounds of kettle bell swings (KBS) for 20-seconds with a 10-second rest period. Participants in the KBS group saw significant improvements to their PPM across the board. Since no previous research has set stone any groundwork for lumbarpelvic pain relief via KBS, this is an acute research result for the sample size taken and for the age group selected. You would not find that many healthy individuals in their mid-twenties complaining about LBP.

Keilman explains that the motion of the KS makes it an interesting movement to analyze. The force necessary during the eccentric motion (hip flexion initiated first) and concentric motion requires the QL, abdominals, and obliques to be under full control and activation. Not to mention …

Pairing up this movement pattern with a stabilizing exercise across all three planes of motion (sagittal, frontal, and transverse) would help an individual strengthen their lumbo-pelvic hip complex. Other protocols can be added in other than those stabilizing features for more isometric patterns. This all sums in to dictate that this kettlebell movement should be thrown into consideration based upon your fitness level.

(This is a simple reduction of the recent November 2017 NSCA Journal with recognition to the research performed by Amirthalingam & Mavros et al.)

The typical adage of less is more falls in the line with the law of moderation. The typical adage you will hear in any gym and by generic programs from trainers is “3 sets of 10 reps” or what they consider their golden standard. However, there are many options to induce stress like eccentric reps, 1.5 rep schemes, pause reps, accentuated eccentric reps, pyramid (up or down), drop sets, supersets, and circuits. However, simply performing more sets with the same intensity can also provide the simpler bonus of more total training volume (TTV). So what happens when you train more? Can you achieve a greater result with the adage “less is more?”

Amirthalingam & Mavros et al. (2017) decided to pin two groups together: one performing 10 sets of 10 reps and the other performing 5 sets of 10 reps. Some context before we go any further…

Anecdotally German Volume Training (GVT) originated in the 1970s and only was used for two exercises in selection for a total rep scheme of 100 reps per exercise. Intensity was set at 60% 1RM or 2RM to keep metabolic stress high with only a 60-90 second rest period.

The purpose of the study was to compare muscular adaptations between both groups. Both groups performed bench pressing, lat pull-down, dumbbell lunges, shoulder presses, and upright rows for the 5 or 10 sets. The study also added in three additional assistive exercises to facilitate the volume that the participants would typically experience.

In the end body composition for both groups improved, however the 10-set group did not outperform the 5-set group in muscular hypertrophy. If anything the 5-set group saw significantly greater muscular strength and greater trunk and arm muscle thickness.

Conclusion: Less is More

(With an understanding of volume ~ don’t just perform 7 minutes of exercise and call it a day)
So it seems the law of diminished returns also holds truth to the world of muscle as well. Fatigue after a point starts to set in with anyone. Running high volume then does seem to have a breaking point. That’s then a good case for an individual approach for each person because training experience and goals all differ. Remember to always challenge yourself and never stick with the simple “3×10” approach.