The Barbell 1 Show

(photo credit - T-Nation) I just got back from the AAU Nationals in Mesquite Nevada and am excited to bring you a very special interview. My guest is the only man to ever total 3,000 pounds in powerlifting, that’s right, squat, bench, and deadlift in a meet, totaling 3,000 lbs. In additional to his accomplishments on the platform he is an accomplished inventor and wizard of sorts when it comes to innovative sports therapy techniques - here is part 1 of 2 of my interview with Donnie Thompson.

So unlike many people who just blindly accept that they should always be striving for deeper squats, I am just always striving to understand what happens at different depths and also trying different variations – all with the goal of trying to find movements I can do safely and with sufficient range of motion to get the muscle development I want. This research study is along those lines – and it’s on women! John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22797000 .

Like any topic – say volume means the most gains, or undulating perioidization always means better gains, I think the biggest proponents of these stances would lead you to believe there is no debate and all strength and conditioning professionals agree. I like to show studies like today where there are some people that continue to challenge the “accepted” conventions. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25760153 .

With a movement like a leg extension it’s pretty straight forward, either your quads are strong enough to move the weight or they’re not. However, with something like a squat, it’s much more complex. To achieve a certain range of motion takes coordinated expression of strength from multiple muscles across multiple joints. Today we try to gain a little insight into some subtleties that may help with achieving a deep squat safely and strongly. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4415844/pdf/jhk-45-59.pdf .

The smith machine is always bastardized as being sub-par or below free weight variations of exercises performed on it. Does it deserve this bad rap, or is there research to show it can have its place? We review a study from 2010 on the ability of the smith machine to activate the pressing muscles compared to a barbell bench press. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20093960 .

Let’s discuss the importance of dietary protein for anyone wanting to keep their muscle as long as they can. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/early/2015/05/27/jn.114.204925.abstract .

Ever wonder what John does in a typical day? What he has up his sleeves for this summer? All of the above are discussed along with a transition to a 3 times a week show having reached our 450th episode.

Some people like to train in the morning and some like to train in the evening. There’s even some people who prefer to train fasted. Regardless of which seems to work best for you, there seems to be a common mediating factor – people are trying to master the amount of meals they consume before training that feels best for them. I thought it was pretty cool to find a study on this topic. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25970668 .

With bodybuilders branching out into powerlifting training splits there are so many splits to choose from these days, but is there any research on which one actually builds the most muscle over the long term? Today’s research study is on just that! John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://journals.humankinetics.com/ijsnem-in-press/ijsnem-in-press/effect-of-two--versus-three-way-split-resistance-training-routines-on-body-composition-and-muscular-strength-in-bodybuilders-a-pilot-study .

In this episode I share some nutrition, training, and lifestyle related productivity hacks that have helped me balance my bodybuilding lifestyle with everything else I have going on both now and in the past.

You know I am always stressing that the response to any training or diet intervention is very individual and that studies actually show this, but no one ever talks about it, people only talk about the mean or average finding of everyone in the study. Well today’s study looked at baseline strength level and then used that to compare responsiveness to different styles of training – that is – do those with less strength respond differently than those with more strength. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks2013/278/ .

I previously reviewed a study in episode 146 showing that doing band squats prior to max squat attempts can boost your strength and so when I saw another article along these lines showing banded squats prior to sprinting also improved performance I was definitely intrigued and wanted to share. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/publishahead/POST_ACTIVATION_POTENTATION_EFFECTS_FROM.96901.aspx .

On Monday we reviewed one of my previous review papers on protein intake and today we review the 2nd one. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.jissn.com/content/pdf/1550-2783-9-42.pdf .

D-aspartic acid doesn’t seem to be quite as popular these days, but it has gone through phases where it was the hot new ingredient claimed to boost testosterone levels. I was surprised and wanted to review today’s study when I saw that in some cases it might actually reduce testosterone levels. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.jissn.com/content/pdf/s12970-015-0078-7.pdf .

From time to time, I realize I've been listening to the same songs too many times over and it's time to add some new songs to the iPod and share what I've added for those of you that may be interested.

When this podcast was newer, I mentioned a few times how I have a few peer reviewed publications, but I never reviewed them on the show oddly enough. So here we go! I review one of my own articles from 2012 on protein in weight management that was published in Nutrition & Metabolism. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/pdf/1743-7075-9-81.pdf .

I can tell by the download numbers that many of you like the reviews of supplements. I think as high achieving people we are always striving for that little edge and so we want to know if there’s anything that could give us this edge. Today we review a new study on the supplement T+ by Onnit Labs. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/publishahead/THE_IMPACT_OF_FOUR_WEEKS_OF_A_MULTI_INGREDIENT.96907.aspx.

As you know if you’re a regular listener of the show I typically review original research articles, but occasionally I do cover reviews of research and we have one of those articles today. Often times the reason I don’t cover reviews is because I was to avoid a potential extra layer of bias in interpreting the research, but reality is most people writing an in depth review of a topic are going to be quite while versed in the content and I think reading a few reviews gives a little bit of checks and balances – more than likely one group is going to highlight some aspects of the body of research that another group either forgets to include or is not as aware of or does not believe in for whatever reason. By quickly skimming the abstract of this study I got the feeling I might see a few different perspectives that are not as well discussed highlighted and so since most of you listeners are interested in building muscle – had to review this one. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/259390281_Evidence-Based_Resistance_Training_Recommendations_for_Muscular_Hypertrophy .

Brian and Alberto are both excellent coaches and recently polled fans for questions which they answered in a very well done video. So well done, that I asked them if they would mind my sharing it in an episode. Tune in for many great questions and answers on resistance training programming. Have a question for Alberto? Follow Alberto @nunez3dmj on instagram to submit questions for him to answer in future videos.

People argue all the time whether or not raw powerlifters should ever lift in supportive powerlifting gear or knee wraps. Will this prevent them from ever being able PR when lifting raw or will it actually create more overload allowing them to progress their raw lifts faster. I think the questions are still up for debate, but let’s review and discuss a 2012 research study on the topic. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22395280 .

Case studys and peer reviewed research on natural bodybuilding contest preparation or taking the body to extremes of body composition are pretty rare so whenever there’s a new study I pretty much always review it. Today we review a case study written by some individuals from Eric Texler’s lab – Eric is a previous guest host of the Barbell 1 show on several occasions. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.jissn.com/content/pdf/s12970-015-0083-x.pdf .

I was taking a look over my friend Andrea Valdez's ebook Beyond the Build and in the process was coming up with many notes on my first experience competing as a bodybuilding. Here are 28 tips in no particular order - 15 yesterday, and 13 today. Enjoy!

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} I have been having a middle of the night protein shake since about 2009 so I am always interested in research around bedtime nutrition. Everyone always says it’s the main time for the body to recover – so one would think feeding it makes sense, but has anyone researched this? Here comes a brand new study on the topic! John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25926415 .

I was taking a look over my friend Andrea Valdez's ebook Beyond the Build and in the process was coming up with many notes on my first experience competing as a bodybuilding. Here are 28 tips in no particular order - 15 yesterday, and 13 today. Enjoy!

I was taking a look over my friend Andrea Valdez's ebook Beyond the Build and in the process was coming up with many notes on my first experience competing as a bodybuilding. Here are 30 tips in no particular order - 15 today, and 15 tomorrow. Enjoy!

Matt McGunagle is the CEO of Strength Portal, a highly flexible platform that personal trainers across a range of disciplines can use to create and personalize workout programs, record and track session data, and evaluate client results. Based in Berkeley, California, StrengthPortal was founded in 2013 by three graduates of California Polytechnic State University. One of Matt's partner's has been very helpful with the Barbell 1 website and so I want to give them a big thank you. Matt was a previous guest on the show and today we catch up and talk about opportunities in online personal training and about confidently taking risks as a young entrepreneur.

Update and Special Message on Our Strength vs. Cancer Fundraiser

Tune in for awesome in the trenches insights on popular topics of reverse dieting and metabolic adaptation as it pertains to the physique athlete. Also please share and support our strength vs. cancer campaign running May 1 & May 2.

We previously reviewed a study on magnesium supplementation in volleyball players who were not deficient. That was in episode 297. Today we are back at it again and once again it seems there may be something to supplementing with this mineral. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.jissn.com/content/pdf/s12970-015-0081-z.pdf .

I get questions fairly often about how one should implement blood flow restriction training. Is it better than regular strength training and how much of it should they do. We attempt to answer some of these questions today via this research study and some of the commentary afterward. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23278841 .

CLA is one of those supplements that never seems to die. Some people swear by it while other say it’s overhyped and under delivers. When I stumbled across this study from 2006 I wanted to pull it out for review. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16531905 . Our premium patellar straps are in!

You know how you’ll hear people like Jeff or say Philip Ricardo Jr. who are top competitors in their 40s talk about the so called muscle maturity they have now that they didn’t have in their younger competitive years. Like no one can seem to explain it fully, but it just seems that the longer you’ve been lifting the muscle just looks a little different through the skin and no matter how ripped you get as a younger competitor you can’t seem to achieve quite the same grainy or granite like look at the older guys. So what is it – what makes their muscle looks different. Well when I saw today’s research study on muscle quality I thought maybe – and again I’m just theorizing and guessing, but I thought maybe I might find some clues or answers. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25412292 . Our premium patellar straps are in!

The debate on whether or not you can shape a muscle seems to be dead for most people, but I keep it alive and so do researchers of articles like in today’s study reviewed on the show. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25811947 .

I always stand during my rest periods, but I know many who sit. Some say you’re weak if you sit down, others say it’s smart to recover faster. Today we look at a research study comparing the two methods and looking at lying down as an alternative. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25774623 .

As someone battling injuries currently myself and knowing others in the same boat, I decided to review a review of the literature on the psychology of overcoming injuries. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: https://www.strengthandconditioning.org/publications/218-publications/asca-journals/jasc-22-4/953-jasc-22-4-review-of-the-literature-managing-injured-athletes-a-psychological-perspective-for-the-strength-conditioning-coach .

Whenever I see a study headline that seems like it could easily be misconstrued, I definitely want to review it to clarify it. Today’s article on bodybuilding supplements and testicular cancer is one of those articles. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25826226 .

If you get enough total sleep, does it matter when you go to bed and wake up? As someone living a very hectic life, and often sleeping late, this is a question I often ask myself so today we look at some research. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25831477 .

Being out of town for the IPF Master's Bench Press Worlds I figured it would be a great time to let new listeners hear this awesome two part interview with previous guest Bryce Lewis. Bryce is now a Barbell 1 sponsored athlete and is one of the top raw powerlifters in the USAPL. To follow Bryce's awesome YouTube content check out his channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/bryce126. Add up to 100 lbs to dumbbells with our patented Mass Caps!

Being out of town for the IPF Master's Bench Press Worlds I figured it would be a great time to let new listeners hear this awesome two part interview with previous guest Bryce Lewis. Bryce is now a Barbell 1 sponsored athlete and is one of the top raw powerlifters in the USAPL. To follow Bryce's awesome YouTube content check out his channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/bryce126. Add up to 100 lbs to dumbbells with our patented Mass Caps!

Being out of town for the IPF Master's Bench Press Worlds I figured it would be a great time to let new listeners hear the first episode we ever aired. Add up to 100 lbs to dumbbells with our patented Mass Caps!

For years everyone has been saying alcohol is bad for your gym gains, but so many athletes indulge big time to celebrate victory. Do we need to stay away or is the dogma an overreaction? Today we will review a research article on the subject. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25623400 . Add up to 100 lbs to dumbbells with our patented Mass Caps!

I have mentioned openly on the show before that despite knowing one does not have to always train to failure for optimal gains, it is how I personally enjoy training the most. So when I saw this new article on the subject, I wanted to cut my bias and once again look at the topic from a scientific perspective. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25809472 . Add up to 100 lbs to dumbbells with our patented Mass Caps!

Sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda, has had a good amount of research behind it for sometime, but I can’t say I know many or any resistance training athletes using it. Although I personally do not use it, I want to keep raising awareness about studies on it. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://journals.humankinetics.com/ijsnem-in-press/ijsnem-in-press/effects-of-creatine-and-sodium-bicarbonate-co-ingestion-on-multiple-indices-of-mechanical-power-output-during-repeated-wingate-tests-in-trained-men .

It seems all the time you propose a training of nutrition tactic to someone and they’ll shoot it down because of this one possible downside. Sometime those downsides apply and sometime they overshadow and cause you to miss the bigger picture of why that tactic may be gold. We review research that makes us think along these lines and discuss. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25675160 .

There are so many carbohydrate supplements out there, but does the exact carb source you take post-workout matter. Today we review some new research. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25811308 . Customize your own Recoveroller from just $47.99

I think many have assumed glutamine is dead as a supplement for muscle building. We know it can help with gut health and immunity, but it does not seem it’s supported for muscle building. Well, today we review a new study that may raise some new insights. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25811544 . Customize your own Recoveroller from just $47.99

Excited to bring this Coach's Corner series to the Barbell 1 Show. Special guest hosts John Garafano and Cliff Wilson break down a series of scientific studies and discuss how they apply the findings when working with their clients. Check in for more Coach's Corner episodes every two weeks or so. Cliff and John are two coaches I give my highest approval of and you can find out more information about their services at: http://www.facebook.com/TeamStrengthisLife http://www.teamwilsonbb.com This podcast is proudly sponsored by John’s premium exercise equipment and apparel company Barbell 1.Check out our new got gainz? shirts!

We always hear people talk about how so and so is built for that or built to be a powerlifter, but it’s always nice to have research to verify these observations and also to help us decide the best prioritization in training, skill/strength or size/strength. Today’s research study lends some insight. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19826300 .

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Kettlebells are relatively new on the radar for bodybuilders and powerlifters and most I know do not use them. But are they an underutilized tool? We review some research today and I’ll discuss where I and other bodybuilders I know have found them useful in training. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22549084 .

I think too often in the bodybuilding and even powerlifting world, exercise selection becomes too generalized without enough focus on individual needs. Today’s episode centers around fitting all the different things one needs to tackle to reach their goals within a given week in training. John always reviews the full-text of every article, but you may view the free abstract by clicking here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25807025 . Customize your own Recoveroller from just $47.99