Flu/COVID Vaccine Season - General Questions
I did a quick search on the forum and found some things from ~2021, so apologies if this has been asked/answered before. But tis the season to get these. I, without fail, have the same symptoms after the COVID booster every single year (Moderna in my case) - my joints hurt, I have a headache, sweats, muscle aches (like DOMs), and generally feel like hot garbage - these are all things that in my day to day life of training 4-6 days/week I do not have - what's that about? Is my immune system doing its thing in the least pleasant way possible? I remember (right or wrong) that there was some guidance when these rolled out to avoid pain killers/fever reducers (ibuprofen, etc) - is that still the case? Would really love to have some pain reducers next year. This year I scheduled my shots (flu/COVID) for after my Friday session (last session of the week) - but are there any reasons to not train after shots? I've generally pushed through if I happen to have a training session the day of/after the shot. I remember there being some weird guidance to avoid activity for a week or some such nonsense (again, from early on in the vaccine roll outs, so likely outdated).
Range of motion issue
I have a client with very limited external shoulder rotation (but excessive internal rotation) and poor hip flexion. Interestingly, his son, who also trains with me, presents with a very similar posture, which creates significant challenges in exercises like pressing, deadlifts, and deep squats. My questions are: Could posture and mobility restrictions like these be influenced by genetics? And since introducing exercises in a reduced range of motion and gradually increasing the range hasn’t brought much improvement, do you have any suggestions or alternative approaches for addressing this?
Tracking conditioning progress with its own metric
Do you think that a metric similar to e1RM (for strength purposes) can be successfully applied to track conditioning progress? I was thinking about utilizing distance, time and average heart rate of a cardio workout to calculate an estimated arbitrary conditioning unit: eACU = (distance / time) / avg.HR
Deadlifts for Hypertrophy
Of the “big 3”, why do you think the deadlift is so contentious in regards to being a good exercise for hypertrophy when the Romanian deadlift is often regarded as a staple for hamstrings in a hypertrophy program. Obviously there are differences in the movements but surely not enough for these to be at opposite ends of the gains spectrum?
Bad training programs
Given that a wide range of intensities, frequencies, volumes can "work" for a variety of goals and many can be considered good programs, how can you identify a bad training program and what are the traits that would make you classify it as such? Can you give some examples?
progressive loading in the context of general development
hello! I like the way you guys conceptualize general development, my takeaway from what ive heard you guys say about it is ideally you have your general movement patterns (squat, hinge, row, press) and you do a different variation for each session. Basically if you have 4 presses programed in they will all 4 be different variations (and the same for all the other movements), the other aspect of general development is the rep range exposure (maximal strength rep range, strength stamina rep range, strength endurance rep range) my question is, did you guys mean that you would have someone do all 3 of those general rep ranges for all of the movement patterns in the context of a week? and would a general development program still lead to adaptations with so much variation? im guessing maybe the rate of adaption would be slower but your also getting way more exposure to more stuff which i think is good (sorry for the long question lol this has been on my mind for a while)
HEDS and HSD
What do you think are the unique training considerations for someone with hypermobile EDS or Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders? There is a lot of vague advice for people with EDS that they should do strength training, but it's often phrased as "gentle strengthening," which is somewhat incoherent and not very actionable. Other than utilizing autoregulation, how do you guys think this population should be training? Thanks!
Recovery chances in terms of non-traumatic injury
What's your take on the permanency of non-traumatic injuries like disc herniations or sciatica? I have colleagues at my IT job dealing with chronic back pain, and their doctors are pushing the classic narratives of 'degenerative disc disease,' 'pinched nerves,' and 'bad posture' being the root cause of irreversible damage. I know this 'wear and tear' or 'body-as-a-fragile-machine' model is outdated and generally unhelpful, but I'm just curious if there would be extreme scenarios where incorrect posture or very assymetrical movement patterns could cause permanent issues. Outside of a severe, traumatic event, can a person truly cause permanent, structural breakdown just by moving 'incorrectly' over time? Or is it more that the 'damage' seen on imaging is often just a normal, poorly correlated part of aging, and the pain experience is largely driven by factors like: Load management (too much, too soon) Fear-avoidance beliefs Other biopsychosocial stressors Basically, when people talk about being permanently broken, are they describing a busted piece of hardware (the spine), or a software issue (the nervous system's threat detection) that can be rehabbed with graded exposure and education?
How to think
For context, here is an excerpt from the book How Minds Change p. 98. "In the end, epistemology is about translating evidence into confidence. By taking what we believe and then sorting through some kind of system for arranging, organizing and classifying it againts the available evidence, our certainty in a truth should go up or down". Q1: Please share your own personal way of determining if a claim is true (and to what degree). Imagine a scale of certainty from: I would bet my life this claim is true vs the claim being false. Q2: If you could have one question (perfectly) answered about anything, what would it be?
Non-Operative vs Surgical Outcomes for Pec Ruptures in Powerlifters
A friend who is currently competing in powerlifting, unfortunately ruptured their pec. She was told be a surgeon that a non-operative approach is an option, but given her desire to return to powerlifting, surgery might be preferable. My question is - In your experience, can athletes with a pec rupture return to high-level powerlifting with non-operative treatment, or does surgery almost always produce better outcomes.
Strongman Template Update
Hello, Just wondering if there is anything concrete on plans for a Strongman II template and if it would have more exposure to the implement work. I kind of wish the current template had the implement work more than just once a week. I feel those movements haven't progressed much for me and wonder if I did them more frequently if that would help.
Cardio intra-workout nutrition & hydration/electrolytes
I do road cycling for cardio and would appreciate your recommendations on intra-workout nutrition and hydration, including the use of electrolytes. I live in a warm climate and typically alternate between short (~1 hour) and longer rides (4 to 5 hours). The longer rides usually start very early in the morning.
Cardio intra-workout nutrition & hydration/electrolytes
I do road cycling for cardio and would appreciate your recommendations on intra-workout nutrition and hydration, including the use of electrolytes. I live in a warm climate and typically alternate between short (~1 hour) and longer rides (4 to 5 hours). The longer rides usually start very early in the morning.
Exercise science curriculum
What “non-traditional” class, or classes, would you add to an undergraduate exercise science program? For context, I am a professor and program director of an undergrad exercise program, and the majority of my students go on to be physical therapists, strength and conditioning coaches, or athletic trainers. Beyond mastering, anatomy, physiology, programming, etc., what else do you think would be valuable to this cohort?
Strength imbalances post injury
Hey guys! How would you program around significant strength differences side to side post injury? For context, 10 year old left shoulder dislocation from trying to save a bad lift (snatch) - no surgery, have mostly full range and no pain, but still notice a strength difference on upper body exercises like incline DB press, overhead DB press, or Landmine presses. My right side may feel like a set is an RPE 6 when the left arm feels like the same set is an RPE 8. I want to keep building strength on the affected side without overreaching but not under dose the unaffected side. How would you approach this?
Elevated LDL in Young People
Hi, I asked my PCP doctor if I could have my cholesterol checked and to have a one-time Lp(a) screening. He said okay to the cholesterol and no to the Lp(a) because it’s something that he only does if someone has a family history or their other labs are off. In regards to the cholesterol screening, he said that an elevated LDL would not warrant any follow up in someone like me, i.e. 30-year-old male and otherwise healthy. He said that a young person’s body is able to compensate for elevated LDL and prevent plaque buildup. He asserted that an elevated cholesterol in someone like me would not affect my 10-year risk, nor would it affect my 20- or 30-year risks. This is news to me. From listening to the BBM podcast, I understand that elevated LDL, and BP, do increase long-term risk of atherosclerosis because of the cumulative nature of these risk factors. It’s news to me that a young person’s body has some immunity to the cumulative burden of elevated LDL. What do you all make of this notion? -Clint P.S. As I told my PCP, I am particularly motivated to lower my risk of atherosclerosis because I am currently in the midst of caring for my mom and dad who have dementia and debilitating cognitive impairment due to CADASILs respectively.
Is it true that upper body strength is more readily affected by weight loss than lower body strength?
It seems to be a common belief that when strength trainees lose weight, their pressing movements take more of a hit than e.g. squats and deadlifts. Is this corroborated by evidence or your personal experience? If yes how could this be explained?
is a "plateau" just your adaptations catching up to your total volume?
if I do 1 set of an exercise per week there will be an adaptation to that stimulus for some period of time, then youll land in a new range of force production capacity for that movement in the rep range being trained (and you plateau), then you can do 5 sets, 10 sets, 20 sets per week etc, and your adaptations will grow relative to the total weekly volume (as well as time spent training and applying that volume), in my mind i try to simplify this process of adaption to "I can do X amount of sets per week for a long time and wherever i land in terms of musculoskeletal/ cardio-respiratory adaptations is based on my personal physiology (genetics)" is this roughly accurate? (this is also presuming my work capacity is developing and im tolerating the 20 sets and feeling great)
caffeine and performance
We know that caffeine can improve performance in the hours following ingestion, depending on the dose. Do we know if a group that trains with caffeine (such as in a pre-workout) would, on average, outperform a group that trains without extra caffeine, with both group equally caffeinated on test day?
BBM Protein powder while breastfeeding
Why isn’t BBM protein powder considered safe for breastfeeding mothers? My wife wants to be able to use it and we can’t figure out why there’s an advisory against it. Isn’t whey protein in baby formula? What ingredient in your product makes it not advisable for breastfeeding moms?