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?
Stress Test Technician
I'd love some career advice. I would like to become a Cardiac Stress Test Technician. I don't yet have any work experience in a medical field. My college degrees are in engineering. I taught yoga for 10 years. I'm a certified personal trainer and did the NASM Corrective Exercise Specialization course. I got the CPT and CES training because I thought I might be able to get a job at a cardiac rehab facility training people living with heart disease. Unfortunately, It seems you need a Exercise Physiology degree to do that. Going back to college to get another Bachelor's degree is not financially feasible. I'm hoping that becoming a Stress Test Technician will be attainable. Do you have any advice about how to qualify for such a job?
Bone Weight/Density
A friend of mine recently commented that after training multiple years his "bone weight" increased noticeably, based on the measurements his digital scale gave him. I was curious what increase in bone weight/density is realistic for the average person going to the gym regularly?
What's it like to run your own business?
As a pivot from the normal fitness and nutrition questions, I would love you hear you guys' take(s) on running your own business. I assume you mostly enjoy it otherwise BBM would cease to still exist. What's it like managing and balancing all the different facets (website, programming, online store, seminars, etc.) of Barbell Medicine? What are some skills you've had to learn on the fly to help the business succeed? Does the entrepreneurial drive of running a successful business dovetail nicely with the drive to provide great information or do they sometimes conflict, i.e. do you ever make decisions that align with your ethos even if they aren't the best business decision? I am supply chain professional myself and can only imagine the number of headaches you get from dealing with 3rd party providers for the store front, shipping, and logistics!
Bulking advice?
Thanks to tirzepatide I am finally at a healthy body weight for the first time in my 40-plus years on this earth. If Dexa (or my eyes) are to be believed, I'm pretty badly undermuscled and am about to start a very long, very slow calorie surplus in addition to my resistance training to put on some muscle. I'm pretty afraid of gaining unnecessary fat along the way. Is there any advice other than getting sufficient protein, a sufficient training stimulus, and keeping the surplus pretty small that you would give? Is there a reasonable target for how much weight to add every month and is there any benefit to cycles of bulking and cutting over doing a longer/slower bulk?
Is velocity bar tracking a better proxy for the amount of force produced?
Given that super accurate force plates are not available and weight on the bar is not really good for assessing the amount of force being produced, is velocity bar tracking a better alternative? Would training based around changes in bar velocity be more akin to how other sports are trained? You guys are right, no one would say that the best way to become faster is to run over or at your maximal pace. But people lifting weights will tell you that putting more weight on the bar is the best way to become stronger, regardless of the effort it takes to lift more weight. Is there evidence for better training outcomes with a VBT device? Have you guys used one or coached someone who uses it?
a question on bodyweight management! (:
hi guys! hope summer has been treating you well, I am 5'11 and between the weight of 179-182lbs right now, with an abdominal waist circumference of about 41inchs (maybe just under), ive lost a good amount of weight and feel pretty proud of myself and also I do not personally have self image issues related to body composition, purely from a health perspective i like the idea of being at a 35in abdominal circumference my question is, would the maintenance energy intake to live at around 150-155lbs be a lot lower than the maintenance for the range im currently at, or would it maybe be relatively similar (i understand this is probably a very tricky question) also is it ok to be 5'11 and 150-155lbs (im speculating this is the bodyweight that would probably correlate to that abdominal circumference), I am currently meeting and exceeding the physical activity guidelines and im working up to getting double the guidelines
Myocarditis After Illness – Real Risk or Overblown?
There seems to be a widespread belief that returning to training too soon after a common illness — like a cold or viral infection — significantly increases the risk of myocarditis. It’s often cited in health articles, but I’ve had trouble finding solid evidence or studies to back this up. Is this risk truly substantial after something like a typical cold, or is it more generally associated with certain types of viral infections regardless of exercise? And if there is a risk, does high-intensity training actually cause the inflammation — or just make an existing, unnoticed condition show up more dramatically?
Super Heavy weight powerlifting health
Do you have any guidance or opinions on balancing performance and long term health for very tall lifters? Most weight class systems in powerlifting effectively pigeonhole tall lifters into the uncapped super heavyweight class. How can a lifter balance maximising performance vs long term health trajectory in a weight class the effectively encourages unlimited weight gain.
Smart gym equipment
Hey docs, was wondering about the new wave of tech-based gym equipment. Tonal has gotten a lot of hype, seen some ads for other ones like maxpro and powertec. One that has caught my eye is the voltra. Not looking for any endorsements or anything like that. But I'm curious what your honest opinions are for this sort of training and if it offers any added benefit compared to more traditional resistance training. If you have ever trained with any of these types of tech, id love to hear your takes on that as well
Air quality and exercise
I live in a part of the country that has experienced air quality warnings due to wildfire smoke this year and in all likelihood will experience some more before the summer is done. Is it safe to exercise when the air quality index reaches "moderate" or "unhealthy for sensitive groups" levels or even higher? Are there specific pollutants we should be looking out for? During the summer my gym will open the garage door if it gets very warm, but even with all the doors closed it's a large space that's difficult to ventilate entirely. Are there additional precautions for outdoor exercise like running? I have some difficulty breathing sometimes, but it usually does not interfere with my conditioning or strength training unless it's very bad, and I'd guess I fall into "sensitive groups". There have been days hazy enough to impact visibility and, as they said in Seinfeld, "that can't be good for anybody".
Range of motion limitations
What’s your approach to selecting exercises for people with range of motion limitations—such as limited hip flexion that makes hinge movements difficult or restricted overhead shoulder motion that complicates pressing—when graded exposure hasn’t produced the desired results?
Plyometric exercises, change of direction drills, and deceleration/acceleration
How important is it to include plyometric exercises, change of direction drills, and deceleration/acceleration work in the training of team sport athletes, especially during return-to-sport protocols following injuries like ACL reconstruction? Could you also provide practical examples of how and when to introduce these elements?