Article recommendations week #33 2019

The most interesting and valuable articles of week #33 2019.

Strength Training Articles

Picture Fit listed 3 Reasons You’re Not Building Muscle, discussing how close to failure should you train, the role of volume, how much do you need, and how much is too much, the role of cutting vs building, what should you chose, and when. Check it out

The Bar Bend shared

• How to Overhead Press Properly: Technique, Mistakes, and Variations, the correct technique, benefits of Oh press, variations, set & rep schemes, and programming considerations.
• How the Ancient World Lifted Weights, an interesting overview of the lifting habits in different cultures.
• What You’re Missing About Recovery, outlining a technology device called Whoop, and how it can help recovery. Check it out

Personal Trainer Collective discussed

• The Repeated Bout Effect and Determinants of Hypertrophy, what are the drivers for hypertrophy, and which drivers are more important than others. Check it out

• the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), the GAS from Hans Selye is one of the most principle you need to understand, if you want to make any progress in training. This video outlines, what the GAS is, and how it applies to training. Check it out

T-Nation listed

• 7 Things No One Tells You Before You Start Lifting, fun, but true facts.
• the benefits of combining eccentrics, isometrics, and fast concentric movements in one in the article Tip: Go Slow, Hold, and Explode.

Elite Track discussed the differences of Bodybuilding vs Athletic Development, and provided a very conclusive (and nice looking) infographic.

Jeff Nippard explained How To Build A Better Core & Six Pack Abs: Optimal Training Explained, the muscular function of the musculature that makes up the core (what a word!), what the science says, training variables that you can manipulate to progress the core exercises, reps or TUT (time under tension) and set variations, typical flaws during typical core exercises. Check it out

Stack asked

• What ‘Pressure’ Really Means For Athletes—And How Great Coaches Take it Away, an interesting piece on pressure, the relation between expectation and perceived ability, and how to help athletes in pressured situations.
• Does Listening to Music Help You Lift More Weight? Looking at studies investigating the effect of music on performance.
• Is Doing Too Many Reps Killing Your Strength and Muscle Gains? Discussing rep ranges, reps in reserve and programming options.

Men’s Health asked Do You Really Need to Wear a Weight Lifting Belt? What a belt does, and when you should consider using one.

Bodybuilding.com discussed

• core training and listed 5 facts to consider in the article The Definitive Guide to Core Training: Build a Midsection Where Form Meets Function.
• The Science of Training Frequency and how often should you train, by looking at some recent research.

Elite FTS shared

• Concepts of High-Level Strength and Conditioning Methods Applied to the Sport of Powerlifting, very often you see the influence on powerlifting on strength & conditioning programs (depending on the coach), interesting to see the outline in this article, that it can be the other way around as well.
• A Career Development Plan for GAs and Interns, a deliberate career pathway for students and interns.
• 230 Max Effort Variations You Can Do With 1 Bar, don’t expect a list of 230 variations, as I did, however, it’s an intersting article on how to vary the different training modalities.
• How Many Times A Day Do You Train? Discussing training frequencies on a day, and that training doesn’t only happen in the gym, to be counted as a training session.

Breaking Muscle released Building Muscle Whether You Have Elite Genetics or Not, discussing do hard gainers exist, predict your genetic potential for muscle growth and realistic rates of muscle gainz. Check it out

Youth Strength Training Articles.

Elite FTS asked Have Young Athletes Really Changed? Discussing new developments, and the role of communication in training young athletes.

Nutrition Articles

T-Nation discusses meal frequency in the article Tip: 3 Meals vs. 6 Meals Per Day.

Bodybuilding.com showed The Fitness Model BCAA Cocktail Recipe, to be honest I haven’t seen anything like this before, interestingly combining an alcoholic drink with added amino acids.

Starting Strength explained How To Deal With Muscle Cramping, and the role of hydration, and if needed added supplementation to avoid cramping. Check it out

Speed Training Articles

Tony Gentilcore asked What Makes An Athlete Fast? A good overview of the building blocks to develop speed in your athletes.

Power Athlete HQ discussed Speed Training 101, what you need to know about developing speed, exercise selection, and common speed training flaws.

Olympic Lifting Articles

Aleksey Torokhtiy shared the New Competition Rules, that have recently been updated and changed for the sport of Olympic Weightlifting.

Catalystathletics asked should you Slow Lockout in Jerk or Snatch? The correct grip, grip tension and movement for the lockout. Check it out

Squat Articles

Stack showed how to effectively do Hack Squats, even if you don’t have a hack squat machine in the article Hack Squat: Upgrading the Old-School Strength Staple.

Zack Telander asked What does the science really say about squat depth? If you distance yourself (as I do) from the who says what, and why, and who is right kind of discussion, you will find valuable information in the studies, that are outlined and explained in the video. Check it out

Squat University shared The Best Squat Tip (Do This Every Time You Lift), the role of the connection between feet and hip, and how it influences squatting mechanics. However, it’s still worth discussing, if everybody has problems with flawed feet and hip mechanics, and if everybody needs to do mini band work all the time every time.

Deadlift Articles

The Bar Bend listed The 6 Best Deadlift Accessories for Smashing Your Sticking Points, different exercises for different sticking points, like from the floor, mid-range, and lockout, as well as addressing the common problem of upper back weakness.