Article recommendations week #51 2018

The most valuable and interesting articles in week #51 2018

Strength Training Articles

Breaking Muscle outlined how to prioritize the development of physical qualities to achieve your goal in the article The Pyramid Of Athletic Development. I definitely like their explanation of ‘Remember, higher jumps are the goal, but not necessarily the means of achieving the goal. When considering the development of a skill, you must first develop the qualities from which the skill is developed.’ Spot on.

Picture Fit described the basics of gaining muscle mass in the video How to Build Muscle | 3 Fundamental Tips! Explaining the basics of the most important training principles, most important nutritional considerations and the importance of training volume. Check it out

Bodybuilding.com listed Kris Gethin’s 7 Unbreakable Rules of Muscle Growth am not too sure about a few claims, however, if you look behind the idea of some of the principles, there is a lot to take away.

Jeff Nippard shared

  • How To Build Huge Biceps: Optimal Training Explained, outlining muscular activation, weight benchmarks, technical consideration and execution, and common errors and technical flaws, and how to fix those. Check it out
  • Bro Science vs Real Science and New Training Controversies, a conversation, discussing the topics of machine training vs free weights, uni-lateral vs bi-lateral training, EMG studies and their validity, muscular hypertrophy, neural activation, and training to failure, and the ideal number of sets. Check it out

Starting Strength showcased Fixing a Lifetime of Back Pain with Barbell Training, a success story everyone who is willing to commit can achieve. Check it out

Fitness Volt shared

Aleksey Torokhtiy told his ‘Shoulder Story’ and demonstrated the exercises he uses to keep his shoulders healthy. Check it out

Tony Gentilcore outlined the importance of progress, and the importance of understanding the ‘progressive overload principle’, rather than mindless training to exhaustion in the article The Forgotten Component Of Progressing In The Weight Room.

The Sport Scientists shared a Q & A, answering questions on heart rate variability, wearable technology, vertical jump ability, ego lifting and much more (because the discussion went off topic multiple times). Check it out

Boxrox explained the benefits of Triplanar Training: 4 Reasons Why Crossfitters Need to do More describing the 3 different planes and their function, and why you should consider training each plane. The discussion on training different planes in sports is going on for a long time, however, my thoughts are, that not every plane can be overloaded in the same way, so it depends pretty much on your training goal, how much training for each plane you prescribe depending on your training period.

Simplifaster listed

The Bar Bend shared

Juggernaut Training discussed Finding Your Frequency or What is the ideal training frequency? This video takes you through the considerations of the different training goals and exercise selection. Check it out

Youth Strength Training Articles

Tony Gentilcore outlined Why Kids Should Cheat The Deadlift, the thought process of finding the appropriate exercise selection for youth athletes on the example of the deadlift.

Nutrition Articles

The Bar Bend discussed Should Athletes Try Low Carb Diets? The benefits of low-carb diets, the relation between low-carb and performance and low-carb cycling strategies to minimize the negative effects of low-carb and maximize performance.

Bodybuilding.com listed

  • 5 Different Ways To Get More From Your Supplements | Darryn Willoughby, Ph.D., from nutrient timing, through optimal doing, pre-workouts, beta-alanine and creatine use. Check it out
  • 8 Questions About Creatine Answered | Jose Antonio, Ph.D., what creatine is, who should use a loading phase and who not, creatine supplementation for different age groups, creatine for vegetarians, the safety of creatine, creatine, and cognitive functions, responders vs non-responders and optimal timing. Check it out

Medical Daily outlined 5 Common Myths About Metabolism a short and informative piece on common misconceptions.

Renaissance Periodization shared The RP Diet 2.0 | Chapter 1| The Diet Priorities, outlining the basics that unify every diet and ordering the basics in priorities. Check it out

Plyometric Training Articles

Stack explained Why the Incredible Benefits of Jump Training Go Far Beyond a Higher Vertical, outlining the different jump forms, the benefits of jumping on speed, change of direction, agility and injury prevention, and sharing their idea, why jump training is not interchangeable with plyometrics.

Power Training Articles

Shrugged Collective demonstrated Hex Bar Jumps as a means to build explosive power, outlining the benefits of hex bar jumps, the technical execution, programming considerations and regressions and variations of this exercise. I would have a few questions on the programming prescription, if the goal is power development, as well as the explanation of the mechanics, like the shin angel and start position, however, all in all, a good outline. Check it out

Olympic Lifting Articles

Power Athlete HQ listed 7 Coaching Tools To Master The Power Clean: Part I, I do like the approach of understanding why you do an exercise before choosing the exercise.

The Bar Bend explained Why Olympic Weightlifting Improves Mixed Martial Arts Athletes, the physical demands of MMA and where and how Olympic Weightlifting can add value.

Squat Articles 

Men’s Health outlined How to Find the Best Squat for Your Fitness Goals, differences between the Back Squat and Front Squat, and considerations, when to include the Goblet Squat and other squat variations.

Elite FTS showed a creative way How To Make Your Own Belt Squat. Check it out

Joe.co.uk shared the results of a recent study outlining the relationship between squat strength and sprint times in the article Heavy squats hugely effective for making footballers faster, study shows. I am a bit unsure, whether the athletes mentioned in the article are actually famous for their squat strength.

Aleksey Torokhtiy explained the benefits of the squats, and how he advises using the squat movement in the article Squats: Eternal Topic.