Anecdotal Evidence-Based Fitness
At some point in every fitness-writer/blogger’s lifespan, there comes a point where the rubber has to meet the road. We write about fitness and nutrition and body-image, but I’m sure there are many bloggers who can (and I apologize for the use of two cliches in two sentences) talk the talk, but can’t, don’t or won’t walk the walk.
And at some point in every fitness-writer/blogger’s lifespan, there has to be come form of accountability for what he or she writes. A proponent of supplement X should probably be using supplement X and not just writing in favour of it to get paid if they really think it works. A writer who believes in workout A enough to rave about it should probably be able to show that it works at least for themselves. It’s of little value to say, “X totally works and everyone should be using X, but I don’t.” Read More...
Six people. One study. No practical outcomes. You drink protein before working out.
There is a neat research tool that I use a lot. It’s called the Web of Science. A lot of you use PubMed to find articles. You punch in a topic and it spits out a list of studies about that topic (roughly). Web of Science is a similar database, but it’s like a reverse lookup for studies. I punch in a study and Web of Science tells me about all the studies that have citied that study (i.e. have listed it in the references). This is an extremely useful tool when looking for follow-up studies.
We’ve already talked about very recent evidence about pre-workout protein and energy expenditure, so this week, I wanted to find the most recent evidence of using pre-workout protein for muscle growth, since that’s probably the REAL reason you’re drinking protein before a workout. While there are some studies that have looked at post-workout protein as well as both pre and post-workout protein, surprisingly, there haven’t been many studies on just pre-workout protein use and muscle growth. Read More...
An iPod Shuffle! For almost free! (Oh, and protein timing)
Eating protein before and after workouts has been touted to be one of the most important things you can do to decrease DOMS, increase protein synthesis, prevent protein breakdown, and in this article, increase your resting metabolic rate. The other claims…maybe I’ll tackle those another day (This post is hellishly long enough) Read More...
Whey vs Casein. Who will win?
Ok, I lied. I couldn’t find the creatine study in MSSE that we reviewed years ago as part of the Sport Medicine Journal Club. But I did find a more recent study on supplementation timing, which, after reading the article, I noticed was sponsored by AST Sport Science. And while the study on supplement timing was interesting, there was this glowing ad on the AST site that drew my attention. AST Sports Science has a product called VP2 Whey Isolate. Read More...