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Gang of Five
Jan 2001

By Dr. John M Berardi, Ph.D.
First published at www.t-mag.com.

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Eliminating momentum

Q. I have heard some training authorities claiming that the best results come from starting every rep from a dead stop, so as to completely eliminate momentum. Do you think this is a valid technique for increasing size and strength? It seems like it would severely limit the amount of weight you could use.

A. In some exercises starting each rep from a dead stop is inevitable. But I'm assuming you mean exercises like the bench press where some trainees actually put at towel on their chests in order to provide protection against the bar that's about to ricochet off their chests with such force that a rib could be cracked and a lung punctured. In such exercises where towels are needed, I have heard some trainers recommend starting the rep from a complete stop. I don't know where they came up with the idea but I can only assume this advice was designed for novice trainees who use terrible form. The only way to make some beginners understand how to use only muscular contractile force to complete their repetitions would be to exaggerate the tempo and the range of motion. In such trainees, I think this type of training is a great idea in order to teach them technique. Sure, the weight will be compromised, but the muscles will learn how to work.

However, for more advanced trainees who can and do eliminate the use of momentum in their lifts without a full stop, I don't think this technique has much validity. Remember, this assumes that you do use proper form and are eliminating excessive use of momentum. If not, go back to novice land, lower the weights, and do the full pause.

For advanced trainees using good form, we can assume the loads they use are quite high relative to their body weights. Using such loads and coming to a full stop in movements like the bench press and squat can lead to a greater likelihood of joint injury in the elbow, shoulder, and knee joints respectively. In addition, if the trainee is an athlete, this type of training has very little carry over to most functional athletic movements where force generation is dependent on the development of force in a dynamic/mobile position and not from a static position.

So I guess, in the end, the answer depends on the trainee himself or herself.

Snacking and digestion

Q. If I eat something like a snack between meals, does that ruin the digestive process of the good meal I had before? Or does the stomach digest everything we eat, regardless of when we eat it?

A. To respond to the first part of your question; no, snacking doesn't "ruin" the digestive processing of a meal. In fact, it enhances the digestive process. If you split up your caloric intake in to a few meals plus snacks rather than eating just a couple of big meals, there are many benefits including better protein balance and a higher metabolic rate. In addition, by snacking you will be able to maintain a better blood sugar profile to avoid blood sugar crashes. You see, more frequent, smaller meal feedings may increase the time it takes food to move through the GI tract. This is a great benefit because if transit time is short, a substantial proportion of your nutrients can't be absorbed. Increased transit time will allow for a slower rate of absorption of your nutrients, again keeping blood levels of nutrients pretty constant.

To address the second part, the stomach doesn't digest everything we eat. It does a pretty good job, though. If you want to manipulate digestion through dietary means, again, increased meal frequency is the way to go. Only when the intestinal transit time is longer can the body digest a higher percentage of what we eat. And to slow down transit can be accomplished through smaller, more frequent meals.

But I caution you against the typical high glycemic index snacks like bagels, candy bars, and crackers. They move rapidly through the GI, are rapidly absorbed and can lead to unstable blood sugar levels (this can make you feel terrible) and nasty insulin surges (this can make you fat). Ideal snacks would contain either fibrous carbs (apples, oatmeal, whole grain cereals) and protein (low fat dairy or protein shakes) OR protein and essental fats (olive oil, flax oil, nuts, fish oils). One snack I'm fond of is a couple of pieces of string cheese made from skim milk and an apple (protein plus carb - no fat). Another is a scoop of egg or whey protein in skim milk and a slice or two of whole gran bread (protein plus carb - no fat). Finally another favorite of mine is beef jerky and peanuts (protein plus fat - no carbs)

It's just me and you tonight, Mr. Blender

Q. I am paranoid about the catabolic effects of going eight hours of sleeping without taking in any protein. Recently I started keeping a protein shake in the refrigerator to slug down each time I wake up to urinate. Is this a smart move, or am I just wasting protein powder?

A. The overnight period is very catabolic, so catabolic in fact that myself and my clients all set up and IV drip before bedtime. This IV drip delivers glucose and amino acids throughout the night so we don't have to get up to drink protein shakes. Sure it is expensive and it really sucks to have to wheel that thing to the bathroom for a mid-night pee, but the results are amazing. Ok, that's not true...

In all seriousness, a few things occur during an overnight fast. First, since during sleep the body still requires energy to function (we call this the sleeping metabolic rate) yet is getting no external calories, it begins to break down stored glycogen and fat for energy. Secondly due to this "generalized" catabolic state with respect to cellular energy, protein synthesis is inhibited. Don't worry though, it's unlikely that a significant portion of you protein stores (muscle) will be broken down for energy. Rather, you just won't build any new tissue. The bottom line is that you probably aren't losing muscle overnight, but rather just aren't building new muscle. With that understood, I have 2 recommendations based on your goals.

First, if you are interested in losing fat, then certainly DO NOT have an overnight protein shake. Instead, just before bed, have a high protein/moderate fat meal (i.e. 40-60g of slow digesting protein, 20g of essential fatty acids). A can of salmon plus a scoop of protein should do the trick. A protein shake with some flax or fish oil would also be appropriate. I recommend this because with carb and fat intake the body adjusts what it burns to what you eat. If you eat carbs, for the few hours after the meal the body burns mostly carbs. If you eat fat, for the few hours after the meal the body burns mostly fat. So if you eat protein plus fat before bed, you should shift the metabolism to fat burning for the overnight period. And this reliance on fat will hopefully spare muscle protein. Bring on the fat loss!

Second, if you are interested in rapidly gaining muscle mass, then by all means, drink a shake in the middle of the night. By supplying nutrients during the night you prevent a "generalized" catabolic state and prevent the decrease in protein synthesis seen with an overnight fast. This should keep you anabolic during the night. Again, however, I usually encourage people to avoid excessive carbs during the overnight meal so that fat is used as the primary source of energy. Since mass gains are the goal, however, some carbs intake is ok. This might be a good time to drink a MRP like Grow!

Waste Management

Q. Based on the amount of waste I seem to put out relative to how much I eat, I doubt that everything I eat is being digested and absorbed. I've seen various digestive enzyme supplements for sale, and I was wondering if these could perhaps help me digest my food faster and absorb more?

A. I get this one a lot and since it is coming from a bodybuilding perspective, I'll assume you're interested in protein assimilation. Understand that there are three limiting factors in protein assimilation. They are digestion, absorption and transit time. You see, if protein isn't completely digested, then the small intestine simply can't it and it'll pass right out into the feces during normal transit times. Also, if there is a whole lot of digested amino acids and peptides in the small intestine, their transporters may become saturated and full absorption can't take place. Finally, if the small intestine transit time is too fast, then even complete digestion and the availability of receptors can't stop your nutrients from just being swept and out of the body.

So with three potentially limiting factors, determining which is most important to assimilation is difficult but very important to your question. Especially if your protein is jacked up to my recommended 2g/lb. Several studies investigating this very question have shown that only about 75-90% of moderate doses (25-48g) of intact proteins are assimilated while 90-95% of very large doses (up to 100g) of partially digested proteins are assimilated. This indicates that digestion is the big limiting factor and that if you provide more digested protein to the small intestine, it will assimilate more.

So by targeting digestion, protein assimilation can be enhanced. In individuals who suffer from pancreatitis (these people don't secrete enough natural digestive enzymes), digestive enzyme supplementation is very helpful. So it may be helpful in healthy people too. The problem however is that regular ol' digestive enzymes are easily broken down in the stomach before they ever get to the small intestine. Since we want them to act in the small intestine (that's where the natural ones work), this isn't a good scenario. Enter enteric coated tablets. Pancreatic enzymes delivered in this manner have proven to be most effective since they are protected from stomach acidity (pH of about 2) but dissolve well in the small intestine (pH of about 6). Other non-coated enzymes aren't very effective.

In addition to digestion, I mentioned that transit time is another important factor in protein assimilation. This one is easier to manipulate than digestion. Transit time is slowed down in proportion to your protein and fat intake. This is called a dose dependent manner. The higher the dose of protein or fat, the slower the intestinal transit. And this gives the body more time for the protein to be digested and absorbed before it is swept away. There is also an herb called passion flower which may slow down intestinal transit time.

So what's my final answer? In regard to digestive enzymes, unless you can find a good enteric coated digestive enzyme complex, you probably won't get enough benefit from regular digestive enzymes to justify the cost. And in regard to transit time, combine high protein meals with some essential fatty acids. This will definitely slow transit time. And if you want to try a supplemental approach, 4-8g of passion flower with your higher protein meals may also help.