Muscle Media - Muscle Media Magazine - May/June 2020

FITNESS LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Program Design

MAY/JUNE 2020

in Specific Disciplines of Training

The Secret to

a Longer Life

is a Barbell Women Can Do Pull-ups

COVID-19: Potential Effects on

Training of Olympians

Anti-Aging Strategies to Change Your Life

Exercise A P M

Athletes Coping With Extended Bouts of

s reventative edicine

Non-Training Activities

MUSCLE MEDIA MAGAZINE musclemediaonline.com

TRAINING, DIET, NUTRITION & MORE...

TABLE OF CONTENTS

06 Impact: COVID-19 and Sports

By Kaitlyn Jensen musclemediaonline.com

May/June 2020 EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Siamack Alavi EDITOR IN CHIEF Dr.Tom Fisher CREATIVE DIRECTOR Christian Garces BUSINESS DIRECTOR Danielle McVey GRAPHICS/LAYOUT Josué Toruño PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE Joseph Palumbo, IFBB Pro

CONTRIBUTORS Dr. Tom Fisher Kaitlyn Jensen Mackenzie Levin Joe Palumbo, IFBB Pro Martha Rogers Abby Recicar Alexis Bellacera Elyas Himmelgreen Steve Brisbois, IFBB Pro Margaret Steinwachs Anne Fisher, CSW

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10 Program Design in Specific Disciplines of Training

By Mackenzie Levin 14 YES, YOU CAN TURN BACK TIME

By Joe Palumbo, IFBB Pro 18 COVID-19: Potential Effects on Training of Olympians

By Martha Rogers 22 Women Can Do Pull-ups

By Abby Recicar

34 The Secret to a Longer Life is a Barbell

By Joe Palumbo, IFBB Pro 38 Medical Diagnostic Testing for Illnesses

By Dr. Tom Fisher, PhD, LMHC, CSCS 44 Anti-Aging Strategies to Change Your Life

By Steve Brisbois, IFBB Pro 50 At-Home Exercise is Surging as Gyms Close

By Joe Palumbo, IFBB Pro 52 Alcohol and Weight Loss

By Margaret Steinwachs 56 THE PANDEMIC PANTRY Meal Planning Tips when Shopping is NOT an Option

By Anne Fisher, CSW

27 Aging Process and Anti-Aging Tactics

By Dr. Tom Fisher, PhD, LMHC, CSCS 30 Exercise as Preventative Medicine

By Alexis Bellacera 32 Athletes Coping With Extended Bouts of Non-Training Activities

By Elyas Himmelgreen

ON THE COVER Saif Hussein Creator of the SH Aesthetics Lifestyle, I’m a Men’s Physique competitor, fitness model and an influencer. My ethnicity is Egyptian, I used to study architectural engineering hence the term aesthetics

came from and my motto as well as my first tattoo ever “I’m The Architect Of My Destiny”.

I’ve been lifting since i was 14 years young.

I fell in love with the weights. fast forward 4-5 years a friend of mine convinced me to do a show. I studied every day, I read books and articles on how to diet for a show.

I ended up gathering A LOT of knowledge creating my plans and dieting into the show just

for 4 weeks. Despite most of my family opposing my decision of leaving the engineering life and going into the fitness industry, I still went through with it and now I’m living my dream doing what I love and have passion for.

I do what I do everyday not just to help people achieve their fitness goals, but to also help them reach their full potential as a person.

This is me. I do what I LOVE, It’s a LIFESTYLE.

saifhusseinn

Saiifhussein

Saifhusseinn

Saif Hussein

saifhaesthetics.com Muscle Media Magazine 3

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Out-of-Sorts

By Dr. Tom Fisher, Editor-in-Chief

Wow… A lot has happened since the last time we spoke…I’ve been hearing from you all (via my e-mail drtom@musclemediaonline.com) and from my social-distancing students over the past three weeks. It’s hard to reconcile what our cognitive minds are telling us with what our emotional hearts are feeling. A big problem with our current situation is that most of us lack a frame of reference. Frankly, if you are under 75 years old, you’ve never experienced such radical societal change in such a short time. I’m not going to get political or engage in finger pointing. But this situation has most of us sailing in uncharted waters…

From the messages that I’ve received, there seems to be a consistent theme. Most people have been forced out of their routines and find themselves (quite literally) out-of-sorts. Most of the messages have been seeking advice about what to do. Without a reliable frame of reference, people are trying to make sense of the threat and how to formulate an appropriate response.

If you allow me to put on my “Shrink” cap for a moment, I am reminded of the model developed by Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. From her research she found that people go through stages when they experience significant loss in their lives: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. Some go through the stages rapidly and without much disruption. Others sometimes get caught in a stage and do not move on. I’ve been witnessing how some people have reacted rather than respond. They run the gamut from the pathetic (fights in stores) to the absurd (hoarding toilet paper…!). Thankfully though, it seems that cooler heads are prevailing, and most of us are quietly transitioning to distance-work while we shelter in place. I believe this is a valuable

lesson in self-reliance and discipline.

I have been giving a lot of thought to how rapidly change has occurred. When asked, I must admit that things have certainly changed, and will probably never return to the way things were. Time to develop new routines. I am also reminded of a social media post several months ago. It showed a picture of some adolescent boys riding on bikes. The caption read “There was a day when we all went out on our bikes to play, and none of us knew that it would be for the last time…” The University has completely shut down, and we are not allowed to return to our offices.

The Spring semester has been switched over to online instruction only. The Summer semester has been declared an online semester through the Fall, with no face-to-face class instruction for the foreseeable future. While many of my colleagues are welcoming the change, I REALLY enjoy being in front of a class (those of you who are my current & former students have probably picked up on my passion). I’m doing my best with this regrettable situation, but I am haunted with the thought that “there was a day when we all left the classroom, and none of us knew that it would be for the last time…” I am reverting to my military training to “improvise, adapt, and overcome”.

So, having said all of that, what do we have in this issue?

We have a real treat to help give us perspective from a professional point of view. Our resident IFBB Pro, Joe, graces us with solid suggestions for at-home workouts. He goes on to discuss the value of heavy lifting and Progressive Resistance Exercise (PREs). Finally, Joe has some suggestions for some take-charge anti-aging bodybuilding strategies.

Dr. Tom Fisher

Editor in Chief

Do you have a question?

Please just ask.

We may even publish it in our "Letters-To-The-Editor" section.

Send to: drtom@musclemediaonline.com We are also fortunate to have another IFBB Pro from the ‘80s, Steve, who has some additional time-honored anti-aging tactics (do you see a theme emerging?) We have several new contributing authors as well. An Olympic weightlifter herself, Mattie gives some insights into how the one-year delay of the 2020 Olympic games is having on the competitors themselves. Elyas continues with the effect inactivity has upon athletes.

Abbey discusses the dreaded pullup and how to train females to develop the necessary upper body strength.

Kaitlyn discusses impact the Covid19 virus has had and how to cope.

Mackenzie analyzes the finer points of different weightlifting program designs. Margaret answers some of the confusion about the use of alcohol when trying to lose weight (bodyfat). Alexis examines the benefits of exercise as preventative medicine. Our resident entertainment guru from the Training Table, Anne, has some suggestions for creative meals from a deep pantry during our current social distancing. Finally, I step in to put on my “Professor” cap and explain the delayed testing for the Covid-19 virus, and a breakdown of the umbrella term “anti-aging medicine”. Until next time, when I emerge from my “undisclosed location”: Stay Well…

-Dr. Tom Muscle Media Magazine 5

Impact:

COVID-19

and Sports

By Kaitlyn Jensen

The Coronavirus appears to have started in China, in December 2019.

Since December, the coronavirus has spread globally, causing the world to take notice and take extreme precautions. The threat of the coronavirus disease is the reason all sports have been canceled for the remainder of their seasons. Not only does this cancellation affect the athletes and coaches. Fans and employees who rely upon athletic events. Stadium staff, on site security teams, food outlet employees, and others have been displaced and have even lost their jobs.

The NBA was the first to begin precautions due to the coronavirus.

The NBA sent a memo to teams on March 6th, indicating that they should prepare for the possibility of playing games without fans in attendance.

The memo reportedly noted that these preparations include “the possibility of implementing temperature checks on players, team

staff, referees, and anyone else who is essential to conducting such a game in the team’s arena”. Within 24 hours of the delivery of that message, Frenchmen Rudy Gobert, of the Utah Jazz, was the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19. After he tested positive for the coronavirus, the NBA decided to suspend their season indefinitely. Other sporting organizations followed suit by either suspending or canceling their entire seasons.

In what would be a harrowing 48-hour period for the sporting world, multiple powerful sporting entities made the tough decision to put their seasons on hold. This had a domino effect on many people linked closely with their organizations. Tuesday, March 10th, Ivy League became the first conference to

cancel men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. On Wednesday, March 11th, Ivy League canceled all practices and competitions for the remainder of the academic year. The NCAA advised against allowing fans into sporting events. Later that day the Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12, SEC, and Big East closed men’s basketball tournament to fans. The next day, Thursday, March 12th, big basketball conferences started canceling the men’s basketball tournament. The Big Ten was the first to cancel the tournament. Then the SEC, ACC, Pac-12 and Big 12 followed them by canceling the tournament. On the same day, the NHL suspended their season indefinitely, MLB canceled the rest of spring training, and the NCAA canceled all remaining winter and spring championships. Recently, the 2020 Olympics was postponed until 2021. These are examples of how the coronavirus is affecting athletes all around the world. The Olympics Continued on page 8

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Juggernaut X

This pandemic has affected me personally as well. Being a student athlete, we got the news that our season was postponed for two weeks on March 13th. Then, we received the

An unfortunate reality of this ever-unfolding situation is that no one knows how long it’s going to last or how severe it’s going to get. The effects are still unravelling, and the

had never been rescheduled for any reason other than war. In 1916, 1940 and 1944, the Games were canceled because of the world wars. These actions illustrate how serious the coronavirus really is. The world is taking extraordinary precautions to keep the virus under control.

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landscape is changing every day.

Employees and staff around the world are waiting for some concrete answers. But those answers may be a long way off. Athletes have been forced into a holding pattern.

Some players are still training and practicing individually. They’re trying to stay ready for the day they’re told to return to normal life. As a sporting community, this current situation is not something we ever had to imagine, let alone deal with as a reality. Many athletes and celebrities around the world have generously begun to donate their personal funds to help find a vaccine. They are also helping those who are finding themselves out of a job. Surely this is something positive that we can focus on. Often, it’s the hardest times in life that brings out the best in people.

The sporting community will band together. When this situation passes, however long that may take, we will be stronger for the future.

References Dunleavy, R. (2020, March 13). Coronavirus halts US sports: Timeline of what’s been canceled, postponed. https://nypost.com/2020/03/13/ us-sports-wrecked-by-coronavirus-heres-thetimeline/

Performance Master

Many people that work closely within the sporting community will be directly affected by the decision to cancel sports seasons. Event staff, stadium staff, catering and food staff, security, journalists, sports reporters, photographers and umpires are just a few of the many affected job titles.

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors has already pledged money to help those in need. Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers donated $100,000 in support of arena staff that will no longer be employed during this pandemic. Also, New Orleans Pelicans rookie, Zion Williamson, who pledged to pay arena workers’ wages for 30 days said “These are the folks who make our games possible by creating the perfect environment for our fans and everyone involved in the organization. Unfortunately, now having to face the economic impact of the postponement of games because of the virus”.

news that the season was canceled on March 16th. This was very sad news for the UCF softball team, because we put so much work into the season and we were not able to finish. We had broken a number of school records in the beginning of our season, having the best start in program history. Until the cancellation, we were ranked #7 in RPI. This meant that we would have hosted a regional competition, which had never happened in the history of UCF softball. As a group we were very talented. We believe that we could have had the best season in program history. Softball has been a huge part of my life. The changes that have come with not being able to practice or play with my team have been unimaginable. The reality of life without sport is something I that never thought I’d have to deal with. If this situation has taught me anything, it’s not to take anything for granted. Although being sent home from campus to spend time with my family has been the silver lining in all of this, I can see the effect that the situation has also had on them. My younger brothers are huge baseball fans and they’re unable to watch their favorite teams play. Although this is a smaller issue than the loss of jobs and careers, it’s directly affecting everyone in different ways.

Continued from page 7

Energy & Persistence

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McCann, M. (2020, March 7). Coronavirus Outbreak Could Prompt Alarming Ripple Effect Across Sports. https://www.si.com/ nba/2020/03/08/coronavirus-sports-job-lossessponsorship-lawsuits Wiseman, S. (2020, March 13). Zion’s generosity: Former Duke star to pay Pelicans arena’s workers for 30 days. https://www.thestate.com/ sports/college/acc/article241187436.html Muscle Media Magazine 9

Program Design in Specific Disciplines of Training

By Mackenzie Levin

Program design is something that is constantly being researched and investigated, with the purpose of discovering new ways to attain specific goals of training such as muscle growth, strength and power gains.

Program design is a way of manipulating training variables and using strategies to reach a desired goal.

These training variables include sets, repetitions, exercise selection, order, training intensity, volume, and others.

Periodization is a popular method of program design that manipulates these variables and phases of training. These techniques are used in different ways in bodybuilding, weightlifting, and powerlifting. To understand these differences, it is important to fully understand these training variables and how they are used, as well as other methods of program design as we explore and compare the program design strategies of three disciplines of training: bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, and powerlifting.

Before beginning a comparison of different forms of strength training, it’s important to understand the strategies and guidelines used when developing strength programs for specific goals. Periodization is one strategy used to manipulate and optimize a training program.

Within periodization phases, training Muscle Media Magazine 10

variables such as the number of repetitions and sets, rest periods, and intensity are manipulated. A 2003 study outlined some guidelines traditionally used to develop maximal strength, speed-strength, and strengthendurance. When considering the guidelines for maximal strength related to powerlifting, the relative intensity ranges from 75-100% of maximal effort. The speed of repetitions should be “slow to explosive,” and rest between sets should be 3-8 minutes.

There are other variables that should be considered in program design for either powerlifting, bodybuilding, or weightlifting. Speed of contraction, training to failure, and loading form are examples. It’s important to consider these variables as they are often the distinguishing forms of exercise that target certain goals. For example, a 2006 study on the effects of varying times under tension showed that “load and contractile velocities of repetitions have different effects on acute neuromuscular responses”. There are many variables that have an effect on training. It’s important that they are taken into consideration and implemented differently depending on goals.

Continued on page 12

Continued from page 10

BODYBUILDING PROGRAM DESIGN Bodybuilding is an area of training that focuses on muscle hypertrophy and low body fat percentage. A 2014 study recommended a periodized program of high volume, intensities of 70-80%, and a range of 6-12 repetitions. Rest should be kept to about 1-3 minutes between sets, and tempo work should be incorporated in movements. Research has shown that high volume training plays the biggest role in promoting muscle hypertrophy.

The goal is to stress muscle fibers, allow adequate recovery, adapt to training intensity, and then overload with a new stimulus. It’s typical to see bodybuilders use forms of circuit training, super setting, and other strategies to specifically cause muscle damage. There’s also evidence to show that tempo training by controlling the timing of a movement, also contributes to hypertrophy. This also involves holding different types of muscle contractions for a prescribed period through each repetition.

OLYMPIC WEIGHTLIFTING PROGRAM DESIGN The goal of Olympic weightlifting is to train the neuromuscular system to rapidly produce a great amount of force in a short period of time.

Training for this involves manipulation of many of the variables used in bodybuilding, such as intensity, repetition schemes and number of sets. Intensity stays within a range of 80-95% for the purpose of achieving overload. A range of 5-10 sets are used with1-5 repetitions.

Periodization consists of about two weeks of overload, one week of deloading, and a fourth week more overload. Exercise selection includes the principal lifts of the clean & jerk and snatch. Accessory lifts, such as clean pulls, snatch pulls, and strengthbased lifts like the squat, Romanian deadlifts, and presses are also used.

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POWERLIFTING PROGRAM DESIGN The goal of program design for powerlifting is maximizing absolute strength. This is developed using high intensities with low volume.

While it’s common to see prescribed strength training in a range of 4-6 repetitions, programs for powerlifting often involve repetitions of 1-5.

Volume of training remains relatively low. The intensity ranges from 80-100% of maximal effort. A 2018 study provided some guidelines for effective powerlifting strength training. The guidelines included rest periods of 2-5 minutes between sets, and emphasis on the use of eccentric loading and bilateral training.

Achieving muscle failure is not important for this type of training. It would not be beneficial to repeatedly fatigue the muscle as it would slow the process of recovery.

From this comparison we see that bodybuilding uses multiple techniques to produce muscle hypertrophy. In contrast, Olympic weightlifting incorporates explosive speed of repetition to produce enough force and acceleration to lift weight. A 1985 analysis of the biomechanical profiles of Olympic weightlifters showed that high

power-output capacity was the distinguishing characteristics of elite level weightlifters from five Gold medalists in the Olympics.

Weightlifting employs a different

strategy of strength training. Here, the goal is to rapidly produce force in a short amount of time. Although the goal of powerlifting is to exhibit absolute maximal strength, the training involves explosive, yet slow, movement. The paths of the barbells in Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting are also vastly different. The travel to a space of higher demand would necessitate the velocity in weightlifting must be faster than powerlifting.

It’s important to understand how these three disciplines use the principles of training to achieve a desired goal. Both Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting use the principle of specificity in training.

Olympic weightlifting specifically trains the clean & jerk and snatch.

Powerlifting trains the back squat, bench press, and deadlift. Training would not be effective without these specific exercise selections. All of the lifts are complex, multi-joint movements. However, bodybuilding program design uses the idea that exercise selection must be isolated but can be varied. Specific muscle groups must be targeted to achieve muscle growth in a targeted area using isolated, single-joint movements that can quickly fatigue an area.

The use of similar variables is another area of comparison.

Most popular are the number of

References Garhammer, J. (1985). Biomechanical Profiles of Olympic Weightlifters. International Journal of Sport Biomechanics. (1)2, 122-130.

Helms, E., Fitschen, P.J., Aragon, A., Cronin, J., & Schoenfeld, B. J. (2014 July). Recommendations for Natural Bodybuilding Contest Preparation: Resistance and Cardiovascular Training. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. (55)4, 1-38 Pistilli E.E., Kaminsky, D.E., Totten, L., & Miller, D. (2004 October). An

sets and repetitions, exercise selection, training intensity, and time under tension. Powerlifting and weightlifting are similar. They use specific exercises in training while the number of repetitions remain in a low range. They vary in terms of training intensity, where weightlifting has a greater range than powerlifting.

Periodization in both programs suggest that there should be inserted blocks of deloading to avoid overtraining and risking injury. In contrast, bodybuilding uses a higher rep range with a greater number of sets. This results in high volume with the goal of muscle hypertrophy.

Periodization for bodybuilding also recommends the blocks of deloading to avoid overtraining.

8-Week Periodized Mesocycle Leading to a National Level Weightlifting Competition. Strength and Conditioning Journal, (26)5, p. 62-68.

Plisk, S. S. (2003 December). Periodization Strategies. Strength and Conditioning Journal, (25)6, 19-37.

Tan, B. (1999). Manipulating Resistance Training Program Variables to Optimize Maximum Strength in Men: A Review. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, (13)3, 289-304.

Tran, Q. T., Docherty, D., & Behm, D. (2006 September). European Journal of Applied Physiology, (98), 402-410.

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> YES,YOU CAN TURN BACK TIME <

By Joe Palumbo, IFBB Pro Research has identified some specific action steps we can take to maintain our health and function as we get older. Diet and levels of physical activity are considered a cornerstone of almost every healthy aging program.

But there’s still more we can do for ourselves to stop the ticking clock and possibly turn it back! If you haven’t yet heard, you have two ages. Surprise! The one on your driver’s license — your chronological age, the other is tracking the way your cells have changed as you’ve been alive — your biological age. Knowing your biological age is an effective way of determining your cumulative rate of aging. Your biological age reflects a combination of your genetics, accumulated lifestyle factors, and other determinants such as demographics, diet, and exercise habits.

Your behavior will affect different aspects of biological age in different ways. Thankfully, there are a number of things you can do to improve overall health and increase the likelihood of slowing biological aging. Although you can’t change your chronological age, you can do a lot to

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reverse your biological age. I’m going to give you the right tools so that you can have the body and brain of a 25-yearold, even when you’re pushing 50.

Your mitochondria are the trillions of microscopic energy factories that power your body. They turn the food you eat and the air you breathe into the energy that powers all of the biochemical reactions in your cells. They are known as the “powerhouses of the cell.”

Typically, your mitochondria slow down as you age, and you produce less and less energy.

Slower mitochondria are a hallmark of aging. Symptoms include fatigue, decreased muscle mass and brain function, declining cardiovascular health, and more.

While nothing encourages the mitochondria to thrive more than a clean, healthy diet, you can give your mitochondria a targeted boost with some carefully chosen nutritional supplements. The right combo of diet and supplements translates to enhanced mental sharpness, fewer body aches and pains, and protection against the most common and dreaded diseases of aging.

Carnosine is a protein building block that is naturally produced in the body. It is concentrated in muscles when they are working, and it is also found in the heart, brain, and many other parts of the body. Carnosine is used to prevent aging and for preventing or treating complications of diabetes such as nerve damage, eye disorders (cataracts), and kidney problems. Carnosine is an antioxidant, anti-glycating and neuroprotective compound with wellstudied and researched clinical benefits. It’s becoming a clinically accepted nutritional supplement with uses

across a considerable spectrum of chronic diseases, from senile cataracts to dementia.

We all know that vitamin C is good for you. It’s one of the most potent antioxidants around. Vitamin C enriched skincare is an effective way to fight against the signs of aging. Antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin A help to reverse skin damage due to aging from sun exposure. Additionally, Vitamin C is one of the safest and most effective nutrients. The benefits of vitamin C include protection against immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, prenatal health problems, and eye diseases. Vitamin C is an element your body needs to form blood vessels, cartilage, muscle and collagen in bones.

Vitamin C is also vital to your body’s healing process.

Continued on page 16

With the right tools, you can have the body and brain of a

25-year-old, even when you’re pushing 50!

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