‘22
JANUARY /FEBRUARY
musclemediaonline.com
J A N UA RY/ F E B R UA RY 2022 PUBLISHER Siamack Alavi EDITOR IN CHIEF Dr. Tom Fisher
Stressing Your Enzymes & Antioxidants
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Christian Garces ART DIRECTOR/ DESIGNER Alejandro Hermoso BUSINESS DIRECTOR Danielle McVey PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE Joseph Palumbo, IFBB Pro CONTRIBUTORS Madison Anton, Gabriel I. Escalera, Nicole Eubanks, Aniyah E. Fisher, Cade A. Huber, Julieann Irving, Andrew LeGrand, Marc Luzadder, Mokonya Njie, Nancy J. Pinney, Destiny Snape, Jacob Spann
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WHAT’S INSIDE: LETTER-FROM-THE-EDITOR 4 “Changes In Latitude” TRAINING
8 The Gluteus Maximus 15 Antihistamines & Physical Activity 17 Sleep & Athletic Performance 21 Stressing Your Enzymes & Antioxidants 22 Energy Balance 26 Performance Coaching 29 Preventing Age-Related Muscle Loss
Benefits of
32 Hypertrophy
Training
TABLE OF CONTENTS
8
The Gluteus Maximus HEALTH + WELLNESS
36 Get Up, Get Outside, Get Moving 44 Are Sarms The Future Of Sport Performance? 50 Mental Strengthening For Athletes With Injuries
DIET + NUTRITION
52 Performance Supplementation 56 Timing Your Nutrition
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MuscleMediaOnline MuscleMediaMagazine MuscleMediaMag Muscle Media JANUARY OLYMPIA / FEBRUARY SPECIAL 2021 2022 | 3
Changes
in Latitude
I
By Dr. Tom Fisher, Editor-in-Chief n my Private Practice, as well as among my friends and colleagues, I have been hearing more and more expressed frustration with travel restrictions and lockdowns. One of the most common complaints seems to be related to the apparently arbitrary, inconsistent, and illogical rules and regulations. I keep hearing about “moving goalposts” being used to justify onerous restrictions. It seems that, just as soon as promised criteria for “opening up” or “getting back to normal” have been achieved, those pesky goalposts are moved once again. I was having lunch with a colleague, and he was recounting several trips he had planned that had been cancelled due to COVID restrictions. This had me reflect upon several trips of my own that had been cancelled over the past two years, some at the eleventh hour. The majority of trips for
both of us were visits to foreign lands. Some were for vacation and recreation, and some were business lectures and seminars. I looked back over my Journal and refreshed my memory as to my mind-set planning the trips, excitedly rearranging my schedule, and the disappointment when they all fell through. Several points became abundantly clear as I reviewed the various scenarios with the blessings of 20/20 hindsight. First, it seems that I really didn’t learn from the first trip or two being cancelled. Although some of the trips were more business than pleasure, the time and destination were established by others. It was agreed that the arrangements were all subject to change, given the various countries’ restrictions relative to the pandemic. I was less disappointed when these trips were cancelled, because I had no real discretion or latitude choosing the venue or the timing. I typically try to plan my “vacations” around several adventures to visit friends, family, colleagues, and points of interest. I like the feeling of satisfaction that comes with “killing two birds with one stone”. Second, it seemed that the rest of the world was becoming less and less accommodating with repeated on-again/off-again changes in their travel restrictions. Travel to another country became tricky enough, but when there was no guarantee to be able to return to America, it became serious. Between passports, vaccine passports, vaccination certificates, booster(s), timed negative COVID tests to
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 your questions to: drtom@musclemediaonline.com
leave or enter, masking, and social distancing, it soon became obvious that foreign travel was currently more trouble than it was worth. Recently, I was given the opportunity to travel in my own state of Florida. Here, because of courageous leadership (and a resilient people) we enjoy near “normal” (read: pre-COVID) freedoms. We decided to revisit some of the fun places we have neglected for many years as the rest of the world was open. We decided to begin with Key West. The Keys, and Key West in particular, are a world apart from the rest of the panic-driven Country. No masks. No social distancing.
LETTER-FROM-THE-EDITOR
No fuss, and no shaming. Instead, we enjoyed a delightful, relaxing, laid-back, laissez-faire couple of days. It was an amazing change of pace and was “just what the Doctor ordered” …! I have enthusiastically reported my experiences to my patients, family, friends, and colleagues. However, I think the greatest benefit could be felt by my patients who, for lack of a better term, are bordering on becoming “stir crazy”. But, enough of that…! Let’s see what we have in store for this first issue of 2022. Destiny provides us with two articles this issue addressing training your glutes
and muscle hypertrophy. Andrew reveals some techniques for mentally strengthening athletes. Cade takes us through the world of performance coaching, while Nancy looks at the benefits of simply getting off the couch and moving. For those of you into physiology, Julianne looks at the role of various enzymes while Jacob peeks into the new and exciting world of SARMs. Gabriel takes us through several popular supplements as Marc explores supplemental proteins. Aniya explains performance and antihistamines as Madison looks into the timing of nutritional intake. Finally, while Nicole explores the
need for energy balance, Mokonya reviews the importance of adequate sleep for optimum performance. As we approach the 2-year anniversary of restrictions and lockdowns, unfortunately there appears to be little relief in sight. In the meantime, I’ll continue to explore my home state of Florida with a hopeful eye on the future. Stay Hard and Pay Attention…!
-Dr. Tom Fisher Editor-In-Chief
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THE GLUTEUS
MAXIMUS
W
By Destiny Snape
hen we think about athletic performance, there have been hundreds
ofimprovements made to technology, sports genetics, data analytics, and virtual reality. The ultimate goal is to be the fastest, the greatest, break World Records, and become the phenomenon in your respected sport. The pressure is on to become the best. Studies are being conducted almost every day to determine the most appropriate way to achieve those goals. With all the possible methods to improve athletic performance, we’ll examine the role of the gluteus maximus in developing speed and power, a key component in most sports.The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the human body. It is located posteriorly to the hip joint and makes up 16% of the total cross-sectional area of the hip. Because the gluteus maximus is so large, it has the ability to generate great amounts of force. It functions to extend and externally
rotate the hip joint. In addition, the upper fibers of the gluteus maximus assist in abduction while the lower fibers assist in adduction. During high force movements like sprinting, the gluteus maximus is heavily involved to produce enough force to successfully complete the movement. In movements such as walking, the gluteus maximus is not heavily engaged. However, it acts as a stabilizer to assist the pelvis. This promotes balance and ensures that your posture is upright. The gluteus maximus also works in conjunction with the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus to stabilize the hip joint. Of these three muscles, the gluteus maximus is the most superficial layer contributing to its large size and vital importance for force production. Without adequate activation or in some cases paralysis, the gluteus maximus would struggle to generate enough force for movements that require high levels of force. However, it is possible that other muscles could work to extend the hip, causing synergetic dominance. But this scenario is not ideal. It is not how the body optimally functions and
“The development of speed, power, and strength are all interconnected in relation to sports performance.”
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CONTINUED FROM P. 9 may increase the risk of lower limb injuries. The gluteus maximus is known as a phasic muscle. A phasic muscle is primarily composed of fast twitch muscle fibers, making them perfect for movement. However, they are easily fatigued and prone to inhibition. This can occur as a result of a number of causes such as a tight iliopsoas, a lengthened gluteus maximus, or sedentary lifestyle. For example, a sedentary lifestyle in which an individual is sitting all day causes the body to adapt that specific pattern while utilizing primary muscles. In this case it would lead to decreased activation of the gluteus maximus, which may lead to weakness and atrophy. It’s important to pay close attention the root cause of gluteus maximus inhibition. This prevents the muscle from being able to properly engage during specific movements and postural control. The gluteus maximus may be properly activated by doing exercises that activate the gluteus maximus at least 40-60%. Individual needs will determine the appropriate exercises and regimen. Some examples of exercises that engage the gluteus maximus at 4060% are lateral step ups, wall squat, and single leg deadlift. Exercises that have a very high-level activation (>60%) are forward step ups. Engaging the gluteus maximus at these activation levels have been found to develop adaptation in muscle hypertrophy and strength. Very high loads are not necessarily needed to facilitate strength adaptations.
Lower loads performed close to failure also results in high levels of activation of Type-2 muscle fibers contributing to increased muscle hypertrophy and strength gains. Both of which are vital components of developing high levels of force during athletic movements. Learning to engage the gluteus maximus is vital as it is an important element of athletic performance, injury prevention, and reducing the occurrence of chronic pain. Once you understand how to properly engage the gluteus maximus and are taking the right measures to ensure proper training strategies, athletes can elevate their athletic performance and increase their resistance to injury. Movements will become more powerful, and the level of stability and accuracy will improve throughout dynamic movements. Movements such as jumping, sprinting, landing, climbing, throwing, swinging, bending, and lunging are all athletic movements that will be heavily utilized in almost every sport. The gluteus maximus contributes to total athleticism and establishing a well-functioning kinetic chain. It can be looked at as one of the most important muscles due to its size and its ability to generate large amounts of forces. In addition, placing emphasis on neuromuscular components enhance the quality of the movement, creating healthy movement patterns and efficiency. According to a 2019 study, this ultimately contributes to isolating sport-specific movements adding additional “stability of the lower limbs, power, rate force
“The gluteus maximus may be properly activated by doing exercises that activate the gluteus maximus at least 40-60%.”
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development, and muscle preactivation”. In addition, sprint training is an excellent way to produce a stimulus effective enough to train the gluteus maximus at varying speeds and gait. Optimal glute activation however must be functioning at high levels, or the risk of hamstring injury can occur due to over-compensation. This also emphasizes the importance of the gluteus maximus in athletic movements. The development of speed, power, and strength are all interconnected in relation to sports