Systemic Fatigue

Systemic Fatigue

Max Schmarzo

When we talk about training, we need to think about the whole picture! So when we think about fatigue and what workouts cause the most amount of fatigue, we need to think about how many muscles are activated and to what extent during each exercise. For example, when we are training biceps by doing a standing curl, you could possibly argue all muscles in the body are activated, but not to an extent that is very high, outside of the biceps themselves. However, when we squat we can also say nearly all muscles are activated and this activation is much...

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motor unit recruitment

Motor Unit Recruitment

Tom Kokosinski

A motor unit consists of a single motor neuron and the muscle fibers it innervates. So in one muscle, like your quads, you have many different motor units and the size of these motor units goes from small (small number of fibers per motor nerve) to big (large number of muscle fibers per nerve). When we talk about motor unit recruitment, we need to think about it in terms of the total number of units being recruited systemically vs locally. What do we mean? Well, when you do a bicep curl with max effort, assuming your bicep is the only...

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A Proper Workout Warm-Up

A Proper Workout Warm-Up

Tom Kokosinski
Your warm-up can make or break your athletic performance and it is paramount for athletes to be warming up properly, effectively, and efficiently. So what constitutes a good dynamic warm-up? A good dynamic warm-up has four phases – Inhibition, Lengthening, Activation, and Integration.
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Understanding Nutrient Timing

Understanding Nutrient Timing

Max Schmarzo
Nutrient timing is the concept that what you eat should have a purpose based on what you are doing or did. For example, it's not just about how many macros you consume, i.e. the grams of carbs or grams of protein, but also about when you eat them.
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The Tabata Method and Workouts

The Tabata Method and Workouts

Tom Kokosinski
The Tabata Method itself is pretty simple and can be a great conditioning workout. It is a form of high intensity interval training (HIIT) where you do 8 total sets of 20 seconds of high intensity work, with 10 seconds of rest. The workout lasts a total of 4 minutes.
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Overcoming Isometrics

Overcoming Isometrics

Max Schmarzo

Overcoming isometrics are a form of isometric where the movement is performed by pressing into an immovable object, for example pressing into pins. Overcoming isometrics are a unique form of training in that you can target a specific joint position and because you are the one pressing, you control the amount of resistance. This way, you can perform a lift to complete failure, with maximal load or something in the middle without having to actually be concerned about an actual overload in terms of weight. Because again, there is no actual load outside of how much you are pressing into...

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