NEW Level II Course November 2009

The next Level II Internship will be held between the 2nd-6th November 2009 from 1.00 to 5.00, held at the Sydney Sports & Athletic Performance Centre.

The topics to be covered include:

Module One: Advanced Strength Exercises & Training Methods

Strength Technique

Advanced Hypertrophy Based Methods

Maximal Strength Based Methods

Module Two: Programming for Interval & Endurance Training

Power Systems

The Contributions of Different Power Systems To Intense Exercise

Principles For Interval Program Prescription

Endurance Program Prescription

Polarization of Training

Module Three: The Development of Strength & Hypertrophy

Methods of Strength Training

Training Protocols To Induce Muscle Strength

Training Protocols To Induce Muscle Hypertrophy

Exercise Classifications

Sample Workout Plan For Maximal Strength

Sample Workout Plan For Hypertrophy

Training Splits

Module Four: Treating Metabolic Syndrome with Nutrition, Supplements & Exercise

Criteria for Diagnosis

Nutritional Impact on Metabolic Syndrome

Exercise & Metabolic Syndrome

Exercise Guidelines
Nutritional Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome

Module Five: Nutrition for the Prevention of Cancer

Laboratory Tests

Detoxification Pathways

Nutritional Effects on Detoxification Pathways & Angiogenesis

Supplementation Effects on Detoxification Pathways & Angiogenesis

Module Six: Post Training Nutrition For Strength Training

Examining Sports Nutrition Claims

Three Major Nutrient Timing Windows

Pre Training Nutrition

During Training Nutrition

Post Training Nutrition

The course fee is $800. For more information, email tony.boutagy@bigpond.com

25 Lessons from the Latest Level I Internship

Last week I ran the last Level I Internship for the year. I had a great week teaching, who I must say was, the most enjoyable group I've had the pleasure to teach. At the end of each day, I ask the group to write down the top 5 things they took from the day. One of the students who travelled from Perth, Lucy Morris, just sent me the top 25 lessons she learnt from the entire week. She's given me permission to post them here. It was great for me to see what people take from a week's worth information overload!


The Top 25 Things I learned after 1 week with Tony Boutagy

(in no particular order)

1. There is no such thing as a stupid question

2. If you can’t squat then you are not ready to train – still in the preparatory phase

3. How to use the Klatt Test results to address weaknesses in the lower body

4. Importance of calf and ankle flexibility in order to squat correctly

5. Strength training is the easiest part of a trainer’s job

6. How to perform a deadlift correctly

7. The importance of unilateral training in the structural balance phase

8. The process to follow in writing 3 consecutive programs

9. The effect of rest time on growth hormone production – 60 second rest

10. Increasing the load is the most important variable in strength training

11. Creating balance between both sides of the body is the first thing that must be addressed

12. The spotter should be heard but not seen

13. Always count reps backwards so the client knows where they are going

14. The weak limb rule – always work to the capacity of the weaker side in order to create a balance

15. If you can’t bench 15% more than your own body weight then you should not be doing dips

16. Isolation work is not dead – it is necessary because even though compound lifts will activate smaller muscle groups they do not exhaust them

17. In order to gain strength you must work to failure – for the first time I now truly understand what failure means

18. In the absence of sugar saturated fat will not have a negative impact on cholesterol levels

19. One of the highest concentration of resveratrol is in red wine, especially Pinot

20. Do not conduct your business via text message or facebook – if you want to be considered professional then you need to behave professionally

21. Keep your programs simple – use the best exercises in all their variations rather than being fancy for the sake of it

22. Abs are heavily involved in preventing movement not causing movement so think about how they need to be trained

23. Just because an exercise isn’t bad doesn’t necessarily make it good either – if there is a better way of doing something then do it

24. Understand the rationale behind every aspect of your own programming

25. Even though I have learned a lot in a short space of time I still have a vast amount to learn, and always will

Sunshine Coast 2009

Last weekend I had the pleasure of giving two talks at the Sunshine Coast Fitness Summit. My only regret was that I didn’t get enough time to take in the scenery of the local area. I was fortunate enough to stay with legendary strength expert Mark McKean and his family, who again took me to my favourite Indian Restaurant on the coast for the buffet! A big thank you to the McKean family for looking after me and for Julie at the Sunshine Coast TAFE for bringing me up and running such a great conference.

Below is a brief summary of my talk on interval training, entitled Interval Training: An Efficient Tool For Improving Physical Capacity, Health & Fat Loss. I’ve included most of the information that was not in the notes for the delegates.

01. CLASSIFICATIONS
• Supramaximal Intervals = less than 2 minutes (‘all-out’ effort)
• Maximal Intervals = 2-10 minute intervals (close to maximum effort)
• Submaximal Intervals = greater than 10 minute intervals (anaerobic threshold pace)

02. THE FOUR DISTINCT ENERGY SYSTEMS
System 1:
Duration: up to 6 seconds
Primary Energy System: Phosphagen
Principal Fuel: ATP & CP

System 2:
Duration: 6 to 30 seconds
Primary Power System: Phosphagen & anaerobic glycolytic
Principal Fuel: ATP, CP & muscle glycogen

System 3(a):
Duration: 2 to15 minutes
Primary Power System: anaerobic glycolytic & aerobic glycolytic
Principal Fuel: Muscle glycogen & blood glucose

System 3(b):
Duration: 15 to 60 minutes
Primary Power System: aerobic glycolytic
Principal Fuel: Muscle glycogen & blood glucose

System 3(c):
Duration: 60 to 90 minutes
Primary Power System: aerobic glycolytic
Principal Fuel: Muscle glycogen, blood glucose & intra-muscular triglyceride

System 4:
Duration: longer than 90 minutes
Primary Power System: aerobic glycolytic & aerobic lipolytic
Principal Fuel: Muscle glycogen, blood glucose, intra and extra muscular triglycerides

03. INTERVAL TRAINING & PERFORMANCE
Endurance performance between 30 seconds and 2 minutes duration is enhanced most by supramaximal intervals (~4%).

Endurance performance over 2 minutes duration is enhanced most by intervals of maximal and supramaximal intensities (~6%).

The protocol used in research that has improved performance the most was 8 x 4-5 minutes with 6-90 seconds rest for 6 sessions, which improved 40-km cycling time trial between 4.6-8.3%.

MSSE 28:1427-1434. 1996
Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 75:298-304. 1997
MSSE 31:736-741. 1999
Sportscience 8: 25-40. 2004

03. INTERVAL TRAINING & PERFORMANCE

Performance enhancement due to increased VO2max, lactate buffering ability and mitochondrial biogenesis.

MSSE 28:1427-1434. 1996
Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 75:298-304. 1997
MSSE 31:736-741. 1999

04. INTERVAL TRAINING & HEALTH
Interval training has been shown to improve health & fitness in patients with coronary artery disease.

Eur. J. Cardiovasc. Prev. Rehabil. 11:216-222. 2004
Am. J. Cardiol. 95: 1080-1084. 2005
Epidemiological data shows that vigorous exercise is more protective against premature cardiovascular death than moderate-intensity exercise.

JAMA. 288: 1994-2000. 2002.
Eur. J. Cardiovasc. Prev. Rehabil. 13:798-804. 2006.

Interval training has been shown to improve health & fitness in patients with coronary artery disease and interval training is more effective than moderate-intensity exercise.

Eur. J. Cardiovasc. Prev. Rehabil. 11:216-222. 2004
Am. J. Cardiol. 95: 1080-1084. 2005
Scand. Cardiovasc. J. 42: 110-7. 2008

Exercise induces hypertrophy of the cardiomyocyte but the largest increases occur in response to interval training compared to moderate intensity exercise.

Cardiovasc. Res. 67: 16172. 2005

Interval training improves VO2max, stroke volume and left ventricular mass and contractility better than isocaloric programs at lower exercise intensity but longer duration.

MSSE. 39:665-71. 2007.

Heart failure patients improve VO2max and LV function better than moderate-intensity continuous training matched for the same caloric expenditure

Circulation. 115:3086-94. 2007.

Despite a small number of studies, more work is needed to address safety with at risk populations

ESSR. 37(3):139-146. 2009.

A leading research group has recently stated: “we have approximately 2000 hours with interval training in our laboratory in various patient groups, including heart failure, metabolic syndrome, coronary artery disease and hypertension, without any negative outcome.”

ESSR. 37(3):139-146. 2009.

05. THE EFFECTS OF INTERVAL TRAINING ON FAT LOSS
Interval training increases energy expenditure.

If energy expenditure exceeds energy intake over weeks and months then fat oxidation predominates and weight loss will follow.

Interval training increase the reliance on fat oxidation during continuous exercise sessions.

Two weeks (7- sessions) of 10 x 4-minutes resting 2 minutes increased fat oxidation 36% during a submaximal 60 minute cycling trial.

J. Appl. Physiol. 102: 1439-1447. 2007

An acute interval session increases insulin-independent glucose transport which lasts 1-3 hours after exercise ends

ESSR 36(2):58-63. 2008

Interval training improves insulin-mediated glucose uptake lasting 3-48 hours post exercise

ESSR 36(2): 58-63. 2008

Interval training increases insulin sensitivity and lowers fasting insulin

ESSR 37(2): 93-101. 2009

Interval training decreases fasting blood glucose and post prandial glucose

Nutrition 20(7-8): 716-27. 2004

Interval training decreases triglycerides and post prandial lipemia

Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 28(6): 759-65. 2004.

The effects on insulin sensitivity and post prandial lipemia are immediate after exercise and persist 24-48 hours after training

Nutrition 20(7-8): 716-27. 2004.

Increases in whole body fat oxidation during exercise occur within 6-7 session or 2-3 weeks

JAP 102: 1439-1447. 2007.

Improvements are lost with 2 weeks of inactivity.

Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 34:411-419. 2009

Interval training improves glycogen storage similar to endurance training;

ESSR 36(2): 58-63. 2008.

Interval training increases fatty acid oxidation at rest, providing a negative energy balance is created

ESSR 37(2):93-101. 2009.
Am. J. Physiol. 273(3):E623-9. 1997.

Interval training - and exercise in general - does improve fat metabolism in muscle but does not increase 24-hour fat oxidation if an energy deficit is not created.

ESSR 37(2): 93-101. 2009

Interval training increases NO and reduces blood pressure chronically and acutely.

ACSM position stand

Interval training increases HDL-C and decreases LDL-C and TG levels

ACSM Position Stand 2009

Interval training increases mitochondrial enzymes involved in glucose (citrate synthase) and fat oxidation (bHAD) increasing the amount of fat oxidized during submaximal exercise.

JAP 102: 1439-1447. 2007.

Interval training increases signalling proteins involved in mitochondrial biogenesis to a similar extent that endurance training does

AMPK, p38MAPK, PGC-1α

Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab 34: 428-432. 2009

TWICE A DAY TRAININGINTERVAL TRAINING & FAT LOSS

Performing interval training with low muscle glycogen stores - such as performing two training sessions a day or during periods of carbohydrate restriction increases mitochondrial enzymes involved in carbohydrate and fat oxidation and increase whole body fat oxidation during submaximal exercise better than once a day training or training with normal glycogen stores.

JAP. 105: 1462-1470. 2008

In the study cited above, 7 subjects cycled 100 minutes steady state one day and performed interval training the next (8 x 5-min) six days per week for a 3-week period.

Another 7 subjects cycled 100 minutes steady state then performed the interval session 1-2 hours later. The next day was a rest day. The day ‘on’, day ‘off’ lasted 3 weeks.

Training twice per day increased resting muscle glycogen content, mitochondrial enzymes involved in the TCA cycle (citrate synthase), β oxidation (β HAD), electron transport chain activity (COX sub units) and rates of whole body fat oxidation during submaximal exercise more than training daily for 3 weeks.

INTERVAL TRAINING VS STRENGTH TRAINING
What’s the difference?

Strength training induces the PI3-k-mTOR complex cascade to increase protein synthesis and muscle cell growth.

Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab 34:403-410. 2009

ENDURANCE TRAINING

Endurance training induces increases the AMPK, p38MAPK, PGC-1α pathway which results in increased mitochondrial density and oxidative enzyme activity, termed mitochondrial biogenesis.

INTERVAL TRAINING

Although performed in a similar fashion to strength training - brief bouts of intense exercise with recovery periods in between

Interval training stimulates the AMPK-PGC-1α pathway and not the mTOR pathway in the 4-8 hours post training that result in increased mitochondrial biogenesis.

Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab 34:428-432. 2009

INTERVAL TRAINING VS STRENGTH TRAINING
Are they incompatible?

If performed in the same session, aerobic adaptation is unaffected but strength adaptation is negatively effected.

But if performed on separated days or 8 hours apart, then the answer is strength and interval training are not incompatible

Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab 34:355-361. 2009

Next Friday I'll be heading back up to the Sunshine Coast to attend the annual Sunshine Coast Health & Fitness Summit. I'll be presenting 2 papers this year, one on interval training for performance, health and fat loss and one on developing structural balance in the upper body. I've just finished reading the entire 14th International Biochemistry of Exercise Conference – Muscles as Molecular and Metabolic Machines in preparation for my talks and I'm now inspired to go run some intervals at my local oval!

I will post the full notes of the talks in the week after I get back to Sydney. I'll also post my thoughts on restricting bench pressing range of movement, as this issue seems to keep popping up from time to time. Things happening in the next month: Level I course in September (14th-18th) and then a serious amount of writing to finish my PhD before Christmas holidays.

Finally, well done to the team that just completed their Level II. It was information overload for the week as we covered training for hypertrophy & strength, nutrition pre and post training, the natural treatment of the metabolic syndrome and endurance training.

Tony,
Avalon

LEVEL ONE INTERNSHIP SEPTEMBER 14-18

The next Level I Internship will be held at the Sydney Sports & Athletic Performance Centre from the 14th-18th September 2009.

The course runs from 9.00 to 5.00, Monday to Friday and the topics covered include:

Module 1: Length-tension and strength testing for the upper body;
Module 2: Flexibilty, strength exercise and program prescription for the upper body;
Module 3: Length-tension and strength testing for the lower body;
Module 4: Flexibility, strength exercise and program prescription for the lower body;
Module 5. Short-term periodization.

The course fee is $1000.

For more information, email tony.boutagy@bigpond.com

Strength Program for Fat Loss

Here is another sample program designed for fat loss. Again, the two primary principles are to elevate growth hormone levels and to significantly disrupt homeostasis, so that metabolism is elevated for many hours after training. Notice how the acute program variables have been designed to achieve these two goals: high volume (around 300 reps), total body, large muscle group and/or compound exercises, short rest intervals and set durations around 40 seconds. Finally, note that the first and second exercises are performed as straight sets and the final four exercises are performed as a circuit.

A. Snatch grip deadlifts, 4 x 8 on a 40X0 tempo, rest 60 seconds

B. Parallel chin ups, 4 x 8 on a 40-0 tempo, rest 60 seconds

C1. Lying leg curls, 4 x 8-10 on a 4010 tempo, rest 60 seconds

C2. Seated rows, close grip, 4 x 10-12 on a 4010 tempo, rest 60 seconds

C3. Horizontal back extensions, 4 x 10-12 on a 4010 tempo, rest 60 seconds

C4. Farmer’s walk, 4 x 40 seconds, rest 60 seconds

Perform this workout six times and then change the program and try something different. Enjoy.

Tony,
Avalon,
Sleep deprived due to the Tour de France

Level II Internship 10th-14th August 2009

The next Level II Internship will be held between the 10th-14th August 2009 from 1.00to 5.00, held at the Sydney Sports & Athletic Performance Centre

The topics to be covered include:

Module One: Advanced Strength Exercises & Training Methods
• Strength Technique
• Advanced Hypertrophy Based Methods
• Maximal Strength Based Methods

Module Two: Interval Training
• Power Systems
• The Contributions of Different Power Systems To Intense Exercise
• Principles For Interval Program Prescription
• Endurance Program Prescription
• Polarization of Training

Module Three: The Development of Strength & Hypertrophy
• Methods of Strength Training
• Training Protocols To Induce Muscle Strength
• Training Protocols To Induce Muscle Hypertrophy
• Exercise Classifications
• Sample Workout Plan For Maximal Strength
• Sample Workout Plan For Hypertrophy
• Training Splits

Module Four: Treating Metabolic Syndrome with Nutrition, Supplements & Exercise
• Criteria for Diagnosis
• Nutritional Impact on Metabolic Syndrome
• Exercise & Metabolic Syndrome
• Exercise Guidelines
• Nutritional Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome

Module Five: Estrogen Detoxification
• Estrogen Metabolites
• Laboratory Tests
• Body Fat Distribution
• Detoxification Pathways
• Nutritional Effects on Detoxification Pathways
• Supplementation Effects on Detoxification Pathways
• Training Recommendations for Estrogen Dominance

Module Six: Post Training Nutrition For Strength Training
• Examining Sports Nutrition Claims:
• Three Major Nutrient Timing Windows
• Pre Training Nutrition
• During Training Nutrition
• Post Training Nutrition

The course fee is $800. For more information, email tony.boutagy@bigpond.com