Training

Tools

Benefits

Training to Failure

Meta-analysis on the effects of resistance training to failure for hypertrophy. No significant data to show it is necessary to train to failure. Utilize a combination of failure and non-failure for variation.

Cognitive Benefits of Exercise

How the presence of skeletal muscle increases mood, memory, executive function, neurogenesis, angiogenesis, and synaptogenesis.
How the presence of lactate through aerobic exercise enhances cognitive function.

Training w/ Full ROM

A systematic review on effects of resistance training through full range of motion. Isometric training at longer muscle lengths elicits greater increases in muscle-size when compared to isometric training at shorter lengths.
Peer-reviewed study enhanced skeletal muscle adaptions when performing resistance training through the full elongation of the muscle fibers..

Correlation of Fitness Level & Mortality

Article on correlations between all cause mortality and muscle mass, strength, and VO2 max. When comparing the lower quartile to the.hhigher quartile, results in previous studies indicate a decreased risk in all cause mortality, according to the ACM scale, by 200%, 250%, and 400%, respectively.

Benefits of Incline vs Horizontal Press

Peer-reviewed study supporting the superiority of increased upper-chest hypertrophy with incline bench press when compared to horizontal bench press.

Muscle Fiber Type Adaptions

Meta-analysis suggesting how the current evidence using the most appropriate techniques suggests a clear ability of fibers to shift between hybrid and pure fibers as well as between slow and fast fiber types based on the training stimulus presented.

Undulated Periodization

Comparitive peer-reviewed study found increased 1 RM when participants engaged in a program with undulated intensities and types of training when compared to pure strength focus.

Nutrition Tools

Time Restricted Eating

Meta-analysis reviewing studies have indicated that maintaining a consistent long overnight fast, which is similar to TRE, can significantly reduce risks for chronic diseases. Despite these early successes, more clinical and mechanistic studies are needed to implement TRE alone or as adjuvant lifestyle intervention for the prevention and management of chronic metabolic diseases.

Ketogenic Diet & Mental Health

Review on relating psychiatric conditions as neurometabollic disorders through sharing several common mechanistic biopathologies. Provides strong evidence of ketogenic diet addressing these diseases, and clinical evidence of improving patient symptoms.

Supplement Tools

Creatine

Peer-reviewed study on how the creatine supplementation protocol was effective for increasing muscle creatine concentrations, body mass, and total body water; however, fluid distribution was not changed.

Caffeine Intake & Muscular Performance

Peer-reviewed study suggesting that the acute intake of 3 mg/kg/b.m. of caffeine before a velocity-based strength workout increased muscle performance and the total work performed across the whole training session. Thus, caffeine can be considered as an effective strategy to enhance muscle performance during the bench press training sessions.

Cognitive Benefits of Creatine

Article on enhanced cognitive processing effects by creatine supplementation, especially in those with brain creatine defects, which could be induced by acute stressors (e.g., exercise, sleep deprivation) or chronic, pathologic conditions (e.g., creatine synthesis enzyme deficiencies, mTBI, aging, Alzheimer’s disease, depression).

Anthocyanins & Defense Against Alzheimers Disease

Study reviewing the relationship between anthocyanin intake and Alzheimers Disease rates. Most berries, fruits, and vegetables are exceptionally rich in anthocyanins, which are potent antioxidants. The medications currently used to combat Alzheimers Disease partially inhibit the enzymatic and oxidative breakdown of acetylcholine and tau-proteins. Therefore, it is important to discover dominant antioxidants, such as anthocyanins, that are effective against neurodegenerative disorders and can help improve cognitive function. Anthocyanins fulfill this requirement, potentially representing an inexpensive way for treating aging-related neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimers Disease. However, the metabolism rate of anthocyanins varies across individuals, which may affect their overall effectiveness.

Lifestyle Tools

Optimizing Sleep

Dr. Matt Walker provides the data on the benefits of effective sleep and detriments of lower sleep quality on human physiology.

Body's Inclination for Weight Regain

Over one-third of lost weight tends to return within the first year, and the majority is gained back within 3-5 years. This review articulates the biological pressures that cause weight regain, and how weight maintenance diet (high protein, low carbohydrate; type of dietary fat), physical activity and regular programmed exercise, and promising pharmacotherapy can counter this process.

Sunlight Exposure

Article recognizing the importance of using early morning sunlight exposure to one's circadian rhythm. According to Andrew Huberman PhD, and associate professor of neurobiology and of ophthalmology, "early sunlight exposure is grounded in a lot of peer-reviewed, published science in humans and animals,". Additionally, an inability to acquire early morning sunlight can be one of the greatest predictors for poor sleep quality leading to poor memory, mood disorders, lowered immunity and disrupted blood sugar regulation

Deliberate Cold Exposure

Peer reviewed study representing data on how Brown Adipose Tissue leverages adult human thermoregulation, suggest both heat and cold acclimation in winter swimmers, and propose winter cold exposure as a potential strategy for increasing energy expenditure.
Meta-analysis on the implications and insights (with regards to endurance and strength adaptations) gathered from recent studies examining the longer-term effects of Cold Water Immersion on training performance and recovery. A periodized approach to recovery is proposed, where the use of Cold Water Immersion may be incorporated during competition or intensified training, however strategically avoiding periods following training focused on improving muscle strength or hypertrophy.

Deliberate Heat Exposure

Higher frequency and duration of sauna bathing are each strongly, inversely, and independently associated with fatal cardiovascular events in middle-aged to elderly males and females. The frequency of sauna bathing improves the prediction of the long-term risk for CVD mortality.