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Walk into any gym and you’ll see people performing calf raises with their feet turned and tilted in various directions. For years, bodybuilders and other fitness athletes have claimed that this strategy works different aspects of the calf muscles, thereby promoting greater muscular development. Unfortunately, research had never sufficiently investigated the validity of these claims. Until now…

A recent study appearing in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research evaluated the muscle activity of the gastrocnemius (the diamond-shaped muscle that is most prominent when you flex the calves) when performing a calf raise with feet in one of three positions: internally rotated (i.e. toes pointed inward), externally rotated (i.e. toes pointed outward) or neutral (i.e. toes straight ahead). EMG was used to determine muscle activity. The results? The lateral head of the gastroc (i.e. the outer aspect of the muscle) showed the greatest muscle activity when the feet were internally rotated while activity of the medial head (i.e. the inner aspect of the muscle) was maximized with the feet externally rotated.

The take-home message here is that you can in fact selectively target the individual heads of the gastroc (lateral vs. medial) by altering your foot position. Now from a practical standpoint, this really doesn’t mean much unless you have an imbalance between the two heads. A neutral foot position provides approximately equal stimulation of both heads, so keeping your toes pointed straight ahead will promote overall calf development. But if you want to bring up one aspect of the gastroc as opposed to the other (usually the lateral head is underdeveloped since its only about half the size of the medial head), turning your toes either in or out will help to improve muscular symmetry. As always, understanding the science will help you achieve your fitness goals.

Stay Fit!

Brad

It is widely accepted that fixed-form machines are “non-functional” training implements. In my recent presentation at the 2011 NSCA Personal Trainer Conference I challenged this dogma. Here is a clip of my presentation exploring the topic.

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A majority of people who perform cardio do so to burn fat. The quest to optimize fat loss from cardio has made the term “fat burning zone” a buzzword in the fitness industry; so much so that “fat burning zone” programs have been integrated into almost every treadmill, elliptical trainer and stationary bike on the market. (See my previous post on the Myth of the Fat Burning Zone for a critical analysis of this strategy).

An often overlooked fat-burning aspect of cardio is its effect on excess-post exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). Simply stated, EPOC is the number of calories you expend after the completion of a workout to return your body to its homeostatic state. It’s often referred to as the “afterburn” and includes such processes as the resynthesis of phosphagens, removal/conversion of lactate, restoration of glycogen, reoxygenation of blood, and the return of breathing and heart rate to normal levels.

Some researchers and fitness pros, however, have questioned the applicability of EPOC in promoting fat loss. A recent NY Times article quoted an exercise physiologist as saying the metabolic effects of EPOC are negligible. Others have echoed similar sentiments, claiming that the only relevant impact of cardio on fat loss is the number of calories burned during the workout. What gives?

The issue here can be summed up in a word: intensity. Namely, low intensity exercise has a minimal impact on EPOC, with an afterburn of only a few minutes. Read: If you walk for an hour, don’t expect to burn many calories once you stop walking. On the other hand, high-intensity cardio has a substantial effect on EPOC. How substantial? A recent study (1) showed that a 45 minute bout of cardio performed at approximately 73% of VO2 max increased post-exercise caloric expenditure by a whopping 190 calories! This represented an additional 37% expenditure over and above the 500+ calories burned during the workout itself. To put these results in perspective, every 2.5 weeks you’ll burn an extra pound simply from the effects of EPOC. Not too shabby, huh?

What’s the take home message? If you want to maximize fat loss from cardio, you need to up the intensity. As I’ve discussed before, high-intensity interval training is an excellent strategy to ramp up fat burning. Forget the fat burning zone. Push yourself to train above your lactate threshold, at least for portions of your exercise bout. You’ll reap fat burning rewards long after you stop exercising.

Stay Fit!

Brad

Knab AM, Shanely RA, Corbin K, Jin F, Sha W, Nieman DC. A 45-Minute Vigorous Exercise Bout Increases Metabolic Rate for 14 Hours. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011 Feb 8. [Epub ahead of print]

Here is a link to an interesting radio interview where Layne Norton PhD is interviewed about my recent review paper on fasted cardio. Layne is a pro natural bodybuilder and all around astute guy (he has his doctorate in nutritional science). Here he does a great job of articulating the specifics as to why fasted cardio produces little if any benefit with respect to fat loss, and why it actually might be detrimental to body composition. Give it a listen!

Radio Interview with Layne Norton, PhD

Stay Fit!

Brad

Want an excellent exercise to target the gluteus maximus? Consider incorporating the barbell hip thrust into your routine. The exercise was first brought to my attention by uber-trainer Bret Contreras. The benefit? As opposed to squats and other exercises, it works the glutes and other hip muscles from a horizontal vector as well as increasing muscular tension throughout the complete range of motion of the movement. Bottom line: improved glute development and potentially greater muscular power.

Here is a demonstration of the exercise as performed by Bret. If you want a better butt, give the move a try–you won’t be disappointed.

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I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be doing a FREE live webinar on Thursday, March 24, 2011. The topic: “Creating A Home Gym: A Better Body for Every Budget.” The webinar is hosted by Human Kinetics and will discuss both optimizing home gym set up as well as training strategies based on fitness goals. I guarantee it will be enlightening and informative. It will also include an interactive question and answer session. Again, the webinar is absolute FREE so I hope you can attend! Below is a link to sign up for the event:

Brad Schoenfeld: Free Webinar Sign-Up

Stay Fit!

Brad

About a year ago, I took the popular supplement, 5-Hour Energy, to task for making exaggerated advertising claims. In case you haven’t seen the ads, 5-Hour Energy is a liquid drink that promises to keep you alert and energetic for five hours without the dreaded “crash.” As I noted in the post, however, the product really doesn’t live up to the hype. The only ingredient listed on the label that has any efficacy as a pick-me-up is caffeine, and in this regard 5-Hour Energy is no better than a cup of brewed coffee.

Fast-forward to today. Consumer Reports, the consumer watchdog organization, recently did an expose on the product. Essentially, they came to the exact same conclusions as I did. The findings can be viewed on in an article on their website called Can 5-Hour Energy kick your afternoon slump?. Apparently the manufacturer wasn’t very cooperative with Consumer Reports (no surprise here), but they did provide a “study” that purportedly backs up their advertising claims. Unfortunately, the study was a self-funded research protocol that has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal. That’s not a study, it’s a propaganda piece. After reviewing the product’s ingredients, Consumer Reports summed up their findings with the following statement: “5-Hour Energy will probably chase away grogginess at least as well as a cup of coffee.” Not a ringing endorsement, to say the least.

Bottom line: Be an educated consumer. 5-Hour Energy costs about three bucks a pop. That adds up to over $1000 a year if you have just one drink a day. There are better ways to spend your hard-earned money. If you want a jolt of caffeine, brew a cup of coffee; it’ll cost you about ten cents. Clearly a much better bargain!

Stay Fit!

Brad

I’ll be speaking at the upcoming NSCA Personal Trainer Conference taking place at Las Vegas’ Bally’s Hotel and Casino on March 20-21, 2011. I’ll be co-presenting with my friend and colleague, Jay Dawes, on the “Functional Fitness Continuum.” The presentation will challenge many of the concepts you may have heard about “functional training” and present novel techniques for maximizing results. For more info, check out the link below:

2011 NSCA Personal Trainer Conference

Stay Fit!

Brad