Vitamin D and athletic performance: do you need to supplement? (Guest Post by Joe Matthews)

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Vitamin D and athletic performance: do you need to supplement? (Guest Post by Joe Matthews)

Vitamin D is a fashionable supplement to have in your cupboard. A quick online scout of popular sites sees headlines such as…

“Vitamin D the most underrated vitamin on the planet”

“Get lean by taking vitamin D – it raises testosterone and elevates metabolism”

“D is for domination” (personal favourite)

So, does it live up to the hype?

Here, we will briefly critique the current evidence regarding vitamin D supplementation and athletic performance.

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Video Presentation: Recognising & Avoiding The Plagues of 'Broscience'

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Screen Shot 2013-11-25 at 21.06.27This month's post is another video. This time, it's one of me delivering a presentation rather than interviewing a fitness industry professional.

The presentation was recorded just over a month ago in London for the ISSN Diploma in Sports & Exercise Nutrition organised by Laurent Bannock of www.guruperformance.com.

Given the caliber of guest speakers, as well as Laurent himself, it was a privilege to talk in front of an audience who share an enthusiasm for nutrition. For anyone looking for an evidence-based qualification to pursue, I'd highly recommend the looking into the course as it perfectly bridges the gap between a degree and becoming a solid practitioner.

In the presentation, I discuss the tools available for recognising and avoiding 'broscience' and talk through some popular examples in the fitness industry, picking them apart from several angles.

Topics include:

1. Biosignature Modulation

2. Carb Back-loading

3. Metabolic damage

4. Pre-bed casein

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did putting it together...

Edit: the video has been removed by the user. Not to worry, here's a link to a PDF version of the slides.

Video Blog: Skype Q&A with Brad Schoenfeld about Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy

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Like my last post, this one will also be in the form of a video. This time, Brad Schoenfeld is the featured guest and he answers a series of questions from the fitness community regarding muscle hypertrophy.

For those of you who don't know him, Brad Schoenfeld, MSc, CSCS, CSPS, CPT is an internationally renowned fitness expert and widely regarded as one of the leading authorities on body composition training (muscle development and fat loss). The 2011 NSCA Personal Trainer of the Year is a lifetime drug-free bodybuilder who has won numerous natural bodybuilding titles, including the All Natural Physique and Power Conference (ANPPC) Tri-State Naturals and USA Mixed Pairs crowns. As a trainer, he has worked with numerous elite-level physique athletes including many top pros.

Brad is a best-selling author of eight fitness books including his latest “The M.A.X. Muscle Plan.” He has been published or featured in virtually every major fitness magazine (including Muscle and Fitness, MuscleMag, Ironman, Oxygen, and Shape) and has appeared on hundreds of television shows and radio programs across the United States. Certified as a strength and conditioning specialist by the NSCA and as a personal trainer by the ACSM, ACE, and CanFitPro, Brad was awarded the distinction of master trainer by IDEA Health and Fitness Association.

Brad is a lecturer in exercise science at Lehman College in the Bronx, NY, is the director of their human performance lab. As a scholar, Brad has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles in exercise and sports nutrition and serves as the Assistant Editor-in-Chief to the Strength and Conditioning Journal. He is currently pursuing his PhD in health science at Rocky Mountain University where his research focuses on the mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training.

In addition to his impressive CV, Brad will be coming to the UK early next year to deliver two seminars (one in Bath and one in London). See here for more information and to purchase a ticket!

Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCsUR6NoR7g

An Objective Review of the Men’s Fitness 12 Week Body Plan

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An Objective Review of the Men’s Fitness 12 Week Body Plan

Over the past few months I’ve been asked numerous times about my thoughts on the Men’s Fitness 12 Week Body Plan (12WBP). Given the heavy marketing behind it, I already knew its general premise, but never enough to properly comment. Luckily, a former client of mine sent me a copy so I gave it a read. Given its popularity, I thought I’d drag the book through the rigours of science and see if it can make it through the other side in one piece.

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Science vs. Broscience: a matter of economy?

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Science vs. Broscience: a matter of economy?

Many of you will have heard the term broscience thrown around over social media and have a gist of what the term stands for. Everyone who has been involved in the pursuit of muscle gain and/or fat loss would have been guilty of broscience at least once in their lives; I certainly have. As such, the purpose of this article is to try and sum up the differences between science and broscience. In doing so, it will hopefully convince you that some of the things you’re currently doing in order to reach your body composition goals are pointless or ‘bro’. The elimination of these unnecessary practices will therefore make your life easier with respect to attaining whatever goal(s) you may have. To keep this article short, and because I’m a nutritionist, this article will focus primarily on aspects of nutrition, as opposed to the training side of things.

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