Drew Baye’s High Intensity Training

New York-based HIT personal trainer Eugene Thong informed me of a recent article in Science Daily about a study from Tel Aviv University showing high carb foods can cause heart attacks.  One more reason to pass on the bread, rice or pasta and opt for better carbohydrate sources like leafy vegetables and fruits.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090625133215.htm

According to the article, study participants had reduced arterial functioning after consuming high glycemic index foods. More specifically, arterial distention, which the authors claim may lead to cardiovascular disease or heart attacks.

The abstract reads:

The Acute Effect of Various Glycemic Index Dietary Carbohydrates on Endothelial Function in Nondiabetic Overweight and Obese Subjects

Talya Lavi, RD*, Avraham Karasik, MD*,, Nira Koren-Morag, PhD, Hannah Kanety, PhD*,, Micha S. Feinberg, MD, and Michael Shechter, MD, MA,,*

* Institute of Endocrinology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
Leviev Heart Center, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

Manuscript received October 26, 2008; revised manuscript received February 18, 2009, accepted March 3, 2009.

* Reprint requests and correspondence: Dr. Michael Shechter, Leviev Heart Center, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, 52621 Tel Hashomer, Israel (Email: shechtes@netvision.net.il).

Part of this study was presented as an abstract at the XXVI Congress of the European Society of Cardiology, Stockholm, Sweden, August 30, 2005.

Objectives: This study sought to explore the effect of glycemic-index dietary carbohydrates on endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in overweight and obese nondiabetic volunteers.

Background: Post-prandial hyperglycemia has been recognized as a cardiovascular risk factor in both the diabetic and the general population. Endothelial dysfunction has been shown to occur in diabetic and hyperglycemic patients.

Methods: We prospectively assessed brachial artery FMD in 56 healthy overweight and obese nondiabetic volunteers (38 [67.9%] men, mean age 48 ± 6 years) on 4 separate mornings, 1 to 2 weeks apart. After overnight fasting, the percent FMD (%FMD) improvement and endothelium-independent nitroglycerin-mediated dilation (%NTG) were assessed, after which subjects received 1 of 4 group meals at each visit (placebo [water] or a carbohydrate meal of glucose, cornflakes, or high-fiber cereal). Meals were distributed in a rotating randomized fashion, such that eachsubject received all 4 meals once throughout the study period.

Results: Fasting and 2-h post-prandial serum glucose levels were similar in all 3 meals, whereas at 30 to 90 min, serum glucose levels were significantly higher after glucose and cornflakes (high glycemic) compared with fiber (low glycemic). Baseline %FMD, not significantly different in the 3 carbohydrate-based meals, was reduced 2 h post-prandially in all groups, showing statistical significance in only high-glycemic index meals: glucose (15 ± 9% vs. 10 ± 8%, p < 0.01), cornflakes (13 ± 7% vs. 9 ± 7%, p < 0.01). No correlation was observed between the %FMD reduction rate and glucose levels throughout the study period.

Conclusions: High- compared with low-glycemic carbohydrate consumption significantly suppresses FMD in nondiabetic overweight and obese volunteers, suggesting a mechanism whereby high-glycemic meals may enhance cardiovascular risk.

Drew Baye Miscellaneous

I will be redesigning the site over the next couple days, customizing the new wordpress template and reorganizing some of the material. I apologize in advance if there are any technical problems. I hope to make it easier for people to find the information they’re looking for and will also be stepping the writing up for the site again as soon as the book is finished.

Thanks for your patience,

Drew

Drew Baye Miscellaneous

I’m currently working on the last couple chapters of the book. While it will answer a lot of the questions I receive about high intensity training in general and bodybuilding specifically, it is also sure to raise a few, so I will be setting up a secure area for readers of the book for questions, discussion, case studies, and supplemental materials.

I have a few topics I will be addressing on the site over the next couple weeks, but the posts here will continue to be sparse until the book is finished. Frankly, I’ve been saving the best stuff for the book. Once it’s finished, the full table of contents and excerpts will be posted here.

Drew Baye Miscellaneous

21 Convention founder Anthony Johnson came over Saturday to go through a negative-only workout on the Hybrid machine and brought his video camera with him.

The workout consisted of negative-only squats, dips, low rows (first video), calf raises, presses and pulldowns (second video). When performing negative-0nly on the Hybrid machine, the rep starts with a brief static contraction during which effort is gradually increased to maximum, followed by a slow, full-range, maximum-effort negative. Due to the extremely high level of intensity, I only have people perform three of these repetitions.

You can read Anthony’s comments on the workout at his blog in the post The Most Brutal Workout Ever.

The machine can also be used for “hyper” reps, which involve both maximum positive and negative movement, and “double negative” reps, which consist of alternating between maximum negatives on opposing movements such as dip/low row or press/pulldown, however we figured negative-only would be the best place to start, since the double-negative and especially the hyper reps can be particularly brutal for someone not used to training in this fashion.

Drew Baye Training

Chris Highcock just posted an excellent interview with Luke Carlson on functional training at ConditioningResearch.com Luke does an excellent job of explaining the relationships between proper strength training, skill training and functional ability and dispells many popular misconceptions about training to improve athletic ability.

Drew Baye Miscellaneous

Drew Baye squatting in Vibram FiveFinger shoes

I hate wearing shoes, and if they weren’t required at work,  in restaurants, and in various other places I would go barefoot most of the time. I am almost always barefoot at home, and unless I absolutely have to wear regular shoes, I only wear sandals when I’m out.

I also prefer to lift barefoot, especially when squatting, deadlifting, or performing any kind of standing exercise, as it seems to improve balance and stability. Rather than being harmful to the feet, as some people believe, when lifting barefoot the feet would adapt to the stresses of exercise like any other part of the body.

A few weeks back I saw a video on Tim Ferriss’ web site in which he wore what appeared to be a pair of camouflage socks with toes. I thought they looked interesting, but didn’t give it much thought until I saw a post on The Dream Lounge called The Ultimate Shoe, which showed another video where the interviewer asked Tim about them. He was wearing a type of shoe by Vibram called FiveFingers, which are almost like a glove for the feet, with separate toe pockets and a thin Vibram rubber sole for grip and protection. After discussing them with Anthony from The Dream Lounge I decided to try a pair, and drove over to Travel Country Outdoors to check them out. They are the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn. Read more…

Drew Baye Equipment

I recently posted a link on Facebook to Arthur De Vany’s Top Ten Reasons Not to Run Marathons, to which a friend who runs replied,

Everyone has their opinion. I run because I like to. Not because I want to run 26.2 miles every day or even 13.1 miles every day. I think it’s a stress reliever and I truly enjoy it. I’m sure this study was done on people who run extreme distances all the time. I’m sure you think your way of training is the best and I’m also sure it’s great for a lot of people. Exercise of any sort is better than sitting on the couch eating potato chips =)

Contrary to popular but uninformed opinion, something is not always better than nothing where physical activity and exercise are concerned. In fact, many activities people perform for exercise or health reasons do more harm than good.

The goal of exercise is to stimulate improvements in fitness, and should not undermine health in the process, as Dr. Doug McGuff stresses in Body by Science. However, activities like jogging, aerobic dance, plyometrics, and others exposing the body to high peak and impact forces are often recommended as exercise despite carrying a significant risk of injury or damaging health in some other way.

In the case of running, doing nothing would definitely be better. Since jogging is a very slow, very inefficient, very poor way of improving cardiovascular conditioning and burns few calories for the time invested, very little benefit would be lost by quitting, compared to the benefit of preventing long term damage to the feet, ankles, knees, hips and spine and associated degenerative joint conditions, not to mention the likely pulls, strains and tears. Read more…

Drew Baye Training

I have been invited to speak about high intensity strength training at the 21 Convention in Orlando this year. The 21 Convention features speakers on a variety of lifestyle topics, from dating and relationships to health and fitness. The convention will feature some of the world’s top dating instructors, answering questions about dating and success with women, and I’ll be there telling you how to build a more impressive physique, which always helps.

The confirmed speakers so far include;

Dream
Manwhore
Matador of VH1’s The Pickup Artist
Ratisse
Vin Di Carlo
Nick Sparks
Adam Lyons
Hshudo
Entropy
El Topo
Heartwork
The Campus Casanova Crew
Julian Foxx
Neil Natura

More are expected to be added.

The convention is being held from Thursday, July 23rd at 9:30 am til Sunday, July 26th at 8:00 pm at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Orlando.

Click here for information and tickets

Drew Baye Miscellaneous

Marshall Sontag sent me a link to a new article on a Michigan boy named Liam Hoekstra with a genetic “defect” resulting in a lack of myostatin - a protein that inhibits muscle growth. The condition, myotonic hypertrophy, results in much greater than average muscular strength and size, and lower than average body fat.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/02/earlyshow/health/main4912859.shtml

I first heard about myostatin several years ago in an article by Doug McGuff, MD, Muscle: The Myostatin Connection, and have followed some of the research and whatever news articles I could find about it since, with particular interest in the myostatin-inhibiting drug Stamulumab, or MYO-029, being developed by Wyeth Pharmaceutical.

Earlier this year, I had a discussion with my brother Will about the role of genetics in muscular strength and size and the possibility the basis for some legendary figures such as Hercules and the biblical Samson may have been individuals with myotonic hypertrophy. What I find interesting about this is it raises the question as to how many legendary feats of strength which may have been written off as exaggeration based on comparison with the abilities of very strong but genetically “normal” people may actually have occurred?

If at only three years of age Liam Hoekstra has double the muscle and half the fat of normal children his age and is capable of moving furniture, how much more muscular and how much stronger than average will he be as an adult? Considering how much stronger the average person is capable of becoming with proper strength training, how strong could someone like Liam become, and what kind of feats might he be capable of?

Drew Baye Miscellaneous

I have a few more sections to finish, plus photos, illustrations, and layout. I’ve been writing when I have time between clients and on the weekends, and it’s coming along well, but I’m still not 100% happy with it.

The book started out too formulaic - general principles, applications, sample routines, etc. and it started to read like every other bodybuilding book out there. While some are better than others, most of them are pretty much the same, and I don’t want to write “just another high intensity training book”. I believe a big part of the problem is publishers - many require authors to conform to a formula, which may or may not be the best way or the authors preferred way to present the information.

That is not what I wanted to do, so over time I’ve written, revised and rewritten much of it several times over, while trying to simplify the information and make it as straightforwards and practical as possible without making it dry. As a result, the final version is a lot less formal, more conversational, and in my opinion a better presentation of the information and a more interesting read.

I realize this has taken a very long time, and I thank everybody who has expressed an interest in the book. Once the editing, photography and illustration is finished the only thing left to do will be layout, and I will put up a page for pre-orders then along with a release date.

Drew Baye Miscellaneous