The Weekly Dose

THE WEEKLY DOSE [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [The Weekly Dose]( LATEST ARTICLES [Good Exercises]( [Good Exercises Gone Terribly Wrong]( by Christian Thibaudeau These exercises and training methods have their place, but they're stupid choices for most gym goers. Here's why. [Arm Growth]( [Tip: The Best Rest Periods for Arm Growth]( by John Meadows How long should you rest between sets if biceps and triceps size is your goal? Here's your guide. [Combo Exercise]( [Tip: The Combo Exercise That's Just Plain Silly]( by Christian Thibaudeau It's a popular exercise that kills two birds with one stone... except it really doesn't. It just screws up two good exercises. [5 Reasons Your _ Is Small]( [5 Reasons Your _____ Is Small]( by Akash Vaghela Does your back suck compared to your chest? Do your triceps lag behind your biceps? Whatever your puny muscle group is, here's how to fix it. [Train Your Glutes]( [Tip: Train Your Glutes for a Bigger Squat]( by Gavin McHale Here's what to do before, during, and after squats to activate, strengthen, and grow your glutes. [Popular Bad Exercise]( [Tip: The Most Popular Bad Exercise]( by Christian Thibaudeau You've seen people doing this in your gym. Here's why it's idiotic. [Newbie Questions]( [Hardcore Answers to Newbie Questions]( by Paul Carter Protein intake, bulking and cutting, catching the eyes of the ladies, and more. [Real Athletic Strength]( [Tip: Two Lifts for Real Athletic Strength]( by TJ Kuster Here's are two functional strength exercises that are actually functional for athletes and everyone else who occasionally gets off the couch. [Least Effective Core]( [Tip: The Least Effective Core Exercise]( by Christian Thibaudeau Honestly, people who do this exercise may not be smart enough to read an article about why it's a dumb exercise. [5 Redundant Exercises]( [5 Redundant Exercises You Just Don't Need]( by Nick Tumminello Many popular exercises work the same muscles the exact same way. That's a waste of your time. Here's what to avoid and what to do instead. [Rest-Pause Training]( [Tip: Does Rest-Pause Training Actually Work?]( by Shawn Wayland Researchers took a look at it in this new study. Here's what they found. [Athletic Exercises]( [Tip: Athletic Exercises That Make You Slow]( by Christian Thibaudeau Here's how to run slower, punch slower, and miss the ball more. Wait, you don't want that? Then avoid dumb training methods like this. [Two-Exercise Workout]( [The Two-Exercise Workout Plan for Size]( by Christian Thibaudeau Think you need tons of exercises? Nope. You just need to do the best lifts more frequently. Here's what they are and how to use them for size. [Ellagic Acid]( [Tip: Burn Fat Better With Ellagic Acid]( by Chris Shugart Shrink fat cells and naturally keep your blood sugar in check. Here's how. [Useless Pull-Up Exercise]( [Tip: The Most Useless Pull-Up Exercise]( by Christian Thibaudeau This movement is often used as a regression in functional fitness classes. Problem is, it doesn't do much of anything. Here's why. [Why You Look Preggo]( [Tip: Why You Look Preggo on a Healthy Diet]( by Dani Shugart Popular diets have one common strategy. But it may be the very thing that's making your gut grow. [Elevation Masks]( [Tip: Elevation Masks Just Don't Work]( by Shawn Wayland A new study shows that these goofy masks make everything about your workout less effective. Here's why. [Forgotten Vitamin]( [Tip: Take This Forgotten Vitamin for Heart Health]( by TC Luoma It's about the only thing that can fight a newly discovered enemy of your heart. [Can't Out-Eat Overtraining]( [Tip: Sorry, But You Can't Out-Eat Overtraining]( by Christian Thibaudeau Overtraining exists, and you can't out-eat it or out-sleep it. Most lifters have the wrong idea about what overtraining is. Here are the facts. [Serious Athletes]( FEATURE ARTICLE [Keep T Levels High]( by TC Luoma [Keep T Levels High]( Low testosterone is associated with a higher death rate. It also makes you fat. You already know that testosterone plays a role in muscle size and strength, libido, energy, and keeping body fat low, but high testosterone is also important to just plain staying alive. Contrary to what late-night TV ambulance-chasin' lawyer commercials spout about high testosterone killing people, it's low testosterone that's the real concern. Low testosterone levels correlate strongly with: • Higher risk of cardiovascular disease • Narrowing of carotid arteries • Abnormal EKG • More frequent congestive heart failure • Increased incidence of angina • Increased body mass index • Type II diabetes • Metabolic syndrome • Insulin resistance • Higher death rate from all causes Maybe you did a double take at the last item in the list. You should've. One study involving 858 male service veterans found that low testosterone individuals had an 88 percent greater chance of dying, for any reason, even after variables like age, other illnesses, and body mass index were accounted for. Are you immune to low testosterone because you're a big-time weight lifter? Nope. Male athletes often have lower testosterone than untrained men. One study found that weight lifters (along with rowers, cyclists, and swimmers) had testosterone levels that were 60-85 percent of untrained men. Some of the researchers attributed that disparity in alterations of hepatic (liver) and extrahepatic (muscles, skin) metabolism of testosterone that can't be compensated for by the athletes' gonads, but I suspect it might have to do with some yet-unexplained exercise-related increase in steroid hormone binding globulin (SHBG), which makes less testosterone available to tissues. Low testosterone levels seem to be epidemic among lifters. True, testosterone levels usually go up after an intense workout, but the rise is short-lived and levels often drop to below baseline soon after. So keep testosterone high. Use herbal testosterone boosters (we like [Alpha Male]( and if your levels are seriously deficient, consider physician-monitored testosterone replacement therapy. TRENDING [Arm Exercises for Long-Armed Lifters]( [Tip: The Best Arm Exercises for Long-Armed Lifters]( by Eric Bach If you have long arms, it's tougher to build biceps and triceps. Use these exercises to bring them up. [The 6 Most Overrated Things in Fitness]( [The 6 Most Overrated Things in Fitness]( by Dr John Rusin What do benching, burpees, running, sit-ups, and stretching your hammies have in common? They're rituals that make people lose their damn minds. Here's why. [Velocity Diet]( POWERFUL WORDS "Shaming" is the new word for "confronted with a harsh truth." And it's often the first bumpy mile on the road to self improvement. Keep going. – [T Nation (Instagram)]( If putting on weight/muscle is a goal and you're not even willing to do something as simple as get your butt out of bed to eat a waffle, then there's not much I can do for you. – [Amit Sapir]( "Attacking the bar violently" is not about banging your head on the bar before the lift. It's about moving the bar with the greatest amount of velocity as you can muster, from start to finish. – [Paul Carter]( [Give us your thoughts.]( [More from Jim Wendler]( [10 more lessons from the legends]( [Some-people-squat]( Copyright © 2018 T Nation LLC, All rights reserved. 1850 Reliable Circle, Colorado Springs, CO 80906 [Unsubscribe From List](