Strength & Health TV - Episode 53: Product Review - BASD Pulling Blocks

The BASD Pulling Blocks

In this video I do a brief review of a great new product I purchased for my training center, the BASD Pulling Blocks. The BASD pulling blocks are a pair of 25lb plates. The plates allow you to do "block pulls" from 3 different heights without needing blocks. You can pull with the plates from 2", 5" and 8" heights depending on which hole you put the collar of the bar through.

The blocks are solid steel and very durable. The base is 2" wide and they are well balanced. By using these blocks you don't have to deal with the problems of using pulling blocks, mainly loading plates. When your bar is on blocks you can't use a deadlift bar jack and loading plates can be a bit of a pain in the ass. Once you get the BASD's on you can load plates on top of them very easily.

I can't recommend these enough. They are available from Lifting Large: http://www.liftinglarge.com/BASD-Dead...

Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates on future shows.

Stay Strong AND Healthy,

-Scott

Follow me online: scott@eptsgym.com http://www.scottshetler.com http://www.eptsgym.com http://www.facebook.com/sshetlerfitness http://www.twitter.com/sshetler

Strength & Health TV - Episode 52: Cleaning Up The Timing In The Kettlebell Jerk.

In this video I go over some tips I learned from my friend Steven Khuong, of the Ice Chamber Gym, for fixing timing issues in the kettlebell jerk.

I have been teaching kettlebell user workshops and instructor certifications for 10 years now and without a doubt the jerk is the hardest lift to master for most people. In fact, some organizations don't even teach it, or save it for an "advanced" workshop. Honestly, with these simple tips I learned from Steven, I have had 100% success getting students and trainers to learn the jerk in about 5-10 minutes.

Breaking the jerk down into positional drills then having students add a jump makes the timing perfect every time. I've found that once they are using leg drive and get the timing issues resolved we can then go back and clean the technique up quickly and very easily. This has resulted in everyone I've ever worked with leaving my workshops knowing how to perform the kettlebell jerk correctly that day. No need for a follow up workshop or advanced certification course.

This video is aimed at the beginner kettlebell lifter who is having problems with this lift as well as other trainers and teachers who struggle getting their students to master the technique and timing associated with this lift.

Hopefully you enjoy this video and if you have any questions or suggestions for future show topics please leave them in the comments section below.

Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates on future shows.

Stay Strong AND Healthy!

-Scott

Follow me online:
scott@eptsgym.com
http://www.scottshetler.com
http://www.eptsgym.com
http://www.facebook.com/sshetlerfitness
http://www.twitter.com/sshetler

My Favorite Exercises for Recovery, Restoration, and Joint Health.

I've always believed that health is just as important as strength and for optimal development. You cannot have one with out the other. Often the harder we train to push up our fitness levels, whether it is strength or conditioning, the more we shift our focus away from health practices. Unfortunately it is usually an injury or worse that gets people to focus on improving their health.

If you are going to push your body hard, you need to implement restoration, stress reduction and other health-based practices to not only get the greatest benefit from your training but to give yourself the potential for a good quality of life.

One of my favorite things to do is to incorporate extra workouts throughout the week that focus on joint health, blood flow, and restoration from heavier training sessions. These exercises focus on the shoulders, elbows, lower back, abs, hips, knees and ankles. The key to these workouts is to perform very high repetitions. For the most part I shoot for 100-200 reps on the single joint exercises and 50-100 reps on the compound exercises. I do not focus on eccentric loading, but rather controlled but quick repetitions to promote blood flow and strengthen the connective tissue. 

I usually do a workout where I hit 1 exercise for the shoulders, elbows, lower back, hips, abs, knees and ankles twice a week on two of my three off days from my heavy training sessions. Then on one or both of my lower body days I try to throw in an extra restoration workout for the upper body, and on one or both of my upper body days I throw in an extra restoration workout for the lower body.

Here is how my normal weekly training schedule looks:

Sunday: dynamic effort upper training in the afternoon

Monday: full body restoration session in the morning

Tuesday: max effort lower body training in the morning, and upper body restoration in the evening

Wednesday: full body restoration session in the morning

Thursday: max effort upper body training session in the morning, and lower body restoration in the evening

Friday: dynamic effort lower body training session in the evening

Saturday: off

In addition to this I practice qigong and Taijiquan 5-6 days per week and walk daily, usually finishing with a full body bamboo or iron brush massage. Lately I have adopted a practice of doing a brisk 10 minute walk 3 times per day usually after a meal. I saw a video by Stan Efferding on his YouTube page where he talked about this practice, why he does it, and an introduction to the science behind it and found it fascinating. It's still early as I've only been doing it for a couple of weeks, but I feel much better doing this after eating and I definitely feel I have more energy and mental clarity, particularly in the mid-afternoons when I sometimes feel like crashing.

Here are some of my favorite restoration exercises.

Indian Club Swinging 

Club swinging is great for the shoulders, elbows and wrists. I generally perform 20-50 reps of various swing patterns or just do 5 minutes of continuous swinging.

BandBell Bar Bench Press

Using the BandBell Earthquake bar is great for shoulder health. I usually do 3-4 sets of 20-25 reps.

Band Face Pulls

These are great for the upper back and external rotators. I usually do 3-4 sets of 20-25 reps.

Reverse Hyperextensions

The reverse hyper bench from Louie Simmons is hands down the best exercise for the lower back I've ever come across. It builds strength and tractions the lower back simultaneously. I usually do 3-5 sets of 15-30 reps (80-120 reps total) with heavier weights on my two lower body workouts and 2 sets of 20-25 reps with lighter weights on restoration days.

Leg Curls

Something else I got from Louie Simmons was to do 100-200 reps of leg curls with 5-10 lb ankle weights or against bands to promote knee health.

Band Triceps Pushdown

These are great for elbow health and building up the triceps. I shoot for 100-200 reps per workout. Another great exercise from Louie Simmons.

Sit Ups on a Medicine Ball

This exercise I heard Louie Simmons talking about on a podcast and he said it did wonders for a psoas issue he was working with his A.R.T. therapist to correct. These definitely help to release the hip flexors. They strengthen and stretch the abs as well. I usually do 3-4 sets of 15-25 reps.

Calf Raises

Calf raises are great for strengthening the calves and the smaller muscles around the ankle joint. I usually do 3-5 sets of 15-30 reps either on a seated calf machine, the leg press or standing on a block.

These are not the only exercises that I do, and I am constantly experimenting with my clients and athletes as well as my own training. In addition I am always reading, learning and doing my best to assess and apply the knowledge gained. Hopefully this article gives you some ideas on how to incorporate some of these exercises into your own training. Some of this stuff may be boring and tedious but don't neglect your joints and smaller muscles, spending some time on them will pay dividends in strength and health.

Stay Strong AND Healthy!

-Scott

Follow me online:

scott@eptsgym.com

http://www.scottshetler.com

http://www.eptsgym.com

http://www.facebook.com/sshetlerfitness

http://www.twitter.com/sshetler

Strength & Health TV - Episode 51: Getting the Most Out of the Glute Ham Raise.

In this video I talk about the Glute Ham Raise (or GHR) and how I use this exercise and piece of equipment at with my clients and Team EPTS athletes. The GHR, when properly performed, is an exercises that works both functions of the hamstrings, hip extension and knee flexion. I use two variations of this exercise, one that begins with the hips flexed, perform a back extension and then transition into the leg curl and the other is to begin with the hips extended and only perform the leg curl portion of the movement similar to an inverse curl. The exercise can be performed with body-weight only or with added resistance from bands and/or free weight. In addition to technique of these two variations of the exercise, and external loading, I go over the overall volume we focus on with this exercise.

I hope you enjoy this video and if you have any questions or suggestions for future topics please leave them in the comments section below.

Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates on future shows.

Stay Strong AND Healthy,

-Scott

Follow me online: scott@eptsgym.com http://www.scottshetler.com http://www.eptsgym.com http://www.facebook.com/sshetlerfitness http://www.twitter.com/sshetler

Five Training Tips for Fighters and Combat Athletes.

There are many different physical qualities required for combat athletes to achieve optimal levels of development for their sport. Strength and power training are one of the most underrated, but that is changing.

For a long time the idea was technique not strength was the most important factor for a fighter or grappler. Technique, without a doubt, is incredibly important for athletes from all sports, but why does it have to be one or the other?

It's like my good friend Brian said when we were discussing the importance of strength for fighters and combat athletes. He said, "If strength wasn't important then why are so many fighters getting popped for steroids?" Great point. Another observation I made recently was looking at the absolute results for the IBJJF Master World Championships. The majority of the winners were from the ultra heavyweight and super heavyweight divisions. Technique not being an issue the bigger and stronger athletes tend to prevail.

I have always felt that developing the highest levels of strength and power, while keeping the athlete in their respective weight class, was extremely important. Here are five training tips that I have found to be extremely beneficial for all of the combat athletes I've trained at EPTS across the board.

#1 - Jump

BJJ athlete Chris jumping onto a 30" box with an extra 50lbs of weight.

Jumping is one of the most important exercises and all athletes should do them. Jumping is absolute power. You are able to create and display a huge amount of force without the deceleration associated with the traditional barbell lifts. Use a wide variety of jumps done mostly onto a box. Doing box jumps minimizes the impact forces created when landing a vertical, broad, or depth jump. Depth jumps should be used in small cycles and only when the athlete is physically prepared to handle them. We do many different types of jumps from seated jumps, jumps from the knees, jumps with extra weights (holding weights, wearing weight vest, ankle weights, etc.), double leg jumps, single leg jumps, bounding, and many others. Most of our athletes do 40 jumps per workout twice per week. I got this from Louie Simmons' book, "Explosive Strength Development for Jumping" - a must read.

#2 - Sumo Deadlifts

9th grade 138 lb. wrestler Cam pulling 300 lbs in a rack deadlift.

Strong powerful hips are essential for fighters and grapplers and the sumo deadlift is one of the best exercises to build the hips, back, legs and grip. For strength we use the maximal effort method where we work up to a 1 rep max in a variation of the deadlift each week. For speed strength we use 50-60% of a max deadlift with an additional 25% band tension usually for 10 sets of 2 reps on our weekly dynamic effort training session. The deadlift variations we rotate through are rack deadlifts from 3 different positions all below the knee, deadlifts with the plates on 2" or 4" blocks, deficit deadlifts standing on 2" or 4" blocks, deadlifts in the belt squat, zercher lifts, and a variety of good mornings. 

BJJ athlete and 2017 IBJJF Master World Champion Chris pulling 295 lbs in the Zercher lift from the ground.

We use bands or chains attached to the bar for accommodating resistance always on speed work and sometimes on max effort work.

BJJ athlete Jesse doing speed deadlifts with 315 lbs and 220 lbs of band tension.

#3 - Don't Neglect the Lower Back, Neck or Grip

High school wrestler Cam doing neck bridges.

Louie Simmons' has said numerous times that football players and football strength coaches are afraid to train both ends of the spine - the neck and the low back. I recently spent a summer working with a Division 2 defensive lineman and confirmed this. His back shut down doing deadlifts with 50% his max and couldn't manage a set of 10 with 50% of his best squat in the reverse hyper. That is ridiculous, especially since a strong low back and hips are required to explode off the line.

BJJ athlete Noah doing 4-way neck exercises with the neck harness and light band.

A strong low back, neck and grip are critical for combat athletes. We use a ton of different exercises to build these areas and some of our favorites are the reverse hyper (developed and patented by Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell), kettlebell swings, cleans and snatches (great for the torso, lower and upper back, grip and general physical preparation-GPP), neck bridges and neck harness lifts, grip strength tools like the Rolling Thunder revolving handle, hub lift, pinch gripping plates and hex dumbbell heads, and doing chin up and rowing exercises using a GI jacket which develops tremendous grip strength while training the lats and upper back.

MMA fighter Ryan doing reverse hypers.

The keys for these areas are high repetitions and isometric holds. The high reps encourage blood flow which for an area like the lower back is critical since it is comprised of a large amount of connective tissue which has a poor blood supply compared to muscle tissue. 

BJJ athlete Pete doing kettlebell cleans.

The high reps and isometrics build strength endurance which is critical in these areas as well. Spend some time developing these three typically overlooked areas of the body - it pays to be bulletproof!

BJJ athlete Chris doing gi pull ups.

I would strongly encourage you to read Louie Simmons' and John Quint's articles at https://westside-barbell.com/ and check out their podcasts as well, they dig much deeper into this topic.

#4 - Work in the Belt Squat 

BJJ athlete Braulio doing box squats in the belt squat machine.

The belt squat is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment I have ever used. For combat athletes it allows for a huge amount of exercise variety and training volume. By walking in the belt squat it can be used for conditioning as well. Squatting in the belt squat is great because it allows you to execute a squat without the compressive loading on the spine associated with the barbell squat. Not having the barbell on the back keeps a lot of stress off the shoulders as well. 

BJJ athlete Jesse doing step ups while walking in the belt squat.

The belt squat also tractions the spine some as the weight is loaded onto the hips with a belt. In addition to squats a wide variety of exercises can be performed. 

MMA fighter Ryan doing an isometric hold with the Bandbell Bar while walking in the belt squat.

You can do kettlebell exercises in the belt squat, deadlifts in the belt squat, all varieties of loaded carries and odd object lifts, medicine ball work, walking, shadow boxing, pummeling drills, and the list goes on and on. Walking drills are typically done for timed sets - usually between 1:00 and up to 5:00 or longer. One of our grapplers, Chris, made 8:00 of continuous walking with 205 lbs of weight and 70 lbs of band tension while doing various lifts, carries and isometric exercises! You are only limited by your creativity. 

BJJ athlete Jesse working an isometric choking exercise while walking in the belt squat.

Had it not been for making a trip to Columbus, Ohio to learn from Louie Simmons and Tom Barry at Westside Barbell I would have never realized the true value of this piece of equipment.

MMA fighter Ryan shadow boxing in the belt squat.

#5 - Club Swinging for Shoulder Strength and Health

BJJ athlete Chris performing shoulder strength and health exercises with Indian clubs.

Club swinging as a form of exercise is hundreds of years old but is still incredibly beneficial today. By swinging light and heavy clubs in various patterns you are able to strengthen the muscles of the shoulder in a circular pattern unlike with traditional presses and raises. In addition the club provides a bit of traction on the shoulder joint during various swing exercises. 

BJJ athlete Noah doing mobility work with Indian clubs.

In fighting and grappling the shoulders take a beating and club swinging is one of the best methods of training I have found for strength and restoration.

There are many qualities that need to be developed for a combat athlete's physical preparedness including flexibility, mobility, aerobic and anaerobic energy systems development, strength, speed, power, endurance, etc. These strength and power exercises are not a be all end all by any means. However, they are some of the exercises I have found to have a huge impact for all of the fighters and grapplers I have worked with past and present.

Stay Strong and Healthy!

-Scott

Follow me online:

scott@eptsgym.com

http://www.scottshetler.com

http://www.eptsgym.com

http://www.facebook.com/sshetlerfitness

http://www.twitter.com/sshetler

Can You Add Serious Size on a Vegan Diet? (From Iron Life Magazine)

Iron Life Magazine asked me to write an article about building muscle on a vegan diet. I've always seen endurance athletes talking about the benefits of a vegan diet but more and more I'm seeing strength and power athletes, as well as bodybuilders, switching to a plant-based diet.

I hope you enjoy the article and as always, stay strong and healthy!
-Scott

###

From Iron Life Magazine:

Scott Shetler is an NSCA certified coach, the owner of Extreme Performance Training Systems and follows a plant-based diet. He is based in Norcross, Georgia.

We all know that protein is the most important macronutrient when wanting to build muscle. And when most people think of protein they think of steak, or chicken breasts, or tins of tuna. But there are a growing number of athletes competing at the highest level on an entirely plant-based diet, including seven-times Grand Slam winner Venus Williams, former UFC fighter Mac Danzig, and Chicago Bears 300lb (136kg) defensive lineman David Carter.

Around two per cent of Brits and Americans follow a strict vegan diet – void of meat, fish, eggs and dairy products – and a paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that vegan diets are typically higher in dietary fibre, magnesium, folic acid, vitamins C and E, iron, and phytochemicals, but tend to be lower in total calories, saturated fat and cholesterol, essential omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins D and B12, and essential trace elements, such as calcium and zinc.

Whether you are considering eating less meat and dairy, for whatever reason, or just interested in knowing how the body adapts to a vegan diet from a personal or professional personal trainer viewpoint, here are the key points.

What is a strict vegan diet?
It’s following a nutritional plan that is entirely plant-based, so doesn’t include red or white meat, fish, eggs, dairy, or any product that contains any ingredient, compound or substance that has an animal origin or uses such a product in the manufacturing process. A strict vegetarian diet excludes meat and fish, but can allow eggs and dairy; an ovo-vegetarian diet allows eggs, but not dairy; while a lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy but not eggs.

Click here to read the rest of the article!

Restoration for Health, Longevity and Performance.

Restoration is one of the most overlooked aspects of training, but when implemented properly can have a huge impact on your recovery, health, and for competitive athletes, longevity in your sport.

There are many forms of restoration and it is important to note that you do not need to do all of them all the time. Some forms of restoration include:

•         Extra workouts – strength, mobility, flexibility, etc.
•          Ice
•          Heat
•          Cold and hot contrast
•          Massage, chiropractic, and other soft tissue therapy
•          Low intensity cardiovascular exercise
•          Yoga, qigong, meditation, etc.
•          Nutrition

Extra workouts are a very simple form of restoration but it is important not to turn these into max effort sessions. Extra workouts can be anything from light weight high repetition exercises, various types of sled pulling with lighter weights, exercises with resistance bands, body-weight drills, club swinging, or stretching and mobility focused exercise. These workouts should be short, 10 to 30 minutes, and should be very low intensity. The goal should be to increase circulation and blood flow without exhausting the muscles.

Hot and cold therapy can be implemented in a number of ways. A cold compress can be put on the body, you can use an ice bath or cold shower, and you can take advantage of a cryotherapy chamber if you have access to a facility that offers it. For heat a compress may be used, hot tubs or showers can be used, and you can take advantage of dry heat in a sauna or moist heat in a steam room if you have access to such facilities. Hot and cold contrast is a popular method of restoration as well. In contrast methods you generally alternate between extreme cold and extreme heat in intervals for designated times. For instance you may do a shower where you stay under extremely cold water for a period of 30 to 60 seconds followed by extremely hot water for a period of 30 to 60 seconds finishing with a cold rinse.

Body work is great for restoration as well. Having a good therapist is a great idea. Massage therapy, Active Release Technique (ART) therapy, Graston, needling, chiropractic, and other forms of body work are all regularly used by many of my athletes and clients.

Low intensity cardiovascular exercise is great for restoration. Swimming and aquatic exercise, walking, hiking, jogging, cycling, etc. all performed in the appropriate heart rate range (for most people 130 to 150 beats per minute is a good target) for durations of 30-90 minutes can have a very restorative effect on the body. One of my former coaches used to refer to this as “massage for your heart and lungs”.

Adopting a practice like yoga, qigong, meditation or even an internal martial art like Taijiquan is a great way to balance higher intensity training and sport performance. These all encourage a focus on proper breathing and awareness and have a profound effect on stress reduction. Exercises like yoga, qigong and Taiji can be viewed as a form of moving meditation. However they should not replace your seated meditation practice.

Nutrition is often overlooked as a form of restoration, but let’s face it garbage in equals garbage out. I don’t want to turn this into a dissertation on what the best diet is, but I do think it is wise to focus on getting a lot of unprocessed, whole plant-based foods. Focusing on eating a lot of fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds will give you all the protein, carbohydrates and fats you need. Unfortunately due to the overuse of the term “macros” in fitness pop culture, the ever important “micros” are overlooked and underappreciated. A diet focusing on whole plant foods provides micronutrients in spades. Eating a ton of plant-based foods will give you an abundance of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytochemicals / phytonutrients that are essential for good health, energy, and cellular repair. In addition whole plant-based foods provide a ton of fiber. In addition to good food, make sure you are drinking plenty of fresh, clean water daily. Waiting until you are thirsty is poor practice for proper hydration.

Some of these practices should be done on a regular basis. I feel it is imperative to focus on good nutrition and engage in a meditative practice daily. Daily movement and activity is essential. Doing extra workouts on “off days” is much better than doing nothing. A light workout or extra mobility and flexibility work will help you recover from a heavy workout far better than sitting on your ass and doing nothing.

Restoration and recovery practices that are more therapeutic should be used only when needed. I feel that the more you use these methods the less effective they become. Soft tissue work, chiropractic, contrast therapy, etc. are all very effective but do not need to be performed daily.

By implementing the appropriate restoration and recovery methods and exercises into your annual, monthly, weekly and daily programming you will help to reduce the chance of injury and improve health, longevity and performance.

Stay strong and healthy!

Scott

Vegan Protein Myths

Protein is one of the most discussed topics in health and fitness and has been for the two decades that I’ve called this industry my profession. It’s even worse when it is concerning protein for vegans and vegan athletes.

Personally I can’t stand talking about nutrition because I think people overthink it and are usually just looking for “experts” to justify what they think is the correct way to eat.

However after being vegan for nearly five years the whole protein thing rears its ugly head more often than I’d like. I decided to write this blog to put together some of the information that I’ve found beneficial regarding protein considerations for vegans and vegan athletes.

Photo credit: Seth Pajak

First of all, I am not a dietitian, I am not a nutrition science geek, I simply like food and love to eat it. As a result I turn to people far more knowledgeable than myself when I look for nutrition information. Some of the people I have really benefitted from are registered dietitian Matt Ruscigno, Dr. Michael Greger, and Dr. Garth Davis. I love the fact that these three focus on evidence based nutrition when they publish and share information and all do a very good job separating the science from the BS.

Advice from my friend Matt!

One great source of information that cleared up many of the protein myths for me was an article my friend Matt Ruscigno contributed to a book I published. The book, “Know Your Own Strength” was for my Plant-Based Performance project and all book sales go to benefit the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Forgotten Animals Rescue. His article was titled “But Where Do You Get Your Science? Addressing the Supposed Science Deficiency in Nutrition for Athletes” and is full of great information. 

Here are some of the key points I feel are pertinent to this blog:

•          A complete protein is a food source that contains all nine essential amino acids.
•          There are food sources that are complete proteins and there are many that are incomplete proteins.
•          The idea of an incomplete protein is myth based in truth. It assumes we only rely on one food source for protein.
•          Most people eat a wide variety of foods, most of which contain some protein, which makes it easy to consume all of the essential amino acids the human body needs.
•          Combining foods is putting different foods together to form a complete protein. For instance rice and beans by themselves are not complete proteins, but when combined they form a complete protein food source.
•          Combining foods is not necessary. Our bodies pool amino acids and use them as needed regardless of the perceived completeness of the source. Yes eating rice and beans together is great because it tastes awesome (especially with avocado and salsa) but if you eat your rice for lunch and beans for dinner you will get no less of a benefit.

Matt, Jason and I like to combine our Yves pepperoni, seitan bacon, mushrooms, black olives, and Daiya cheese to ensure a complete source of awesome on our pizza!

How much protein do we need?

This is a topic that blows my mind. I’ve heard as little as 50 grams a day, as much as 400 grams a day and everything in between. One thing I do know is generally higher protein recommendations are pushed heavily by protein supplement manufacturers. Here is the information that makes the most sense to me.

According to Dr. Garth Davis, the public CDC website lists average daily requirements of 46 grams for women and 56 grams for men. He goes on to say that these numbers came from “nitrogen balance lab studies, epidemiologic studies, randomized clinical trials utilizing biochemical assessments, and animal studies.”

Just writing that out is making my head spin, but it is safe to say that these are the recommendations necessary to prevent protein deficiency, something most Americans are in danger of if you believe a lot of the crap many fitness experts blog about.

Sorry, but if you are eating enough calories to sustain your daily activity you are nowhere near being protein deficient. That being said these requirements are not optimal for athletes or even weekend warriors.

The government RDA for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of lean body-weight. Most people don’t readily know their lean mass to fat mass ratio so often we are just told 0.8 grams per kilogram of body-weight. According to this, at 89kg, I need 71.2 grams of protein a day. I exceed this number easily eating fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, grains, nuts and seeds.

Is the RDA sufficient for athletes? Most say no, and I agree. However I think people need to seriously assess whether or not they are an athlete or even training near the same level as an athlete. The American College of Sports Medicine along with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has found 1.2g/kg to 1.7g/kg to be an optimal range for hard training endurance and strength athletes. More than the RDA but still much less than the often recommended 1-2 grams per pound of body-weight that you see in most fitness and bodybuilding publications.

I’ll use myself as an example just to examine the difference in these two approaches.

•          89kg x 1.2 / 1.7 = 106.8 / 151.3 grams per kilogram of body-weight.
•         196lbs x 1 / 2 = 196 / 392 grams per pound of body-weight.

I am not a big fan of tracking anything, I prefer to eat calories and not count them, but I decided to log my food for a few days to see if I was as protein deficient as everyone told me I’d be after I went vegan. On regular days I was getting between 90 and 110 grams of protein through whole plant based foods. On training days I use a protein supplement around my training session and I was getting 120-140 grams of protein on those days. This easily put me in the 106 – 151 grams per day range without much effort at all. Does it work? I’ve slowly raised my body-weight from 178lbs to 196lbs and am fairly lean. Granted you won’t see my on a bodybuilding stage, ever, but I have visible muscle definition and am far from being overweight.

A little side note, my friend Stic of the hip hop duo Dead Prez, put on 20lbs of mass in just under 3 months when he was training with me. He was eating a very healthy whole food plant based diet, no junk food, no supplements, pills or powders of any kind. As a skinny ectomorph he is proof that you can get all the protein you need through a healthy, whole food vegan diet. His nutrition and training is detailed in our book, "Eat Plants, Lift Iron".

What about the bulk of us who hit the gym hard, are not sedentary but far from being an athlete? I like Dr. Davis’ recommendation of shooting for 1 gram per kilogram of body-weight daily with a protein supplement after training.

Please note that for protein utilization and recovery purposes it is important to consume carbohydrates with the protein. Recommendations vary, but I’ve seen 2-4 grams of carbs to 1 gram of protein being pretty standard. I’d recommend looking up the studies and work done by Dr. John Ivy if you’d like to learn more about nutrient timing as it pertains to training.

Simply put if you are normal and engage in light to moderate activity the RDA of 0.8 g/kg of body-weight is probably sufficient.

If you are the weekend warrior hard training type, Dr. Davis’ recommendation of 1g/kg of body-weight + a post workout protein and carbohydrate drink is probably a good recommendation.

If you are a strength or endurance athlete who is training at a very high level and putting a great deal of stress on your body the 1.2 to 1.7g/kg of body-weight recommendation is probably the way to go.

Don’t forget the more energy you expend the greater your total caloric needs will be and as caloric intake increases so will protein intake by default. If you’re not a big numbers person and don’t want to worry about all the minutia just make sure you’re eating enough calories from whole food sources to fuel your daily activity and needs and you will be fine.

Hopefully this article provided some useful information regarding protein needs for vegans and vegan athletes. If you would like to explore this topic more deeply I strongly suggest following the work of experts like Matt Ruscigno, Dr. Greger and Dr. Davis. They share a lot of information through their social media pages and their respective publications.

Stay Strong and Healthy!

-Scott

References

Davis M.D., Garth. Proteinaholic: How Our Obsession with Meat Is Killing Us and What We Can Do About It. Harper Collins. New York, NY. 2015. pp 245-252.

Ruscigno RDH, Matt. Plant-Based Performance: Know Your Own Strength. Extreme Performance Training Systems. Duluth, GA. 2015. Pp 88-90.

Training Tips for Combat Athletes: Get the most benefit from the least number of exercises.

When dealing with combat athletes, like jiu jitsu players and MMA fighters, it's important to remember that all the stuff you do in the weight room is strictly general physical preparation (GPP). The bulk of their time is usually spent working on the skills needed for their sport.

The goal of the weight-room work should be to get the greatest return for the least amount of time. This does not mean that they should not train hard, it just means that you only have so much time in the gym that is beneficial before it begins taking away from their fight training.

Most of the fighters I work with do 2-3 strength workouts a week and 2-4 extra cardiovascular workouts, that represents about 4 maybe 5 hours a week of non-specific physical training. As a result I look at how we can get more benefit out of individual exercises, while ensuring that we are developing all special strengths including maximal strength, speed strength, strength speed, explosive strength and power.

A couple of the strategies we have found to be beneficial are incorporating torso activation during pressing movements and working the grip during pulling movements.

Here are some of the exercises we've seen some success with:

Alternating band punches on the GHR. Basically on this one you just set up in a sit up position on a glute / ham raise, hold that position statically, and perform alternating explosive presses against mini bands. We generally do 15-25 reps per arm.

Alternating seated kettlebell presses. These are done by sitting on the floor, leaning back slightly to increase pressure on the abdominals and pressing a pair of kettlebells overhead in a see-saw or alternating fashion. We usually do sets of 10-15 per arm.

Low cable pull-in alternating floor press. To do this week hook an average band to a low pulley set up. Lie on the back and pull the knees back toward the chest, this engages the hip flexors and abdominals and will help build torso strength for working in the guard. From here we do alternating floor presses with a pair of kettlebells. We usually do sets of 10-15 per arm.

Gi pull-ups. These are done simply by hanging a gi top over a pull-up bar or power rack. Just grab onto the gi and do pull-ups. This is great for developing insane grip strength while training the lats. We also loop a gi over a barbell to perform a variation of a t-bar row with the gi as well. Generally for pull-ups we super-set multiple sets of 1/2 the athlete's max reps throughout the workout.

These are just a few of the ways we can get more out of the time we spend in the gym. Remember, in the gym you are just trying to make athletes stronger, faster, more explosive and better conditioned. Do not let the GPP interfere with SPP, train general to enhance the specific!

Stay Strong AND Healthy!

-Scott