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AmpedTraining.com :: Strength, Muscle, Fat Loss, and Logic
www.ampedtraining.com/posts
4
Logical Strength Training, Bodybuilding, and Fat Loss
#264600 in All

What is Genius?

We throw around the words smart and intelligent and genius casually, and Im not sure that really applies to someone who writes articles about pumping biceps or how to eat Paleo. I dont think theres a...

22 sep 11

Complex Nonlinear Systems

Two videos: Chaos and Reductionism Emergence and Complexity Robert Sapolsky lectures on chaos theory and nonlinear complex systems. Update your ideas on biology and exercise science accordingly.

23 aug 11

Adrenal Fatigue Revisited [Recovery]

Several years ago, I wrote a post on the subject of adrenal fatigue. I dont recall exactly what prompted the rant, but Im sure it had something to do with a personal trainer or MD-turned-author tryin...

20 jul 11

Death by Monotony [Staleness]

Do you ever get bored in training? Do you ever get stuck and wonder why its so hard to get any stronger? Sometimes it comes down to repetition. You do the same things over and over, to the point that...

14 jul 11

Dispel the Dogma and Find the Gems

A few days ago, my buddy Bret Contreras wrote up a summary of John Brozs training methods over on T-Nation. Ive been following Broz and his athletes closely for the last year and a half, and hes neve...

06 jul 11

I Am Not a Geared Powerlifter [Context Matters]

A few years ago, I posted a squat video on Youtube. Not the best source of intelligent commentary on good days, several comments stuck out to me. These users, with the best of intentions Im sure, gav...

08 jun 11

Assorted Links on Cognition and Neuroscience

Links of interest: The Belief Engine by James Alcock -- A nice look at the confabulation powers of the brain which lead to bias and irrationality. Inducing Disbelief in Free Will Alters Brain Correla...

01 jun 11

The Language of Failure [Neuropsych]

In the 1930s, linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf argued that language shapes thought. Language, wrote Sapir, can be considered "the mold of thought." Languages doesnt simply latch on t...

26 may 11

The Training Methods of Bob Peoples

Since Ive been back on a daily-squatting kick, I thought this would be appropriate an appropriate read to get some discussion going. For reasons that will become clear, Bob Peoples has been a huge mo...

11 may 11

Squatting Like a Maniac [Hell Yeah]

This is going to be another short clip-show post. The John Broz Q&A Thread - an older thread from BB.com, chock full of golden wisdom from Broz himself. The first 5-6 pages are mandatory reading...

04 may 11

Does it help me? [Stop Nitpicking]

The first chapter of Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard by Chip & Dan Heath (link to my review) tells the story of Jerry Sternin, who came to Vietnam in the 1999 with a big mission and a s...

27 apr 11

Dealing with Uncertainty in Training [Program Hopping]

What is the perfect program? Could any of us, educated and experienced, define perfection? What does perfect mean in the first place? The thinkers among us might be able to cobble together a definiti...

20 apr 11

Back to Overtraining

Im a bit short on time (read: behind) this week, so this wont be a big update. I highly suggest a look at The Death of Heavy Days: How To Do More Work with Less Obsession by Nick Horton of PDX Weight...

13 apr 11

The Value of Restraint in Training Weights [Strength Progressions]

We like fast progress. All of us do. I like it. When poundages arent going up on the regular, I start second guessing. I wonder where Im screwing it up. I need that regular feedback. I know it doesnt...

06 apr 11

How much can the CNS handle? [Stress]

Awhile back, when I was talking about heavy daily training, I wrote a post about inflammation and how this contributes to the common feeling of overtraining (which is probably better termed staleness...

30 mar 11

Why goals do more harm than good [Goal-setting]

Sports are highly competitive. I know, I get the Nobel Prize for Obvious Statements, but we take it on faith that we must push to be the best. And why not? Why go into a sport, or any activity, if yo...

23 mar 11

Fast Food Solutions for Fast Food Problems

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." -Albert Einstein* Every time I go to a store with a large parking lot, I alw...

16 mar 11

Intensity & Training to Failure [Muscle Gain]

Heavy is always better, right? Thats the going mantra. Lift heavy things and youll grow and get stronger. I push this position myself, because I think its mostly right. If you want to reap gains from...

09 mar 11

The Cortical Lottery: Dopamine and the Activity Set-point [Research Review]

Years ago in one of my criminology classes, the professor introduced us to various theories on social deviance. Criminologists want to know what makes people act up and steal, or rob you in the stree...

02 mar 11

On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You’re Not [Book Review]

I think that perhaps the worst thing we can do, not only as fitness professional type or athletes, but in all aspects of life, is to become stale. We lock ourselves into ruts of habit and comfortable...

27 feb 11

Narrowing the Bullseye

I often find myself describing science as a limiting factor. The typical lay-view, reinforced by Hollywood, stereotypes scientists as mysterious figures in labcoats handing down edicts the same way a...

23 feb 11

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success [Book Review]

"Just because some people can do something with little or no training, it doesnt mean that others cant do it (and sometimes do it even better) with training." When I was a kid, I always score...

17 feb 11

Leave the Belt On. Skip the Plyos.

We all know about losing strength on a diet. I sure do. Most bodybuilders do. Any time I make a reduction in calories and limit carb intake, my strength goes into the gutter. What Ive always found in...

16 feb 11

Pain Isn’t A Virtue [Muscle & Strength Gains]

In biology, its rare to find an instance where more is always better. Biological systems respond in dose-response relationships. More is better -- to a point. Once you get past that ideal range, more...

09 feb 11

Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think [Book Review]

In keeping with my theme of exploring the psychological side of training and nutrition, Ive been doing quite a bit of reading on the cognitive and behavioral factors that go into decision making. As ...

06 feb 11

Cannabinoids: Not Just for Getting High

Youve just sat down for dinner. Tonight, its a bag of Cheetos, a 3-liter of Coke, and a large pizza. You know its bad for you. You know it, and yet you dont do anything about it. Youre at the gym. Yo...

02 feb 11

Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard [Book Review]

I realize Ive been stepping out of the usual bounds the last few months, which may put off some people. I promise all my talk about psychology and cognitive science does have a point, and is most ass...

30 jan 11

Zen and the Art of Squatting, Part II

Back in part I (read that first so you arent lost), I talked about the unconscious nature of motor learning and skill training, and mentioned how the brain rewires itself in response to outside chang...

26 jan 11

Why the letters MD don’t make a fitness expert

From Anthony Colpo: When Matt and Jeff point this out, Fred replies: “First, the editor of our book chose NOT to put a bibliography in the book. She also did not want too many technical references. S...

20 jan 11

Zen and the Art of Squatting, Part I

Im not exactly sure where to start this post, because its a departure from the straight-up, I did this at the gym kind of thing I normally talk about. Ill start with a little background. I have a wid...

19 jan 11

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