Beautiful Things: SexyBack!

Beautiful Things...You Once Told Me

Andain -- Bay Area beauts and talents

Courtesy of YouTube.com

What is the secret to a sexyback?

S...Q...U...A...T..S

~20-40+ per week (when genetics are not in your favor) I do a lot at Crossfit (hundreds) and at home... they are the BOMB for the B*TT Ladies and Gentlemen... And they prevent falls and hip fractures by strengthening the core muscles, gluts (ie, b*tt), hamstrings and quads. You'll love the results. Get strong. Do 'em. Do them correctly -- otherwise you'll be sorry and require knee surgery...

Check out proper squat technique here (courtesy of Crossfit).

'You Know Squat' Another great 1.5 minute tutorial

!!KEY!! -- Notice the position of keeping the front of your knee directly above the ankle (not ahead) -- and stick your SEXYBACK out as much as possible. Yea, it is a little obscene but don't worry I'm not watching.

Can squats improve your Lp(a)? Yes definitely by:
--raising testosterone
--raising IGF-1
--lowering resting cortisol (see end study)


Food composition can make a difference to what gains and benefits can be reaped. Researchers Volek et al at Penn State looked about how nutrients appear to modulate how high testosterone increases. Jumping squats produced higher testosterone than benching (more muscles more weight bearing involved). Experiment was conducted in men who have done resistance training for an average of 5 yrs and avg body fat (BF) was 13.3 %. Avg rep max for squats was 145 kg and for bench press 80 kg.

The present study examined the relationship between dietary nutrients and resting and exercise-induced blood concentrations of testosterone (T) and cortisol (C). Twelve men performed a bench press exercise protocol (5 sets to failure using a 10-repetitions maximum load) and a jump squat protocol (5 sets of 10 repetitions using 30% of each subject's 1-repetition maximum squat) with 2 min of rest between all sets. A blood sample was obtained at preexercise and 5 min postexercise for determination of serum T and C. Subjects also completed detailed dietary food records for a total of 17 days.

• Testosterone and cortisol in relationship to dietary nutrients and resistance exercise. Volek JS, Kraemer WJ, Bush JA, Incledon T, Boetes M. J Appl Physiol. 1997 Jan;82(1):49-54.
  PMID: 9029197

Their conclusions summarized are:
**Significant correlations with pre-exercise T concentrations were seen with the below variables (see graph below):
--higher SFA (saturated fat intake) -- 2.9 to 12.6 g/1000 kcal
--higher MUFA (monounsaturated intake) -- 3.1 to 12.6 g/1000 kcal
--lower PUFA/SFA ratio (of course, minimize toxic PUFAs)
--lower protein to carbohydrate ratio (very curious since a fairly high carb intake noted 48-69% and typically considered rather *high* whereas daily energy ranged from 1184 to 3189 kcal per day and average intake was 2362 kcal/day -- protein ideally appears around 15% which corresponds to ~88g/day and avg weight was 75.6 kg -- about 1.16 g/kg average protein for max testosterone)
--low (R=0.53) correlation for cholesterol (intake was rather low 66 to 168 mg/1000 kcal)


**Dietary FAT, SFA, and MUFA were the best predictors of resting T concentrations. The average fat intake was 23% and ranged 10-32%.


**Interestingly, Tegelman et al. (28) observed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.76) between percent energy fat and T in young athletic men, which is very similar to the correlation (r = 0.72) obtained in this study. Also, Adlercreutz et al. (1) reported significant positive correlations between T and dietary fat, SFA, MUFA, and cholesterol in postmenopausal women.

Just do it... Squat...Resistance Train... Here elite rugby players experience intense testosterone hormone surges with weight training to maximum repetition and repeat sets. Watch your sdLDL and Lp(a) drop as you reach your individual warrior potential. Reap benefits with REPS. Push it, I know you can do it. *wink* These researchers are good -- salivary is the way to go for testing.

Salivary testosterone and cortisol responses in professional rugby players after four resistance exercise protocols. Beaven CM, et al. New Zealand (of course) J Strength Cond Res. 2008 Mar;22(2):426-32.

The acute response of free salivary testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) concentrations to four resistance exercise (RE) protocols in 23 elite men rugby players was investigated. We hypothesized that hormonal responses would differ among individuals after four distinct RE protocols: four sets of 10 repetitions (reps) at 70% of 1 repetition maximum (1RM) with 2 minutes' rest between sets (4 x 10-70%); three sets of five reps at 85% 1RM with 3 minutes' rest (3 x 5-85%); five sets of 15 reps at 55% 1RM with 1 minute's rest (5 x 15-55%); and three sets of five reps at 40% 1RM with 3 minutes' rest (3 x 5-40%). Each athlete completed each of the four RE protocols in a random order on separate days. T and C concentrations were measured before exercise (PRE), immediately after exercise (POST), and 30 minutes post exercise (30 POST). Each protocol consisted of four exercises: bench press, leg press, seated row, and squats. Pooled T data did not change as a result of RE, whereas C declined significantly.

RESULTS:
Individual athletes differed in their T response to each of the protocols, a difference that was masked when examining the pooled group data. When individual data were retrospectively tabulated according to the protocol in which each athlete showed the highest T response, a significant protocol-dependent T increase for all individuals was revealed.

CONCLUSION:
Therefore, RE induced significant individual, protocol-dependent hormonal changes lasting up to 30 minutes after exercise. These individual responses may have important ramifications for modulating adaptation to RE and could explain the variability often observed in studies of hormonal response to RE.

PMID: 18550957