Strength is Never a Weakness

Thursday, 13 April 2017

The Squat: Can you Coach it to Everyone?

The Squat: Can you Coach it to Everyone?

By Andrew Richardson (BSc), Owner of Richardson’s Strength and Conditioning, Head Coach of the Teesside Barbarians and Level 2 IPF Powerlifting Coach and current MSc Student

It may seem like an obvious answer however, most trainers, coaches and PT’s struggle to coach the squat. They just see it as another exercise, not a complex movement which so many factors play a key role in ensuring the squat is performed correctly and safely for any individual. A lot of the times the information they have read leads trainers to be misinformed. This I will help to eliminate and to help those in some squatting tips. As a forewarning, this is how I was taught and how I have learned to teach the squat (in all its variations). By all means please try them out but be open to other coach’s interpretations and methods of teaching.

The article was made based off my lecture noes to Undergraduates at Teesside University (2017). Lectured notes tailored to students whom are new to coaching and fitness.

Let’s get into it!

Escamilla et al (2000) cited the squat as the best exercise, as it can make athletes quicker or add muscle mass. Due to its array of applications, the squat is one of the most recorded movements within the Sports Science and Strength and Conditioning literature (Brown 1988, Chiu et al 2009, Chiu & Burkhardt 2011 and Cissik 2000). It has been named the gold standard of leg strength assessment (Escamilla et al 2001a and Escamilla et al 2000b). Additionally, the squat is a great assessment tool for many components of fitness, such as motor unit recruitment, maximal strength, balance and flexibility (Bell et al 2008, Clark and Lucett, 2007 and Escamilla et al 2001). Hartmann, Wirth and Klusemann (2013) stated in their paper "provided that technique is learned accurately under expert supervision and with progressive training loads, the deep squat presents an effective training exercise for protection against injuries and strengthening of the lower extremity."

We know it is a well referenced and popular exercise amongst the literature but, what muscles are being used and how? Table 1 and Table 2 give a detailed overview on how the anatomy of the human body works in relation to performing a squat;

Table 1.0 The Role of the Muscles in the Back Squat (Clark & Lucett, 2007).

Type of Muscle Function of the Muscle What Muscles are Used

Agonist Prime Mover Gluteus Maximus

Quadriceps

Synergist Assists Prime Mover Hamstrings

Stabilizer Stabilise while Prime Mover & Synergist Work Transversusabdominis

Antagonist Oppose Prime Mover Psoas

Table 2.0 The Barbell Back Squat (Yule, 2007)

Muscle Function

Quadriceps Extend the Knee

Gluteus Extend the Hips

Gluteus Med Extending of the Hip and Lateral Hip rotation

Hamstrings Extend the Hip

Erector Spinae Stabiliser of the Spine and Pelvis

Latissimusdorsi Stabiliser of the Spine and Pelvis

Adductors Contribute to the extension of the hips and stabilising of it.
(Magnus, Longus,
Brevis & Minimus)

Abdominals Stabiliser of the Spine and Pelvis

When coaching the back squat think of it as a balance drill. Imagine this in your head as your reading this; The distance between the subjects’ feet when squatting is known as the base of support (BOS). When using weight (external load), it will have an effect on the subject’s centre of mass (COM). This external load can be referred to as the perceived centre of mass (PCOM). If the PCOM moves outside the BOS (barbell moves away from the midfoot), then the squat will become more challenging (Cleather, 2012). From image below we can clearly see this affecting the individual below when the barbell moves away from the mid foot.

Figure 1.0 Correct Positioning for the Back Squat (Khan, 2016)

Credit: http://smartlifting.org/2015/08/com-delle-mie-brame/

To far back and you will fall backwards, too far forward and you will fall forward with the bar hitting your head. To summarise the first section, we have looked out the usefulness of the back squat, its anatomical and biomechanical abilities and how the squat is a balance skill when being coached.

When we squat depending on the individual we will open up our hips at different angles based upon our femur, tibia/fibia lengths and ankle, knee, hip joint designs.

The next section of the article has me answering some of the most common questions I get as a coach when being asked about the squat. This makes it easier for you as readers (whom I writing this for coaches and trainers) as you will get asked similar questions.

1. Question: What coaching points would you give when coaching a novice the bodyweight squat?

(This is assuming they have no injuries and have full mobility)

My main coaching points for the bodyweight squat (a lot of these cues can be applied to weighted versions of the squat as well);

• Get feet in correct stance based on individuals biomechanics (we will expand on this later).

• Head neutral (this just means head straight not forward or back).

• Eyes up (look up few inches above where you are looking forward).

• Shoulder blades retracted and flex the lat muscles (this creates a strong and tight upper back). This also replaces the chest up cue as many new lifters will just arch their upper backs causing an exaggerated extension of the back. This will lead to injury if not corrected.

• Brace core (small amount of air breathed in and in combination with this flex your abdominal muscles. Hold this tension when squatting).

• Break at the hips (push your hips back first when squatting not bending at the knees).

• Knees track over toes (within one’s ankle dorsi flexion ability).

• Feet stay on the ground (don’t roll inwards).

• Keep yourself braced and looking up during descent (simply put don’t collapse your form when coming in and out of the hole).

• Once below parallel (or whatever depth the person can achieve) then come back up and stand tall.

For video demonstration please refer to:

• Bodyweight squat coaching video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3etB0RavVuw

• Coaching the back squat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZlcBUnkdp8

2. Question: If someone cannot do a bodyweight squat (for whatever reason) what can they do instead?

• Isometric corner squats (hold a corner of a squat rack for few sets of 10-15 seconds, fires up the quads and keeps good form).

• Paused bodyweight squats (again maintains good techqniue and pauses can be done at a variety of heights based on the individuals needs).

• Squatting to a Box or chair. The height of the box/chair can be reduced over time (depending on the client this is quite good if someone has tendonitis or some other knee injury, as the weight is shifted to the hips/hamstrings/glutes more rather than the quadriceps.

• Leg Curl Machine (works the hamstrings).

• Leg Extension Machine (works the quadriceps).

• Leg Press Machine (works the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves).

• Trap Bar Deadlift. This is a great tool for clients who are very tall, lack hip or shoulder mobility and finally may have weak quads. Clients can grab the bar as the handles are raised, similar mechanics to a squat and a nice stepping stone to doing a squat.

These are just a suggestion (I will do an article on the deadlift separately to cover it as well).

3. Question: What should I look for when coaching a client who has different limb lengths or impairments?

(This won’t cover everything as some injuries can make up their own articles this is a brief summary for trainers and coaches out there).

Here are some key points about building the squat for an individual;

• Look at their leg length in relation to their torso. If their legs are longer than their torso then they will naturally have a wider stance squat (depending on their hip mobility).

• If they have a very long back this will limit their ROM (range of motion) when squatting down. Linked in with tight hips and tight lower back. Have a tendency to collapse forward when squatting (this can be affected even more with tight ankles and shoulders).

• Students, office based jobs will have poor ankle, knee, hip mobility as they sit down all the time so depth and degrees of freedom around a joint will be limited.

• What is their ankle mobility like? Are they wearing the appropriate shoes? Do they wear insoles?

• What is their injury list? Can they physically do a squat? Can they stand up or sit down without pain?

• What is their end goal? Do they want to get stronger or faster or bigger legs?

• What is their sport? Is it explosive or endurance?

As you can see this is just a snapshot of what you may see when working with an array of clients so be prepared to adapt movements around your client needs.

4. Question: I have a good grasp of the bodyweight squat. What can I do next?

The following exercises are suitable to use as progressions (in no particular order);

• High bar back squat (barbell rests on an individual’s traps).

• Barbell Paused squat (same as the above but pausing it).

• Lunge done statically without weight (single leg work is a great way to bring up strength).

• Goblet squat (nice exercise keeping the spine neutral can use a kettlebell or dumbbell).

• Overhead squat with bands (great for mobility and progressing to doing an overhead squat).

• Front Squat (with kettlebells is a great way to strengthen the quads and core muscles).

Not everyone you meet will be able to do every exercise I have listed (and there is more I haven’t listed). It is your job as coaches to make the call and assess what they can and cannot do. This will require some time to eliminate out what your client is physically able to do whilst still achieving their goals.

5. Question: From the exercises suggested as regressions and progressions. What kind of variations can I do?

Variations which can be applied to exercises I have mentioned;

• Tempo of the movement (Time under Tension training for hypertrophy).

• Pauses at different points of a movement to create for tension (again for hypertrophy or to build strength at a specific point of a movement).

• Weight used as in percentage of one rep max (1RM).

• Drop Sets/Super Sets/Pyramid Sets for lactic acid training, hypertrophy training or strength endurance and much more.

• Bands around the knees to create more tension when externally rotating the femur away from the body (gets the glute muscles more engaged).

• Stance Width when doing a squat (wider stance more glutes and hamstrings, close stance more quadriceps).

• Speed/Velocity of the barbell is referring to how fast or slow one is lifting the bar. This is dependent on the sport or goal of an individual.

6. Question: What technical issues should I be aware of when coaching my clients when they are squatting?

These are things you may see clients do which will affect their technical proficiency in this exercise;

• Fall backward (see image below). This is usually due to being off balance and putting the weight too much on the back foot when sitting into the hole or when coming out of the hole they push back and don’t slow down.

Figure 2.0 Incorrect Positioning for the Back Squat

Credit: http://smartlifting.org/2015/08/com-delle-mie-brame/

• Fall forward (see Image above). Can be due to losing balance or lack of mobility at the ankles to go down low. To compensate the chest is pushed forward which gives the impression (to the lifter) he/she is going lower where in fact they are just going forward not lower.

• Knees caving inwards (this is known as Knee Valgus Collapse). Can be due to tight hip flexors, tight glutes or lack of stability of the knee joint during the lift itself.

• Ankles rolling inward. Lack of mobility or due to having high arches, this is because the feet will collapse inwards (due to the increase in weight). This causes a knock on effect, knees come in then hips come inward. If a lifter has high arches insoles are recommended. If possible have a client’s gait assessed as if their squatting is being affected their walking is probably affected as well.

• Elbows flaring back. This is a lack of lat tightness or not enough shoulder mobility under the bar. Try and get your clients to pull the barbell into their traps as if they are doing a lat pulldown

movement. Once pulled down, then crush their lats together with their elbows (mobility permitting). If struggling widen their grip and do the above again.

• Rounded back is due to not doing the above and or a combination of no upper back tightness and not bracing.

• Dive bombing (rapid speed of descent). This is squatting which maximum effort down without control. Only thing one will gain with this getting themselves injured. Leave the ego at the door and slow down the movement.

Reference List

1. Bell, D. R., Padua, D. A. & Clark, M. A. (2008). Muscle Strength and Flexibility Characteristics of people displaying excessive Knee Displacement. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 89: pp.1323-1328.

2. Brown, L. (1998) Which way to do the Squat Exercise? Strength and Conditioning, 20, pp. 65-66

3. Chiu, L.Z.F. and Burkhardt, E. (2011). A Teaching Progression for Squatting Exercises. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 33, pp. 46-54.

4. Chiu, L.z.f. et al. (2009) Sitting back in the Squat. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 31, pp. 25-27.

5. Cissik, J. (2000) Coaching the Front Squat. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 22, pp. 7-12.

6. Clark, M. A. and Lucett, S. C. (2007). NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

7. Dan Cleather. (2012). Squatting is a balance skill: An alternative technical model. In: Ian Jeffreys Professional Strength and Conditioning. Lancashire: UKSCA. pp. 17-21.

8. Escamilla, R. F. (2001a). Knee Biomechanics of the dynamic squat exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 33(1), pp. 127-141.

9. Escamilla, R. F., Fleisig, G. S., Zheng, N., Lander, J. E., Barrentire, S. W., Andrews, J. R., Bergeman, B. W. and Moorman, C. T. (2001). Effects of technique variation on knee biomechanics during the squat and leg press. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise Science, 33: pp. 1552-1566.

10. Escamilla, R.F., Fleisig, G.S., Lowry, T.M., Barrentine, S.W. and Andrews, J.R., 2001. A three-dimensional biomechanical analysis of the squat during varying stance widths. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 33(6), pp.984-998.

11. Hartmann, H., Wirth, K. and Klusemann, M. (2013). Analysis of the load on the knee joint and vertebral column with changes in squatting depth and weight load. Sports Medicine, 43(10), pp.993-1008.

12. Yasha Khan. (2016). Check Your Balance. Available: http://yashathoughts.com/check-your-balance/. [Accessed 20th March 2016].

13. Yule, S. (2007). The Back Squat. Professional Strength and Conditioning, 8, pp. 20-23.

Andrew Richardson, Founder of Strength is Never a Weakness Blog

I have a BSc (Hons) in Applied Sport Science and a Merit in my MSc in Sport and Exercise Science and I passed my PGCE at Teesside University.

Now I will be commencing my PhD into "Investigating Sedentary Lifestyles of the Tees Valley" this October 2019.

I am employed by Teesside University Sport and WellBeing Department as a PT/Fitness Instructor.

My long term goal is to become a Sport Science and/or Sport and Exercise Lecturer. I am also keen to contribute to academia via continued research in a quest for new knowledge.

My most recent publications:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X19300216

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1752928X19301076

My passion is for Sport Science which has led to additional interests incorporating Sports Psychology, Body Dysmorphia, AAS, Doping and Strength and Conditioning.

Within these respective fields, I have a passion for Strength Training, Fitness Testing, Periodisation and Tapering.

I write for numerous websites across the UK and Ireland including my own blog Strength is Never a Weakness.

I had my own business for providing training plans for teams and athletes.

I was one of the Irish National Coaches for Powerlifting, and have attained two 3rd places at the first World University Championships,

in Belarus in July 2016.Feel free to email me or call me as I am always looking for the next challenge.

Contact details below;

Facebook: Andrew Richardson (search for)

Facebook Page: @StrengthisNeveraWeakness

Twitter: @arichie17

Instagram: @arichiepowerlifting

Snapchat: @andypowerlifter

Email: a.s.richardson@tees.ac.uk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-richardson-b0039278

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew_Richardson7

Friday, 26 August 2016

Nutrient Timing

"You have to eat every 3 hours to keep your metabolism burning"

"If you skip a meal that's your day ruined.."

"Protein shake straight after you finish or your workout is a waste"

Hands up if you've heard of these statements before.. hands even higher if you've followed them.

Don't worry my hands up high aswell!

Along with many others I have also followed these nutritional necessities.

What difference did it make? Not much, if any!

Welcome back to the fourth instalment in our guest blog Nutrition Series. In parts 1,2 and 3 we covered 'The importance of Nutrition to athletes', 'Beginning to set up your diet' and 'Breaking down your diet into different macronutrients' I highly recommend you check them out before going any further with this one!

Today we are going to take a look at a pretty controversial subject - Nutrient timing within sporting performance

What is nutrient timing?

Put simply, this is the amount of time you leave between your meals and when and what you eat around your workouts to enhance your performance.

However, before going any further we need to sum up the actual difference nutrient timing has on athletic performance or physique enhancement.

Dr. Mike Israetel attributes it's worth to ~5% of your results

Furthermore, Eric Helms is also in agreement and has designed a spectacular pyramid which shows how many people are missing the forest for the trees.

Helms et al. (2015)

The above image is layered this way for a reason - without the foundations below nutrient timing it's essentially useless!

For example, your goal is to gain muscle. For this we need a caloric surplus and some form of progressive overload in our training program. You smash back your protein within 1 minute of finishing your last set and you are eating a protein source every 3 hours - great, doing what you are meant to! However, 6 weeks down the line and you haven't made any progress - you haven't gained any muscle or bodyweight. Why? You have violated the pyramids principles!

Instead of ensuring the foundations for gaining muscle - a caloric surplus, adequate protein intake - where in place, you focussed on the nuances - timing of intake.

I'm not saying that timing doesn't matter - eating protein every 4-6 hours will likely be better than once a day, however, you need to ensure that the most important parts of your diet (calories and macronutrients) are in place first, before worrying about

timing.

What actually matters

Once we have our foundations in place we can then focus on aligning our nutrient intake throughout the day to give us better results.

The most important points we need to consider are;

Protein intake through the day

Protein intake pre and post exercise

Carbohydrate and fat intake in relation to exercise time

Protein intake through the day

I am sure we have all heard and followed the age old myth of eating a protein source every 3 hours to keep our muscles happy.

You may have even carried a protein shake on trips out to ensure you had something to feed your muscle with!

However, this may be unnecessary. Studies conducted by Helms et al. (2014) and Schoenfeld et al. (2015) found little difference between protein intakes of 3x per day and 6x per day, stating that an intake within these ranges is likely optimal for muscle growth and performance.

Since we are most likely eating our protein sources as part of a meal, a more important question is one of adherence.

Adherence is of primary concern when setting up our nutrition (Schoenfeld et al. 2015) and how often we are eating protein is likely going to be individualized. For example, some people may prefer to eat smaller meals, more often to keep themselves full and therefore, will opt for a higher frequency of protein intake e.g. 6 meals per day. On the other hand, someone may like to eat larger meals, less often and then aim for 3-4 meals per day.

My recommendation would be to stay within the 3-6 meals or protein feedings per day recommendation - if we go lower or higher ie 2 or 6+ issues begin to develop with adherence.

For example, two meals or protein feedings per day can have you going for a long time without food, making you more susceptible to eating everything and kitchen sink come meal time and is likely less optimal for muscle development as you are only providing nutrients at two points during the day. At meal intervals above 6, it can seem like you do nothing but cook or the meals are so small you’re never really full. Both situations can lead to varying problems with hunger control.

Simply, take your daily protein intake (1g per lb of bodyweight) and split it between the numbers of meals you wish to consume and you have your protein target for each meal and can easily meet your daily total. After this point, assign a time interval from 3-6 hours between each meal that will allow you to adhere best to meeting your protein intakes and allow you to be as full as possible. Simple!

Protein intake pre and post exercise

Again, a very controversial topic - we have all heard the recommendation of consuming protein within 30 minutes of finishing our exercise for that 'post anabolic window of gains'

However, it really isn't necessary!

A meta analysis on post workout protein intake found that consuming protein within 1 hours of finishing exercise does not have a significant benefit on muscle size or strength (Schoenfeld et al., 2013)

An additional meta analysis conducted by Schoenfeld and Aragon (2013), suggests that pre and post exercise protein feedings should not be separated by more than 3-4 hours. Most training sessions will last around 1-2 hours and therefore, will leave plenty of time to consume a meal post training, as opposed to slamming a protein shake.

Therefore, practical applications of the above would be consume a protein source around 1-2 hours pre and post training and don't worry if you don't slam your protein shake post workout - it won't make a difference!

Carbohydrate and fat intake in relation to exercise

This topic doesn't receive as much light as protein intake as quite frankly it's not as important or 'sexy' to mainstream media. However, it likely is important if your goal is peak athletic performance.

So, why is carbohydrate intake in relation to exercise important?

Carbohydrates fuel our performance during high intensity sports such as weightlifting, rugby or sprinting. Therefore, we want to make sure we have adequate glycogen stores before exercise to enable us to perform at a consistent high intensity and we need to ensure we replenish depleted glycogen stores after exercise to enhance recovery.

Pre exercise Carbohydrate intake

There is mixed literature on the performance enhancing benefits of pre exercise carbohydrate ingestion (Helms et al., 2015). However, through coaching individuals, I have seen most people perform at their best if they ingest at least some carbohydrate before exercise. The amount you consume will be individual dependant. For example, some individuals may consume large amounts of carbohydrates pre exercise and not experience any stomach or GI distress. On the other hand, some individuals will prefer to consume smaller doses as they find they can digest the smaller dose easier and still perform well. A practical take away would be to experiment and see what makes you feel best and allows you to train best.

Furthermore, when dieting and on limited carbohydrate intakes, it may be a good idea to place your carbohydrate intake around your workout. For example, consuming the majority of your carbohydrate intake pre and post workout, while opting for relatively lower carbohydrate intakes throughout the day when carbohydrates may not be necessary. This can enable you to feel better during your workout and therefore, improve your performance.

Post exercise Carbohydrate intake

Like most sub sections within this post, quite a controversial topic with many seeking to replenish their lost glycogen stores as quickly as possible with high GI 'fast digesting' carbohydrates. However, do we really need to do this?

If we are a strength athlete or physique competitor there really isn't any need!

We are not training at a high intensity multiple times per day! If you have a sensible training program you will train a muscle group one day and then have a break for at least around 24 hours. This is a 24 hour period where your muscles can replenish lost glycogen from your training session - this is more than ample time! A practical take away would be consume your carbohydrates at a convenient time post workout and one which promotes adherence. You may feel alot better taking them in your meal after training or some may be able to push it back until 2 meals after training without going crazy - it's whatever suits you best!

However, if you are a high intensity games player or train 2x per day there may be some support for consuming carbohydrates in your post workout meal. Since you are training 2x per day, you will need some form of carbohydrate to fuel your second session. If you deplete your glycogen stores in your first session and do not replenish them, you are effectively operating on a half tank of gas and could be negatively effecting your second session. To avoid this, simply ensure there is some form of carbohydrate in your meal(s) between sessions.

A second argument of post workout ingestion is to spike our body's insulin to enhance muscle growth and nutrient uptake. However, protein has also been shown to spike insulin (Boelsma et al. 2010; Tentolouris et al. 2008). Therefore, if you consume a protein source by itself you will still spike insulin and be 'driving the nutrients into your muscles'

The best reccomendation is to follow an approach which allows you to hit your overall carbohydrate intake (Aragon and Schoenfeld, 2013) and if you are training 2x per day, consume some form of carbohydrate between sessions.

Fat intake around exercise

This topic relates to potential GI or stomach issues during exercise. When we eat a meal containing fat, it slows disgestion, causing us to feel fuller for longer.

If you are performing close to a meal containing or high in fat, this can cause problems with your digestion. For example, it could make you feel sick as you are still trying to digest your meal. Therefore, you will not be able to perform optimally as most likely you will be more focused on your upset stomach and not emptying your last meal over the squat rack.

Therefore, it is a good idea to limit the amount of fat in your pre workout meal, opting to keep it a lower fat and higher carbohydrate option to enable comfortable performance.

Summary

In summary, alot of myths surround nutrient timing for athletic performance and physique enhancement.

From this article I hope you have found the general jist to be they are just that - myths!

They will make little difference and certainly make none at all if you don't have the foundations or lower tiers of the pyramid in place.

This is why the most important considerations are and always will be; adherence, caloric intake and macronutrient totals.

Anything past his point won't make massive differences - likely 5-10% of overall success.

Practical take aways from this article are;

Consume protein every 4-6 hours and eat anywhere from 3-6 meals based upon personal preference.

Consume protein 1-2 hours pre and post workout and don't worry if you don't slam a shake within 30 seconds of finishing your last set!

Consume your carbohydrates at any time of the day to replenish glycogen if training once per day but ensure you aren't ingesting too much close to training to cause stomach issues.

If training 2x per day it's a good idea to consume carbohydrates between sessions

Try to minimize the amount of fat in your pre workout meal to help with digestion

As stated before your overall caloric intake and macronutrient intake needs to be inline with your goals for any of the above to make a significant difference or benefit.

It doesn't have to be more complicated than that!

If you have any questions, please contact me through the links below!

About the Author

Dave Carleton is a powerlifter who competes in the 66kg class and has represented Great Britain at European and World Championship level. He is currently study Sports and Exercise Science in Edinburgh and runs a nutrition and training coaching service, helping individuals improve their sporting performance, get stronger and achieve their body composition goals. He creates regular articles and tips through his blog and facebook page which are linked below. He also has a free facebook group with members interested in strength training, nutrition and sports performance. Within the group, helpful tips, training feedback and nutritional support is provided – if this sounds like it would be beneficial to you, request to join on the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/Davy-Carleton-Performance-Nutrition-1650952501824022/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

carletonperformanceandnutrition.co.uk/blog-3

https://www.facebook.com/groups/eat.track.lift/

References

Aragon, A. and Schoenfeld, B. (2013). Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window? Journal of International society of Sports nutrition. 10 (5).

Boelsma, E., Brink, E., Stafleu, A. and Hendriks, H. (2010). Measures of postprandial wellness after intake of two protein-carbohydrate rich meals, Metabolism. 54 (3), pp. 456-464.

Helms, E., Aragon, A. and Fitschen, P. (2014). Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and supplementation. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 11(1). pp. 20.

Helms, E., Valdez, A. and Morgan, A. (2015).The Muscle And Strength Pyramid – Nutrition

Schoenfeld, B., Arragon, A., Krieger, J. (2013). The effect of protein timing on muscle strength and hypertrophy: a meta analysis, Journal of International society of Sports nutrition. 10, pp. 53.

Tentolouris, N., Pavlatos, S., Kokkinos, A., Perrea, D., Pagoni, S. and Katsilambros, N. (2008). Diet-induced thermogensesis and substrate oxidation are not different between lean and obese women after two isocaloric meals, one rich in protein and one rich in fat, Metabolism. 57 (3), pp. 313-320.

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Thank you Davey for another great post