Q&A
Water
Intake
Q:
Everyone says you should drink at least 8-12 glasses
of water a day. If I am exercising on a regular
basis, how much water do I really need?
A:
The general consensus from practically every health
practitioner - and I, too, was a culprit of this
thinking - is that you should drink plenty of water
daily to stay well hydrated and help flush out waste
products while reducing the strain on the kidneys
and liver (particularly when protein levels are
high to facilitate clearance of urea.) However,
we must be careful with these recommendations. Too
much water intake can actually be dangerous! I first
learned of this condition from Dr. Mel Siff - it
is called water intoxication or hyponatremia. Although
infrequent, exercise-related hyponatremia may be
life-threatening when accompanied by prolonged exercise.
The reason is it accelerates salt loss in the sweat
and makes cells swell which can cause changes in
brain chemistry, lung congestion and muscle weakness.(4)
On
the other hand, if you do not take in enough water,
performance may suffer. Even a small loss in body
weight from dehydration will cause a significant
decrease in strength.(5) Many times, if you are
thirsty, you are already in a state of dehydration.
So, there is a fine line between taking in enough
water or consuming too much! Of course, this will
vary among individuals and other factors - such
as diuretics (i.e. caffeine, alcohol, thermogenics)
and sweat loss - must be considered.(3) Therefore,
the blanket statement: "Drink 8-12 glasses
of water a day!" may or may not apply to your
situation. You can gauge your water intake by the
color of your urine: if it is clear, you are probably
taking in enough water; however, if it is dark,
you should increase your water intake. Perhaps the
best suggestion, though, is to stay comfortably
hydrated and drink water as you lose it ... but
not too much!
Determining
Fiber Type
Q:
How do you determine the fiber type of a muscle?
A:
One way to determine fiber type is to find your
1 repetition maximum (1RM) on an exercise. Then,
perform as many reps as possible with 80% of your
1RM. Regardless of who you follow, Dr. Fred Hatfield
(estimates 8 reps at 80% 1RM) or Charles Poliquin
(7 reps at 80% 1RM), the following table will indicate
your fiber type:
Reps
Performed with 80% 1RM Fiber Type
less than 7 fast-twitch (FT) dominant
7 or 8 mixed fiber type
more than 8 slow-twitch (ST) dominant
Poliquin
later refined his method using a higher intensity
(85% 1RM) - he found that this gave more accurate
results:
Reps
Performed with 85% 1RM Fiber Type
less than 5 FT dominant
5 mixed fiber type
more than 5 ST dominant
The
above method indicates whether you should perform
high, medium, or low reps on a particular exercise.
For instance, if you are FT dominant, then you should
use heavier loads and lower reps predominantly in
your training. ST dominant individuals, on the other
hand, will respond better to lighter loads and higher
repetitions. This information is really nothing
new.
Another
way to determine fiber type that many people are
not aware of is to use electronic muscle stimulation
(EMS). This method was introduced to me by Dr. Mark
Lindsay and it goes like this. Since EMS recruits
white fibers first(2), a FT dominant muscle will
activate at lower intensities. (The opposite occurs
during a voluntary contraction - red muscle fiber
is recruited initially, and as the intensity of
contraction increases, white fiber is fired.) Therefore,
by simply placing the pads over different muscles,
you can get an idea of fiber type distribution throughout
the body as well as among individuals. This will
influence the training parameters as described above.
Robert Colling wrote an excellent review of human
muscle fiber type distribution that can be found
on the internet.(1)
Of
course, you could always have a muscle biopsy performed
if you really want to know!
Abdominals
as Stabilizers
Q:
I've heard you mention that you don't need tons
of cardio to burn stubborn abdominal fat. Okay,
I can live with that, but you've also said that
it isn't absolutely necessary to perform direct
ab work either. What gives?
A: If you want to build a serious set of
abdominals, routinely perform the following exercises
and their variations: squats, deadlifts, chin-ups,
and standing military presses. These multi-joint
movements require a strong contribution from the
abdominals to stabilize the core, particularly when
heavy loads are used. It is not uncommon to hear
clients complain of abdominal soreness a day or
two after performing multiple sets with a decent
weight of the chin-up or standing military press
exercise - the ab prestretch will tap into fibers
you never thought existed! And remember, your abdominals
act as a natural girdle, or weight belt if you will,
when performing all exercises, particularly squats
and deadlifts. These muscles act as a bridge between
your upper and lower body and are heavily recruited
as stabilizers.
Sure,
isolation exercises like pullovers, curls, and even
triceps pressdowns also require a good degree of
core stability; however, the loads used are relatively
low compared to the big 4 mentioned above. In fact,
according to Siff & Verkhoshansky, isolation
becomes virtually impossible if large loads are
used, and in many cases, the tension developed in
the stabilizers will equal or even exceed that of
the prime movers!(6) So, you see, the abdominals
can be trained quite effectively as stabilizers
- the physiques of top Olympic weightlifters will
attest to that.
References
1.
Colling, R. Distribution of Human Muscle Fibre Type
(Review). Exercise Physiology 552, 1997. http://www.curtin.edu.au/curtin/dept/physio/pt/academic/
ep552_97/fibretypedist.html
2.
Francis, C. Training for Speed. Australia: Faccioni
Speed & Conditioning Consultants, 1997.
3.
Kleiner SM. Water: an essential but overlooked nutrient.
J Am Diet Assoc. 1999 Feb;99(2):200-6.
4.
Montain SJ, Sawka MN, Wenger CB. Hyponatremia associated
with exercise: risk factors and pathogenesis. Exerc
Sport Sci Rev 2001 Jul;29(3):113-117
5.
Schoffstall JE, Branch JD, Leutholtz BC, Swain DP.
Effects of Dehydration and Rehydration on the One-Repetition
Maximum Bench Press of Weight-Trained Males. The
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 2001;15(1):102‹108.
6.
Siff, MC, Verkhoshansky, YV. Supertraining (4th
Edition). Denver, CO: Supertraining International,
1999. (page 241)
About
The Author
John
Paul Catanzaro is a certified kinesiologist and
professional fitness and lifestyle consultant with
a specialized honours Bachelor of Science degree
in Kinesiology and Health Science. He owns and operates
a private studio in Toronto, Ontario providing training
and nutritional consulting services. For additional
information, visit his website at www.BodyEssence.ca
or call (416) 292-4356.
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