JB

Exactly. Although there is some stuff that is just plain wrong, like the not being able to absorb more than 30g of protein per meal. However, if you want to only eat 30g per meal then that's cool .

Is it though? Surely you have to be in a caloric surplus to gain weight? If I happened to only eat one or two meals in a day that had, for arguments sake, as much 200g of protein each, I'd still be in a deficit. So where would this excess energy/fat come from? If I ate enough protein to put myself in a surplus, then sure, depending on training (calories used etc.) I can understand how we might store fat. I really need to learn more about nutrition. I feel like an idiot when I read a lot of scientific stuff about it. I don't think I'd ever claim to know anything for a fact with nutrition. I just generally base my opinions on what I read from select few sources I trust.

I guess it begs the question, though: in the case of a surplus, does the body prioritise the utilisation of one or two macronutrients over another or does it somehow take an equal proportion of each to be stored as adipose tissue? Seems unlikely and I bet the answer is out there. I'm getting very geeky now haha. Time for bed! Something rang a bell about the protein question - vaguely remembered reading a related article so after searching through my bookmarks I found this: Protein will not make you fat which is pretty good read.

I'd imagine total calorie intake in relation to maintenance levels has a lot to do with the answer to that. But i don't really know to be honest.

He's screwed us over against other teams many times.

Fair play, France were shit but Rolland had a shocker tonight. What the hell was Picamoles carded for? And Mas slipped at the scrum when he got the yellow. And then the try as well, and two line outs blatantly given the wrong way... Shocking. Perhaps he was making it up to Sam for the WC semi... He always seems to massively favour one team whenever he refs.

So the rules obviously don't apply to Wales now then. Place the ball short of the line and then roll it on boys, that's fine.

FFS France! Lucky Welsh try AGAIN!

Also, I came across this tip for unloading the bar after heavy dead lifts, which is awesome. Apparently it's common knowledge but I've never seen/paid attention to anyone doing it before so thought it might come in handy for anyone else who hasn't seen it .

Definitely mate. Have experienced similar myself. I'm quite OCD about which barbell I use for deads. Keep an eye on the plates you use, too. I'm quite lucky in my gym as we have massive amounts of matching sets but some places have the odd American plate knocking about which are 45lbs as opposed to our standard 20kg/44lb. Doesn't sound like much but like you say, the smallest things make a difference when you're around your max.

Fair play mate, that's still really strong. Something that I found helped when I got to a sticking point with my lifts was to take "2 steps back, 3 steps forward" - essentially, dropping the weight back a couple steps for 1-3 weeks before increasing it weekly again. I know it seems counterintuitive but dropping the weight gave me loads of momentum and helped me recharge a little bit. I was blasting past sticking points in no time. With deadlifts, I switched to snatch grip (lol) for a few weeks and that seemed to do the trick once I switched back. Also, I found deload weeks essential.

Yep. And that's exactly the point of the article (and what I said pages back in this thread ). Some days I split my meals up into 6-8 separate portions, whereas on others I'll consume the same macronutrient ratios in 2-3 meals and I've noticed absolutely no difference whatsoever. Can't beat a bit of broscience though, eh? Not that I haven't been taken in by it plenty of times myself over the years mind...

I dunno, it seems fairly conclusive to me. I'd hazard a guess that he's only referenced a tiny, tiny fraction of the research in support of his argument (although I won't claim to have read it all myself). Besides that, the inherent flaw that I mentioned would surely debunk any theories to the contrary i.e. if we can only process 20-50g (nobody can seem to put a concrete figure on it eh?) of protein per meal, then we would struggle to take onboard much more than 50-100g per day given that it takes so long to completely digest the protein ingested in previous meals and there would always be an 'overlap'. It would also render years and years of protein intake research, as well as the highly successful diets of countless athletes and bodybuilders, completely null and void. Not sure how clearly I've managed to explain it (it's past my bedtime!) but hopefully you get the idea .

I thought I was the word removed who fell for it. The self congratulatory wank is a solid post workout option rather than an alternative as I naïvely suggested. Let's just say we're both words removed . I'm off for an upper body sesh now to rev myself up for my now customary post-workout power wank!

If you're saying what I think you're saying, that's a myth as well. There's an inherent flaw in the logic when you think about it... Pointed out early on in this article: Thanks again, Alan

Haha and I'm the word removed that fell for it! Obviously need to read a few more threads!

Is the second sentence a critique or a suggestion for an alternative? See, just like the wrestling and rugby threads - I don't understand why people bother coming into a thread about a common interest other people share, just to slate it. With a pretty cutting remark at that. Seems to be a pretty common attitude towards training for people who can't be arsed to take of themselves. I get it a lot - people saying stuff like I must be on steroids, or that's it's pathetic that I watch what I eat and always make time for training. Regardless of getting stronger, increasing bone density, reducing risk of cancer etc. etc., we must just be a bunch of rocket polishers eh? Laura was making a point Sorry, that's gone right over my head! Typical gym monkey .

Bro science. It's nonsense. This. 50g of protein is only 200 calories. Alan Aragon is awesome for debunking the bro myths.

Is the second sentence a critique or a suggestion for an alternative? See, just like the wrestling and rugby threads - I don't understand why people bother coming into a thread about a common interest other people share, just to slate it. With a pretty cutting remark at that. Seems to be a pretty common attitude towards training for people who can't be arsed to take of themselves. I get it a lot - people saying stuff like I must be on steroids, or that's it's pathetic that I watch what I eat and always make time for training. Regardless of getting stronger, increasing bone density, reducing risk of cancer etc. etc., we must just be a bunch of rocket polishers eh?

But it's highly unlikely you'll achieve a sprinter-type physique by training for long distance runs. Quite coincidentally, I've just started reading (but haven't finished) the chapter on cardiovascular training in Mike Boyle's book. He talks a lot about the different energy systems and their recruitment in different types of sports/exercise. Bearing in mind what you mentioned about wanting to increase fast-twitch muscle fibres, this is a particularly good quote regarding the three basic types (fast-twitch anaerobic, slow-twitch aerobic and intermediate): "... a programme emphasising long aerobic workouts will cause intermediate fibres to adapt to the characteristics of slow-twitch. Only emphasising interval sprints from five to sixty seconds with longer recovery will promote the movement of intermediate fibres towards the anaerobic, fast-twitch fibre." So essentially, it looks like you might have to choose between the awesome marathon times and looking like a beast .

What type of running? Long distance or sprinting? Very different beasts with very different training requirements .

The one thing I like about crossfit is that it has introduced many people to barbell training and raised awareness of the importance of mobility. Apart from that, I can't stand it. It doesn't help that it's generally undertaken by knob heads. You can spot the former crossfitters in my gym a mile off - absolute douche bags.

Thought so. Is it mainly just core work (which I guess includes hip and glute work) or do you do any explosive stuff? Where do you do your lifting? Sorry for all the questions - I'm just really interested in how professionals in any sport train!

Do it! Make as much money as you can! Is strength and conditioning part of your training? Do snowboarders generally have S&C coaches?

No worries mate. Forgot to mention that I stretched the pecs after almost every session and did a bit of thoracic spine mobility work which also helped. Hopefully your problem isn't severe enough that you'll need to do much more than balance out the pressing and rowing.