A Month-Long Experiment in Strength Training

       Periodization is an important aspect of a resistance training program.  Every month or so, you should change your repetition and load on your workouts.
       Let's say  you're just starting on a resistance training program.  The proper periodization would be 2-3 sets of 20 repetitions the first month, 3x15 the second, 3-4x12 the third, then 3-4x10, 4-5x8, 5-6x6 and then 5-6x5.  This is to train different parts of the muscle.  The higher your repetition count and lower your weight the more you are working the sarcoplasm of the muscle, the area that surrounds actual muscle fibers.  In lower rep, higher weight training, you are increasing the cross-sectional size of each muscle fiber.

The Mighty Muscle Belly - You're Ally at the Beach

       The question on today's post is 'which period is most effective?' 
       I gathered my body fat and circumference measurements from my one month of 20 rep training and then again from my 8 rep training.  The first five measurements are from my five superficial fat measurement sites.  In short, the smaller the numbers, the lower in body fat.  The second chart of measurements are from the circumferences of my various body parts.
       If my circumference measurements go up and my fat level goes down, it is safe to assume that I gained more muscle than fat.  If my circumference measurements go up and my fat measurements stay the same, I put on about equal muscle and fat.  If the circumference measurements go up and my fat measurements go up, that means I put on more fat than muscle 

Rep Count 20 8 Bicep caliper measurement 3 2.5 Tricep 4.0 3.0 Subscapularis 9.0 7.5 Suprailiac 4.0 4.0 Below belly button 9.0 7.5 Body fat % 7.96 6.08 Weight 157.0 161.0 Muscle mass 148.18 151.2 Arm circumference measurement 12.5 13.0 Chest 40.1 40.5 Waist 30.25 30.5 Hip 36.75 38.0 Leg 21.5 22.0

       In conclusion, I dropped from 7.96 to 6.08% body fat within just a month of training at heavier weights and lower volume.  I also gained four pounds and and increased my body size (No wonder things were fitting a little tighter everywhere).  My first counter to the conclusion that heavier weight training yields more muscle and less body fat would be diet.
       The rule is that the more you eat, the heavier you become.  My diet, however, stayed consistently at 3300/day over the past month, which would not account for the weight/muscle gain and fat/drop. 
       Everyday for the past two months, I ate oatmeal with fruit and low sugar jam and coffee with almond milk for breakfast.  Depending on what fruit I ate, breakfast was between 700 and 1000 calories.  Lunch was consistently at another 1000 calories, with either rice, quinoa or couscous, some kind of lean meat (e.g. shrimp, chicken or turkey breast), 210 calories worth of sweet potatoes and a cup of black beans (180 calories).  Mid day snacks were protein bars, equaling 420 calories.  Supplements were 120-240 calories of whey protein and 100 calories of gatorade.  Dinner was a salad with lite dressing, mixed low calorie vegetables and avocado.  This tapped me out at around 3000-3300 just before bed.
       The other variable would be aerobic training, which would need to drop in order for my weight to increase.  But cardiorespiratory work stayed consistent during this time: 6 hours/week at 80-85% of my maximum heart trate of either running, biking, swimming or stairmill.          
       Probably accounts for weight gain could be the working of muscle fibers and not sarcoplasm accounted for more water being retained within the muscle fiber.  Muscle fiber that expands can also hold more creatine and ATP,  making a pound of muscle "heavier" than a pound of fat.
       Or the sudden change in the workout was just what my body needed and I was able to gain more muscle, thereby burning more fat by raising my basal metabolic rate (resting calorie burn).  We will find out of this is true when I go back to 15 rep training next month.  Stay tuned.