Russ's Grab-Bag Of Assorted PT Forum Goodness

**TheRuss** · Posted On: 6/20/2010 7:06pm

Physio says my pec issues are because of residual scar tissue from an old tear, and the best way to clear it up is - get this - bench press.

I hit a 406.5lb deadlift in the gym today (no vid, sorry). First time in two years (actually, two years and one day, but who's counting?).

I also finished my introductory biology class with a final grade of 100%.

Got a few intriguing prospects in the works, but nothing definite yet.

**Kintanon** · Posted On: 6/21/2010 12:09am

Dude you are neglecting the ONE ITEM that we're all filled with suspense over...

Did you get a new crock-pot yet?

**TheRuss** · Posted On: 6/23/2010 9:00pm

Originally Posted by Kintanon

Did you get a new crock-pot yet?

Spoiler:

**TheRuss** · Posted On: 6/29/2010 11:46pm

Because I'm trying to remember why I liked it here...

Three Bars I Wish I Had:

Safety Squat Bar
YouTube- DeFrancosTraining.com - Safety bar box squat (445lbs. X 3)
-Different line of force (halfway between a back squat and front squat)
-No strain on wrists

Trap bar (deadlifts, optionally shrugs)
YouTube- DeFrancosTraining.com - 680 lb. trap bar deadlift!!
-Slightly different line of force
-Neutral grip (and you can use the second set of handles for an instant rack pull)
-No shin scraping

Football bar (bench press)
YouTube- DeFrancosTraining.com - Football Bar "666 Press"
-Neutral grip (also influences shoulder positioning)

I noticed yesterday that my left shoulder starts to "roll forwards" when I'm at the bottom of my bench press stroke - probably has something to do with my past pec issues. It's tough to keep it back and keep my scapula tucked with the barbell grip. I could always do reverse grip...

YouTube- Reverse Grip Bench Press 315lbsx21reps

... but it seems strange and dangerous.

Pre-workout supplementation:
500mg Vitamin C - my own personal talisman

Post-workout supplementation:
30g whey protein (75% WPI, 25% hydrolyzed whey) - post-workout insulin spike and amino acid supply
5g creatine monohydrate - uptake is higher after a workout
500mg chromium HVP* - increases insulin sensitivity
500mg Vitamin C - like I said, it's my talisman
600mg alpha-lipoic acid** - increases muscular insulin sensitivity
8 omega-3 capsules (180mg EPA/120mg DHA) - increases muscular insulin sensitivity

* I think it'd probably be more appropriate to take this along with my normal morning/evening supplementation, but 500mg + the chromium in my multivitamin is on the border of what I'm comfortable taking, so I've made it a post-workout thing (and I only lift every second day)

** Not sure if this is properly a post-workout supplement or if I should be taking it daily, but it's quite expensive, so that's how I'm using it.

The chromium/alpha-lipoic acid/omega-3 dosing was inspired by this article by John Berardi.

Spoiler:

**TheRuss** · Posted On: 7/12/2010 8:32pm

Originally Posted by TheRuss

The problem is that CTE doesn't show up until the autopsy, and it's untreatable at present anyway.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call progress:

... Until now, the only definitive way to diagnose Alzheimer’s has been to search for plaque with a brain autopsy after the patient dies. Scientists hope the new scanning technique, described June 24 in The New York Times’s series “The Vanishing Mind,” will allow doctors to see plaque while the patient is still alive, improving diagnosis and aiding research on drugs to slow or stop plaque accumulation.

Neurologists have known about plaques ever since Alzheimer’s disease was first described in 1906. They are microscopic bumps made up of a protein, amyloid beta, appearing on the surface of the brain in areas involved with learning and memory. They are so characteristic of Alzheimer’s that they are required for a definitive diagnosis of the disease.

Of course, doctors do not wait for a brain autopsy to diagnose Alzheimer’s. They use memory tests and evaluations of patients’ reasoning and ability to care for themselves. Yet with autopsy, even doctors at leading medical centers have been wrong as often as 20 percent of the time: people they said had Alzheimer’s did not have plaque.

The scans were developed by a Philadelphia company, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, and, independently, by Bayer and General Electric. They use a radioactive dye that attaches to plaque in the brain, allowing it to be seen with a PET scan....

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/he...ch/13alzh.html

**Kintanon** · Posted On: 7/12/2010 8:56pm

Awesome. I love science!
Trap bars aren't that expensive are they? Why not just go treat yourself to one to celebrate your ability to lift heavy things without your brain exploding?

**TheRuss** · Posted On: 8/22/2012 1:16am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RCV9yUh0a8

Endogenous testosterone is produced in the human body via cholesterol metabolism.5 6 Detection of testosterone doping relies on the general observation that endogenous testosterone has a different 13C content compared to hemisynthetic testosterone used in pharmaceutical preparations. Such detection is possible because the carbon atoms in steroid molecules originate primarily in atmospheric CO2, which is fixed through photosynthesis. The most important photosynthetic pathways used by plants are the so-called C3 and C4 pathways.7 8 Significant isotope fractionation occurs during photosynthetic carbon fixation, depending on the mode of CO2 fixation. Thus, the key enzymes that fix CO2 in C3 plants discriminate more strongly against 13CO2 than their analogues in C4 plants. As a result, the two types of plants differ by about 14‰ in the isotopic composition of their tissues....

The metabolism of an exogenous anabolic steroid in humans will cause depletion in 13C of the steroid itself or of its metabolites in urine specimens, since the primary source of synthetic preparations are phytosterols extracted from 13C depleted plants (C3 plants), mainly soy and Mexican yam....

http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/43/13/1041.full

Most plants are C3.

C4 plants include several thousand species in at least 19 plant families. Example: fourwing saltbush pictured here, corn, and many of our summer annual plants.

http://wc.pima.edu/Bfiero/tucsonecol...osynthesis.htm (emphasis mine)

So if you want to beat an isotope ratio mass spectrometry drug test, cut out the corn products (incl. corn-fed meats).

Spoiler:

**Jack Rusher** · Posted On: 9/19/2012 9:35pm

Originally Posted by TheRuss

Actually, what I really want is a slow-cooker. Anyone got brand/model recommendations?

Here at Chez Jacques we use this one. Works a treat. (It's a pressure cooker and a slow cooker.)

**TheRuss** · Posted On: 9/23/2012 2:29am

Originally Posted by Jack Rusher

Here at Chez Jacques we use this one. Works a treat. (It's a pressure cooker and a slow cooker.)

That's an intimidating piece of hardware. (And yes, I did just overdose on irony)

**TheRuss** · Posted On: 2/22/2013 2:51am

If you want fractional plates, but don't feel like paying $50 for a set, good news:

Buy six of these for less than $2 each (plus shipping), and you can increase the weights on an Olympic barbell in 1.25lb increments (assuming your gym has 2.5lb plates and up). They're decently accurate, too; all the ones I bought (two full sets) were within 11 grams.

Hat tip to http://mannixcastro.com/2011/10/08/c...-microloading/ for the idea.