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Please, do me a favor and read the info in the red box. Hypoxia ? Kaatsu

Assuming that youve read the headline of this article first, you should already have realized what makes this study special: A realistic training regimen thats relevant for to the "average gym context". "10 reps to failure" - and that is actually pretty close to what the average trainee does on one of his / her "arm days" at the gym.

Against that background I can live with the minor downside that the subjects were 13 healthy men (mean age, 23 years; height 169 cm; body mass 60 kg) who were assigned to train either under normoxic or hypoxic training conditions were a little "too average" (=untrained) for my liking.
As the well-read SuppVersity student youve become ever since youve been reading these articles, you will obviously know that using noobs as your subjects is something exercise scientists like to do, because they know that this helps them to avoid null-results, as they tend to occur in in studies with trained subjects, simply the study duration was too short and / or the training intensity too pathetic to measure significant changes in any of the outcome variables.
As the data in Figure 1 goes to show you, neither (a) nor (b) nor both was the case in the study at hand. The Elbow extensions the subjects performed at a workload of a 10 RM with the non dominant arm to exhaustion three times with 1-minute intervals 3 days each week for 8 weeks, did after all elicit significant strength and size gains in both groups - regardless of whether they were performed while the subjects were inspiring normoxic air (FiO2=20. 9%; at sea level) or hypoxic gas (FiO2=12 .7%; corresponding to 4000 m above sea level):

Figure 1: Thickness of triceps brachii (a and b) in both arms before and after training in the normoxic (N) and hypoxic (H) groups; ** denotes significant difference (Kurobe. 2014)

The overall changes in size and strength are yet luckily not the only significant effect, the researchers from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Japan observed in their study.

The inter-group differences, i.e. the significantly greater increase in muscle thickness the hypoxia group, was significant, as well. And while the latter cannot be said of the increase in strength, I am pretty sure that the additional size gains alone would be reason enough for some of you to take a bottle with reduced oxygen air (Fi=2=12.7%; meaning only 12.7% of the air in the container would be oxygen to the gym).
References:

• Kurobe et al. "Effects of resistance training under hypoxic conditions on muscle hypertrophy and strength." Clin Physiol Funct Imaging(2014) doi: 10.1111/cpf.12147

Pyruvate = Recomp agent, not performance enhancer?

I am not sure if you even remember that pyruvate, which is made from glucose through glycolysis, and can be converted back to carbohydrates (such as glucose) via gluconeogenesis, or to fatty acids through acetyl-CoA, has once been touted as (yet another) "next big thing" by parts of the supplement industry.

The idea was that pyruvic acid could supply energy to working muscles through the citric acid cycle (also known as the Krebs cycle) when oxygen is present (aerobic respiration), and alternatively ferment to produce lactate when oxygen is lacking (fermentation) - this would make it the perfect workout fuel for high intensity exercise, but theory and practice are two very different animals.
Past studies investigating its efficacy have however yielded mixed results. In the year 2000, Michael A. Morrison , Lawrence L. Spriet , David J. Dyck reported that "oral pyruvate supplementation does not increase blood pyruvate content and does not enhance performance during intense exercise in well-trained cyclists." (Dyck. 2000)

Similarly disappointing results have been reported by Ebersole et al., likewise in the year 2000 for improvements in critical power (there were none) and stand in contrast to observations by JL Ivy who found that pyruvate, when "provided as an oral supplement for several days", whill "enhance aerobic endurance capacity" in rodents (Ivy. 1998) or Stanko et al. who found back in 1990 that feeding  dihydroxyacetone and pyruvate for 7 days  increased  arm  muscle  glucose  extraction  before  and  during exercise,  thereby  enhancing  submaximal  arm  endurance  capacity of (albeit) untrained men.
Olek, et al. the authors of the most recent pyruvate paper in the open access journal nutrients, were well aware of the fact that pyruvate (PYR), in spite of its importance in energy metabolism, has not been shown to have ergogenic effects after prolonged supplementation. In view of the fact that Morrison et al. indicated that acute oral intake of calcium PYR (Calcium Pyruvate), even at a dose of 25 g, did not modify the PYR concentration in the whole blood or in the plasma, while Olek et al. have previously shown that a single dose of sodium PYR (NaP) does, the researchers from the Gdansk University ofPhysical Education and Sport in Poland decided to re-examine the effect of a single NaP ingestion on blood acid-base status and the exercise metabolism markers.

"Since 0.1 g of sodium bicarbonate per kg of body mass induces metabolic alkalosis 60 min following ingestion [14,15], we hypothesized that a similar NaP treatment before commencing the high intensity physical exertion may change the exercise metabolism." (Olek. 2014)

Nine active, but non-specifically trained, malesubjects (mean ± SEM: 23 ± 1 year old, 1.75 ± 0.02 m height, 72 ± 2 kg body mass) participated in the double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study.

"On separate days, the subjects reported to the laboratory in the morning, then rested for 30 min and then ingested placebo or NaP in a random order. In the previous studies the subjects consumed PYR in the amount of ~0.07–0.08 g/kg body mass;  therefore, the subjects in our study ingested NaP in a single dose of 0.1 g/kg body mass (which is ~0.08 g of PYR per kg body mass). " (Olek. 2014)

An hour following the ingestion, the subjects performed the physical exertion. The exercise protocol consisted of 2 min at a power output of 50 W and then for 6 min at a constant power output, corresponding to ~90% O2max. To determine  O2max, participants performed a graded cycle ergometry test on an electromagnetically-braked, cycle ergometer. After an initial warm-up period, the work rate was increased by 25 W/min until volitional exhaustion was achieved.

Figure 1: Lactic acid and blood pH during the placebo (•) and (o) pyruvate trial (Olek. 2014)

As you can see in Figure 1 the lactic acid concentration after the workout was significantly higher in the dotted pyruvate trial. Interestingly, though, the pH and thus the acidity of the blood was only marginally elevated - a clears sign that the buffering function of sodium pyruave Olek et al. had speculated about is real.

Table 1: Gas exchange, ventilation and heart rate responses during and after severe-intensity exercise following placebo and sodium pyruvat eingestion. Values are the means ± SEM (Olek. 2014) | As you can see, there are no asterisks (*) which means: None of the differences reached statistical significance.

A brief glimpse at the measured differences in O2 uptake, CO2 output, minute ventilation, respiratory exchange ratio, and heart rate (see Table 1) does yet reveal that the study at hand generally confirms what previous studies by Ebersole et al (2000) and Morrison et al. (2000)  suggested: In spite of the fact that it would be 100% logical, if we saw performance improvements with pyruvate supplementation, the parameters Olek et al. recorded do not suggest that there were any.

And even when it was administered as creatine pyruvate, Van Schuylenbergh et al. did not find any benefits on cycling performance in a 2003 study.
References:

• Ebersole, Kyle T., et al. "The Effect Of Pyruvate Supplementation On Critical Power." The Journal Of Strength & Conditioning Research 14.2 (2000): 132-134.
• Ivy, John L. "Effect of pyruvate and dihydroxyacetone on metabolism and aerobic endurance capacity." Medicine and science in sports and exercise 30.6 (1998): 837-843.
• Kalman, Douglas, et al. "Effect of pyruvate supplementation on body composition and mood." Current Therapeutic Research 59.11 (1998): 793-802.
• Koh-Banerjee, Pauline K., et al. "Effects of calcium pyruvate supplementation during training on body composition, exercise capacity, and metabolic responses to exercise." Nutrition 21.3 (2005): 312-319.
• Morrison, Michael A., Lawrence L. Spriet, and David J. Dyck. "Pyruvate ingestion for 7 days does not improve aerobic performance in well-trained individuals." Journal of Applied Physiology 89.2 (2000): 549-556.
• Stanko, Ronald T., Denise L. Tietze, and Judith E. Arch. "Body composition, energy utilization, and nitrogen metabolism with a 4.25-MJ/d low-energy diet supplemented with pyruvate." The American journal of clinical nutrition 56.4 (1992): 630-635.
• Van Schuylenbergh, Reinout, Marc Van Leemputte, and Peter Hespel. "Effects of oral creatine-pyruvate supplementation in cycling performance." International journal of sports medicine 24.02 (2003): 144-150. 
• Wilson, Leanne, et al. "Pyruvate induces mitochondrial biogenesis by a PGC-1 ?-independent mechanism." American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology 292.5 (2007): C1599-C1605.

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This image of heavy sled pulls was taken during one of the strongmen training sessions in the study at hand - for the full protocol see Table 1 (Winwood. 2014)

Brad Schoenfelds recent study on the differential effects of 3x10 vs. 7x3 rep x set resistance training regimen (reread corresponding SuppVersity Article) took much of the wind óut of the sails of the proponents of classic hypertrophy training (3-4 sets of 8-12 reps) as the one and only training method for anyone thriving for maximal muscle gains.

An even more recent study by Paul Winwood et al. thats about to be published in the upcoming issue of the #1 journal for everything strength training, i.e. the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, does not just support the findings of Schoenfeld et al. it claims "that short term strongman training programs are as effective as traditional resistance training programs in improving aspects of body composition, muscular function and performance." (Winwood. 2014)
Next to the fact that the two protocols in the study at hand were neither volume-matched nor based on the same exercises, there is yet another highly significant difference between the study at hand and the aforementioned powerlifting vs. classic resistance training study by Schoenfeld et al. the conclusion of the Winwood study is only "statistically correct". From a practical point of view, on the other hand, the body composition part of it is total bullshit.

If you take a look at the actual "body composition" data, even a blind man sees that the strongman protocol that consisted seven weeks /two obligatory training sessions per week) of the resistance training protocols outlined in Table 1 and two facultative, non-supervised and recorded sessions of prehabilition exercises, as well as two cardiovascular training sessions per week.

Table 1: Outline of the training protocols; * indicates that the exercise is performed explosively (Winwood. 2014)

The first thing you should realize after taking a look at the "traditional" protocol is that its traditional, but not the protocol you would traditionally use if your main goal was to build muscle. The number of repetitions is too low there is no individual training for the arms - both of which are characteristics most hypertrophy regimens share.
This alone wouldnt be that bad, if the conclusion that both training regimen had identical effects on the body composition of the subjects wasnt simply flawed.

Figure 1: Changes in body composition and strength (Winwood. 2014)

Ok, the differences may not be statistically significant, but if one regimen, i.e. the "traditional" training improves, while the strongman training compromises the body composition of young men, I would be very hesitant to state that "strongman training programs are as effective as traditional resistance training programs in improving aspects of body composition" (Winwood. 2014).

If the trend the researchers must obviously have overlooked (or ignored) continues, the guys in the "traditional group" will soon look like ripped mens fitness cover models, while the guys in the strongmen group will develop a pot belly. Not exactly what anyone could want. Even if you dont care about being jacked, looking at the effects on body fat, the "traditional" strength training protocol would also classify as the healthier training regimen.
Reference:

• Winwood, PW, et al. "Strongman  versus  traditional  resistance  training  effects  on  muscular  function  and  performance." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2014). Publish Ahead of Print. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000629

What could be better than starting your day with the first rays of the sun? Doing this with a person you love, I suppose.

If you have listened to Super Human Radio earlier this week (download episode), you will have heard that Carl "caught" me off guard calling me without prior notice during the live show. We ended up talking about the use of melatonin and my beloved "daylight lamp" (light therapy lamp), which kept my energy levels up even at the darkest winter mornings over the past couple of months.

If you listened to the show, you may also remember that Carl mentioned that it would be great to have a light-based alarm clock - something like a light therapy lamp that increases its intensity gradually at a given time and will thus wake you up from a deep slumber.
Well, I already mentioned during the show that a corresponding device is already available, but pretty useless for someone who usually uses blindfolds to get a good nights sleep. For the rest of you, who are sleeping in a pitch black room without covering their eyes with a blindfold, on the other hand, Carls suggestion could be a viable means to "improve both cognitive and physical performance after waking." (Thompson. 2014).

This is at least what a recent study from the University College London would suggest. For the corresponding experiment, the researchers from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health recruited 8 young adults (four males; four females) with a mean age of 24 ± 9 years who had not been involved in nocturnal shift work or undertaken transmeridian travel during the past 30 days (thats important to ensure that their circadian rhythm was not messed up in the first place).
The trials themselves were ordered in a counterbalanced fashion and were separated by 5–9 days. In the two days leading up to the tests, the participants were asked to sleep the exact times in their own homes that they would in the laboratory. to monitor compliance wrist accelerometers were issued.

Did you know that previous studies support the use of dawn simulations to tread seasonal effective disorder, where it was on top of that associated with lower remission rates than regular light therapy (Avery. 1993 & 2001). In addition, dawn simulations have been shown to have beneficial effects on the necessary and natural and healthy (Clow. 2010) early morning increase in cortisol (Thorn. 2004)?

"The experimental trials were identical with the exception of the 30 min prior to waking. During this time par ticipants either slept normally in complete darkness, the control condition (c), or were exposed to dawn simulation (DS).

Each night’s sleep ended with an audible alarm. At the same moment, a researcher entered the room to ensure that the participant was awake. Participants were then allowed to attend the bathroom if required.

After waking, a 75 min testing protocol commenced which consisted of: three bouts of cognitive assessment, one physical performance test and monitoring of physiological and subjective variables." (Thompson. 2014)

In view of the fact that I already gave away the results, its probably not really surprising that the data in Figure 1 confirms that being waken up by artificial sunlight had significant beneficial effects on the cognitive and physical performance of the subjects.

Figure 1: Changes in number of total additions and reaction time in cognitive tests (Thompson. 2014)

What did not differ, though, were the sleep efficiency, sleep latency, and the total sleep time. In a similar vein, the differences in perceived sleepiness and body temperature were visible, but not statistically significant.
References:

• Avery, David H., et al. "Dawn simulation treatment of winter depression: a controlled study." American Journal of Psychiatry 150 (1993): 113-113.
• Avery, David H., et al. "Dawn simulation and bright light in the treatment of SAD: a controlled study." Biological psychiatry 50.3 (2001): 205-216.
• Clow, Angela, et al. "The cortisol awakening response: more than a measure of HPA axis function." Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 35.1 (2010): 97-103.
• Thompson, Andrew, et al. "Effects of dawn simulation on markers of sleep inertia and post-waking performance in humans." European journal of applied physiology (2014): 1-8.
• Thorn, Lisa, et al. "The effect of dawn simulation on the cortisol response to awakening in healthy participants." Psychoneuroendocrinology 29.7 (2004): 925-930.