MASS
ERIC HELMS | GREG NUCKOLS | MICHAEL ZOURDOS | ERIC TREXLER
MONTHLY APPLICATIONS IN
STRENGTH SPORT
VOLUME 5, ISSUE 12 DECEMBER 2021
The Reviewers
Eric Helms
Eric Helms is a coach, athlete, author, and educator. He is a coach for drug-free strength and physique
competitors at all levels as a part of team 3D Muscle Journey where he is also the Chief Science
Ofcer. Eric regularly publishes peer-reviewed articles in exercise science and nutrition journals on
physique and strength sport, in addition to contributing to the 3DMJ blog. He’s taught undergraduate-
and graduate-level nutrition and exercise science and speaks internationally at academic and
commercial conferences. He has a B.S. in tness and wellness, an M.S. in exercise science, a second
Master’s in sports nutrition, a Ph.D. in strength and conditioning, and is a research fellow for the Sports
Performance Research Institute New Zealand at Auckland University of Technology. Eric earned pro
status as a natural bodybuilder with the PNBA in 2011 and competes in numerous strength sports.
Greg Nuckols
Greg Nuckols has over a decade of experience under the bar and a B.S. in exercise and sports
science. Greg earned his M.A. in exercise and sport science from the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill. He’s held three all-time world records in powerlifting in the 220lb and 242lb classes.
He’s trained hundreds of athletes and regular folks, both online and in-person. He’s written for many
of the major magazines and websites in the tness industry, including Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness,
Muscle & Fitness, Bodybuilding.com, T-Nation, and Schwarzenegger.com. Furthermore, he’s had the
opportunity to work with and learn from numerous record holders, champion athletes, and collegiate
and professional strength and conditioning coaches through his previous job as Chief Content
Director for Juggernaut Training Systems and current full-time work on StrongerByScience.com.
Michael C. Zourdos
Michael (Mike) C. Zourdos, Ph.D., CSCS, has specializations in strength and conditioning and skeletal
muscle physiology. He earned his Ph.D. in exercise physiology from The Florida State University (FSU)
in 2012 under the guidance of Dr. Jeong-Su Kim. Prior to attending FSU, Mike received his B.S. in
exercise science from Marietta College and M.S. in applied health physiology from Salisbury University.
Mike served as the head powerlifting coach of FSU’s 2011 and 2012 state championship teams. He
also competes as a powerlifter in the USAPL, and among his best competition lifts is a 230kg (507lbs)
raw squat at a body weight of 76kg. Mike owns the company Training Revolution, LLC., where he has
coached more than 100 lifters, including a USAPL open division national champion.
Eric Trexler
Eric Trexler is a pro natural bodybuilder and a sports nutrition researcher. Eric has a PhD in Human
Movement Science from UNC Chapel Hill, and has published dozens of peer-reviewed research
papers on various exercise and nutrition strategies for getting bigger, stronger, and leaner. In
addition, Eric has several years of University-level teaching experience, and has been involved in
coaching since 2009. Eric is the Director of Education at Stronger By Science.
Table of Contents
6BY GREG NUCKOLS
Training Sequencing Doesn’t Matter Much Over the
Short-to-Medium Term
Does a block of hypertrophy training really potentiate a subsequent block of
strength-focused training? Over the span of a 12-week training cycle, probably not.
19 BY MICHAEL C. ZOURDOS
Free Weights and Machines Provide Similar Benets
A new meta-analysis says that other than strength being specic to the modality
trained, training with free weights and machines provides similar results. This article
breaks down the good news for those that want to keep training as they prefer.
33 BY ERIC HELMS
The Link Between Overtraining and Low Energy
Availability
For decades, iron gamers have said, “There is no such thing as overtraining, only
under-eating.” While this is an incorrect statement deserving of an eye-roll, it may carry
an element of truth.
45 BY ERIC TREXLER
Building Muscle in a Caloric Decit: Context is Key
Trainees with body composition goals often want to lose fat and build muscle.
Unfortunately, these goals generally lead to contradictory recommendations for caloric
intake. Read on to learn when and how both goals can be achieved simultaneously.
59 BY MICHAEL C. ZOURDOS
Tapering Strategies are Goal-Dependent
I contend that tapering is generally overrated and is most benecial following an
overreach. However, questions remain, such as, “What type of tapering is best for
strength?” And, “How does tapering affect muscle growth?” A new study has some
answers.
76 BY ERIC TREXLER
Metabolic Phenotypes, Weight Regulation, and Reverse
Dieting
A new study claries distinctions between “thrifty” and “spendthrift” metabolic
phenotypes, with results providing numerous implications related to weight
management. Read on to learn more about who struggles with weight loss, who
struggles with weight gain, and how this relates to reverse dieting.
127 BY MICHAEL C. ZOURDOS
VIDEO: Verbal and Visual Feedback Part 1
C’mon! Let’s go! Great Work! We’ve all had training partners yell these phrases at us
during training and have also been the training partners yelling. But does this type
of encouragement help? This video discusses if shifting to an external focus while
lifting via verbal encouragement and verbal and visual velocity feedback enhances
acute performance.
129 BY ERIC HELMS
VIDEO: Periodizing Singles in Powerlifting Training
Heavy singles are often used in powerlifting, but equally as often they are
misunderstood or misapplied. In this video, Dr. Helms discusses the feasibility,
rationale, pros and cons, and utility of heavy singles. Then, he presents a model
of how to periodize singles into powerlifting training as an example you can use to
integrate into your training.
90 BY GREG NUCKOLS & ERIC TREXLER
Research Briefs
In the Research Briefs section, Greg Nuckols and Eric Trexler share quick
summaries of recent studies. Briefs are short and sweet, skimmable, and focused
on the need-to-know information from each study.
Letter From the Reviewers
The nal issue of MASS Volume 5 has arrived, and it brings a very exciting
change with it. The “Research Briefs” section of MASS has been incredibly
well received since Greg pioneered the concept, so we have expanded it. From
this point forward, Greg and Dr. Trexler will team up on a supersized “Research
Briefs” section each month, which will substantially increase the number of studies
reviewed in each issue of MASS.
Having said that, full-length articles and videos are still MASS’s bread and butter, and
this issue brings plenty of both.
On the training side, Greg’s got an excellent article related to periodization, which
specically examines whether or not a block of hypertrophy training really potentiates
a subsequent block of strength-focused training. In addition, Dr. Zourdos has two
extremely practical articles comparing free-weight exercises versus machine-based
exercises and step tapers versus exponential tapers.
On the nutrition side, Dr. Helms covers an insightful paper suggesting that much of
the published literature related to overreaching and overtraining might actually be
describing the negative effects of relative energy deciency. Dr. Trexler also brings
two very informative nutrition articles to the table this month. In the rst, he discusses
how an individual’s “metabolic phenotype” (thrifty versus spendthrift) can inuence
their ability to gain, lose, and maintain weight. In the second, he explores the impact of
energy decits on strength and hypertrophy, and discusses when (and how) lifters can
successfully achieve simultaneous fat loss and muscle accretion.
As for this month’s video content, Dr. Helms has a very practical video about how to
integrate heavy singles into a periodized training plan. In addition, Dr. Zourdos is back
with part 2 of his excellent video series on external feedback. In this installment, he
examines the longitudinal data assessing the effects of velocity feedback and external
encouragement on strength and velocity improvements.
As always, we hope you enjoy this issue of MASS, and we hope you’ll continue to join
us for Volume 6 and beyond. If you have any questions about the articles or videos
in this month’s issue, or you’d just like to discuss them further, be sure to post your
questions or comments in the MASS Facebook group.
Thanks,
The MASS Team
Eric Helms, Greg Nuckols, Mike Zourdos, and Eric Trexler
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