Don’t waste your money on BCAAs. I’ve been saying it for years. RR Wolfe, one of the kings of protein research, says the same thing in this new review.

“We conclude that the claim that consumption of dietary BCAAs stimulates muscle protein synthesis or produces an anabolic response in human subjects is unwarranted.”

Summing up:

Bring calories to estimated maintenance (14-16 cal/lb)

Increase dietary protein slightly (~1.2 g/lb LBM for men below 15% bodyfat)

Reduce carbohydrates to moderate levels (~1-1.5 g/lb)

Reduce dietary fat to low- to moderate levels (25-35% total calories)

Bring in aerobic activity gradually

Reduce volume of heavy training to maintenance levels

Add metabolic training if desired

Rest-pause method more effective. Also faster, most likely.

“In conclusion, resistance training performed with the rest-pause method resulted in similar gains in muscle strength as traditional multiple-set training. However, the rest-pause method resulted in greater gains in localized muscular endurance and hypertrophy for the thigh musculature.”

“Conclusions: Twelve weeks of brief intense interval exercise improved indices of cardiometabolic health to the same extent as traditional endurance training in sedentary men, despite a five-fold lower exercise volume and time commitment.”

Example bullshit review that argues in favour of cigarette smoking. Kinda funny to see this in published research.

“If research results are selectively chosen, a review has the potential to create a convincing argument for a faulty hypothesis. Improper correlation or extrapolation of data can result in dangerously flawed conclusions. The following paper seeks to illustrate this point, using existing research to argue the hypothesis that cigarette smoking enhances endurance performance and should be incorporated into high-level training programs.”