Articles.

No training blog this week guys as I've had the time off, sleeping, recovering which has been nice. I'm about to start Poliquin's program entitled "German Volume Training" so stay tuned for me having a whine about that soon!

The Global Meathead Research Project
This great, fun little article will surely shuckle some chuckles out of you. I started reading it being like "there's no way I'll be on this list" then as the list keeps on going you start to wonder, "hmmm am I on this list?" (is this one me? "The “Badass” Covered in Tattoos: He listens to obscure death metal and scowls a lot. He even went to an expensive private school." although I didn't go to a private school, and don't consider myself a "badass").  I'd say most or all of us are on it, or have been on it at some point, just the way it goes I guess. I'd surmise the point is to try and be open minded in your gym experience, try to learn new things, treat the place you train with respect

Weightlifter’s ADD
Dave Tate's site Elite FTS is full of power lifters and generally hard dudes, you won't expect much charming eloquent wording in their posts. They tell you what you're doing wrong, why you're a douche, cut the crap and lift smart, there's a clarity to that that I can respect, and they're articles are always informative, and a little fun. Articles like this one, don't contain studies, they're not authoritative and I certainly don't put them across as such (and neither do they I'd suppose), but they do work toward keeping you mindful of realistic goals in the gym, as it easy for us to run with our fears and fantasies.

Finally, Fish Oil Is Anabolic! Another great benefit from this versatile supplement

Now, I'm not generally a huge Poloquin fan, I think he has some great things to say, and some of the time I listen, but I also think he makes a lot of extraordinary claims with ordinary evidence (or less than ordinary) to back them up. On his website he's selling supplements right next to his information, and sometimes in the articles themselves (as in this program will work if you buy this supplement, re: this very article), this demonstrates a bias, it's not entirely damning of course, it's just something we need to be weary of.

He looks good, but is that a basis to listen to someone? Allow me to explain via analogy: say you have 2 lifters, lifter (a) and lifter (b). You have no background knowledge of (a) or (b) and only their appearance to go on. (A) has slightly lower bodyfat and more muscularity than (b), therefore you would surmise (a) is a better trainer yes? Objectively you may be right. But, what if you were to discover that (b) trains for (let's arbitrarily say) an hour a day less than (a) yet only has a slightly less appealing body to (a), would you still think (a) had the better body? Yes (a) would be more appealing but she is doing more work for slightly less gain than (b), does this represent a trainer with more knowledge, or one who works harder, which is better? Which would you pick? This analogy has serious problems sure, but you get the point, the fact that Poloquin is buff (or just as Michael Boyle isn't) has no bearing on what they say. This is science, appeals to authority don't work, evidence does.

Physiological Elevation of Endogenous Hormones Results in Superior Strength Training Adaptations – Research Review
Here's a research review by Lyle McDonald.

Casein Hydrolysate and Anabolic Hormones and Growth – Research Review

And another, gotta love that research.

Being Shellfish
Thoughts for vegetarians looking for some variation and justification for that variation in their diets.

The Survival Exemption: Great for Vegans Stranded on an Island…. Horrible for Veganism
This guy, love him or hate him is hardcore. His posts are always ridiculously long and he touches on much of the same themes as the atheist, and skeptic community does (the basis for morality etc).

Fact vs. Fiction: The Truth about Training Frequency
This is an interesting aricle by Mike Robertson, I almost didn't include it, but it has some interesting things to say on mass training in terms of frequency that I wasn't doing myself.

Are carbs the enemy?
And finally for all the fighters who are just spastic at the moment for the Paleo diet (it doesn't cure cancer guys!), here's some stuff for you!