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The Interaction Between Pain and Movement

Merkle SL, Sluka KA, Frey-Law LA · Clinical commentary

Pain changes how people move, and movement changes how pain is felt. These responses are highly adaptable, shaped at several levels of the nervous system, and often differ between people with the same diagnosis. The authors recommend individualized exercise that considers whether a movement change is protective or unhelpful, and how much activity the person can currently tolerate.

How it shapes your programIf you train around pain or a past injury, exercise is matched to what you can tolerate today and progressed from there, rather than following a one-size-fits-all plan.

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Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining Cardiorespiratory, Musculoskeletal, and Neuromotor Fitness in Apparently Healthy Adults

Garber CE, Blissmer B, Deschenes MR, et al. · American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand

ACSM's evidence review recommends at least 150 minutes a week of moderate cardio, strength training for each major muscle group 2–3 days a week, and flexibility and balance work 2–3 days a week. It describes every program through six variables, and says each should be adjusted to the person's fitness, goals, and response, then progressed gradually.

How it shapes your programHow often, how hard, how long, what kind, how much, and how fast it builds are each set for you and adjusted from what your logs show.

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Recent Perspectives Regarding the Role of Dietary Protein for the Promotion of Muscle Hypertrophy with Resistance Exercise Training

Stokes T, Hector AJ, Morton RW, McGlory C, Phillips SM · Review · Nutrients, 2018

Resistance training is the main driver of muscle growth, and protein adds to those gains. The added benefit levels off at about 0.73 g per lb (1.6 g/kg) of body weight per day.

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How Much Protein Can the Body Use in a Single Meal for Muscle-Building? Implications for Daily Protein Distribution

Schoenfeld BJ, Aragon AA · Review · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2018

About 0.18 g per lb (0.4 g/kg) per meal across at least four meals was suggested to maximize muscle building. That adds up to at least 0.73 g per lb (1.6 g/kg) per day, with an upper range of about 1 g per lb (2.2 g/kg).

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How it shapes your programTraining comes first. Protein guidance focuses on how much you eat and how you spread it through the day, without pushing intake higher than the evidence supports.

Insufficient Sleep Undermines Dietary Efforts to Reduce Adiposity

Nedeltcheva AV, Kilkus JM, Imperial J, Schoeller DA, Penev PD · Randomized crossover trial

Ten overweight adults followed the same reduced-calorie diet for 14 days twice, once with 8.5 hours in bed per night and once with 5.5 hours. Total weight loss was similar, but short sleep cut the fat lost by about 55% (about 3.1 lb vs 1.3 lb) and increased the loss of lean mass by about 60% (about 3.3 lb vs 5.3 lb).

How it shapes your programSleep is part of the plan. Without enough of it, the same diet takes away more muscle and less fat, so a steady sleep routine is one of the habits we build.

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