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Todd Talks: Training & Supplements Advice

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We connected with human performance coach Todd Anderson to get his tips on training and dietary supplements. Find out what tips Todd has for taking your squat gains to the next level.

What Is Periodization? Linear vs Daily Undulating

Linear periodization is amazing for someone starting off, it has tremendous benefits and is probably underrated. Daily undulating periodization has been shown to be superior to other periodization models. But keep in mind the methods used to prove its superiority used a lot of one-rep maxes. Working up to a one-rep max is very important when it comes to strength.

Top Three Squat Tips
  • Upper Body Tension – You must be able to create upper body tension. The upper body is often neglected but most squat fails is because you can’t create enough tension and stability in the upper body. Think about putting the bar where you want it to be and almost ripping it in half. 
  • Jump – Jump before you squat. Do an explosive movement and prime your central nervous system, it produces bigger force output during a squat set. 
  • Brace – Learn how to brace, it’s not just about flexing your abs or arching your back. You must learn to expand your diaphragm and create tension through your core. You’re basically expanding and bringing in a ton of air and pushing against it with your core. It’s a very important technique to learn, and without that, you’re going to be in a bad spot.

    • Does Caffeine Give You Energy?

    What it really does is it prevents you from feeling tired versus boosting your energy. That’s why I love a cold plunge because a cold plunge boosts all the modulators that caffeine does, but it doesn’t block you from feeling tired. What caffeine does is it boosts your dopamine levels, mildly, not a massive amount. But caffeine also blocks the re-uptake of adenosine, this molecule that makes you feel tired. If you have caffeine right out of the gate, what happens is the molecule doesn’t stop being produced, you’re still pumping out adenosine. After the caffeine starts to wear off, the receptor becomes overly sensitive, and you have a ton of adenosine molecules that get sucked up and that’s when you crash.

    Is Creatine a Nootropic?

    An unknown use of creatine is that it helps with sleep deprivation. They did a study with two groups and sleep-deprived them for 24 hours. One group got 4 doses of creatine and the other group got a placebo. The creatine group outperformed them in cognitive function, balance, and physical performance. If you know you’re going to be sleep deprived, hitting a little bit of creatine monohydrate can help combat that. It seems to not only help your physical performance but also your cognitive abilities as well.

    Date April 05, 2023
    Category Training