I brined them overnight in a gallon of water, 10 ounces salt, and 1/2 cup honey. The dry rub is Meathead's Memphis Dust. They were in the smoker at 235 for about 6 hours, with 2 doses of hickory smoke (about 12oz of chips total). 5 hours in, I brushed on the glaze: Mix ¼ cup Ketchup, 3 Tbsp Honey, 2 ½ Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar, 2 tsp Onion Powder, 1 tsp Chili Powder, 4 cloves fresh garlic, 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder, ¼ cup Olive Oil, and 8 dried chilis in a blender. When it's all incorporated, stir in some liquid smoke and bourbon to taste. For the last 15 minutes, I cranked the heat to 400 to caramelize the glaze a little. Remove, rest under foil for 10 minutes or so, and enjoy! What it looked like on the inside. The smoke ring was more prominent than the photo shows.

oh, I also coated them with a little olive oil before shaking on the rub. It helps with adhesion, and it blooms the spices in the rub (a lot of the flavor compounds are fat soluble).

tips: 1) It's just a cheapo vertical smoker. Temp control can be an issue; adding mass helps with stability. bricks, a pizza stone, and unglazed ceramic tile all act as thermal capacitors to hold and evenly distribute the heat. I always use a put a pan of water in with the meat, too. Water does a phenominal job of stabilizing temparure, and steam helps carry smoke into the meat better. 2) These are back ribs, but I've used St. Louis with good results, too. I'm not hardcore in favor of one cut over another, I just use whichever looks the best at the butcher. 3) I don't flip them. Since my smoker is vertical, the bottom rack is hotter than the top, so I do rotate them every couple of hours. I don't mop; if I'm saucing them at all, I'll brush it on about an hour before they come out. Other times, I'll serve the sauce on the side. One thing I will say - don't go overboard with the rub or the sauce. You can always add more on the plate, but you can't take it off. There's delicious pork on those bones; your goal should be to amplify that, not drown it out.

for the chili: I used a mix of Ancho and Guajillo. Arbol also work, and I'll even toss a ghost pepper in sometimes if I'm feeling saucy.

Memphis Dust Recipe Yield. Makes about 3 cups. I typically use about 1 tablespoon per side of a slab of St. Louis cut ribs, and a bit less for baby backs. Store the extra in a zipper bag or a glass jar with a tight lid. Preparation time. 10 minutes to find everything and 5 minutes to dump them together.

Ingredients 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 3/4 cup white sugar 1/2 cup paprika 1/4 cup Morton's kosher salt 1/4 cup garlic powder 2 tablespoons ground black pepper 2 tablespoons ground ginger powder 2 tablespoons onion powder 2 teaspoons rosemary powder

About the sugar and salt. I encourage readers to experiment with recipes, and "no rules in the bedroom or dining room" is my motto, but I have gotten some emails that require a response. I appreciate that many of you feel the need to reduce sugar and salt in your diets (although recent research has warned that low salt diets can be just as dangerous as high salt diets), but they are in the recipe for more than flavor enhancement, they help form the crust (a.k.a. called "the bark" by the pros), an important part of the texture of the surface of ribs and slow smoke roasted pork. The salt pulls some moisture to the surface to form a "pellicle" and the sugar mixes with the moisture, caramelizes, and also contributes to the crust. Salt also penetrates the meat far deeper than the spices and there it helps bind moisture. I strongly recommend you leave them in.

There are only about 2 tablespoons of rub on a large slab. Of that about 1 tablespoon is sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Some of it falls and drips off during cooking. If you eat half a slab, you're not eating about 1 teaspoon of sugar and less than 1/4 teaspoon of salt. And for those of you who object to white sugar for non-dietary reasons, and use brown sugar instead, you need to know brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses added. It is not unrefined sugar. I use brown sugar for the flavor and white sugar because it improves the bark. You can substitute table salt, but beware that if you do, you should use about 2/3 as much. Read my article on salt.

If you want to cut back on carbs, leave off the sweet barbecue sauce. It has a lot more sugar. Switch to a Lexington sauce which is mostly vinegar, or just eat the pork with rub and no sauce. It's mighty good that way...

About the rosemary. One reader hates rosemary and leaves it out. Trust me, it hides in the background and you will never know it is there. But it is. It is subtle and important in this blend. Substitute thyme or oregano if you must, but I think rosemary is the best choice. If you can find ground rosemary, good for you. It's hard to find. So just grind the rosemary leaves in a mortar and pestle or in a coffee grinder. It will take 2 to 3 tablespoons of leaves to make 2 teaspoons of powder.

About the paprika. If you read my discussion of paprika by clicking the link you'll learn about the different kinds of paprika. In short, garden variety grocery store paprika has little flavor and is used mostly for color. But fresh Hungarian or Spanish paprika have mild but distinctive flavors. If you can find them, they improve this recipe. If you wish, you can use smoked paprika, especially good if you are cooking indoors, or even mix in some stronger stuff like ancho (slightly spicy), chipotle powder, cayenne, or chili powder (not very hot). Chipotle can be quite hot, so be thoughtful of who will be eating your food. I usually go easy on the heat in deference to the kids and wimps (like me) and add it to the sauce or put chipotle powder on the table for the chile heads.

About the ginger. I think it is a very important ingredient. If you don't have any, get some.

Method 1) Mix the ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. If the sugar is lumpy, crumble the lumps by hand or on the side of the bowl with a fork. If you store the rub in a tight jar, you can keep it for months. If it clumps just chop it up, or if you wish, spread it on a baking sheet and put it in a 250°F oven for 15 minutes to drive off moisture. No hotter or the sugar can burn.

2) For most meats, sprinkle just enough on to color it. Not too thick, about 2 tablespoons per side of a large slab of St. Louis Cut ribs. For Memphis style ribs without a sauce, apply the rub thick enough to make a crunchy crust, about 3 tablespoons per side (remember to Skin 'n' Trim the back side). To prevent contaminating your rub with uncooked meat juices, spoon out the proper amount before you start and seal the bottle for future use. Keep your powder dry. To prevent cross-contamination, one hand sprinkles on the rub and the other hand does the rubbing. Don't put the hand that is rubbing into the powder.

3) Massage the rub into the meat at least an hour before cooking. Two to three hours is better.

Source

I was reading articles on Reddit and found this blog post about how to become a lifelong learner. Or, in other words, changing the way you think to realize that there is always potential for growth in your intelligence despite age and time constraints.

Why Become a Lifelong Learner?

You'll earn more

Fifty or sixty years ago, you could finish college and you'd have all the education you needed for the rest of your career. You don't have that luxury in today's job market. Skills that were cutting edge five years ago are likely out of date, and the jobs that we will perform in the next decade or two probably don't even exist yet. If you want to stay competitive in today's job market and potentially earn more money, you need to become an autodidact.

Not only can becoming a lifelong learner help you earn more money in traditional employment, autodidacticism can be the gateway to self-employment and starting your own business. There are countless examples from history of famous folks who learned how to create thriving businesses without any formal education: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford to name just a few. Countless not-so-famous business owners became successful without ever earning a sheepskin too, simply by teaching themselves what they needed to know and relentlessly tinkering.

You'll be more interesting and charismatic

Those who met Theodore Roosevelt were always greatly impressed with his ability to hold a conversation with anyone regarding any subject imaginable. Scientists were blown away with Roosevelt's knowledge of complex theories, socialites were smitten with his witty insights about the latest piece by Oscar Wilde, and cowboys out West respected the "Eastern Dude's" understanding of desert wildlife. How did Theodore Roosevelt become such a charismatic, conversational dynamo? By developing the ability to speed read and then devouring books like a hungry lion feasting on a fresh kill. While in the White House, he would read a book every day before breakfast. If he didn't have any official business in the evening, he would read two or three more books, plus any magazines and newspapers that caught his fancy. By his own estimates, TR read tens of thousands of books during his lifetime, including hundreds in foreign languages. As a result, he could connect with anyone, from any walk of life, on something that truly interested the other person.

You'll be a better leader

Being able to connect with others doesn't just make you more interesting. It also makes you much more influential. The greater your knowledge base, the more you can meet people where they are, and the greater the stockpile of solutions you have at your disposal to tackle problems and overcome challenges.

You'll be independent and handy

One thing I admired about my grandpa growing up was all the cool stuff that he knew. He was always tinkering, and it seemed like he knew everything about everything. How to hunt, how to shoe a horse, how to garden (he grew grapes), how to make awesome pancakes. Even after he retired, my grandpa was always learning new things and acquiring new skill sets. For example, he learned how to restore antique horse carriages and old phonograph players. He got so good at it, in fact, that he started restoring antique phonograph players as a small side-business.

Because of my grandpa's diverse range of skills, when something broke or he needed something done, he could do it himself. He didn't have to call and pay an expert to do it for him. If he didn't know how to do it, he went to the library, got some books on the subject, and figured it out.

Lifelong learning keeps your brain healthy

Henry Ford said, "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young." Nearly 100 years later science is validating Henry Ford's quip. Margie E. Lachman, a psychologist at Brandeis University who specializes in aging says, "Education seems to be an elixir that can bring us a healthy body and mind throughout adulthood and even a longer life." Her research has shown that the more education an elderly person has – whether obtained formally or informally — the better they performed on cognitive tests than other elderly folks who had less education.

Learning new things can also help stave off old-age ailments like dementia and Alzheimer's. One study has shown that older folks who stay cognitively active and curious about the world around them are 2.6 times less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer's than those who let their minds lie fallow.

You'll feel more satisfied with life

In his book Drive, author Dan Pink argues that we need three things to feel motivated about, and satisfied with, our life: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Becoming a lifelong learner fulfills all three of these psychological needs.

When you're an autodidact you – not your parents, not your professor, not your boss — get to decide what you're going to learn about. Instead of being a passive consumer of knowledge, you're actively choosing what you're learning. In other words, you're autonomous. As you learn new skills, you'll enjoy the positive feeling that comes with mastery. And you'll find yourself with a renewed sense of purpose in life as you set goals for your self-education.

The satisfaction that comes with lifelong learning doesn't stop there. The more you know about the world, the deeper you can plunge into it, and the more levels of it you can experience. Whether you're traveling, conversating, visiting a museum, watching a movie, or reading a book, your library of knowledge helps you make connections that you would never have otherwise perceived. The more you learn, the more you realize how many references and meanings you've missed because the author/speaker simply took that background knowledge, that fluency in cultural literacy, for granted.

You'll become more human. As Robert Heinlein famously put it:

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance >accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, >pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

Common Perceived Barriers to Becoming a Lifelong Learner

People usually give the same excuses for not taking up the mantle of lifelong learning and instead opting for a life filled with mindlessly surfing the net and watching TV.

Time

I get it. You're busy. I'm sure it's hard to imagine being able to cram in time for self-study when your day is already packed with work and family. But here's the thing: As a lifelong learner, you don't have a deadline on your education. You can take all the time you want and fit it in whenever you'd like. Consequently, you don't need to spend hours a day reading or practicing. Just 30 minutes here and there spread over months and years will do. Moreover, in my experience, when I consciously make learning a priority, I usually end up finding the time for it (meaning I was previously wasting my time doing other stuff).

There are all sorts of spare moments that you can turn into learning opportunities. Listen to an audiobook during your commute instead of the best hits of the 80s, 90s, and today. Bring a good book to read while you're waiting to see your doctor instead of thumbing through a two-year-old copy of Sports Illustrated.

Money

This barrier only exists if you think you need formal classes to learn something. You don't. Thanks to the wonders of the internet you can learn just about anything (and even take college-level classes) at your pace, completely for free. We'll talk about some of these free sources later on in the post.

Information

As with money, this barrier pretty much no longer exists because of the internet. There might be some skills that will require special in-person instruction, but finding those people is also much easier thanks to the web.

Location

This is only a problem if you think you need to be in a formal classroom to learn. You don't. You can learn at home, in your car, or in the garage. Granted, there may be some instances in which you'll need to be in a certain place to be able to learn a new skill (e.g. you can't learn how to snow ski in Oklahoma), but those instances are typically the exception rather than the rule.

How to Become a Lifelong Learner

Foster a growth mindset

One thing that might be keeping you back from learning new things is the belief that you can't learn new things. But neuroscience and psychology have shown this to be false. Our brains remain plastic and malleable well into old age, and it's possible to create new connections among neurons and learn new things even if you're 80 years old.

To become an effective lifelong learner you need to adopt a mindset that is in line with how our brains really work. Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck discovered that people have one of two "mindsets" – fixed or growth. Individuals with a fixed mindset believe that their intelligence and talents are innate and fixed. They don't think they can improve with work and effort. Folks with a growth mindset believe that they can improve themselves through work and practice.

You want to foster a growth mindset. How do you do that? Here are a few things Dweck suggests:

• Reading research that shows growth and improvement is possible
• Developing your resiliency
• Trying new things
• Reading about and extracting lessons from others with a growth mindset

Change your idea of learning

Learning doesn't have to be in a formal classroom setting. In fact, most of the useful stuff you know was probably picked up informally from family, friends, and good old trial and error. To become a lifelong learner, ditch the idea that you need to sign up for a class to actually learn something. Learning opportunities are all around you. Remember that learning isn't confined to what's found in books – acquiring practical skill sets is a big part of it too.

Establish goals

What do you want to learn? When do you want to learn it by? Every year, set goals for yourself on skills and knowledge you want to acquire. I usually set three big learning goals for myself every year. For example, this year my goals are to 1) learn how to create compelling videos for AoM, 2) learn how to handle a handgun in defensive situations, and 3) learn how to hunt and field dress a deer.

Besides those three big goals, I always have the daily goal of learning something new every day whether through reading or by talking to other people. To ensure that we have something else to talk about at dinnertime (besides the blog!), Kate and I play a game called "What did you learn today?" (Actually, we say, "Got any stories for me?" It's our shorthand for, "Have you read or heard anything interesting today?") Every day we both try to learn something new to share with each other over dinner.

It can also be motivating to set a reading goal for yourself. For example, our new employee Jeremy has made it his goal to read all 100 of the books on our "100 Must Read Books for Men" list in 100 months, which comes out to just over eight years. No need to rush things! Jeremy wanted to make sure his goal was manageable, and still be able to do other reading as well. One book per month from the list was the perfect solution.

Find your sources

Once you establish your learning goals, it's time to gather your sources. Do a quick Google search to see what information is available online. After that, head to the library — I always seem to find better and more in-depth insights in books as opposed to web articles. If it's a skill that will require special instruction, start creating a list of places or individuals that could offer that instruction.

Ask questions

Effective learning requires active participation. You can't just passively consume information. While you're reading and talking to experts, ask questions. Don't know what to ask? Check out this great post we published last year on how to ask questions. Don't worry about looking or sounding like an idiot. Swallow your pride.

Find a group

While many of your learning goals can be pursued alone, sometimes it helps to have a group of people to learn along with you. Your fellow learners can provide insights and resources that you never would have thought about. Moreover, in a group setting you'll often get constructive feedback you otherwise wouldn't get alone. As an added bonus, it's just more fun to learn with others.

To find a group of folks to learn with, start with the people you know. Maybe you have some friends that want to learn the same thing as you. Start weekly discussions or practice sessions with them. If you can't find any friends with the same learning goals, check out sites like MeetUp. There's bound to be a group in your area that focuses on your learning goal. While they don't provide the same sort of dynamic interaction as in-person groups, online communities can provide a great social learning environment as well.

Practice, practice, practice

Don't just read or listen your way to knowledge. Try to find a way to put that knowledge to work. If you're learning about art, visit a museum and try to identify which paintings belong to the Romantic period. If you're learning about wilderness survival, get out into the wild every month and put those bushcraft skills to use. If you're learning how to code, code.

Teach what you're learning

Teach what you're learning. One of my all-time favorite books is Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. One of the skills Covey teaches in the book is that to truly learn something you need to teach it. According to Covey, when we teach, we become truly motivated to learn the material because we want to ensure proper instruction. Teaching also forces us to look at a concept with a beginner's mind, which can provide the clarity and insight that we were lacking. Moreover, simply talking aloud to somebody can help you solidify ideas through the "production effect."

As you learn new things, teach it to others. Blogging is a great way to teach what you're learning. Many of the skills I've acquired in the past five years have come from deciding to write a post about a topic. When I wrote "How to Change the Oil in Your Car," I had Kate's Uncle Buzz teach me how; when I wrote "How to Throw a Knife," I went and spent the day with dude ranch owner Tom Warren; and when Kate and I wrote our series on the history of honor, we read dozens of books and scholarly articles on the subject.

Test yourself

It's important to get feedback while you're learning, and testing is the best way to do it. As a self-learner, you're likely not going to face formal tests, so you'll need to create your own. How you test yourself will depend on the skill or knowledge set you're trying to acquire. If you're learning marksmanship, your test could be the U.S. Army's rifle marksmanship scorecard; if you're learning Spanish, your test could be to visit the local Mexican grocery store and talk to the cashier only in Spanish.

Sources for Lifelong Learning

As I mentioned above, there are countless free sources available online. Here are a few of the best(use google):

Coursera

Coursera works with top universities from around the world to offer classes online for free. You can take classes from a variety of disciplines including computer sciences, psychology, and Spanish.

OpenStudy

OpenStudy is a social learning network that allows you to connect with individuals with the same learning goals as you.

Khan Academy

I freaking love Khan Academy. You'll find over 4,000 videos covering topics ranging from algebra to finance to history. My favorite part of Khan Academy, though, is math exercises. You start with basic math and work your way up to calculus in an adaptive, game-like environment. I've been slowly going through the exercises to freshen up on my math.

Duolingo

Free website to learn foreign languages. It's a pretty cool set up. As you progress through the lessons, you're simultaneously helping translate websites and other documents.

Code Academy

Learn to code for free with interactive exercises. I wish Code Academy was around when I was learning how to build AoM. It would have helped a lot.

edX

Harvard University and MIT partnered together to create interactive, free online courses. The same world-renowned professors that teach at Harvard and MIT have created the courses on edX. You can find courses for just about any subject. I've signed up for a class called The Ancient Greek Hero. Class started last week, but you can still sign up. Join me!

Udacity

Udacity is similar to edX and Coursera. College level classes taught online for free.

CreativeLive

I discovered CreativeLive a few weeks ago. It's an interesting concept. You can watch the live stream of the course being taught for free, but if you want to view the course later and at your own pace you have to pay for it. The courses focus on more creative and business subjects like videography and online marketing. I've sat in on a few of the free courses and was impressed with the curriculum.

TED

TED compiles speeches and lectures not only by professors but interesting people from many different walks of life. TED talks are lighter than academic lectures, often quite funny, and concentrate on interesting ideas and concepts. And most are 20 minutes or less, so they're great for those with a short attention span.

iTunes U

Download thousands of free podcast lectures taught by the best professors from around the world and learn while in your car.

YouTube EDU

Instead of watching a bunch of auto-tuned cats, enrich your mind by browsing through YouTube EDU. They have thousands of videos that cover a variety of topics.

Deadlift is one of the best workouts that you can do for your lower back, trapezius, upper back, abdominals, hamstrings, hips, gluteus maximus, quadriceps, annnnnnddd forearms. Here is how to do them properly:

1. Start off with light weight, you want to make sure you have proper form before you begin lifting heavier weight.
2. Set your stance: Approach the bar so that the center of both your feet are directly under the bar with your stance slightly less than should width apart to make sure there's room for you arms. Make sure your toes are either pointing forward or slightly outward.
3. Squat: Bend your knees while keeping your back straight, so that you are sitting over your knees with your head up.
4. Grab the Bar: Grab the bar with a grip slightly wider than shoulder width outside of your legs. It is recommended that you use the alternating grip, or, one palm facing you and the other facing away. This method will stabilize the bar and keep it from slipping out of your hands.
5. Set your hips and legs: Lower your hips so that your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep the lower parts of your legs mostly vertical. The angle between your foot and lower leg should b eclose to 90 degrees. Keep in mind, in the squat image above your back should be straighter.
6. Lift the bar: Stand up by raising your hips and shoulders at the same rate and maintain a flat back. Keep your abdominals tight during the whole lift. Do your best to lift the bar straight up vertically along your shins and close to your body thinking of it as pushing the floor away. Come to a complete standing position with shoulders back. Let the bar hang in front of your hips.
7. Lower the Bar: Keep your back straight and stick your gluteus maximus out as needed as if you were sitting down in to a chair while keeping your head up.

Tips: * Looking forward helps keep balance and alightment of the spine. * Imagine that you're tryign to touch the wall behind you with your butt and the wall in front of you with your chin.

Head Tilt

How you hold your head is key to overall posture, which determines how efficiently you run. Let your gaze guide you. Look ahead naturally, not down at your feet, and scan the horizon. This will straighten your neck and back, and bring them into alignment. Don't allow your chin to jut out.

Shoulders

Shoulders play an important role in keeping your upper body relaxed while you run, which is critical to maintaining efficient running posture. For optimum performance, your shoulders should be low and loose, not high and tight. As you tire on a run, don't let them creep up toward your ears. If they do, shake them out to release the tension. Your shoulders also need to remain level and shouldn't dip from side to side with each stride.

Arms

Even though running is primarily a lower-body activity, your arms aren't just along for the ride. Your hands control the tension in your upper body, while your arm swing works in conjunction with your leg stride to drive you forward. Keep your hands in an unclenched fist, with your fingers lightly touching your palms. Imagine yourself trying to carry a potato chip in each hand without crushing it. Your arms should swing mostly forward and back, not across your body,between waist and lower-chest level. Your elbows should be bent at about a 90-degree angle. When you feel your fists clenching or your forearms tensing, drop your arms to your sides and shake them out for a few seconds to release the tension.

Torso

The position of your torso while running is affected by the position of your head and shoulders. With your head up and looking ahead and your shoulders low and loose, your torso and back naturally straighten to allow you to run in an efficient, upright position that promotes optimal lung capacity and stride length. Many track coaches describe this ideal torso position as "running tall" and it means you need to stretch yourself up to your full height with your back comfortably straight. If you start to slouch during a run take a deep breath and feel yourself naturally straighten. As you exhale simply maintain that upright position.

Hips

Your hips are your center of gravity, so they're key to good running posture. The proper position of your torso while running helps to ensure your hips will also be in the ideal position. With your torso and back comfortably upright and straight, your hips naturally fall into proper alignment--pointing you straight ahead. If you allow your torso to hunch over or lean too far forward during a run, your pelvis will tilt forward as well, which can put pressure on your lower back and throw the rest of your lower body out of alignment. When trying to gauge the position of your hips, think of your pelvis as a bowl filled with marbles, then try not to spill the marbles by tilting the bowl.

Legs/Stride

While sprinters need to lift their knees high to achieve maximum leg power, distance runners don't need such an exaggerated knee lift--it's simply too hard to sustain for any length of time. Instead, efficient endurance running requires just a slight knee lift, a quick leg turnover, and a short stride. Together, these will facilitate fluid forward movement instead of diverting (and wasting) energy. When running with the proper stride length, your feet should land directly underneath your body. As your foot strikes the ground, your knee should be slightly flexed so that it can bend naturally on impact. If your lower leg (below the knee) extends out in front of your body, your stride is too long.

Ankles/Feet

To run well, you need to push off the ground with maximum force. With each step, your foot should hit the ground lightly--landing between your heel and midfoot--then quickly roll forward. Keep your ankle flexed as your foot rolls forward to create more force for push-off. As you roll onto your toes, try to spring off the ground. You should feel your calf muscles propelling you forward on each step. Your feet should not slap loudly as they hit the ground. Good running is springy and quiet.

The Myth of Non-Functional Hypertrophy

If you read my articles you know that explosiveness is largely dependent upon strength, and strength is fairly influenced by muscular growth, or hypertrophy. In this article I'd like to address another topic along these lines and this the topic of functional vs non-functional hypertrophy. Non-functional hypertrophy refers to gains in muscle size that aren't associated with an improved capacity to produce force. "Functional" hypertrophy refers to gains in muscular size that improve maximal force production, and thus carry over into the real world. Simple enough.

Manufactured Strength Vs Natural Strength

Before I get into it I'd like to point out that no supplemental training method is perfect and has a perfect transfer to sport. The practice of adding strength and size thru weight training in an attempt to apply the benefits of that strength and size to a sport is effective but it won't ever be perfect. You're basically manufacturing something that wasn't there to begin with - You're allowing your body to adapt to one stimulus and then applying those adaptations to another area. It really is cheating in a way. The only thing that isn't cheating would be actually playing the sport and letting your body adapt naturally. However, we know there are limits to that. But this is one reason why people that have "natural" strength, size, and power will generally have a "functional" strength advantage over those who have to manufacture it. Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, and Mike Tyson rarely if ever lifted a weight. Compare them to muscled up guys like Frank Bruno, Tony Mandarich, and Vernon Gholston. Manufacturing size and strength isn't perfect regardless of how you acquire it, but it beats the alternative and can allow you to compete at a level you wouldn't have.

Myofibrillar growth vs Sarcoplasmic growth

Now that i've got that out of the way, let's talk a little bit of muscle physiology. In a muscle cell you have the actual protein content in the cell, or the myofibrils, and you also have fluid surrounding the protein, the sarcoplasm. Strength is primarily influenced by the amount of protein contained in the cellular filaments, or the myofibrils.

There is a belief in the training world that certain types of training can influence the growth of one of these components over the other. The belief is that heavy low rep weight training favors growth of the myofibrils and builds muscles that are as strong and "functional" as they look, if not stronger. In contrast, higher volume/higher rep training (bodybuilding methods), are often believed to favor growth of the sarcoplasm. Since the sarcoplasm consists of non-contractual fluid it is supposedly possible to gain large amounts of size without any increase in strength. This is deemed to be responsible for the so called non functional strength or "bodybuilding fluff" lended to bodybuilding methods. Muscles that aren't as strong as they look or muscles that are slow and unathletic.

For this reason athletes are often encouraged to train heavy and use lower repetitions in their training. There is a belief that training with higher reps and shorter rest intervals and lighter weights builds only non-functional strength.

What Really Happens

However, when we examine this claim critically, science demonstrates the size of the sarcoplasm is limited by the size of the myofibrils. In other words, a cell can only hold so much sarcoplasm and that amount is limited by the size of the myofibril within it. Additionally, more than a handful of studies have tried to differentiate myofibrillar from sarcoplasmic hypertrophy with different prodocols and loading parameters. In every single one of them myofibrillar growth always comes out well ahead, typically by a 2-3 x margin.(1-5) Thus, it would seem it is impossible to increase sarcoplasmic growth in the absence of myofibrillar growth regardless of what strategies are employed.

This would tend to indicate that sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is mostly a myth. Well, technically it does, but in practical terms non-functional growth does exist, but in my humble opinion it doesn't occur in ways most people think. In the real world non-functional hypertrophy is simply extra glycogen storage. A muscle that has it's energy stores taxed (thru higher volume training) will adapt to store more glycogen, or carbohydrate energy, and this can add a significant amount of extra weight and size.

Fluff and Glycogen

A normal 170 lb male can store about 350-500 grams of total glycogen in his muscles. A 170 lb male whose muscles are trained at fairly high volume can store about double that, or ~1000 grams. Each gram of glycogen attracts 3 grams of water with it, so 500 grams of extra muscle glycogen above average will add an extra 2000 grams of total weight above normal, or about 4.5 lbs. This 4.5 pounds of extra glycogen and fluid will be stored in the muscles and will "appear" to be solid muscle weight, but it's really nothing more than energy and water. Four and a half pounds may not sound like a lot but take a look at a 4.5 lb steak next time you're in supermarket and you can see that's a considerable amount.

Let's say you take take 2 people with 15 inch arms who train with fairly low volume, so their energy stores are never really taxed. Let's say they do something like 5 sets of 3-5 reps for biceps and triceps twice per week. You keep one of them on low volume and put the other one on high volume, something like 8 sets of 10-12 reps twice per week. The guy on the higher volume protocol might see his arms immediately go up an extra 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch over the other guy, because the extra volume taxes the energy stores in his arms to a greater degree and the body adapts to that by increasing the amount of energy that can be stored in his arms. So their arms will be the same size from a myofibrillar perspective and likely be the same strengthwise but the 2nd guy will have more glycogen storage, which makes his muscles look bigger (and may makes him appear weak for his size compared to the other guy).

A person with a 20 inch solid arm who trains with low volume might be able to add a full inch by increasing his volume.

That's not to say that someone training with higher reps can't build plenty of functional strength and size in the process. As long as he trains with progressive resistance his myofibrils will increase in size just as well as the guy on lower reps, he's just more likely to have a nearly immediate extra gain from the increased glycogen storage in addition to that.

With higher volume training the average bro might be able to gain 5-10 lbs or so of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy across his entire body over what he would on lower volume protcols. Cell volumizers like creatine also attract water into the muscle and add to that. Add in steroids (which often increase creatine storage and water retention) and other cell volumizers and it's fairly easy to see how bodybuilders training at high volumes can add a significant amount of "fluff" weight.

So Why Are Some People Weak For Their Size?

Besides that there is one primary reason why "high-rep" guys might appear weak for their size:

A: They rarely practice lifting maximal weights so they're not as good at lifting maximal weights. Maximum strength is a skill that must be practiced, just like sporting movements are skills that must be practiced. You also see this in reverse. If you take a bodybuilder who regularly does sets of 15-20 reps and a powerlifter who regularlly does sets of 1-3 the bodybuilder will have a hard time matching the powerlifteron low reps sets but the powerlifter will likely have a hard time matching the bodybuilder on high rep sets.

It's also worth noting that weight training is only one way of taxing muscular energy stores and stimulating increased glycogen storage. Anyone engaged in more than a few hours of exercise per week, especially a sport incorporating some form of running, is likely already stimulating these adaptations.

Low Reps and Thickness

What about the claim that low rep power training builds dense, thick muscles? Take a look at the neck and trap development of some of the top powerlifters and strongmen. They have a bulldog like thickness to them that you don't see equaled by many other athletes. Many would have you believe this is solely on account of their style of training, but if you pay much attention to the sport you'll also find plenty of people who train the same way and don't have this look. My explanation for this is that naturally strong people tend to gravitate towards strength sports and naturally strong people are typically incredibly gifted for size as well. They have a ton of dormant muscle cells just waiting to explode, much like bulldogs, pit bulls, and boxers are thicker than other dogs. In general people that grow extremely well off of low rep/low volume training are very gifted for size and would have well above average thickness even without any training.

Rep Range and Fiber Type

Another thought is that repetition range influences the type of muscle fiber (fast twitch/slow twitch) that is built. There is some thought that high rep training (anything greater than 8-10 reps) builds slow twitch muscle fiber and should be avoided. However, slow twitch fibers really don't grow much no matter what you do, and the small amount they can/do grow is best stimulated by the same heavy sets that cause "normal" growth, standard sets of 6-12 reps. If that weren't the case then endurance athletes would all be huge. Regardless of how you gain it, any size you gain will be fast twitch related growth. However, there is something to be said that training can influence the quality of fast twitch fiber that you build.

All muscle fibers exist in a color continuuum with some fibers being pure white and other fibers having a shade of red. Think of eating chicken. The dark meat is tender and red while the breast meat is white and tough. Your muscles are the same way. Some are redder or whiter than others. The slowest twitching fibers are dark red while the fastest twitching fibers are pure white. In between those 2 extremes there will be various shades of white and red. What causes the different color is the amount of capillaries running thru the muscle. The redder the muscle the more capillaries (and oxygen) run thru it. The whiter the fiber the less capillaries (and oxygen) run thru it. Fibers can't completely change types. You can't take a dark red (slow twitch) fiber and change it to a pure white (fast twitch) fiber and vice versa. However, you can change the shade of a given fiber type (slow twitch or fast twitch) to either a whiter or redder variant of the same fiber type.

IIA Vs IIX

There are different sub types of fast twitch fibers with some more enduring or more powerful than others. In humans the whiter type II fiber is known as the IIX subtype, the intermediate light red shade is known as IIA. Both of the type II subtypes have equal strength, but the white fibers are more explosive and have no endurance while the redder shades are a bit less explosive with more endurance.

Fiber type------------------------------------Fiber type

<-----IIX---------------------------------------------IIA----->

<-----Whiter----------------------------------------Redder---->

<---Greater explosiveness------------------Less explosiveness-->

<---Less Endurance---------------------------More Endurance-->

The IIX fibers can change into IIA and vice versa, but it's arguable how much this is dependent on rep range. For all practical purposes anything you do that causes muscle breakdown/growth will cause an intermediate shift towards more IIA fibers. Actually activity of any kind tends to promote the IIX to IIA shift, even sprint training. Unfortunately, (and this is one reason why I started off this article by saying that weight training isn't perfect as far as transference) if you train with enough volume to cause muscle growth you train with enough volume to cause the shift. Untrained people actually have more IIX fibers than anyone because they don't do anything, - their fibers have no need for any endurance.

Explosive athletes like sprinters and olympic weightlifters have more IIX fiber than others, but it's likely this is a genetic trait. They start out with more, thus end up with more, as science demonstrates fast twitch IIX fibers convert to IIA with any sorta practical stimulus.

So, if you want to avoid fast to slow fiber conversions you have to avoid muscle breakdown, which means you don't grow at all. Is there any way to create a IIA to IIX conversion? Well, detraining is one way to do it. If you want to influence IIA to IIX conversions you need to keep the volume low and avoid muscle trauma. Strategically timed tapers and incorporation of pure explosive training methods can cause temporary shifts back towards the IIX subtype, which is what athletic peaking and proper periodization is all about. For more info. on that read my Fast twitch Machine Articles.

The Real Value of Rep Range

The point is, functional hypertrophy isn't as dependent on rep range as a lot of people think. For all practical purposes what determines whether you're functional or not is what you do outside the weight room - your movement and skill work. Train with 10 + reps, practice your sport, and stay mobile and you'll likely be as functional as they come. Train with 1-5 reps and do nothing else and you can easily be as non-functional as a muscled up hippo.

Take 2 twin brothers that both play football. Both do skill and movement work year around. Over a span of 3 years one works up to 600 x 3 squat never doing anything more than triples. The other does 500 x 10 never doing less than 8 reps. It would likely be about impossible to tell them apart performance wise.

Another example is strongman training which has really risen in popularity in athletic training circles. Take a look at some of the characteristics of the exercises involved in strongman: Flipping a tire all the way across the parking lot, cleaning and pressing a keg then walking around with it, and farmers carries. A lot of strongman type stuff is a lot closer to the "high rep" side of things as far as time under tension goes. But how many people come out and say strongman training sucks as a strength stimulus for sports?

As long as you use progressive resistance you can build solid (and functional) size doing sets of 1 rep or you can build solid (and functional) size using sets of 20 reps. The lower body, particularly the quads, tend to respond particularly well to higher reps, and the upper rep range is a bit higher for lower body than upper body. Twenty rep squat routines are very effective for legs, but the upper limit for most upper body exercises will be around 15. In either case, providing the volume is equal, reps of 15-20, 10-12, and 3-5 have been shown to result in exactly the same stimulation of muscle protein synthesis. (7) The only real difference between them (besides one obviously using lighter weights) will be with the 15 reps (obviously the higher volume protocol) you tax muscular energy stores so in addition to increasing the protein content you also get more glycogen storage. In either case the primary stimulus (work under load) is the same, the muscles activated are the same, and regardless of rep range resistance training is a supplement, not the primary event.

Best Bang For Your Buck

For growth purposes the best "bang for your buck" rep range is arguably 6-8, or about an 80-85% max load, as it gives the ideal combination of recruitment and metabolic fatigue. You get full recruitment from the first rep and enough time under load to optimize th emetabolic processes contributing to hypertrophy. Higher reps have the benefit of less joint stress while lower reps have the advantage of greater nervous system activation, and also make it easier to keep volume down and avoid growth stimulation, if that is a goal.

I don't want this to sound like I have anything against lower rep training, but there are times when it is advisable for a person to use higher reps due to injuries, age, or equipment restrictions and the practice is certainly permissible. I've known people that only had a given amount of weights at their disposal or they had injuries and were forced to train with sets of 12 or more and were able to gain just fine. My general recommendation for people over the age of 35 is to keep the reps up to 10 or more for upper body so their joints don't take such a pounding.

Don't Forget About Nutrition

Also building size is just as much about how you eat as it is how you train. You can have the perfect hypertrpohy program but it won't do anything in the absence of good nutrition. Do sets of 10-15 while eating to keep your BW constant and all you'll do is get strong, just ask many of the former HIT (high intensity training) Nazis. Do singles often enough while eating like a hoss and you'll get plenty big.