Not the norm, but it serves to illustrate that it's not so much about the muscles themselves as it is the central nervous system, since most should not be training to muscle failure anyways. This is a beginner routine that has the lifter squatting every other day.

Post-lifting, I drink a shake consisting of whey protein, dextrose, maltodextrin, and salt. Post-cardio is a more lenient period, so I eat as usual.

Wait... why salt?...

The binding site for glucose has a low affinity. However, because of the electrochemical gradient, sodium enters a binding site reserved for it on the protein, which alters the protein's shape (allosteric reaction) so that sodium can now be bound and transported into the cell. Therefore, salt increases glucose absorption and water uptake across the luminal membrane.

Holy shit... I never knew that. Thanks Reidar. How would you have sodium though?... Pill form? Spoon or two of salt into protein shake? Salt seasoned onto your food later?

I'm guessing its already in the protein shake?

Just add a pinch or two of table salt to your shake.

Thanks a lot man. I wonder if that little change would make a good difference within a year. I'm gonna start adding salt in the beginning of next month. Maybe the gains will stick even better :D

It's not a matter of night and day, but these minute details add up.

Here's a more thorough version of it.

Thanks a lot for the knowledge, Reidar. God bless!

Lol, sorry that just sounds gross to me. Nutritionally, I'm sure it's sound. But..

How exactly does it have to do with the central nervous system? I don't doubt that it does, but just a question.

I've long passed the point where I cared about taste, but, for the record, dextrose is sugar. It tastes like a milkshake.

The central nervous system takes on the directive of muscle maintenance. Each neuron, and its attached muscle cells, make up a unit. The more work you ask the muscle to do, the more units the central nervous system recruits to perform. When this system suffers, the ability of your muscles to carry out their orders diminishes.

Powerlifters don't train to muscle failure for this exact reason. Exhausting the CNS is counterproductive to strength gains. Professor Vladimir Zatsiorsky, a Soviet strength expert, summed up this notion by saying that an athlete must “do as much work as possible while being as fresh as possible.”

Bodybuilding is an entirely different matter, which is why beginning trainees should not be doing bodybuilding routines until they have several years of strength training under their belt.

This applies to both sexes of all fitness levels, not just elite strength athletes.

What do you suggest for abdominal toning?

Tone, or tonus, is just a measure of ionic flow across the muscle cell membranes.

Good abdominal movements are strict crunches, Janda sit-ups, and full-contact twists. However, resistance training will not burn fat. That's where cardio and diet come in.