Episode 88: March Madness

Listen to Epiosde 88 here: TheFitCast088.mp3 (Right Click and Save-As to download)

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Hosts:

Kevin Larrabee and Jimmy Smith

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FitCast NEWS

• 2-Year Anniversary coming…

Mailbag

• I’m 5’9″ and at a standstill, I can muscle my jump to the rim (10 feet high) and hang on it. With a running approach, I can almost touch the rim. I’m assuming my reactive strength has a lot of room for improvement. With that said, I probably need a good 6-7 inches on my vertical jump to achieve a decent dunk. Given that I diligently train with plyometrics and improve my running approach/technique, are the 6 inches that I need a lot to ask for from plyometric training? In other words, are 6-7 inch gains from plyometric training realistic? If it helps: I’ve never really done any plyometric specific training before, and my 1RM squat was 405 lb but I haven’t tested for that recently. Aside from Kelly Baggett’s vertical jump book, are there any other vertical jump related books that I should read? -Dale
• My name is Matt Tuck, and I am a big fan of the show.
  My question has to do with fat loss. I have been on a
  ketogenic diet with a 1 day carb up per week, for
  about 3 months. The fat still seems to be the same at
  12% even though I have dropped calories. Should I skip
  the carb up or maybe do 2 clean carb ups per week.
  Also what is the benefit of doing HIIT after a
  resistance training session. Thanks for any help.
• Just recently discovered the fitcast and am enjoying working my way throught the extensive back catalogue of episodes.I was wanting to determine if you have ever discussed an ideal weight training and nutritional plan to supplement a MMA/Muay Thai fighter practioner.Hearing yous discussing this topic would be excellent and given the current boom in MMA worldwide a worthy addition to your show.

  Cheers, all the best,

  Steven, Dumbarton Scotland.

• hi guys, love the show. i need your advice on something. hopefully in a couple of months i’ll be going to stay in china for a year to study kung fu. the area is quite rural, so i’ll have won’t have access to any standard gym equipment, and the diet served will consist largely of white rice and vegetables with very limited amounts of meat/eggs/etc and pretty much no dairy. i’ll also be doing 4-6 hours of kung fu training (which i guess counts as cardio of varying intensity) 6 days per week. i’ll be able to buy basic food like eggs/bread/fruit (and meat but i’m not too keen on the idea of chinese mystery meat) every now and again, but i think supplements are pretty much out of question. do you have any diet/training tips on how i might limit muscle loss, and also whether theres anything i can do before i leave that would help?thanksJames from the UK
• Hi,I’ll skip the usual pleasantries.These are questions for both Kevin and Jimmy (and whoever happens to
  be on the show).

  1) we all read/heard about how shox sux. what about shock absorption
  systems in general? (nike air, etc)
  Should athletic shoes provide anything more than better traction?

  2) basketball shoes.
  should we be wearing low-cuts? or should we be wearing basketball
  shoes at all? what are you guys wearing?

  Thanks and regards. -Hiroshi

• Hi there

  Re: the last show, and splitting up fish oil throughout the day-is that really necessary, and if so, what research is there to show that? It seems that it wouldn’t make sense for it to be necessary to be split up. For example, I do not use caps, but take a TBSP of liquid with my last meal. Could that be clarified please?

  Thanks! -Erin

• Hey, I recently listened to Episode 87 and towards the end you and Jimmy talked about your daily doses of fish oil. I think Jimmy said he was taking 12 “caps” a day (I assume cap is short for capsule?). I was curious what the dosage of each cap is? For well over a year I had been taking 2 1000mg capsules a day but recently doubled that so I am taking 2 in the morning and 2 at night right before bed. I’m wondering if this is enough.Thanks,Kevin
• I currently train by myself at my local gym and find it hard to really push myself, to improve on reps/weight on a regular basis. Any advice on keeping oneself motivated when training alone?

Jimmy’s Studies

• Unstable surface training
• HMB supplementation