Showing posts with label optimal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label optimal. Show all posts
Thursday, March 3, 2016
High Intensity Low Volume Training for Optimal Health Low Dose Caffeine for Mixed Results Four Commandments of Concomitant Endurance Strength Training for Max Gains
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| It doesnt matter if you want to turn fat into fit, fit into fitter or strong into stronger. Todays SuppVersity science potpourri has something to offer for every physical culturist who is looking for ways to improve his health, performance and physique and for trainers and coaches who work with this challenging clientele. |
You may already have seen the link to Stuart Philipps latest "Review of Higher Dietary Protein Diets in Weight Loss" with a "A Focus on Athletes" on Facebook. For those of you who have been following the SuppVersity News theres probably little new information in the document, though. When I read the paragraph about optimal protein intakes for maximal muscle retention, I still thought that it may be worth to remind you of the results of the Pasiokos study which clearly suggest that eating more protein is not always going to increase the net protein retention when you are dieting.
You can learn more about protein intake at the SuppVersity
Protein Timing DOES Matter!
5x More Than the FDA Allows!
Protein requ. of athletes
High EAA protein for fat loss
Protein Wont Stop Catabolism
Less Fat, More Muscle!
After this brief introductory interlude, I would like to get to the actual topic at hand, a brief overview of a couple of interesting, but not exactly "full-article worthy" papers from the realms of exercise, nutrition and supplementation:
- Low volume, high intensity the exercise key to perfect health? A recent paper in the latest edition of Sports Medicine reviewed the health benefits of two different low volume exercise regimen: The classic sprint interval training (black spikes in Figure 1) and a HIIT protocol (grey bars in Figure 1).
The researchers from the McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, highlight that the currently available evidence is largely based on short-term interventions. And while long(er)-term interventions would be needed to " to advance our basic understanding of how manipulating the exercise stimulus translates into physiological remodeling" (Gibala. 2014), it can already be said that...
As Gibala et al. point out, there is also evidence that nutritional interventions can influence both acute and chronic adaptations to interval training - with one of my personal favorites, i.e. sodium bicarbonate being the #1 candidate to among the "interval-specific" ergogenics that are currently available on the market (learn why).
"[f]rom an applied perspective, there is value in trying to establish the minimum ‘dose’ of HIIT or SIT needed to stimulate meaningful improvements in clinical markers that are associated with disease risk.
Figure 1: Comparison of the power output (% of VO2peak) during sprint interval training (SIT, black peaks), high intensity interval training (HIIT, grey bars) and moderate intenstity continuous training (MICT, striped box)
This is particularly germane given that ‘lack of time’ remains the most commonly cited barrier to regular exercise participation, and considering evidence that suggests that low-volume interval training is perceived to be more enjoyable than MICT." (Gibala. 2014)
Moreover, as suggested by van Loon and Tipton (van Loon. 2013), the significantly greater adaptation efficiency compared to "regular" steady state cardio training has clinical relevance, especially for individuals with severe exercise intolerance.
Figure 2: Everything works, as long as you pick the right type of exercise for your type. - Low dose caffeine (200mg) not effective for everyone - A recent study from the University of Guelph found that low doses of caffeine (<3 mg/kg body mass, ~200 mg) can be ergogenic in some exercise and sport situations, but for most athletes they will not alter the peripheral wholebody responses to exercise, or improve vigilance, alertness, and mood and cognitive processes during and after exercise.
In view of the fact that low dose caffeine regimen are also "associated with few, if any, side effects" (Spriet. 2014), and generally depend on an athletes individual response to caffeine, Lawrence L. Spriet still suggests that athletes should "determine whether the ingestion of ~200 mg of caffeine before and/or during training and competition is ergogenic on an individual basis" (Spriet. 2014); and, assuming that it is, make use of the lowest effective dose, of which the data in Figure 3 clearly indicates that it is not necessarily the one with the lowest performance benefits.
Figure 3: Effects of ingesting no caffeine (0) or 3, 6 or 9 mg/kg body mass of caffeine (dose) on running time to exhaustion at ~85 % of VO2max (Graham. 1995). - Science-Based Recommendations for Training to Maximize Concurrent Training - Right from the desk of Keith Baar comes a set of recommendations to maximize the benefits of concomitant training, i.e. combined / sequential endurance and strength training that consists of a set of four tips:
- Do HIIT in the AM: Any high-intensity endurance training sessions should be performed early in the day. Then, a period of recovery of at least 3 h should be given, so that AMPK and SIRT1 activity can return to baseline levels, before resistance exercise is performed. This suggestion is based on the fact that AMPK activity increases rapidly and then returns to baseline levels within the first 3 h after high-intensity exercise (Wojtaszewski. 2000), whereas mTORC1 activity can be maintained for at least 18 h after resistance exercise (Baar. 1999; MacKenzie. 2009).
Drink your whey protein shake right after your strength workout: Resistance exercise should be supported by readily digestible, leucine-rich protein as soon as possible after training to maximize leucine uptake, mTOR recruitment to the lysosome, and protein synthesis.Build 3.2kg of lean mass overnight w/ 40g of casein pre-bed | learn more.
In view of the fact that Baar recommends to do your RT sessions later in the day, it is also advisable to consume another protein shake right before bed to maximize the synthetic response overnight (learn more).- Fully refuel between the morning high-intensity endurance training session and the afternoon strength session: Its not going to reduce the exercise induced increase in AMPK and SIRT1 activation, but will allow you to perform at maximal intensity during your resistance training session later in the day.
As Baar points, out athletes who have to diet during certain phases of their training cycle should make sure to "reserve a portion of the offseason (and short periods in season) exclusively for increasing muscle size and strength and then use higher dietary protein intakes to maintain that muscle mass as the aerobic load increases through the season" (Baar. 2014). - If you do low-intensity cardio, do your resistance training right after cardio: To improve the endurance response to lower-intensity endurance training sessions and provide a strong strength stimulus, Baar recommends performing strength training immediately after low-intensity, non-depleting, endurance sessions.
Performing a strength session immediately after a low-intensity endurance session results in a greater stimulus for endurance adaptation than the low-intensity endurance session alone (Wang. 2011) and the low-intensity session will not affect signaling pathways regulating strength gains (Coffey. 2009; Lundberg. 2012; Apró. 2013).
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| Figure 4: Using the above data on the muscle protein synthetic response to 20g of various types of protein as an example, a recent review of the protein recommendations for the aging population highlights the need for 30-40g of fast digesting protein after workouts (Wall. 2014) |
I mean, have you ever thought of determining the optimal protein intake on a "per meal" basis? I always suggest 30g+ of quality high EAA protein (whey, casein, fish, meat, chicken, pea, soy) per meal - thats somewhat more than the 2.5g/meal Phillips suggest but still significantly less than some wanna-be bodybuilders consume in their futile effort to counter the anti-anabolic effects of exercise (learn why this wont work) while compromising their exercise performance by cutting back on fats and more importantly carbohydrates | Comment on Facebook!
- Apró, William, et al. "Resistance exercise induced mTORC1 signaling is not impaired by subsequent endurance exercise in human skeletal muscle." American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism 305.1 (2013): E22-E32.
- Baar, Keith, and Karyn Esser. "Phosphorylation of p70S6kcorrelates with increased skeletal muscle mass following resistance exercise." American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology 276.1 (1999): C120-C127.
- Coffey, Vernon G., et al. "Consecutive bouts of diverse contractile activity alter acute responses in human skeletal muscle." Journal of applied physiology 106.4 (2009): 1187-1197.
- Graham, T. E., and L. L. Spriet. "Metabolic, catecholamine, and exercise performance responses to various doses of caffeine." Journal of Applied Physiology 78.3 (1995): 867-874.
- Lundberg, Tommy R., et al. "Aerobic exercise alters skeletal muscle molecular responses to resistance exercise." Medicine and science in sports and exercise 44.9 (2012): 1680-1688.
- Pasiakos, Stefan M., et al. "Effects of high-protein diets on fat-free mass and muscle protein synthesis following weight loss: a randomized controlled trial." The FASEB Journal 27.9 (2013): 3837-3847.
- van Loon, Luc JC, and Kevin D. Tipton. "Concluding Remarks: Nutritional Strategies to Support the Adaptive Response to Prolonged Exercise Training." (2013): 135-141.
- Wall, et al. "Dietary Protein Considerations to Support Active Aging." Sports Med (2014) 44 (Suppl 2):S185–S194.
- Wang, Li, et al. "Resistance exercise enhances the molecular signaling of mitochondrial biogenesis induced by endurance exercise in human skeletal muscle." Journal of applied physiology 111.5 (2011): 1335-1344.
- Wojtaszewski, Jørgen FP, et al. "Isoform-specific and exercise intensity-dependent activation of 5?-AMP-activated protein kinase in human skeletal muscle." The Journal of physiology 528.1 (2000): 221-226.
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Exercise Supplementation Quickie Optimal Protein Blend for Protein Synthesis Gout Drug for Muscle Protection Plus 3 Suggestions for Optimal Protein Blends
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| Dont obsess about "optimal" supplement regimen, start training, eating, sleeping and exercise the patience it takes to reverse years of sedentary pizza eating. |
For todays installment of these "Short News", Ive selected a study that discusses the impressive effects of a "gout drug" on exercise induced muscle damage and a study that takes another look at the ever-so-popular issue of "optimal" protein supplementation - an issue some of you are investing so much energy in that it is no wonder that theyre not making the gains they would want to.
You can learn more about protein intake at the SuppVersity
Are You Protein Wheysting?
Cod protein for recovery
Protein requ. of athletes
High EAA protein for fat loss
Fast vs. slow protein
Too much ado about protein?
- Interesting observation: Xanthine oxidase inhibitor Allopurinol, which is usually used to treat conditions that are cause by increased uric acid levels (e.g. gout), dampens exercise induced muscle damage in trained individuals.
The results of a recent study from the University of Valencia clearly demonstrate that the use of 300 mg of allopurinol 4h before a soccer match, lead to significant reductions in all measured markers of muscle damage in those six out of twelve professional soccer players who had been randomized to the active arm of the study (Sanshis Gomar. 2014).
Now, unfortunately, a reduction in muscle damage that is facilitated by the inhibition of an enzyme that generates reactive oxygen species is - as you should by now have learnt from the dozens of posts on hormesis and the beneficial effects of exercise induced increases in reactive oxygen specie, not exactly desirable.
Figure 1: Changes in markers of muscle, heart and liver damage, as well as MDA levels, amarker of lipid oxidation due to soccer match with our without xanthine oxidase inhibitor (Sanshis Gomar. 2014)
The authors conclusion that their observation was a great thing and could be used by athletes all around the world is thus probably only valid with respect to in professional soccer players and other elite athletes who are trying to avoid overuse injuries... and even for their health blunting the ROS response to exercise permanently probably isnt going to be exactly conducive to their health. - Further evidence for the superiority of protein blends (vs. single sources as whey) for muscle building
Scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch, the Texas A&M University, the Arizona State University and the University of Utah found that a blend of soy and dairy protein slightly prolonged net amino acid balance across the leg as compared to whey protein alone, when it was ingested right after a workout.
Remember? Only recently youve learned here at the SuppVersity that Whey + Casein outperform Whey + BCAA + Glutamine and you bet that this combo will also outshadow the combination of whey, a fast digesting protein and soy, with an only minimally more sustained digestion pofile (for suggestions see bullet-points below).
- In the soon-to-be-published paper, to which I do unfortunately not have access, the scientists emphasize that it is not the fractional protein synthesis rate or the mRNA expression of selected amino acid transporters (LAT1/SLC7A5, CD98/SLC3A2 SNAT2/SLC38A2, PAT1/SLC36A1, CAT1/SLC7A1) which made the difference, but rather the fact hat "the ingestion of the protein blend resulted in a prolonged and positive net phenylalanine balance during post-exercise recovery as compared to whey protein" (Reidy. 2014).
Now, eventually this is no news. I wrote about a similar phenomenon with whey protein only recently (learn more) and some of the researchers who were part of the study at hand have actually presented very similar results (albeit from a rodent study) in the August edition of Clinical Nutrition last year.
In this study Butteiger et al. observed that a mixture of 1:1:2 of soy protein, whey protein and caseinate (="broken" micelar casein which has a significantly faster digestion rate than the original) produced the maximal increase in protein synthesis (dotted line in Figure 1), but with "fake casein" and soy, I am 100% sure that you can do better than that with whey hydrolysate, whey concentrate and micellar casein (1:1:1 would mean an identical ratio of the three). As far as the ratios goes, I would suggest the following combinations for specific purposes:
Figure 2: Fractional protein synthesis 0-270min after the ingestion of pure whey or soy isolate of blends containing soy, whey and caseinate in the given ratios (Butteiger. 2013) - 5:5:1 - immediately post workout, if you have a meal within the next 1h
- 1:1:1 - immediately post workout, if you have a meal within the next 2h
- 1:3:5 - as a snack, of if you dont have a meal within 4h of the workout
Bottom line: Eventually, there is just one practical conclusion to be drawn from todays news potpourri: There is no need to limit your net protein synthesis with "pure" whey proteins, because this is what most studies use and many of the bros recommend.
As far as the use of xanthine oxidase inhibitors are concerned, I have my doubts whether that is not going to produce more problems than solve. And as far as the "optimal" ratio of fast- to slow-digesting proteins for maximal protein anabolism is concerned, I can only tell you that it would require 100 studies to get a decently reliable idea of what the "real" optimum for a certain population and training style was.... but dont grudge. In the end those few %-ages of FSR certainly wont be the reason you are not making the gains you are aspiring - so keep looking for excuses and start removing the true obstacles that are standing between yourself and the physique of your dreams.
References:  |
| +43% Muscle Glycogen With Whey vs. Amino Acid Mix | learn more |
- Butteiger, D. N., et al. "A soy, whey and caseinate blend extends postprandial skeletal muscle protein synthesis in rats." Clinical Nutrition 32.4 (2013): 585-591.
- Reidy, et al. "Soy-Dairy Protein Blend and Whey Protein Ingestion After Resistance Exercise Increases Amino Acid Transport and Transporter Expression in Human Skeletal Muscle." Journal of Applied Physiology April 3, 2014 jap.01093.2013
- Sanchis?Gomar, F., et al. "Allopurinol prevents cardiac and skeletal muscle damage in professional soccer players." Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports (2014).
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