Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Jerry Brainum Interview : Part 4 five myths of good nutrition by RICHARD BALDWIN

 

 

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©,2015 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

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Monday, December 21, 2015

Jerry Brainum Interview : Part 3 five key principles to good nutrition by RICHARD BALDWIN

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©,2015 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

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Thursday, November 26, 2015

JERRY BRAINUM INTERVIEW : Part 2 five Myths to gaining muscle by RICHARD BALDWIN



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©,2015 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

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Monday, November 9, 2015

Jerry Brainum Interview : Part 1 five principles on gaining muscle: Interviewed by Richard Baldwin



For those of you not familiar with Richard Baldwin, here's a photo from his competition days. One of the most symmetrical, classically developed physiques ever. No bloated gut here! But the thing that impresses me most about Richard is that he maintains fantastic conditioning at age 68.Among Richard's many titles are: Mr.Southern States, Mr Texas, Mr.Southeastern USA, and middleweight winner of the Mr.America in 1980.




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©,2015 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com




Shout out to my friend at Newhall Ranch Road....Thank you for sharing these articles on Facebook and Social Media.
 

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

The Truth about Nitric Oxide-boosting supplements and better ways to boost NO.... VIDEO by Jerry Brainum



Jerry Brainum explains the flaws related to NO supplements, and offers a more effective, inexpensive way to increase nitric oxide release that is safe and reliable. For the best and latest science-based information about nutrition, exercise science, ergogenic aids, ant-aging, hormonal therapy, fat-loss, exercise science, and other topics, subscribe to Applied Metabolics newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com.
Here is some evidence to prove my contention that NO supplements don't work:

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©,2015 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

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Tuesday, October 20, 2015

EAT TO GROW :Milk, Estrogen, IGF-1 and Insulin by Jerry Brainum

Many years ago I had a discussion with a man who went on to win multiple Mr. Olympia titles. When I asked him about drinking milk, he told me that he always removed all dairy foods from his diet prior
to a contest, explaining that milk was “rich in estrogens.” Estrogens are associated with fat deposition just under the skin, which obscures muscular definition. In addition, estrogen retains water, blunting hard-earned muscularity. You may recall the scene in the film “Pumping Iron” where Arnold Schwarzenegger is asked about drinking milk. He responds by stating that “milk is for babies.”

But does milk actually contain active hormones, particularly estrogen?

Like testosterone, estrogen is a steroid hormone and is rapidly degraded in the liver when taken orally. Unless, of course, the structure of the hormone has been manipulated to block the first-pass liver metabolism—as is the case with synthetic oral versions of testosterone, a.k.a. anabolic steroids. Examples of orally active estrogens include birth control pills for women and other forms of estrogen that treat menopause symptoms. According to a recent study, however, commercial milk products contain active estrogen metabolites.

Estrogen is a potent cancer agent, and some studies show that a higher intake of milk products may be linked to ovarian and other cancers in women and possibly prostate cancer in men. That’s highly debatable among researchers, however, and definitive answers are not on the record. On the other hand, milk and dairy products supply 60 to 70 percent of the total estrogen intake in food. In recent years the amount of estrogens in milk have increased because of certain dairy-farming practices. Most milk now comes from cows far into the late stages of pregnancy, when estrogen concentration in the milk peaks. One study found that milk from a cow late in pregnancy contained 33 times more estrone sulfate than milk obtained from a nonpregnant cow.

The study analyzed the estrogen metabolite content in whole milk, skim and 2 percent fat milk and buttermilk. Buttermilk, whole milk and 2 percent fat milk contained significant levels of biologically active estrogen metabolites. Skim milk contained the least, buttermilk the most. Researchers also tested soy milk and found no estrogen metabolites. Not only was skim milk lowest in estrogen metabolites, but 98 percent of the estrogen it did contain was in the conjugated, or less active, form. Buttermilk contained the most highly active form of estrogen metabolites.

The authors note that while estrogen metabolites in these milk products are much fewer than what are found in estrogen-based drugs, we don’t yet know their long-term effect. The study also mentioned that milk contains progesterone, another type of hormone found in higher concentrations in women.

Other studies suggest that milk contains insulinlike growth factor 1, considered the active anabolic component of growth hormone. Two variants of IGF-1 are required for muscle repair and growth. Trouble is, IGF-1 also encourages rapid cell division and prevents the self-destruction of cells, both of which can be dangerous in regard to cancer. The big controversy about milk is the practice of giving recombinant IGF-1 to cows to increase their milk production. Some say that milk from those cows contains higher than normal levels of IGF-1, which is detectable after pasteurization and homogenization. In addition, bovine and human IGF-1 share the same amino acid sequences, which means that the bovine version can interact with human IGF-1 cell receptors.

Critics contend that since IGF-1 is an amino acid–based hormone, it’s largely degraded in the gut. On the other hand, adults who drink a lot of milk have an average 10 to 20 percent increase in circulating IGF-1.

How can IGF-1 survive the formidable digestive barrier? The major protein in milk, casein, contains a protease inhibitor that may shield IGF-1 from degradation. Milk intake also increases the ratio of free-to-bound IGF-1, which increases the activity of IGF-1 but also speeds its breakdown.


While the link between IGF-1 and milk is hardly definitive, the one between milk and insulin is more realistic. Although milk has a low-glycemic-index number (about 15 to 30), milk and milk-based foods paradoxically have a high insulin-stimulating effect, possibly because of certain protein fractions found in milk. All dairy products, with the exception of hard cheese, have potent insulin-boosting effects. Adding 200 milliliters of milk to a low-glycemic-index meal increases the insulin response by 300 percent.

Ironically, many “negative” factors may aid bodybuilding. For example, increased IGF-1 may have some anabolic impact. The increased insulin speeds the entry of amino acids into muscle for added muscle protein synthesis and exerts an anticatabolic effect in muscle. I suspect that the potent insulin release is there for a reason, as milk is the primary food for the most rapid period of human growth and amino acid uptake is integral to it. Insulin also helps regenerate depleted muscle glycogen. In fact, studies show that drinking milk after a workout leads to more efficient recovery than most commercial sports drinks do. Nor can you escape the fact that milk contains whey, the highest-biological-value protein, as well as other active peptides that emerging research shows may provide enormous health benefits.

If you’re still concerned about estrogen and other hormone effects of milk, you can get most of the benefits of milk from a blend of casein and whey milk proteins, which give you most of the health factors contained in milk, minus the hormone activity. Whey does, however, bring on insulin release and possibly IGF-1 activity. Also, if you believe that drinking milk will smooth you out before a contest because of its estrogen content, consider that the average man produces 136,000 nanograms of estrogen each day, far more than you’d get from drinking several gallons of milk.

Farlow, D.W., et al. (2009). Quantitative measurement of endogenous estrogen metabolites, risk factors for development of breast cancer, in commercial milk products by LC-MS/MS. J Chromto B. 877(13):1327-1334.



©,2015 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

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Thursday, October 15, 2015

Applied Metabolics Newsletter October 2015 Compiled by Lee Markham

As a noted expert on all aspects of exercise and nutrition, Jerry Brainum has published more than 3,000 articles in over 20 national and international publications, including Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Muscular Development, Let's Live, Excel, Men's Fitness, Penthouse and numerous others.
Since 1985, he has been a columnist for Ironman magazine, writing monthly columns for Bodybuilding Pharmacology, Exercise Science and Nutrition Science as well as contributing numerous feature articles. Jerry was also the science editor of Muscle & Fitness magazine from 1987 to 1995 and editor-at-large at Flex magazine from 1995 to 1997. He also published a professional newsletter, Applied Metabolics, for two years.

In addition to his writing, Jerry is a sought-after nutrition advisor for many professional athletes. He's worked with champion boxer Oscar De La Hoya (Jerry was his nutritionist for three years, during which time Oscar was undefeated); undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.; undefeated cruiserweight boxing champ and best boxer of the 1996 Summer Olympic games Vasili Jirov; professional basketball player Vlade Divac, and many others. Athletes throughout the world regularly seek Jerry's advice and help in matters pertaining to sports performance nutrition. He also trained with Arnold Schwarzenegger at the original Gold's Gym in Venice, California, in the early '70s.

This will be a great time as we find out the latest and greatest that Jerry is working on!

As you know , Applied Ergogenics is Jerry Brainum's previous magazine articles, archived from the last 20 years.....Applied Metabolics newsletter is the new updated information that nobody else has and will never be printed on this blog.




 I noticed that other people were regurgitating Jerry Brainum's information. They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. For myself, I'll stick with the original guru! .....Lee Markham

Sunday, October 11, 2015

EAT TO GROW : Is Protein Timing Overplayed? by Jerry Brainum

Several studies have pointed to the importance of protein timing—taking in protein or amino acids close to a workout—which is thought to diminish excessive muscle protein breakdown during training. The increased blood flow that results from training may boost amino acid entry into muscle. One study
of older men who got a supplement of 10 grams of protein, seven grams of carbohydrate and three grams of fat found that when it was taken immediately after training, that combination resulted in significant muscle gains. Those who took the same supplement two hours after the workout got no apparent benefits.

In another study younger men, aged 21 to 24, got 40 grams of whey protein isolate and 43 grams of glucose either just before and after training or in the morning and evening. Those who took the supplement close to the workouts experienced far more gains in muscle size and strength than the others.

These studies featured either untrained or recreational subjects. A new study featured college football players and powerlifters. Although the authors suggest that this makes their findings more relevant to experienced weight trainers, football players and powerlifters don’t train the same way bodybuilders do. In any case, the researchers set out to determine whether there is any advantage to taking a protein supplement before and after workouts compared to other times in relation to size and strength gains. .

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The study lasted for 10 weeks and involved 33 men divided into two groups, with one group taking a protein supplement in the morning and evening, and the other group taking it just before and immediately after training. Another seven men, acting as a control group, didn’t use any protein supplements. The subjects were tested for changes in strength, power and body composition. All three groups showed improvements in one-rep-maximum bench press and squat strength after 10 weeks, but there were no significant differences between the groups. None showed any changes in body mass or percentage of bodyfat.

Based on those findings, the authors suggest that taking in more protein than the required 1.6 grams per kilogram of bodyweight doesn’t yield additional muscle gains, regardless of when you get the protein. They did note, however, that the subjects met the requirements for protein intake suggested for strength athletes and also underscored the idea that strength athletes benefit from getting more protein. The supplement they used was low in carbohydrate. Combining protein with carbohydrate leads to an increased insulin release, which in turn leads to greater amino acid uptake into muscle and provides an anticatabolic effect. The subjects also took in fewer than the optimal number of daily calories, which would limit muscle size gains to an extent.

In a study published in a different journal, the same authors tested the effects of a protein supplement on exercise recovery and found that taking one before and after training enhanced recovery for 24 and 48 hours after the workout. While the researchers didn’t find any notable changes in hormone status, they did note that a measure of exercise-induced muscle damage decreased in those on the supplement but not in those getting the placebo. That, they suggest, may have resulted from an anticatabolic effect of the supplement related to upgraded muscle protein synthesis.

Another study tested whether taking a combination of essential amino acids and carbohydrate prior to a weight-training workout would boost muscle protein synthesis afterward. Twenty-two young, healthy subjects were observed before, during and two hours after a leg-training workout. One group fasted before the workout, while the other group got essential amino acids and carbs one hour prior to training. Those in the amino-and-carb group showed an immediate rise in muscle protein synthesis, which dropped to resting level during the workout and remained unchanged an hour after it. Those in the fasting group showed a drop in muscle protein synthesis during the workout, followed by a rise an hour later. By the two-hour post-training mark, both groups showed a 50 percent increase in muscle protein synthesis.


During training, muscle protein synthesis is repressed through the increased expression of a protein called AMPK, an energy sensor in muscle that encourages the use of fuels such as fat. Taking the amino acid-and-carb combo before training prevented the usual drop in muscle protein synthesis that occurs during exercise, but it didn’t stimulate it either during or after exercise. AMPK counts were similar in both groups. On the other hand, the post-training rise in muscle protein synthesis was delayed by an hour in the amino group. That may owe something to the rise in muscle protein synthesis right after the supplement was taken and may have resulted in a small refractory effect after the workout. Based on those findings, the authors suggest that it is more effective to take a supplement containing amino acids and carbs following a workout than before it.

www.appliedmetabolics.com


References

Hoffman, J.R., et al. (2009). Effect of protein-supplement timing on strength, power and body composition changes in resistance-trained men. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 19:172-85.

Hoffman, J.R., et al. (2009). Effect of a proprietary protein supplement on recovery indices following resistance exercise in strength/power athletes. Amino Acids. In press.

Fujita, S., et al. (2009). Essential amino acid and carbohydrate ingestion prior to resistance exercise does not enhance postexercise muscle protein synthesis. J Appl Physiol. In press.


©,2015 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

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Sunday, September 27, 2015

TRAIN TO GAIN : Hormonal Ebb and Flow With Different Types of Training by Jerry Brainum

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How does training style affect anabolic and catabolic hormones? That was the primary focus of a recently published study whose 10 male subjects, average age 21, all had at least two years of training experience and were proficient in squats. The subjects engaged in three different styles of training:

 

1) Hypertrophy: four sets of 10 reps on the squat, using a weight equal to 75 percent of one-rep maximum, resting 90 seconds between sets. That’s the mode of training most bodybuilders use to increase muscle size.

2) Strength: 11 sets of three reps on the squat, using 90 percent of one-rep maximum.

 

3) Power: Eight sets of six reps of jumping squats, using no weight, with three-minute rests between sets.

 

Numerous studies have demonstrated that the hypertrophy style of training brings on acute increases in testosterone, cortisol, sex-hormone-binding globulin and lactate. Key to hormone release with that type of training are the shorter rest periods, ranging from under a minute to 90 seconds. The strength style of training usually involves heavy weights, lower reps and longer rest times between sets, averaging three minutes or more. The longer rest periods make for greater recuperation through replenishment of ATP, but at the cost of a significant anabolic-hormone release.

 

Those styles also promote different types of fatigue, again related to the rest periods and amount of weight used. The primary form of fatigue during hypertrophy workouts is called peripheral fatigue and results from a buildup of acidic substances within muscle that inhibit energy reactions. Bodybuilders use supplements to combat the early fatigue during training, including creatine, which helps replenish depleted ATP stores in muscle, and beta-alanine, which is the precursor of carnosine, a primary intramuscular buffer that helps lower the metabolic acidity that results from intense exercise.

 

In heavy strength training the dominant form of fatigue is termed central fatigue. It occurs in the central nervous system and is the result of activation of motor units that are required for lifting heavier weights. Central fatigue increases release of the brain neurotransmitter serotonin, which is produced in the brain from the essential amino acid L-tryptophane. Some studies suggest that taking amino acids that compete with tryptophane for entry into the brain, particularly branched-chain amino acids, can help inhibit central fatigue.

 

In the new study researchers measured testosterone, cortisol and sex-hormone-binding globulin before training, immediately afterward and at the 60-minute, 24-hour and 48-hour marks following. Only the hypertrophy workout led to significant rises in hormones. What precisely caused the increases isn’t clear, but one hypothesis is that higher lactate increased blood acidity and led to the release of catecholamines, such as epinephrine and norepinephrine, which in turn aided the release of testosterone. While cortisol, a catabolic hormone, is also released during training, its activity is countered by the higher testosterone, which tips the balance toward anabolic effects in muscle.

 

The strength workout led to blunted hormone release, likely a function of the extended rest times between sets. The longer rests also resulted in less lactate accumulation, which in turn resulted in less muscle activity following training than occurred with the hypertrophy workout. The power workout, involving no resistance, led to negligible hormone release.

 

The authors comment that traditional hypertrophy training, as used by most bodybuilders, “may create an internal muscular environment which is similar to that of vascular occlusion models and may optimize motor unit recruitment to that of high-intensity resistance exercise.” Translation: The accepted style of bodybuilding training, with moderate weight, a rep range of eight to 10 and short rests between sets, is the most efficient way to build muscle.

 

Many believe that using heavy weight and lower reps is the way to gain muscle size. That style of training is best for building strength but may not be the optimum method for producing more rapid gains in mass.

 

McCaulley, G.O., et al. (2009). Acute hormonal and neuromuscular responses to hypertrophy, strength and power type resistance exercise. Eu J Appl Physiol. In press.

 

 

©,2015 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited

 

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

                            Please share this article on facebook

 

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Clarifying the Protein Confusion Video by Jerry Brainum


Jerry Brainum explains some of the more confusing and misunderstood issues related to how much protein is required to promote muscular growth.For more information about nutrition, exercise science, ergogenic aids, hormonal therapy, supplements, fat-loss, anti-aging, and other topics, subscribe today to the Applied Metabolics Newsletter, www.appliedmetabolics.com. Also, please share this and all other videos that I post with as many people as you can.


©,2015 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

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Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Boosting Muscle Recovery With Nutrition by Jerry Brainum

When you train intensely with weights, you’re incurring injury to your muscles. It sounds bad, but the body compensates by adding an extra layer of protection to muscles to minimize or prevent further injury—muscular hypertrophy, or growth.Through a complex interplay involving increased muscle protein synthesis and a short-term immune response, individual muscle fibers thicken, which we recognize as growth. Even so,
there is a specific process that occurs in muscle following training, and timing is an important part of it.

 For example, while protein synthesis is increased up to 48 hours after intense training, the major impetus for that occurs within two hours after a workout due to heightened enzymatic and hormonal activity. Hence, the “anabolic window,” in which it’s suggested that you take in essential amino acids as soon as possible after training to fuel protein synthesis.

 Before the protein-production process can go into full gear, however, the immune system must intercede. It does that via cells such as macrophages, which clear out debris left over in muscle by the imposed injury of exercise. In addition, the macrophages and other immune cells secrete cytokines, which are signaling factors that, among other functions, stimulate the activity of muscle-stem cells called satellite cells that are directly involved in the repair-and-growth process.

The immune infiltration of muscle after training produces an inflammatory effect that triggers a muscular response. A problem occurs if trainees take anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, too soon after training because it blocks the usual postworkout inflammation along with the growth response. In short, a temporary level of muscle inflammation following training is vital for muscle growth to occur. The key word here is temporary, since, if extended, the inflammation phase of muscle repair can, paradoxically, impede full recovery. The ideal scenario is a short period of muscle inflammation after training followed by an accelerated recovery and repair process.

Some interesting recent research shows that you can optimize the muscle-recovery process through nutrition. One way is to take in essential amino acids as soon as possible after training. Another is to eat certain foods and supplements.

 One study compared two sources of protein, peanuts and cod, for their ability to promote more efficient muscle repair after injury.1 Although the subjects were rats, the effects are applicable to humans.The researchers noted that previous studies have found that the amino acid arginine seems to help heal injuries and accelerate muscle repair. The likely mechanism relates to the fact that arginine is the immediate precursor of nitric oxide synthesis in the body, and NO is an established stimulant of healing and tissue repair.

The rats were placed in groups, with one group eating the milk protein casein and peanut protein. Other rats got protein derived from cod fish. After 21 days the rats’ legs were injected with either a substance that causes muscle injury or a salt solution. The peanut protein was slightly more efficient at maintaining muscle mass than the casein, but it did not trigger any additional gains.

In contrast, the cod protein proved superior to casein in promoting muscle mass gains and healing injured muscle quickly. More important, the cod protein proved most efficient in curtailing excessive inflammation in the muscle by modifying the immune cells’ activity. That helped significantly boost muscle recovery in the rats better than the combined peanut and casein proteins.

The peanut protein didn’t trigger muscle growth because of its relative lack of essential amino acids, especially when compared to cod. Excess inflammation delays muscle healing because the immune cells release large amounts of free radicals. While that is normally efficient for killing invading bacteria, when excessively released in damaged muscle, free radicals increase the damage by attacking muscle cell membranes, leading to the death of the muscle cell. Cod intercedes by speeding the clearing out of immune cells, which lowers inflammation and allows full muscle recovery to proceed.

The cod also proved superior to casein by 11 percent in promoting muscle fiber size. That was thought to be due to the reduction of inflammatory cytokines discussed above. While recent studies show that fish oil can both reduce excess muscle breakdown and help promote muscle protein synthesis, fish oil didn’t play a role in this study, as the oil had all been removed from the cod used.  

So what does explain the beneficial effects of cod that it shows?he authors suggest two possible mechanisms. The first involves an upgrade in the activity of insulinlike growth factor 1 in the rats’ muscle triggered by their eating cod. IGF-1 in muscle is a major factor in muscle repair and growth after injury and exercise. Other studies have shown that when rats are fed casein or soy but also allowed to eat high-fat diets, the IGF-1 repair system is impaired. The lack of fat in the cod may have served to maximize the IGF-1 activity.

The other mechanism suggested by the researchers was that cod is rich in the amino acids arginine, glycine and taurine, all of which are potent natural anti-inflammatory compounds. Arginine, by enhancing nitric oxide release, would speed healing of wounds and reduce inflammatory cell accumulation. Glycine also provides anti-inflammatory activity in muscle by reducing the inflammatory cytokines released by immune cells. Taurine helps by acting as an antioxidant in muscle, which reduces free radical–induced damage to muscle cells and prevents their premature destruction. Cod’s high content of essential amino acids also encourages more muscle protein synthesis along with less muscle breakdown.

Another study, also involving rats, tested the effects of grape-seed extract on muscle recovery.2 The rats’ gastrocnemius muscles were purposely injured, with only some of the rats getting grape-seed extract two weeks prior to being injured.The results showed that rats given the grape-seed extract had less immune cell infiltration in the injured muscle plus a shorter release time of inflammatory cytokines. Muscle fiber regeneration began earlier in the grape-seed-extract rats and was completed more rapidly. The injured muscles healed more rapidly because the grape-seen extract, by decreasing the excess inflammation, boosted the activity of muscle satellite repair cells.

Finally, those who want to recover more rapidly from intense training should take the advice of their mothers: Eat more greens. The wisdom of those words was shown in a recent study in which 10 healthy men, average age 23, ate 85 grams of watercress, a leafy green vegetable, for eight weeks prior to engaging in intense treadmill exercise.3 As a control, the men also didn’t eat the watercress during a different eight-week period.

The results showed that the subjects who exercised intensely but didn’t eat the watercress had more DNA cell damage than those who got the watercress. Some of the men didn’t eat watercress for eight weeks but ate it only two hours prior to the exercise—and they showed the same level of protection against DNA damage. So the protective effect of eating watercress, which is likely the result of natural antioxidants found in it, isn’t accumulative but works immediately.

 References


1 Dort, J., et al. (2012). Beneficial effects of cod protein on skeletal muscle repair following injury. Appl Physiol Nutr. 37:489-98.

2 Myburgh, K.H., et al. (2012). Accelerated skeletal muscle recovery after in vivo polyphenol administration. Nutr Biochem. 23(9):1072–1079.

3 Fogarty, M.C., et al. (2013). Acute and chronic watercress supplementation attenuates exercise-induced peripheral mononuclear cell DNA damage and lipid peroxidation. Br J Nut. 9(2):293-301.


©,2015 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

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Thursday, September 10, 2015

Charles R. Poliquin facebook Post / Jerry Brainum's Comment

From Charles Poliquin: "For the price of two coffees a month, learn cutting edge info on ergogenics, nutrition, supplementation and loads more of goodies. Jerry Brainum is excellent at keeping you updated on the latest scientific discoveries. He is particularly good at sifting through all the contradictions, and giving sound advice. I highly recommend this.At $10.00 a month, it is a steal."

 For those who you not familiar with Charles Poliquin, he has coached dozens of elite champion athletes for years, and also many Olympic champions. He is perhaps the foremost strength coach on the planet, and unlike a lot of other self-styled "experts" on training, I can attest that Charles is a true expert and authority on training and athletic preparation.He is, without a doubt, the true "Master Blaster." Coming from him , this endorsement of my Applied Metabolics newsletter is a great honor for me.




Applied Metabolics is a newsletter written to provide practical research on nutrition, exercise science, ergogenic aids, longevity research, women's health, and general preventive medicine.

Testosterone & Growth Hormone by Jerry Brainum

Strength, Muscle and Extended Living Through Chemistry?     Part 2


Part 1 was all about growth hormone, what it does and the pros and cons of hormone-replacement therapy. This installment covers testosterone.


Does Testosterone Prolong Life?

In 1993 a group of researchers from Germany, noting that women usually outlive men, attempted to determine why. They analyzed more than 277 years of records of the life spans of castrati, who produce little or no testosterone, and uncastrated male singers. They found no significant difference between those with low and normal testosterone levels in relation to life span.20

A recent longitudinal study, however, found that having low testosterone increased the risk of death in men over age 50. For 18 years, beginning in the 1970s, researchers tracked the causes of death in 800 men aged 50 to 91 living in Rancho Bernardo, California. In the early 1980s a third of the men had low testosterone. Over the term of the study that group had a 33 percent greater death rate than the men who had higher testosterone levels. The difference in death rate wasn’t explained by negative habits, such as smoking, drinking, lack of exercise or even such diseases as diabetes and heart disease.

The men with low T had more cytokines, which are markers of body inflammation. They also had larger waistlines, a marker of the visceral abdominal fat that is linked to insulin insensitivity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Indeed, the amount of visceral fat is proportional to testosterone levels and inflammation—more fat equals less testosterone and more inflammation. Men with low T are three times as likely to have the metabolic syndrome, characterized by insufficient high-density lipoprotein (the good cholesterol), high blood fat, hypertension and elevated blood glucose.

When men age, T tends to decline and bodyfat to increase. That leads to an increase of estrogen levels because of the presence in peripheral fat stores of aromatase, the enzyme that converts androgens such as testosterone into estrogen. An imbalance between T and estrogen can lead to insulin insensitivity, which boosts abdominal fat and its attendant health problems.

Testosterone-deficient men experience a reduced quality of life and such symptoms as heart disease, high blood pressure, lower bone density, fatigue, depression, insomnia, erectile dysfunction and diabetes. Recent studies directly link low T levels to insulin insensitivity and diabetes in men. Some studies link lack of testosterone with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Bodybuilders are particularly affected by testosterone levels. One study found that having low testosterone resulted in a decrease in strength and muscle endurance of 90 to 100 percent.21

Testosterone maintains the function of beta-adrenergic receptors in fat cells, without which fat oxidation is severely blunted. That explains the frequent emergence of potbellies in men over 40—along with bad eating and not getting enough exercise. Conversely, testosterone reverses that process, enabling a man to reduce both dangerous, deep-lying visceral fat and superficial, subcutaneous fat. Dropping subcutaneous fat may even return abdominal muscle definition when combined with judicious exercise and a good diet. Testosterone inhibits a fat cell enzyme called lipoprotein lipase, which advances the cellular uptake and production of fat. It also keeps fat-cell precursors from morphing into full-grown fat cells.22

T-Therapy Concerns

As with GH, many doctors refuse to prescribe testosterone therapy because of unfounded fears about prostate cancer. While testosterone is contraindicated for those who already have prostate cancer, numerous studies show that T doesn’t cause it.23 In fact, men with the lowest-level T develop the most aggressive cases of prostate cancer. One study even found that giving testosterone to men who had advanced prostate cancer that was androgen-insensitive caused a reduction in prostate tumors. Besides, the majority of cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in older men, who have the lowest levels of testosterone.
 
Some scientists suggest that the increased bodyfat produced by men low in testosterone leads to their producing more estrogen, which may promote prostate cancer. That makes sense when you realize that, unlike testosterone, estrogen is a known carcinogen.

The goal of testosterone-replacement therapy is not to produce the results that anabolic-steroid-using athletes are after. Rather, therapy aims at boosting depressed T levels to a mid-normal range, thus preventing the side effects linked to T therapy, such as gynecomastia and water retention. In fact, injecting testosterone to treat low T has gone out of fashion. It causes a temporary surge that’s frequently above the normal range—great for bodybuilding but priming the pump for side effects. Supplemental forms of T such as creams and gels, which get users only to the normal range, are preferred.

Considering that having low T leads to the production of cytokines and considering the significant beneficial effects of T on body composition, you have to conclude that testosterone likely does prolong life when provided in the right dosage. Conversely, T-deficient men face a shorter life span because of the risks of of cardiovascular disease, too much bodyfat and possibly accelerated degenerative brain disease.24

A recent study showed that testosterone may even help activate GH release.25 Thirty-four men aged 65 to 88 who had low-normal T and IGF-1 counts were injected with 100 milligrams of T every two weeks for 26 weeks. That brought about a 33 percent increase in total T levels. Estrogen rose by 31 percent, while sex-hormone-binding globulin, which transports T in the blood, dropped by 17 percent, thus raising free, or active, T levels. The supplementation increased release of GH by 60 percent at night and a whopping 79 percent during the day, while IGF-1 rose by 22 percent.

You might grimace at the 31-percent elevation of estrogen, but keep in mind that conversion of testosterone into estrogen is what pushes the GH release.26 Having abundant testosterone also blunts the ability of IGF-1 to shut down GH release.

Future Developments

Those who still fear testosterone-replacement therapy can turn to a newly emerging option: a drug or supplement that inhibits the enzyme aromatase from converting test into estrogen. Located in multiple body tissues, including brain and muscle, aromatase is particularly concentrated in peripheral fat stores, such as in the legs. So the more fat you accumulate there, the greater the chance of increased estrogen production.

Aromatase is particularly active in obese men. Their high-level estrogen signals the hypothalmus to stop secreting gonadatropin-releasing hormone and shut down testosterone synthesis in the Leydig cells. The effect is so potent that obese men don’t respond to replacement therapy.27 On the other hand, studies show that obese men have normalized testosterone levels when they take aromatase-inhibiting drugs.28

Aromatase inhibitors were developed mainly to treat estrogen-sensitive breast cancer in older women. The drugs have gone through several generations, and current versions are remarkably potent estrogen blockers. Since testosterone and other anabolic drugs can convert into estrogen and result in gynecomastia and water retention, bodybuilders who use steroids usually also add an aromatase inhibitor, such as Arimidex, to their anabolic stack.

About 8 percent of a man’s testosterone normally converts into estrogen, so some researchers have suggested that aromatase inhibitors may boost testosterone. A major advantage of that approach is that it forestalls the potential side effects of T therapy. One study investigated whether Arimidex could do the trick. For 12 weeks 37 testosterone-deficient older men received one of three treatments:
  1. One milligram of Arimidex daily
  2. One milligram of Arimidex twice a week
  3. A daily placebo tablet
Both doses of Arimidex effectively raised testosterone levels to the mid-normal range of younger men. The drug also selectively increased free, or active, testosterone, and it blocked test-to-estrogen conversion and lowered estrogen an average of 40 percent. No side effects occurred in any of the treated men, nor were there any adverse effects on blood lipids, insulin sensitivity or inflammatory markers.

 Nevertheless, doctors still resist prescribing the relatively benign aromatase inhibitors to men with low testosterone. Their position is that there’s not enough research to justify using aromatase inhibitors as a form of T therapy and that the drugs should be used only to treat older women with breast cancer. Another fear is adverse cardiovascular symptoms, since estrogen helps maintain benefical HDL cholesterol in men. Fortunately, over-the-counter aromatase inhibitors are available that seem to work well as testosterone boosters, according to several recent studies.

A further refinement in T therapy will likely ensue with the release of selective androgen receptor modulators. SARMs, as they’re called, are experimental drugs that are taken orally. They target specific androgen receptors in various tissues, including muscle, and are designed to avoid interacting with androgen receptors in the prostate gland, thus bypassing the major health threats linked to T therapy.

As Ronald Klatz, M.D., president of the Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, notes,“Replacing the hormones that decline with age, such as estrogen, testosterone, DHEA, melatonin and GH, is as important as replacing normal levels of insulin to a diabetic.”

References

20 Nieschlag, E., et al. (1993). Life span and testosterone. Nature. 366:216.

21 Kohn, F. (2006). Testosterone and body functions. Aging Male. 9:183-88.

22 Dieudonne, M.N., et al. (2000). Opposite effects of androgens and estrogens on adipogenesis in rat preadipocytes: Evidence for sex and site-related specificities and possible involvement of IGF-1 receptor and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma-2. Endocrinol. 141:649-56.

23 Wiren, S., et al. (2007). Androgens and prostate cancer risk: A prospective study. Prostate. 67:1230-37.

24 Shores, M.M., et al. (2006). Low serum testosterone and mortality in male veterans. Arch Intern Med. 166:1660-1665.

25 Muntiyappa, R., et al. (2007). Long-term testosterone supplementation augments overnight growth hormone secretion in healthy older men. Am J Physiol Endocrinl Metab. In press.

26 Meinhardt, M., et al. (2006). Modulation of growth hormone action by sex steroids. Clin Endocrinol. 65:413-22.

27 Cohen, P. (1999). The hypogonadal-obesity cycle: Role of aromatase in modulating the testosterone-estradiol shunt—a major factor in the genesis of morbid obesity.Med Hypotheses. 52:49-51.

28 Boer, H., et al. (2005). Letrozole normalizes serum testosterone in severely obese men with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. Diabetes Obes Metabol. 7:211-215.

©,2015 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

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Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Can You Train Hard Without Carbs? by Jerry Brainum

Although low-carbohydrate dieting is one of the most popular approaches today, it’s nothing new to bodybuilders, who have used it since the early ’60s. Vince Gironda, perhaps the premier trainer of that era and owner of the fabled Vince’s Gym in Studio City, California, was an advocate of low-carb dieting. He
used it himself when he competed in bodybuilding contests in the early 1950s.

In fact, eating that way produced such prominent vascularity and muscle striations on Vince that bodybuilding judges were confused as to how to place him. There just wasn’t anyone around then who looked like that. The bodybuilding world wasn’t ready for it.

The basis of the low-carb diet is simple: insulin control. Although insulin has numerous functions, it is primarily a storage hormone, and one of the things it helps to store is fat. The nutrient that is most potent at eliciting an insulin release is carbohydrate, particularly simple, or so-called high-glycemic-index, carb foods. They are foods that lack fiber or contain large amounts of easily digested starch that enter the blood rapidly, which triggers the release of insulin. If you eat excess calories, the insulin helps convert them into bodyfat.

Conversely, when insulin release is controlled, as occurs during a low-carb diet, the metabolic door is opened to increased use of fat as fuel—which leads to less bodyfat.

The idea of low-carb dieting dates back to the 1860s, when a corpulent man named Banting, on the advice of his doctor, cut most of the carbs from his diet and lost a lot of bodyfat. He wrote a small book about his experiences, which became a best seller. Since then numerous incarnations of the low-carb diet have appeared under various catchy names; however, they all have one thing in common: They reduce carbs to reduce insulin release.

A major controversy of low-carb dieting is the effect on physical performance. Most people are surprised to learn that carbohydrates are not essential in human nutrition. The body actually requires glucose or alternative fuel sources, such as ketones from fat metabolism, lactate and even glycerol, which makes up 10 percent of triglyceride structure. All of those can either substitute for glucose or be converted into glucose in the liver.

Among the possible substrates for the conversion to glucose are amino acids derived from protein foods—or, in a worst-case scenario, from muscle tissue. That’s one reason that higher protein is often suggested for low-carb diets. Any excess protein that you take in can be converted in the liver into glucose. In fact, about 57 percent of excess protein eaten winds up being converted into glucose, most of which is oxidized, or burned, in the liver.

Low-carb diets are well-known for producing ketosis, which involves an increased production of ketone bodies. Ketones result from the incomplete metabolism of fat. That can occur under pathological conditions, as an effect of uncontrolled diabetes, but when it happens during a low-carb diet, it is considered not only safe but also desirable. The ketones supply an alternative energy source to glucose that can be used readily by both the brain and the muscles.

In muscle, ketones exert an anticatabolic activity, helping to prevent muscle loss. Certain parts of the central nervous system, as well as red blood cells, still demand glucose, but that’s easily supplied through the conversion of excess food amino acids into glucose. Some amino acids, such a glutamine and alanine, are particularly efficient at that. Leucine, a branched-chain amino acid noted for being the primary stimulator of muscle protein synthesis, can also help to maintain blood glucose levels during a diet.

Much of the confusion about the necessity of carbs for exercise comes from research done on endurance athletes. Endurance events are far more apt to deplete muscle and liver glycogen, which we know leads to a drop in performance. Athletes refer to it as “hitting the wall,” since that’s the way it feels. Early studies that compared carbohydrate-rich diets and low-carb diets usually found that getting more carbs led to less fatigue and better performance. Indeed, recognition of that eventually led to the concept of carb loading as a way to improve performance through enhanced glycogen production in muscles.

Carb loading involved dropping to a low-carb intake first, followed by a high-carb intake, in the period leading up to an athletic event. Later versions replaced the low-carb phase with moderate carbs combined with increased activity to deplete muscle glycogen stores, which  favors supercompensation once you shift to the high-carb phase.

The truth, however, is that many endurance events take a lot of time and so favor carb depletion. What about lifting weights? That involves anaerobic metabolism, which does favor the use of glucose and glycogen as energy. Indeed, studies that have measured glycogen use during weight training show muscle glycogen depletion of 24 to 40 percent, depending on how long and how intense the workout is. One study found that doing only three sets of biceps curls led to a 40 percent depletion in glycogen in the biceps. It would appear that carbs are required for optimal training intensity, since bodybuilding workouts are fueled primarily by muscle glycogen and secondarily by circulating glucose in the blood.

Even Dr. Robert Atkins, considered the guru of low-carb diets, advised that those engaged in intense exercise require some carbs. The problem is that nearly all studies that have found a drop in exercise performance on low-carb diets were short term, lasting from three days to two weeks. It takes some time for the body to make a metabolic switch from using mainly carbs to other fuel sources, such as ketones. During the initial few days on a severely restricted carb intake, most people will experience premature fatigue during high-intensity training. Typically, you feel fine during the first set but fade considerably during the second and succeeding sets. That relates to a depletion in muscle glycogen brought on by eliminating carbs.

After three to four weeks on even a ketogenic diet (30 grams or less a day of carbs), the body adjusts to using alternative fuel sources, mainly ketones. When that happens, training becomes significantly easier, although never as efficient as when the muscles are fully loaded with glycogen. An important point here is that if you eat carbs intermittently during the initial changeover, the body doesn’t efficiently adjust to the alternative fuels. A common practice among bodybuilders is to have a carb day once or twice a week when they’re on a low-carb or ketogenic diet, the rationale being to help replace depleted glycogen and enable them to train harder. While that works, it also prevents the full adjustment to using ketones and other alternative energy sources. The net effect is that fat loss slows a bit—but not enough to offset the benefits of the diet on body composition.

A lot of the stress of low-carb dieting could be relieved by taking into account the fact that it takes about a month for the body to adjust to using fuel sources other than carbs. Much of the initial fatigue and weakness that occurs results from a diuretic effect induced by the diet. Since each gram of glycogen is stored with 2.7 grams of water, when glycogen begins to break down in response to the lack of carbs, the water is excreted. Along with it go electrolytes, minerals that are vital to muscle function, mainly sodium, potassium and magnesium. It’s the loss of those minerals that produces the feelings of fatigue at the start of low-carb diets. The easy remedy is to make sure you take in three to four grams of sodium a day, along with at least 1,000 milligrams of potassium and 600 milligrams of magnesium, which is required to retain the potassium in muscle.

Another way to avoid problems during low-carb diets is to make sure you get enough protein. You need to increase protein intake during low-calorie and low-carb diets to prevent losing muscle. Getting more protein also provides a satiety effect, reducing appetite and making the diet a bit easier. In practical terms, we’re talking about a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day.

Getting too much protein, however, will prevent ketosis, since the excess will be converted into glucose. The extra protein will not slow the diet progress, however, since most of it will be oxidized in the liver.

A recent study of elite artistic gymnasts compared the effects of eating a diet containing less than 20 grams of carb a day with a typical high-fat, high-carb Western diet for 30 days.1 Of interest to bodybuilders, it focused on any negative effects of the low-carb plan on strength and power performance. The gymnasts underwent various tests of strength and power both before and after the test period.

At the end of 30 days the results showed no performance differences between the ketogenic diet and the high-carb, high-fat Western diet. The gymnasts did, however, supplement both sodium and potassium, as well as taking several other vitamin and mineral supplements and herbs. They also ate a high-protein diet: 2.8 grams per kilogram—2.2 pounds—of bodyweight.

Should you consider staying on low carbs year-round? While it’s definitely the way to go in terms of losing excess bodyfat, the diet is not ideal for building muscle. If you stay on it and avoid carb days, you won’t get the benefits of insulin, which include an anticatabolic action in muscle as well as an anabolic effect in the presence of high blood amino acids. In addition, you need some carb for muscle glycogen repletion. Without it, your muscles won’t fully recover between training sessions. While ketones and other sources of energy, such as lactate and glycerol, can help to replete depleted muscle glycogen stores, that may not be enough for many people.

Carbs also promote the activity of intramuscular IGF-1, an anabolic hormone required for complete muscle recovery and growth. Last, but not least, for long-term high-intensity training, nothing beats carbs as an energy source and for preventing premature muscle fatigue. The optimal intake of carbs for nondieting bodybuilding purposes is four to seven grams per kilogram of bodyweight daily, depending on body size and how much training you do.
—Jerry Brainum



1 Paoli, A., et al. (2012). Ketogenic diet does not affect strength performance in elite artistic gymnasts. J Int Soc Sports Nut. 9:34


©,2015 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

Please share this blog on facebook