Headstands, Politicians and Iron Radio--oh my!

In This Issue

• Standing Backflip
• Iron Radio with Me
• Super Human Radio Update

Standing Backflip
For those who are on my newsletter (and if you are not, you can sign up on the upper right hand side) you know that one of my goals for this year is to do a standing back flip. The catch is that I have never taken any gymnastic courses EVER and I currently have some visual issues.

My right eye is suppressed, meaning that when most people view and objects, two images (one from each eye) go to the brain and the brain compares the images to combine them. Well, my brain gets two very different images and since the brain doesn't like to be confused, it "dumps" one of them to avoid confusion.

Both of my eyes track together, but my depth perception is the same as if a normal person had one eye closed. My goal is to get both of them to work together and regain more depth perception.

Now add in some new head positions and goofy 3D vision and it makes for some interesting video as you can see below!

My girlfriend Jodie showing me how it is done!


My attempts


I soon realized as soon as my head went down, I had no idea what the rest of my body was doing! Yikes!

I need to send a very special thanks to Olympic coach Pat at Minnesota Twisters for all the expert advice. She did an excellent job and if you are looking to learn gymnastics, check them out below

Minnesota Twisters




Mike T Nelson on Iron Radio this Friday
I will be on Iron Radio this coming Friday discussing
"Periodizing Training & Nutrition"

EVENT: Iron Radio With Mike T Nelson
DATE & TIME: Friday, April 3rd at 2:00pm Eastern
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)
TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=6770136
www.ironradio.org

Please tune in and send in some great questions! It will be a good time.

Special Request from Carl Lanore
Carl is the host of Super Human Radio and does an excellent job. Check out the interview on did with Carl on proprioception "2 Way Muscle Talk" a few weeks ago

Z Health, Proprioception, Neuroplasticity all on Super Human Radio

Carl recently did a very important episode, so see his comment below

"I have never asked anyone to help promote a show before... but this is different. The show that aired today has serious implications and ramifications to ALL OF US. Please listen and pass along to your members, friends and family. The link below is the permalink to this particular episode and will NOT change. Use this link when passing it along. Thanks in advance. "
Carl

Show # 277

03/20/2009

- MUST HEAR EPISODE - New Legislature Will Restrict Your Access To Healthy Food... This Is NOT a Hoax

Guest: Judith McGeary and Pete Kennedy

They're at it again! Politicians and special interest groups. If they have their way we will all lose access to health giving nutritious foods AND the family farm will , once and for all, be put to death. You must listen and pass this show on to others NOW.

Download this episode - http://www.superhumanradio.com/rss/2009/SHR_Show_277.mp3

Thanks and any comments, let me know!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson

Metabolic Flexibility Research and an Average Day

I recently had a question about what I doing for my research and what a typical day is like for me, so I thought I would republish here for all of you.

What are my research projects like/what are my teaching responsibilities?

I am investigating the concept of Metabolic Flexibility. For a full literature review, see the link below

Metabolic Inflexibility Literature Review

We know that as people get closer to say a diabetic condition, their body has a harder time processing carbohydrates. The opposite of this should also be true, as they are closer to a "healthy" state, they should be able to efficiently use carbohydrates, fats and perhaps protein.

In my study I am looking at the effects of a commercially available Energy Drink to alter Heart Rate Variability (measure of heart health), Flow Mediated Dilation (measure of vessel health), changes in Respiratory Exchange Ratio (amount of carbs and fat burned during exercise) and is it an ergogenic (does it enhance exercise performance). I am also working on two other papers related to Metabolic Flexibility and Heart Rate Variability (HRV).

I am a Teaching Assistant (TA) for KIN 3385 Human Physiology and KIN 4385 Exercise Physiology labs. I also do a lecture on occasion for both.


What is a typical day like?
Day to Day varies quite a bit. Here is a recent Tuesday

5:40am--get up, head to the lab
Too early to think, so I make sure to set everything out the night before.

6:30am prep and then subject testing. Have a bowl of oatmeal and protein shake with Biotest super food (fruit/veggie supplement). Normally at home I have eggs and spinach.

9:00am finished subject testing

9:10-11:10am Human Physiology labs (TA)

11:10-12:30 email, review study for meeting
Grilled chicken breast with veggies and olive oil.

12:30-1:30pm, U of MN staff meeting

1:30-2pm change clothes, drive to work

2-5pm work in Technical Services at Boston Scientific
I've been working there for 9 years now and I started after I spent 7.5 years in college on the "first go round". I was able to drop to 24 hours a week 2 years ago in order to finish my PhD.

A snack made with organic whole plain yogurt, protein powder and a bit of sugar free pudding mix, with berries.

5:45pm get home, unpack, change and get ready for client
Chicken breast with veggies and olive oil

7-9pm training a client in my garage gym
I also train at this time. This time we were working on some bench, rows using gymnastic rings attached to the power rack and KB snatches. Warm up is Z Health Neuro Warm Up and any other special Z Health drills to get his movement up to par before we lift.

Here is a video on how to do a neutral bench press shot in my garage gym.



9pm prep food for the next day, shower, etc
Post training meal of grilled salmon, broccoli and sweet potato with butter and cinnamon. Tasty!

10pm off to bed, rinse and repeat

Tuesdays tend to be a busier day, but most days are pretty packed lately although what I am working on tends to vary.

The key is to plan ahead. I like to do all my food prep on Sunday (or lately it has been Wed evenings) so that I am good to go before the weeks starts.

What tips do you have to get through your busy weeks? Post them in the comments section.

Here is another tip for you--a video on how to cook salmon in just minutes!




Rock on
Mike T Nelson

Performance Research for March: Fat Loss Exercise part 1

Greetings! I apologize for the fewer updates this week than normal. All is well, but tons and tons of stuff going on.

The Energy Drink study I am conducting for my PhD research at the U of MN is rolling on and I am over the half way point now, so that is awesome. A huge thanks to all that have volunteered so far and if any one is in the Minnesota area and is interested, drop me an email with the subject line "Energy Drink study"

I will have time to do more updates this weekend, but in the meantime here is some brand new research to drop some body fat, deflate that spare time and annihilate that muffin top.

Be sure to read my comments at the end of each one as always.

The main topics on this one are:

• Can certain types of exercise cause you to drop more fat from your stomach area?
• Nutrition and its importance--3 organizations agree on something?
  

On to the fat loss!


Effect of exercise intensity on abdominal fat loss during calorie restriction in overweight and obese postmenopausal women: a randomized, controlled trial.

Nicklas BJ, Wang X, You T, Lyles MF, Demons J, Easter L, Berry MJ, Lenchik L, Carr JJ. Section on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, J Paul Sticht Center on Aging, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC.


Background: Exercise intensity may affect the selective loss of abdominal adipose tissue.

OBJECTIVE: This study showed whether aerobic exercise intensity affects the loss of abdominal fat and improvement in cardiovascular disease risk factors under conditions of equal energy deficit in women with abdominal obesity.

DESIGN: This was a randomized trial in 112 overweight and obese [body mass index (in kg/m(2)): 25-40; waist circumference > 88 cm], postmenopausal women assigned to one of three 20-wk interventions of equal energy deficit: calorie restriction (CR only), CR plus moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (CR + moderate-intensity), or CR plus vigorous-intensity exercise (CR + vigorous-intensity). The diet was a controlled program of underfeeding during which meals were provided at individual calorie levels ( approximately 400 kcal/d). Exercise (3 d/wk) involved treadmill walking at an intensity of 45-50% (moderate-intensity) or 70-75% (vigorous-intensity) of heart rate reserve. The primary outcome was abdominal visceral fat volume.


RESULTS: Average weight loss for the 95 women who completed the study was 12.1 kg (+/-4.5 kg) and was not different across groups. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2)max) increased more in the CR + vigorous-intensity group than either of the other groups (P < style="font-weight: bold;">However, changes in visceral fat were inversely related to increases in VO(2)max (P <>. Changes in lipids, fasting glucose or insulin, and 2-h glucose and insulin areas during the oral-glucose-tolerance test were similar across treatment groups.


CONCLUSION: With a similar amount of total weight loss, lean mass is preserved, but there is not a preferential loss of abdominal fat when either moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise is performed during caloric restriction.

My notes: Pretty cool study done in a nice manner. It did show that by ONLY reducing what you shove in your pie hole, you may drop MUSCLE also---this is not ideal as you want to keep as much muscle as possible to keep your metabolic rate cranking.

It would be interesting to see if muscle was lost if the trial continued on longer, since they were not doing any weight training.

Weight training is a very powerful stimulus to tell your body to hold on to muscle. It does provide some evidence that if you can increase your VO2 max, you may drop more visceral fat. To quote, ".....changes in visceral fat were inversely related to increases in VO(2)max (P <>

Comparable reduction of the visceral adipose tissue depot after a diet-induced weight loss with or without aerobic exercise in obese subjects. A 12- week randomized intervention study.

Christiansen T, Paulsen S, Bruun J, Overgaard K, Ringgaard S, Pedersen S, Positano V, Richelsen B. T Christiansen, Department of Medicine and Endocrinology C, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus Sygehus, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark.


Objective: Weight loss with preferential effect on the visceral adipose tissue (VAT) depot could have important clinical benefits. In this study we investigated the independent and combined effect of regular exercise and diet induced weight loss on body fat distribution.

Design: Randomized control design of 1) Exercise-only (EXO-12-weeks of exercise without diet-restriction), 2) Hypocaloric-diet (DIO-8 weeks of very-low-energy-diet (VLED 600 kcal/d) followed by 4-weeks weight maintenance diet) and 3) Hypocaloric-diet and exercise (DEX-8 weeks VLED 800 kcal/d + a four-week weight maintenance diet combined with exercise throughout the 12-weeks). Subjects: 79 obese males and females were included.

Measurements: Body fat distribution was quantified by MRI-technology.

Results: In the EXO group, the weight loss (3.5 kg) and the relative reduction in VAT (18%) was significant lower as compared to the weight losses in the DIO and DEX groups (12.3 kg; p<0.01) r2="0.72;">

CONCLUSION: Exercise has no additional effects in reduction of the visceral adipose tissue depot, compared to the major effects of hypocaloric diet alone. In addition, the effects of exercise per se on visceral adipose tissue are relatively limited. The effects on the visceral adipose tissue depot are closely associated with changes in total fat mass.

My notes: Similar to the top study, this type of exercise does not seem to selectively burn more belly fat. It should be noted that a diet only of 800kcal per day is INSANELY low and probably explains why the diet only group did drop fat without exercise. If you can stay on a 800 kcal diet for more than 4 days and still function, my hat's off to you; but I sure as heck would not start there! Plus, who knows how much they cheated on the diet too.

Very cool that they used MRI to look at where the body fat may have been lost.

Nutrition and Athletic Performance.


It is the position of the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine that physical activity, athletic performance, and recovery from exercise are enhanced by optimal nutrition. These organizations recommend appropriate selection of foods and fluids, timing of intake, and supplement choices for optimal health and exercise performance. This updated position paper couples a rigorous, systematic, evidence-based analysis of nutrition and performance-specific literature with current scientific data related to energy needs, assessment of body composition, strategies for weight change, nutrient and fluid needs, special nutrient needs during training and competition, the use of supplements and ergogenic aids, nutrition recommendations for vegetarian athletes, and the roles and responsibilities of the sports dietitian. Energy and macronutrient needs, especially carbohydrate and protein, must be met during times of high physical activity to maintain body weight, replenish glycogen stores, and provide adequate protein to build and repair tissue.


Fat intake should be sufficient to provide the essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins and to contribute energy for weight maintenance. Although exercise performance can be affected by body weight and composition, these physical measures should not be a criterion for sports performance and daily weigh-ins are discouraged. Adequate food and fluid should be consumed before, during, and after exercise to help maintain blood glucose concentration during exercise,maximize exercise performance, and improve recovery time. Athletes should be well hydrated before exercise and drink enough fluid during and after exercise to balance fluid losses. Sports beverages containing carbohydrates and electrolytes may be consumed before, during, and after exercise to help maintain blood glucose concentration, provide fuel for muscles, and decrease risk of dehydration and hyponatremia. Vitamin and mineral supplements are not needed if adequate energy to maintain body weight is consumed from a variety of foods.


CONCLUSION: However, athletes who restrict energy intake, use severe weight-loss practices, eliminate one or more food groups from their diet, or consume unbalanced diets with low micronutrient density may require supplements. Because regulations specific to nutritional ergogenic aids are poorly enforced, they should be used with caution and only after careful product evaluation for safety, efficacy, potency, and legality. A qualified sports dietitian and, in particular, the Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics in the United States, should provide individualized nutrition direction and advice after a comprehensive nutrition assessment.

My notes: I thought it was pretty rare that those 3 organizations actually agreed on all of this! In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of ACSM (American College of Sport Medicine) and have presented at their annual meeting, but I had nothing to do with this paper.

I agree that the use of any ergogenic should be monitored and you need to know what you are putting in your body. If you are not sure, seek professional help by all means. Like all areas, some "experts" are amazing and some, well, they could use some help.

I am not convinced this area is more poorly enforced than any other area of sports nutrition though. They state quote "Vitamin and mineral supplements are not needed if adequate energy to maintain body weight is consumed from a variety of foods."


While I would agree with that, name me one athlete that eats a variety of foods day in and day out? They are darn hard to find and you have a better chance of seeing a spotted owl in the forest. A good multivitamin is cheap insurance, but it should NOT replace high quality food.

Any comments, bring 'em on
Rock on

Mike T Nelson
PhD (c), MSME, CSCS, RKC
Z Health Master Trainer

Will Caffeine Help Me Lose Fat? New Research

Here is a great review about an age old question.

Does caffeine help you burn more fat?

The use of burning more fat for fuel is referred to as the "Randle effect" The more technical definition is the inhibition of the oxidation of glucose by an excess of fatty acids.

What?

The theory goes that caffeine should increase the LIBERATION of fat (e.g pulling those pesky fats out of their comfy home in the fat cell). In order to BURN fat, you first most get it into the blood stream.

However, I am not convinced that liberation of fat is the limiting step, I think BURNING fat is more limiting.

How does this help me loose my muffin top?
In short, I am not convinced that caffeine by itself is all that helpful to deflate your spare tire and shrink your muffin top. My recommendation is find a local fitness professuional (hey, I know a good one in White Bear Lake MN, shameless I know) to get you on the right track. Some Precision Nutrition, Z Health and Kettlebells make a killer combination!

If you are serious, drop me a line!
Mike T Nelson

Does caffeine alter muscle carbohydrate and fat metabolism during exercise?


Graham TE, Battram DS, Dela F, El-Sohemy A, Thong FS. Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G2W1, Canada.

Caffeine, an adenosine receptor antagonist, has been studied for decades as a putative ergogenic aid. In the past 2 decades, the information has overwhelmingly demonstrated that it indeed is a powerful ergogenic aid, and frequently theories have been proposed that this is due to alterations in fat and carbohydrate metabolism. While caffeine certainly mobilizes fatty acids from adipose tissue, rarely have measures of the respiratory exchange ratio indicated an increase in fat oxidation. However, this is a difficult measure to perform accurately during exercise, and small changes could be physiologically important.

The few studies examining human muscle metabolism directly have also supported the fact that there is no change in fat or carbohydrate metabolism, but these usually have had a small sample size. We combined the data from muscle biopsy analyses of several similar studies to generate a sample size of 16-44, depending on the measure.

We examined muscle glycogen, citrate, acetyl-CoA, glucose-6-phosphate, and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in resting samples and in those obtained after 10-15 min of exercise at 70%-85% maximal oxygen consumption. Exercise decreased (p < style="font-weight: bold;">

Conclusion: There is very little evidence to support the hypothesis that caffeine has ergogenic effects as a result of enhanced fat oxidation. Individuals may however, respond differently to the effects of caffeine, and there is growing evidence that this could be explained by common genetic variations.

Supplement Usage: Protein Powder, Creatine, Beta Alanine, etc

(note: There were a few typos in the earlier version since I may have published an earlier rev. All fixed now--thanks Brad).

Question: So given the extensive information below (see this post HERE), what daily supplements do you take?
Charles

Answer:
Thanks for the good question!

Yep, the whole area of supplements can be incredibly confusing. Add in that some companies spend millions on advertising with normally little to zero scientific backing and the consumer is many times left confused.

Supplements are just that SUPPLEMENTS to a healthy lifestyle. I think it was Paul Chek that said something like (paraphrasing here), "supplement are like gold nails and food is like the wood. If you use gold nails to put together crappy wood (poor nutrition), it will not work very well."

I don't get too concerned over supplements until athletes can hit 90% compliance on their nutrition plan. There are times when I may add a supplement(s) sooner, but that depends on the time line I have and the issues that are going on. The following are ones I think most can use.

The list
1) Protein supplement: This is mostly just a convenience item since I like to have athletes get some protein at every meal. There are some data showing that the addition of a whey protein around training time is a big benefit (nutrient timing). Plus it is very convenient.

2) Fish oil/Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs): Most just don't get enough fish oils (EPA and DHA) or enough Omega 3 fatty acids (an EFA) in their diet, period. These oils are used EVERYWHERE in the body and are literally incorporated into almost EVERY CELL. No, these will not make you fat, and many times are the reason you are NOT deflating that spare tire. Are they "magical?"--no, but they are essential and most don't get enough.

3) Greens/fruit veggies supplement: Again for convenience. Just like EFAs, most don't eat enough fruit/veggies. They also lie their butts off and say they get "enough" as shown by studies where most OVER estimate how many servings of fruits/veggies they eat. There are some limited data that a more basic diet (think more fruits/veggies) is better for muscle growth too and general health.

4) Multi Vitamin: Don't go overboard on this, just cheap insurance.

Others to add:
5) Creatine monohydrate: Don't waste your money on any other form as there are virtually zero studies showing any additional benefit. Plus this form is by far the cheapest. There are some newer data showing possible cool neuro protective effects too. Side effects in almost every study have been extremely minor.

Optional depending on goals:
6) Beta Alanine: If you are doing some very high intensity work (e.g. repeated sprints, sports, intervals, etc) this may be one to try out. The current data looks promising, but it is far from conclusive. Personally, I notice a difference as beta alanine helps to buffer those pesky H ions (the ones that cause that burning feeling).
Be sure to check out this link to other beta alanine studies HERE.

7) L-Carnitine: Dave Barr is a big fan of this one. Check out his info HERE. There was one study showing that L Carnitine may need high levels of insulin in order to "push" it in.

8) Anti oxidants: Vit C and Vit E are the big ones. Remember that any antioxidant can be a PRO oxidant at a high enough dose so don't go crazy. Notice a moderation theme yet?

9) Vit D: Esp is you live in a northern climate in the winter (uh, like Minnesota). I personally promote more vacations to warm climates, but that is not always possible. See this link for a cool study I put up the other day on Vit D and muscle growth/strength.

10) Probiotic: These work to help restore the healthy bacteria in your gut. If you have had antibiotics within the past 1-2 years and any digestion issues, this would be worth a try in most cases.

11) Proteolytic Enzymes: These can work to push down inflammation and promote healing. Most need higher doses between meals though, but they seem to work great for acute/chronic injuries/pain. Mobility work like Z Health is HUGE for those issues too.

For me personally, I typically use
Protein powder, Udo's oil (EFAs), creatine, L carnitine (with pro/cho drink around training time), beta alanine (when doing more intervals and trying to increase CRF), Vit C (500 mg), Vit E (400 IUs).

If I travel, I may use a bit more since my access to fruits/veggies/food is more limited.

I take 2 hours on Sundays to prepare all my food for the week so I am good to go come Monday AM. I use Dr. John Berardi's Precision Nutrition system---it rocks!

Summary
I know that seems like a lot, but most are not using all of these at the same time and not right away. Get your nutrition in order first. There are some many compounds in food that we have no idea about yet. I think broccoli alone has something like 300 different polyphenols in it.

Your mom was right, eat your fruits and veggies.

Thoughts? What do you current use? Results?

Vitamin D and Strength?

Below is a great review on Vit D and muscle tissue/function. I need to thank Dr. John Berardi at Precision Nutrition for finding this one. I love the PN (Precision Nutrition) system and use it with all my athletes.

Keep in mind that while a Vit D deficiency has many issues (poor muscle function being one of them), BUT this does NOT mean that mega doses of it will promote more muscle growth (atleast not that I have seen in the literature anywhere).

Keep in mind that sunlight is going to be your best source of Vit D as the body has this super cool autoregulatory system set up where it is impossible to get too much Vit D from the sun!

Although you can still get a nasty sun burn and look like Randy The Red Lobster, so be careful. My favorite way to get more sunlight is kiteboarding in warm climates!

At the Annual ACSM conference I went to this past Spring, a top researcher from Australia stated (paraphrasing) that Vit D and Iron are the only 2 tests that she conducts on female athlete's training for the Olympics since the change of being defficient is so high.

Vitamin D and skeletal muscle tissue and function.
Ceglia L.

Mol Aspects Med. 2008 Dec;29(6):407-14. Epub 2008 Aug 8

Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Bone Metabolism Laboratory, 711 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, United States.

This review aims to summarize current knowledge on the role of vitamin D in skeletal muscle tissue and function. Vitamin D deficiency can cause a myopathy of varying severity. Clinical studies have indicated that vitamin D status is positively associated with muscle strength and physical performance and inversely associated with risk of falling. Vitamin D supplementation has shown to improve tests of muscle function, reduce falls, and possibly impact on muscle fiber composition and morphology in vitamin D deficient older adults.

Molecular mechanisms of vitamin D action on muscle tissue include genomic and non-genomic effects via a receptor present in muscle cells. Genomic effects are initiated by binding of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)(2)D] to its nuclear receptor, which results in changes in gene transcription of mRNA and subsequent protein synthesis. Non-genomic effects of vitamin D are rapid and mediated through a cell surface receptor. Knockout mouse models of the vitamin D receptor provide insight into understanding the direct effects of vitamin D on muscle tissue.

Recently, VDR polymorphisms have been described to affect muscle function. Parathyroid hormone which is strongly linked with vitamin D status also may play a role in muscle function; however, distinguishing its role from that of vitamin D has yet to be fully clarified.

Despite the enormous advances in recent decades, further research is needed to fully characterize the exact underlying mechanisms of vitamin D action on muscle tissue and to understand how these cellular changes translate into clinical improvements in physical performance.

International society of sports nutrition position stand: nutrient timing

Below is a great abstract/review of the latest science around nutrient timing. You can access the full version there too by clicking on the link. Highly recommended.

International society of sports nutrition position stand: nutrient timing

Chad Kerksick , Jeff Stout , Bill Campbell , Colin Wilborn , Richard Kreider , Doug Kalman , Tim Ziegenfuss , Hector Lopez , Jamie Landis , John Ivy and Jose Antonio

Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2008, 5:17doi:10.1186/1550-2783-5-17

Published:	3 October 2008

Abstract (provisional)

Position Statement: The position of the Society regarding nutrient timing and the intake of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in reference to healthy, exercising individuals is summarized by the following eight points: 1.) Maximal endogenous glycogen stores are best promoted by following a high-glycemic, high-carbohydrate (CHO) diet (600 - 1000 grams CHO or ~ 8 - 10 g CHO/kg/d), and ingestion of free amino acids and protein (PRO) alone or in combination with CHO before resistance exercise can maximally stimulate protein synthesis. 2.) During exercise, CHO should be consumed at a rate of 30 - 60 grams of CHO/hour in a 6 - 8 % CHO solution (8 - 16 fluid ounces) every 10 - 15 minutes. Adding PRO to create a CHO:PRO ratio of 3 - 4:1 may increase endurance performance and maximally promotes glycogen re-synthesis during acute and subsequent bouts of endurance exercise. 3.) Ingesting CHO alone or in combination with PRO during resistance exercise increases muscle glycogen, offsets muscle damage, and facilitates greater training adaptations after either acute or prolonged periods of supplementation with resistance training. 4.) Post-exercise (within 30 minutes) consumption of CHO at high dosages (8 - 10 g CHO/kg/day) have been shown to stimulate muscle glycogen re-synthesis, while adding PRO (0.2 g - 0.5 g PRO/kg/day) to CHO at a ratio of 3 - 4:1 (CHO: PRO) may further enhance glycogen re-synthesis. 5.) Post-exercise ingestion (immediately to 3 h post) of amino acids, primarily essential amino acids, has been shown to stimulate robust increases in muscle protein synthesis, while the addition of CHO may stimulate even greater levels of protein synthesis. Additionally, pre-exercise consumption of a CHO + PRO supplement may result in peak levels of protein synthesis. 6.) During consistent, prolonged resistance training, post-exercise consumption of varying doses of CHO + PRO supplements in varying dosages have been shown to stimulate improvements in strength and body composition when compared to control or placebo conditions. 7.) The addition of creatine (Cr) (0.1 g Cr/kg/day) to a CHO + PRO supplement may facilitate even greater adaptations to resistance training. 8.) Nutrient timing incorporates the use of methodical planning and eating of whole foods, nutrients extracted from food, and other sources. The timing of the energy intake and the ratio of certain ingested macronutrients are likely the attributes which allow for enhanced recovery and tissue repair following high-volume exercise, augmented muscle protein synthesis, and improved mood states when compared with unplanned or traditional strategies of nutrient intake.

Performance Research for June: Protein Synthesis--How to Use Research to Get Hyooooge

So I am a few months behind on research updates, but have no fear as more good stuff is coming. For June some great studies on pre and post protein and carbohydrate beverages, NSAIDs (like Advil) and their effects on muscle growth, and some molecular mechanisms in action.

Be sure to check out my previous post HERE on protein synthesis (adding muscle) and what you can do to maximize it based on bleeding edge research.

If all this crazy research makes your head spin back like a Pez dispenser and just want to get the plan and get started today, check out Jimmy Smith's Physique Formula.

Let's get to it

Differential effects of resistance and endurance exercise in the fed state on signaling molecule phosphorylation and protein synthesis in human muscle.

Wilkinson SB, Phillips SM, Atherton PJ, Patel R, Yarasheski KE, Tarnopolsky MA, Rennie MJ. McMaster University.

Resistance (RE) and endurance (EE) exercise stimulate mixed skeletal muscle protein synthesis. The phenotypes induced by RE (myofibrillar protein accretion) and EE (mitochondrial expansion) training must result from differential stimulation of myofibrillar and mitochondrial protein synthesis. We measured the synthetic rates of myofibrillar and mitochondrial proteins and the activation of signaling proteins (Akt-mTOR-p70S6K) at rest and after an acute bout of RE or EE in the untrained state and after 10 wk of RE or EE training in young healthy men. While untrained, RE stimulated both myofibrillar and mitochondrial protein synthesis, 67% and 69% (P<0.02), p=" 0.05)." style="font-weight: bold;">

Conclusion: Chronic resistance exercise (wt training) or endurance exercise training modifies the protein synthetic response of functional protein fractions, with a shift toward exercise phenotype-specific responses, without an obvious explanatory change in the phosphorylation of regulatory signaling pathway proteins.

My notes: sounds like the SAID principle in action! The body is adapting specifically to the stimulus (exercise)

Essential amino acid and carbohydrate ingestion prior to resistance exercise does not enhance post-exercise muscle protein synthesis.

Fujita S, Dreyer HC, Drummond MJ, Glynn EL, Volpi E, Rasmussen BB.University of Tokyo. Ingestion of an essential amino acid-carbohydrate (EAA+CHO) solution following resistance exercise enhances muscle protein synthesis during post-exercise recovery. It is unclear whether EAA+CHO ingestion prior to resistance exercise can improve direct measures of post-exercise muscle protein synthesis (FSR; fractional synthetic rate). We hypothesized that EAA+CHO ingestion prior to a bout of resistance exercise would prevent the exercise-induced decrease in muscle FSR and would result in an enhanced rate of muscle FSR during post-exercise recovery. We studied 22 young healthy subjects before, during, and for 2 hr following a bout of high-intensity leg resistance exercise. The Fasting control group (N=11) did not ingest nutrients and the EAA+CHO group (N=11) ingested a solution of EAA+CHO 1 hr prior to beginning the exercise bout. Stable isotopic methods were used in combination with muscle biopsies to determine FSR. Immunoblotting procedures were utilized to assess cell signaling proteins associated with the regulation of FSR. We found that muscle FSR increased in the EAA+CHO group immediately following EAA+CHO ingestion (P<0.05),>0.05). Eukaryotic elongation factor 2 phosphorylation was reduced in both groups at 2 hr post-exercise (EAA+CHO: 39+/-7%; Fasting: 47+/-9%; P<0.05). style="font-weight: bold;">

Conclusion: We conclude that essential amino acids and carbs (EAA+CHO) ingestion prior to resistance exercise does not enhance post-exercise fractional synthesis rate (FSR--Fractional Synthetic Rate--aka rate of adding protein to muscles) as compared to exercise without nutrients.

My note--while this interesting, I would not dump your protein carb drink before lifting just yet. Based on info from Dave Barr (source, AI and personal conversation) moving it to 15 minutes before training may be more ideal. Stay tuned!

Gene expression profiling in human skeletal muscle during recovery from eccentric exercise.

Mahoney DJ, Safdar A, Parise G, Melov S, Fu M, MacNeil L, Kaczor J, Payne ET, Tarnopolsky MA. Department of Medical Sciences, McMaster University Medical Center, 1200 Main Street W., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. We used cDNA microarrays to screen for differentially expressed genes during recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage in humans. Male subjects (n = 4) performed 300 maximal eccentric contractions, and skeletal muscle biopsy samples were analyzed at 3 h and 48 h after exercise. In total, 113 genes increased 3 h postexercise, and 34 decreased. At 48 h postexercise, 59 genes increased and 29 decreased. On the basis of these data, we chose 19 gene changes and conducted secondary analyses using real-time RT-PCR from muscle biopsy samples taken from 11 additional subjects who performed an identical bout of exercise.
Real-time RT-PCR analyses confirmed that exercise-induced muscle damage led to a rapid (3 h) increase in sterol response element binding protein 2 (SREBP-2), followed by a delayed (48 h) increase in the SREBP-2 gene targets Acyl CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT)-2 and insulin-induced gene 1 (insig-1). The expression of the IL-1 receptor, a known regulator of SREBP-2, was also elevated after exercise. Taken together, these expression changes suggest a transcriptional program for increasing cholesterol and lipid synthesis and/or modification. Additionally, damaging exercise induced the expression of protein kinase H11, capping protein Z alpha (capZalpha), and modulatory calcineurin-interacting protein 1 (MCIP1), as well as cardiac ankryin repeat protein 1 (CARP1), DNAJB2, c-myc, and junD, each of which are likely involved in skeletal muscle growth, remodeling, and stress management.

Conclusion: In summary, using DNA microarrays and RT-PCR, we have identified novel genes that respond to skeletal muscle damage, which, given the known biological functions, are likely involved in recovery from and/or adaptation to damaging exercise.

My notes: I wonder why all this muscle physiology stuff is so elusive, to quote the authors "In total, 113 genes increased 3 h postexercise, and 34 decreased." That is a lot of stuff going on! Still wondering if you need to damage the muscle for it to increase in size?

Post exercise carbohydrate-protein supplementation: phosphorylation of muscle proteins involved in glycogen synthesis and protein translation.

Ivy JL, Ding Z, Hwang H, Cialdella-Kam LC, Morrison PJ.Exercise Physiology and Metabolism Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712-0360, USA. johnivy@mail.utexas.edu The enzymes Akt, mTOR, p70(S6K), rpS6, GSK3, and glycogen synthase interact in the control of protein and/or glycogen synthesis in skeletal muscle, and each has been found to respond to exercise and nutrient supplementation. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that nutrient supplementation post exercise, in the form of a carbohydrate-protein (CHO-PRO) supplement, would alter the phosphorylation state of these enzymes in a manner that should increase muscle protein and glycogen synthesis above that produced by exercise alone. After a 45 min cycling session followed by sprints and again 15 min later, the subjects (n = 8) ingested 400 ml of a CHO-PRO drink (7.8% dextrose and 1.8% protein-electrolyte) or a placebo drink, as assigned using a randomized, counter-balanced design with repeated measures. Biopsies of the vastus lateralis were taken before exercise and at 45 min of recovery.
At 45 min after supplementation, CHO-PRO treatment yielded greater phosphorylation of Akt (65%), mTOR (86%), rpS6 (85-fold), and GSK3alpha/beta (57%) than pre-exercise levels (p < style="font-weight: bold;">

Conclusion: These results suggest that a post exercise carb and protein (CHO-PRO) supplement alters the phosporylation levels of the enzymes tested in a manner that should accelerate muscle glycogen synthesis and protein initiation during recovery from cycling exercise.

My notes: cool info, but I would like to see this carried out in the future to any performance changes. This would say that it should help. I am sure that is in the pipeline and there is some data already out in that area

The effects of ibuprofen on muscle hypertrophy, strength, and soreness during resistance training.

Krentz JR, Quest B, Farthing JP, Quest DW, Chilibeck PD. High doses of ibuprofen have been shown to inhibit muscle protein synthesis after a bout of resistance exercise. We determined the effect of a moderate dose of ibuprofen (400 mg.d-1) consumed on a daily basis after resistance training on muscle hypertrophy and strength. Twelve males and 6 females (~24 years of age) trained their right and left biceps on alternate days (6 sets of 4-10 repetitions), 5 d.week-1, for 6 weeks.
In a counter-balanced, double-blind design, they were randomized to receive 400 mg.d-1 ibuprofen immediately after training their left or right arm, and a placebo after training the opposite arm the following day. Before- and after-training muscle thickness of both biceps was measured using ultrasound and 1 repetition maximum (1 RM) arm curl strength was determined on both arms.
Subjects rated their muscle soreness daily. There were time main effects for muscle thickness and strength (p < style="font-weight: bold;">

Conclusion: We conclude that a moderate dose of ibuprofen ingested after repeated resistance training sessions does not impair muscle hypertrophy or strength and does not affect ratings of muscle soreness.

My Notes: If you would have asked me even a few months ago, I would have said that the use of NSAIDs (like Advil) is not a good idea as it may limit muscle growth (hypertrophy). After talking to some at ACSM, looking at some newer litature, I am thinking it will probably be ok. It may even be beneficial after an acute injury to keep your movement quality better and limit pain, thus reducing the chance on longer term chronic pain ala the neuromatrix of pain. See the following posts on that below

Pain Perception and the Neuromatrix--Guest Blog by Katelin Bigelow

Pre-emptive Analgescis--what is he talking about now?

Cellular and molecular events controlling skeletal muscle mass in response to altered use.

Favier FB, Benoit H, Freyssenet D.Unité Physiologie et Physiopathologie de l’Exercice et Handicap, IFR143, Université Jean Monnet, 15 rue Ambroise Paré, 42023, Saint Etienne, cedex 2, France.
Gain or loss of skeletal muscle mass occurs in situations of altered use such as strength training, aging, denervation, or immobilization. This review examines our current understanding of the cellular and molecular events involved in the control of muscle mass under conditions of muscle use and disuse, with particular attention to the effects of resistance exercise/training. The DNA content, which is a critical determinant of protein synthesis by providing the amount of DNA necessary to sustain gene transcription, can be either increased (activation of satellite cells) or decreased (apoptosis) depending on muscle activity and ongoing physiological processes. In addition, several transcription factors are sensitive to functional demand and may control muscle-specific protein expression to promote or repress myofiber enlargement. The control of skeletal muscle mass is also markedly mediated by the regulation of transduction pathways that promote the synthesis and/or the degradation of proteins. Insulin-like growth factor-I plays a key role in this balance by activating the Akt/tuberous sclerosis complex 2/mammalian target of rapamycin pathway.

Conclusion: Stimulation of this pathway leads to the concomitant activation of initiation and elongation factors resulting in the elevation of protein translation and the downregulation of ubiquitin proteasome components through Forkhead-box O transcription factors.

My Notes: Good review (with lots of big words), but the take away is still the same--USE IT OR LOSE IT!

Rock on
Mike N

Research Review: Protein Synthesis Part II; Exercise Nutrition

Round 2 of super geeky exercise physiology studies for ya! If you missed part 1, be sure to check it out HERE.

So what do any of these studies mean in real lift? Good question and glad you asked.

Here are a few take aways Any food around your training session is better than nothing! Heck, even chocolate milk is better than nothing and a candy bar preexercise did not decrease performance! Now I think there are a few better choices, but you get the idea that proper timing of training nutrition is important.

Nutrition Recommendations for Exercise

• If you have eaten within about 2 hours or so, no preexercise beverage is needed
• If not, about 30 grams protein and 30-60 grams carbs preexercise is a good place to start
• One scoop of whey protein powder and 1 scoop of Biotest Surge works well
  
• Consume within about 30 minutes preexercise (again listen to your body and your goal is to train and feel fine and not yack!)
• Water during weight training session
• If you are doing endurance work that is longer than an hour, ingest a dilute carb beverage such as Gatorade
  
• Post training, same beverage as preexercise (30g pro with 30-60 grams carbs)
• Eat your normal meal within about 1-1.5 hours.
  
• Note---this is just a GENERAL guideline and is by no means absolute--just a good starting point

Drop me a line and let me know your results!
On to the studies!

Influence of concurrent exercise or nutrition countermeasures on thigh and calf muscle size and function during 60 days of bed rest in women.

Conclusion: “The nutrition countermeasure was not effective in offsetting lower limb muscle volume or strength loss, and actually promoted thigh muscle volume loss. The concurrent aerobic and resistance exercise protocol was effective at preventing thigh muscle volume loss, and thigh and calf muscle strength loss. While the exercise protocol offset approximately 75% of the calf muscle volume loss, modification of this regimen is needed.”

The effects of nutritional supplementation throughout an endurance run on leucine kinetics during recovery.

Conclusion: “Although consuming milk during the run affected whole-body leucine kinetics, the benefits of such a practice for athletes remain unclear. Additional studies are needed to determine whether protein supplementation during exercise can optimize protein utilization during recovery.”

International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exercise.

Conclusion: “The seven points related to the intake of protein for healthy, exercising individuals constitute the position stand of the Society. They have been approved by the Research Committee of the Society.”

Exercise training increases branched-chain oxoacid dehydrogenase kinase content in human skeletal muscle.

Conclusion: “It is concluded that the increased protein content of BCOAD (branched-chain oxoacid dehydrogenase complex) kinase may be involved in the mechanism for reduced BCOADa (branched-chain oxoacid dehydrogenase complex activation) after exercise training in human skeletal muscle. These data also highlight differences in models used to study the regulation of skeletal muscle BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acids) metabolism, since exercise training was previously reported to increase BCOADa (branched-chain oxoacid dehydrogenase complex activation) during exercise and decrease BCOAD (branched-chain oxoacid dehydrogenase complex) kinase content in rats (Fujii H, Shimomura Y, Murakami T, Nakai N, Sato T, Suzuki M, Harris RA. Biochem Mol Biol Int 44: 1211-1216, 1998).”

Effects of a supplementation during exercise and recovery

Conclusion: “The protein hydrolysate treatment induced adaptations that may promote a decrease in fatigue during exercises, potentially explained by changes in parameters used to represent oxidative damage and antioxidant status at rest and changes in lactate metabolism.”

Branched-chain amino acids and arginine supplementation attenuates skeletal muscle proteolysis induced by moderate exercise in young individuals.

Conclusion: “The results suggest that endurance exercise at moderate intensity enhances proteolysis in working muscles, and a single oral intake of 2 g of BCAA (branched-chain amino acids) with Arg (arginine) at onset of exercise effectively suppresses exercise-induced skeletal muscle proteolysis.”

Postexercise whole-body protein turnover response to three levels of protein intake.

Conclusion: “Findings from the study show that variations in protein intake can alter plasma amino acid levels and modulate rates of WBPTO (whole-body protein turnover) after exercise. Additionally, a lower protein intake was associated with decreased rates of WBPTO (whole-body protein turnover) after exercise."

ACSM Random Updates

Greetings from ACSM! Just waiting to fly back home soon and wanted to drop some random notes. I will have more updates coming in the next few weeks as I get threw over 40 pages of notes. Excellent information presented!

Here they are random, rapid fire style. More details soon
Inspiration Muscle Training

• May work really really well. Poster from highly competitive cross country runners showed a shaving of 40 seconds off 5km times!! That is insane!

Central Pattern Generation

• May be located in the spinal cord! The basic program for gait appears to be there too. Huge implications for spinal cord injury patients.
• Gait has a normal variability to it on each step, we need to replicate this to obtain a normal gait again in rehab areas
• Injuries will alter your gait (I see that all the time)
• Interlimb coordination more important than INTRAlimb coordination
• Rats with full spinal cord cut at around the top of the lumbar area can walk sideways and backwards on a treadmill on 2 legs with body weight support. No input from the brain--must be a FEED FORWARD mechanism on some level

Central vs Peripheral Fatigue

• Studies, posters point to some of each
• BCAAs don't seems to decrease central fatigue (although tyrosine seems to work)

Brain and Cognition and Exercise

• Brain will adapt by increasing neurons
• Brain actually increases in size and weight!! (Up to a limit)
• Enriched environment is important, not just exercise---new movements, use of visual system
• Exercise has an anti-depressant activity

Creatine

• New mechanisms--potential cognition and ergogenic benefits
• Full details soon

Random Tidbits

• Vit D RDA most likely to increase dramatically soon
• Women athletes should probably have ferritin iron test and Vit D test done
• Talk by top protein researchers on protein and exercise--more info soon
• Beta Alanine seems to work great in elite wrestlers (source--conversation on unpublished work)
• NSAIDS and training may NOT interfere with each other

More soon!
Any questions in the meantime, post them here
Mike

Chocolate and Cholesterol Study

Daily consumption of a dark chocolate containing flavanols and added sterol esters affects cardiovascular risk factors in a normotensive population with elevated cholesterol.

Conclusion "Results indicate that regular consumption of chocolate bars containing PS and CF as part of a low-fat diet may support cardiovascular health by lowering cholesterol and improving blood pressure."

My Comments

We need to stop saying that certain foods are "good" of "bad". Pretty anything in its natural state (no a 7-11 slurpee is not found in nature off the "slurpee tree") is good. Now certain people may have intolerances to some items (for example dairy), but that does not mean that all dairy is "bad". Dr John Berardi does a great job on this point with his Precision Nutrition system (which is what I use when working with athletes).

So real, dark chocolate is good for you in small amounts. A whole diet based on it is not good. So enjoy some dark chocolate from time to time as it is one of life's inexpensive luxuries.

Dr. Lonnie Lowery on Nutrition and Inflammation-Special Guest Blog Post

Special Guest Blog Post from Dr. Lonnie Lowery on Nutrition and Inflammation

It is my honor to present some notes that Dr. Lonnie Lowery took from a Feb 2008 research workshop featuring NIH-sponsored list of heavy hitters that occurred in Chicago, IL on Nutrition and Inflammation.

In case you have been living under a rock, Dr. Lonnie Lowery is a nutrition professor, former competitive bodybuilder and Exercise Physiologist living in the Midwest. He is also a writer for www.t-mag.net so go there and check out his excellent articles. The good doctor is a wealth of information and walks the walk.

Dr. Lowery can be contacted through Charles Staley's site. He also does monthly conference calls with a new topic each month. I've been on the calls and they are really well done, so drop Charles Staley a line if you want in on them.

The following is pretty detailed, but excellent, cutting edge information!

Why Should You Care?

Inflammation is proposed to be at the root of many issues from muscle growth (hypertrophy), healing, to cardiac issues. Even most cardiologists I talked to a few years back admit that the main benefit to statin drugs is probably their modification of inflammation in the body and perhaps their effect on cholesterol is more of a "side effect".

So sit back and let Dr. Lowery enlighten us with some brand new research! Take it away Doc!

Dr. Lonnie Lowery on Nutrition and Inflammation

Talk #1: Nutrition and Age-Associated Inflammation: Implications for Disease

The first talk was done by a legend in the field of inflammation and nutrition: Simin Meydani. As a DVM, PhD, perhaps I should refer to her as "doctor, doctor" Medydani. (And I thought I spent too much time in school!) You may not find the title of her talk especially exciting (unless you're middle-aged like me, with a growing interest in overall health) so I'll serve up a whole bunch of key points and spike it with some data of my own:

• Excessive macrophage (an aggressive white blood cell type) activity and decreased T-cell (a different white cell type) activity leads to more and more inflammation and less resistance to infection as we age. An increase in prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is obvious in old versus young rodents, for example. I sometimes think of PGE2 as inflammation itself. The end result is increased risk of coronary heart disease, Alzheimer's, osteoporosis, increased infections and even cancer. Ugh.
• Inflammatory cytokines like interleukin-6 and TNF-alpha increase the enzyme that makes more prostaglandin E2. You might care because exercise, especially the eccentric type, is known to be a consistent, albeit brief, inducer of IL-6.

• We'll see more on exercise in the next talk.
• Low antioxidant status (low glutathione presence) leads to more ceramide in the body. Ceramide leads to more creation of prostaglandin E2, so this is not good. Strength athletes enduring hard training don't need to struggle with excess inflammation. Keep up your antioxidant defenses.
• Vitamin E corrects and decreases PGE2 levels in old mice by interfering with the enzyme that makes it.
• 200 I.U. of vitamin E is better than either 60 I.U. or 800 I.U. among human elderly. Their antibody response to an immune challenge is improved at this dose. Some minor effect among the young was also noted.
• A huge variability in subject responses to vitamin E is due to genetic differences. (Intellectual people have loved to say "gene polymorphisms" for years… say it with me: "g-e-n-e p-o-l-y-m-o-r-p-h-i-s-m-s". Don't you feel smarter?
• Calorie restriction of 30% below needs but not 10% below needs results in lower PGE2, which appears to be one mechanism by which lifespan is lengthened. Interestingly, both levels of restriction improve clinical responses to immune challenge (in this case a delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction).
• Low-fat, high fish (oil) intakes lead to lower interleukin-6 production. That could lead to less inflammation and less catabolism in the body. Low-fat, low-fish intakes do not offer the same benefits.
• Over a three month period, 1.5g EPA combined with 1.0g DHA and a couple hundred I.U. of vitamin E strengthened immune response to a skin challenge as noted above. This is interesting since adding vitamin E interferes rather than helps in some studies investigating fish oil.
• Aggressive macrophages infiltrate fatty tissue, leading to inflammation via interleukin-6, interleukin-1 beta and TNF alpha. And I thought these little guys were a pain regarding muscle recovery! More on this later.

Talk #2: Molecular Basis of Inflammation: Relationships between Catabolic Cytokines, Hormones, and Energy Balance

As a weight lifter and not just a person looking for healthy aging, this lecture rocked. Here are the goods:
• A 154 pound (70 kg) man will eat 50 tons of food in his lifetime. He'll use 10 million liters of oxygen to burn it and he'll regulate his day-to-day intake to within one percent. (That's great but it's still plus or minus 10,000 kcal per year, or about three pounds of fat, which could explain the slow creep of body weight many guys experience as they age.)
• Depending on race, 16-28% of men in the U.S. have metabolic syndrome (high blood pressure, insulin resistance, central obesity, low HDL cholesterol and high blood triglycerides). Inflammation is an underlying factor. Imagine, one of the next four guys you meet is an inflamed metabolic train wreck!
• The biochemical pathways of leptin and insulin interact to help determine how fat you are, among other things.
• The mechanism linking energy balance and muscle size has been described/ explained in more detail in a 2007 paper by Nader and colleagues (Nature Medicine 13: 1016-19). This finally gives key insights as to why eating extra kcal and not just protein is so important to muscle size.
• Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis have faster metabolic rates, 25% lower muscle protein synthesis, less body cell mass and 36% less strength thanks to pro-inflammatory tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) and friends. Further, their physical activity levels drop as they unconsciously compensate for the hyped metabolism. Harsh.
• The immune system is a huge player in muscle mass. Just as IL-1, IL-6, and TNF are catabolic, conversely IL-15 and IGF-1/ MGF are anabolic. ('Course you may already know this.)
• In the aged, inflammatory IL-6 actually predicts all-cause mortality. If you think inflammation is no big deal, I hope you learn better before you're old!
• Young or old, IL-6 rises by six hours after exercise (confirms my data in graph above)
• Blockade of the "marijuana receptor" has received attention as a potential way to give obese subjects the "un-munchies". Unfortunately for hopeful dieters, this approach also leads to anti-euphoric effects like nightmares and depression.
• As I understand it, a company named Acceleron is making a drug called Activin that blocks myostatin. The speaker said human trials begin next year. Whoa.
• Combined testosterone plus GH replacement is getting some spanking new 2008 attention. In truth, many competitive bodybuilders could've told these researchers how this works 20 years ago.
• The immune system can determine energy and protein balance. Resistance exercise is the "natural way to entrain these pathways" while pharmaceutical approaches to harnessing the benefits of exercise are still in their infancy.
---Dr. Lonnie Lowery

Lonnie Lowery is a nutrition professor, former competitive bodybuilder and Exercise Physiologist living in the Midwest