Recovery Is More Essential As We Age
Posted by Dr. Robert Portman on 10/30/2018 to
Performance Tip Of The Week
As endurance activity participation rates increase among senior athletes, an understanding of why recovery is more difficult as we age is essential. Previous data suggested that masters athletes recover at similar rates to younger athletes. But this appears not to be the case. Older athletes experience greater muscle damage which results in a longer recovery.
Exercise And Your Gut
Posted by Dr. Robert Portman on 10/30/2018 to
Performance Tip Of The Week
A great deal of research demonstrates that your intestinal bacteria (microflora) play a significant role in your overall health. Similarly, we now know that exercise has a positive impact on a host of health parameters including cardiovascular and mental health, to name just a few. A recently published study adds gut health to the many benefits that accrue from a regular exercise program. Investigators at the University of Illinois looked at the effect of exercise on the composition of the bacterial population found in the gut. They found that exercise induces functional changes in the gut microflora.
Does a High Fat, Low Carb Diet Improve Endurance Performance?
Posted by Dr. Robert Portman on 10/8/2018 to
Performance Tip Of The Week
The argument that a high-fat low-carb diet improves endurance performance is compelling. The average endurance athlete has about 2,000 calories of glycogen in their muscles. Even the leanest marathoner has close to 50,000 calories of fat. It makes sense that increasing fat consumption at the expense of carbohydrate, would lead to extended endurance since more fuel would be available to working muscles. Many trainers and nutritionists promote this proposition. Increase the fat, reduce the carbs and exercise performance goes up. Unfortunately, the scientific evidence does not support this proposition.
Hero Amino Acids #3 - Glutamine
Posted by Dr. Robert Portman on 9/17/2018 to
Performance Tip Of The Week
For endurance athletes, glutamine is particularly important. It is the most prevalent amino acid found in muscle cells accounting for almost 70% of the muscle cell's free amino acid content. During moderate to intense exercise, glutamine levels are depleted- as much as 70%. Glutamine has been shown to have two important roles regarding muscle cells.
Slowing Muscle Protein Breakdown
Posted by Dr. Robert Portman on 9/10/2018 to
Performance Tip Of The Week
A popular misconception about building lean body mass is all you to do is stimulate the pathways that turn on muscle protein synthesis. This is only half the issue. Your lean body mass is a dynamic process. At all times, we are building new muscle protein (anabolism) and simultaneously breaking it down (catabolism). The key is net protein balance. When protein synthesis is greater than protein breakdown, we have a net positive balance and we increase lean body mass. When protein breakdown exceeds protein synthesis we have a negative protein balance and we decrease lean body mass. Normally we are at balance neither increasing or decreasing lean body mass. However the goal of most endurance athletes is to increase lean body mass. Understanding the factors that cause protein breakdown help us better achieve this goal.
The Switch That Controls Lean Body Mass
Posted by Dr. Robert Portman on 9/5/2018 to
Most of the muscle adaptations that increase strength and endurance occur in the interval following moderate to intense exercise. Central to these adaptations is the repair and rebuilding of muscle protein. Although your muscles have multiple mechanisms to activate muscle protein synthesis the central mechanism involves a protein called mTOR. mTOR is a critical cellular switch that activates the cellular machinery responsible for repairing and building new muscle mass.