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.