The term “Rx” comes from the original latin for “recipe”, or prescription. Though not prescriptive, here are some interesting things from this week. Only some of it is directly related to diet and health, but all of it is cool. This week is slightly more training-focussed, and includes some videos of people I coach doing great things in the gym.
The science bit:
Getting hot during training increases muscle gains. This study is a couple of years old, but this area has received a lot of attention recently. Eight young, healthy men (but with little gym experience) did a leg extension exercise, with or without heat applied to the muscle for 20 minutes before, and during the exercise. Muscle biopsies were then taken to look for markers of protein synthesis (which usually signifies muscle gain). Those who had the heat applied had greater activation of the muscle-building pathways (Akt/mTOR/4E-BP1). However, this heating process is different to “warming up”, which you would normally do before exercise. Here, heat was applied by aiming microwaves at the muscles to make them over 40°C. This is probably not something I’d recommend you do regularly. And you don’t often find microwaves lying around the gym (here).
Whether the “heat stress” applied in that study will work for more advanced athletes is also not yet known. However, similar effects to the study above have been seen in rat studies, and training in a hot environment also increases growth hormone levels, which could help build muscle mass. The best advice? Hit the sauna for 15-30 minutes after the gym. Even if you’re not a gym-rat, you should consider visiting the sauna a couple of times per week. This has a number of potential benefits for the body and brain, as covered in this in-depth article written by Rhonda Patrick: (here)
A recent review discusses how giving fish oil to brain trauma victims could improve recovery. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of sports, traffic accidents or military combat is surprisingly common, but few treatments have been shown to dramatically improve recovery. One problem is that the injury can develop over many days or weeks, and via a number of different pathways. Most treatments have targeted a single pathway, with little overall effect on reducing injury. However, one potential treatment worth considering is high doses of fish oil. Fish oil appears to improve recovery after strokes, and has also shown benefit in animal models of TBI. Fish oil tends to come with two particular components – DHA and EPA. Once you take away the water, DHA makes up 30% of the mass of the brain, so is essential when trying to produce lots of new neurons (or fix damaged ones). EPA has more of an anti-inflammatory effecthttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23363551. Though inflammation is an essential part of healing, too much can be damaging, and EPA could help here. Trials of fish oil in TBI in humans haven’t been performed yet. Nonetheless, this review article covers the reasons why fish oil is a good potential therapy (here).
Morgan Freeman on helium? Why? For SCIENCE! (here)
Interesting reading:
Modern man is a shambles. “A recent study indicates that by the year 2020, 8 in 10 men in the UK will be considered obese or overweight. In other words, we are just 7 years away from a situation where 80% of the male populace in the UK can be considered an utter disgrace to their gender.” It’s not pretty, but it’s pretty accurate: http://www.returnofkings.com/5252/the-physical-decline-of-modern-man
Exercise is not as complicated as it seems. Here, the author of this article gives up on the fancy machines and programmes, and starts basic lifts in the gym, like the squat and the deadlift. Each week he adds a little bit of weight, and it works wonders. The “Starting Strength” programme written by Mark Rippetoe, which he uses, is incredibly simple, but I have recommended to a number of people previously, with excellent results:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/opinion/sunday/fitness-crazed.html?_r=0
The science bit:
Getting hot during training increases muscle gains. This study is a couple of years old, but this area has received a lot of attention recently. Eight young, healthy men (but with little gym experience) did a leg extension exercise, with or without heat applied to the muscle for 20 minutes before, and during the exercise. Muscle biopsies were then taken to look for markers of protein synthesis (which usually signifies muscle gain). Those who had the heat applied had greater activation of the muscle-building pathways (Akt/mTOR/4E-BP1). However, this heating process is different to “warming up”, which you would normally do before exercise. Here, heat was applied by aiming microwaves at the muscles to make them over 40°C. This is probably not something I’d recommend you do regularly. And you don’t often find microwaves lying around the gym (here).
Whether the “heat stress” applied in that study will work for more advanced athletes is also not yet known. However, similar effects to the study above have been seen in rat studies, and training in a hot environment also increases growth hormone levels, which could help build muscle mass. The best advice? Hit the sauna for 15-30 minutes after the gym. Even if you’re not a gym-rat, you should consider visiting the sauna a couple of times per week. This has a number of potential benefits for the body and brain, as covered in this in-depth article written by Rhonda Patrick: (here)
A recent review discusses how giving fish oil to brain trauma victims could improve recovery. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of sports, traffic accidents or military combat is surprisingly common, but few treatments have been shown to dramatically improve recovery. One problem is that the injury can develop over many days or weeks, and via a number of different pathways. Most treatments have targeted a single pathway, with little overall effect on reducing injury. However, one potential treatment worth considering is high doses of fish oil. Fish oil appears to improve recovery after strokes, and has also shown benefit in animal models of TBI. Fish oil tends to come with two particular components – DHA and EPA. Once you take away the water, DHA makes up 30% of the mass of the brain, so is essential when trying to produce lots of new neurons (or fix damaged ones). EPA has more of an anti-inflammatory effecthttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23363551. Though inflammation is an essential part of healing, too much can be damaging, and EPA could help here. Trials of fish oil in TBI in humans haven’t been performed yet. Nonetheless, this review article covers the reasons why fish oil is a good potential therapy (here).
Morgan Freeman on helium? Why? For SCIENCE! (here)
Interesting reading:
Modern man is a shambles. “A recent study indicates that by the year 2020, 8 in 10 men in the UK will be considered obese or overweight. In other words, we are just 7 years away from a situation where 80% of the male populace in the UK can be considered an utter disgrace to their gender.” It’s not pretty, but it’s pretty accurate: http://www.returnofkings.com/5252/the-physical-decline-of-modern-man
Exercise is not as complicated as it seems. Here, the author of this article gives up on the fancy machines and programmes, and starts basic lifts in the gym, like the squat and the deadlift. Each week he adds a little bit of weight, and it works wonders. The “Starting Strength” programme written by Mark Rippetoe, which he uses, is incredibly simple, but I have recommended to a number of people previously, with excellent results:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/opinion/sunday/fitness-crazed.html?_r=0
Training:
This is Jurgita, squatting with 50kg on her back (the same as she weighs), for 10 easy reps. She’d never squatted before March this year.
This is Jurgita, squatting with 50kg on her back (the same as she weighs), for 10 easy reps. She’d never squatted before March this year.
Kacper also started at the gym a couple of months ago. He has made some impressive body composition improvements by lifting weights twice a week and tidying his diet up.
This is Laura, who I have coached for a couple of years, deadlifting 125kg (double her bodyweight) at a competition last weekend. She has qualified for the British Powerlifting Championships in two weight categories, whilst following a ketogenic paleo diet.
Finally, here’s me jumping onto a platform in the gym for some fun. This is just under 4ft (121cm).