EXERCISE IS MUCH MORE THAN CALORIE EXPENDITURE
Blended excerpts from Potential Within A Guide to Nutritional Empowerment
Authored by Franco Cavaleri ISBN 0-9731701-0-7
This article is composed of multiple excerpts to result in tone and content shifts and reference numbering that may be out of order.
The value of exercise to a preventive or anti-aging program is paramount. Exercise helps normalize blood pressure and lipid profiles, and it enhances heart condition, lung capacity, blood flow, insulin health, and thermogenic
activity. With exercise calories are expended to allow greater caloric intake for the purpose of improved nutrient ingestion, ultimately allowing more leeway when it comes to desired high-glycemic-index and fatty foods.
Physical activity, like the previously mentioned resistance work, is crucial to the maintenance of lean muscle, as well (41). Age-related muscle loss, as we’ve seen, is caused by a number of factors: insulin resistance, a lack of nutrient building blocks and co-factors from the diet, and an elevation in NF-kappa-B. Ageless Performance addresses all these problems. A deficiency of exercise or general physical activity also plays a significant role in age-related muscle atrophy. The reintroduction of physical activity into the routines of the elderly has been shown to enhance general joint flexibility
and muscle strength, but that isn’t possible unless adequate nourishment is provided by the diet at the same time (42). Antioxidant needs increase with the onset of a more active lifestyle, and Ageless Performance accommodates for this demand, too. Still, the calorie contribution is maintained low, making exercise/training results even better—more muscle and less body fat.
If physical work is intense and prolonged enough to deplete energy stores and induce catecholamine secretions such as epinephrine and corticosteroids,
more tissue damage by free-radical assault will result. The strategies of Ageless Performance counter this problem, as well. Exercise stimulates the production and activity of the uncoupling proteins in brown adipose fat. More accurately, free fatty acids enter the bloodstream in large amounts due to exercise, inducing uncoupling protein activity and accelerating the thermogenic process. (43, 44). Since free-fatty-acid elevation is recognized as the cause for exercise-induced thermogenesis, higher-than-normal,
post-workout, free-fatty-acid levels in blood must be maintained for as long
as possible in order for maximum thermogenic potential to be experienced. Keep in mind that this thermogenic calorie expenditure is independent and additional to the work-induced ATP/calorie outlay. Thermogenic-related calorie losses can continue indefinitely long after exercise is terminated.
However, once free-fatty-acid levels are cleared from the blood, thermogenic-
activation potential is lost. The immediate introduction of high-glycemic-index food after exercise puts out the thermogenic fire by raising insulin levels. Insulin, remember, sweeps substrates like glucose, amino acids, and free fatty acids from the blood and into storage. For this reason, to optimize fat-loss endeavors, you should wait 20 to 30 minutes after exercise before high-glycemic-index foods are consumed. That goes against what I’ve said in previous discussions. Of course, as we’ve seen, this delay strategy increases the exposure to cortisol (a stress hormone produced during prolonged exercise) and reduces the potential for muscle and glycogen restoration. To counter this problem I run for 30 minutes or so in the morning and then work out in the late afternoon with weights for about 30 to 40 minutes. I try not to exceed 40 minutes per session.
Sometimes I exercise in the morning and run in the afternoon. One of these sessions is followed by supplementation of glutamine and branched-chain amino acid, while holding off for 20 to 30 minutes on the post-workout or post-run carbohydrate-loaded meal/supplement drink.
Glutamine (3 to 5 g), alpha ketoglutaric acid (2 g), and a mix of branched-chain amino acids (2 g) block cortisol secretions and promote protein synthesis to boost immune function and immediate tissue recovery, including muscle anabolism. Two to three grams of hydroxymethylbutyrate (HMB) is another
great addition to the blend. Taking this multiple-aminoacid combination immediately after a workout supports health and maximizes fat loss by allowing serum fatty acids to maintain thermogenesis in the on position. However, maximum glycogen stores, muscle building, and strength aren’t possible applying this regimen all the time.
Once the targeted fat mass is reached, though, go back to consuming high-glycemic-index carbohydrates and high-biological-value protein immediately after the training session to optimize strength and muscle results. Getting all of these strategies into your program will result in profound changes in your metabolic status quickly.
