Acute effects of a thermogenic nutritional supplement on cycling time to exhaustion and muscular strength in college-aged men

High-Intensity Cycling Training Necessitates Increased Neuromuscular Demand of the Vastus Lateralis During a Fatiguing Contraction

Purpose: To examine the effects of a 5-week continuous cycling training intervention on electromyographic amplitude (EMGRMS)- and mechanomyographic amplitude (MMGRMS)-torque relationships of the vastus lateralis (VL) during a prolonged contraction. Methods: Twenty-four sedentary, young adults performed maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs) and a prolonged isometric trapezoidal contraction at the same absolute 40% MVC for the knee extensors before (PRE) and after training (POSTABS). Individual b- (slopes) and a-terms (y-intercepts) were calculated from the log-transformed electromyographic amplitude (EMGRMS)- and mechanomyographic amplitude (MMGRMS)-torque relationships during the increasing and decreasing segments of the trapezoid. EMGRMS and MMGRMS was normalized for the 45-s steady torque segment. Results: At PRE, b-terms for the EMGRMS-torque relationships during the linearly decreasing segment were greater than the increasing segment (p < .001), and decreased from PRE to POSTABS (p = .027). a-terms were greater during the linearly increasing than decreasing segment at PRE, while the a-terms for the linearly decreasing segment increased from PRE to POSTABS (p = .027). For the MMGRMS-torque relationships, b-terms during the linearly decreasing segment decreased from PRE to POSTABS (p = .013), while a-terms increased from PRE to POSTABS when collapsed across segments (p = .022). Steady torque EMGRMS increased for POSTABS (p < .001). Conclusion: Although cycling training increased aerobic endurance, incorporating resistance training may benefit athletes/individuals as the alterations in neuromuscular parameters post-training suggest a greater neural cost (EMGRMS) and mechanical output (MMGRMS) to complete the same pre-training fatiguing contraction.

Niacin supplementation impairs exercise performance

Several pre-workout supplements contain niacin, although the exercise performance effects of niacin are poorly understood. The purpose of the present study was to examine the performance effects of niacin versus caffeine as a pre-workout supplement. Twenty-five untrained males were recruited to complete three identical ramped aerobic cycling exercise trials. Participants were administered caffeine (CA) at 5 mg/kg body weight, 1000 mg niacin (NI), or a methylcelluloce placebo (PL) supplement prior to each trial. NI treatment induced significantly higher respiratory exchange ratio (RER) during exercise compared to the CA treatment, but not the PL treatment (PL=0.87±0.08, NI=0.91±0.08, CA=0.87±0.08; p=0.02). Similarly, exercise time to exhaustion (in minutes) was significantly different between the NI treatment and the CA treatment, but not the PL treatment (PL=27.45±4.47, NI=26.30±4.91, CA=28.76±4.86; p<0.01). Habitual caffeine use (p=0.16), habitual aerobic exercise (p=0.60), and habitual resistance exercise (p=0.10) did not significantly affect RER. Similarly, habitual caffeine use (p=0.72), habitual aerobic exercise (p=0.08), and habitual resistance exercise (p=0.39) did not significantly affect total work performed. The elevated RER and decreased time to exhaustion in the NI treatment suggests limited lipid availability during exercise and impaired exercise performance.

Caffeine Ingestion With or Without Low-Dose Carbohydrate Improves Exercise Tolerance in Sedentary Adults

Caffeine (CAF) and carbohydrate (CHO) ingestion delay fatigue during prolonged exercise; however, this is primarily documented in endurance trained (ET) athletes. Our purpose was to determine if these ergogenic aids are also effective to improve exercise tolerance in age-matched sedentary (SED) adults. Using a double-blind crossover design, ET and SED (n = 12 each group) completed four exercise trials consisting of 30 min cycling at standardized matched work rates 10% below lactate threshold (MOD-EX) followed by a time to fatigue (TTF) ride at individually prescribed intensity of 5% above lactate threshold. After standardized breakfast, the following drink treatments were given before and throughout exercise: CAF (3 mg/kg of body mass, equivalent to 1.5 cups premium brewed coffee), low calorie CHO (LCHO) (0.4% solution, 2 g total CHO), CAF+LCHO, and artificially-sweetened placebo (PLA). SED and ET had similar perceived exertion (RPE) during MOD-EX and TTF (23.8 ± 3.1 and 24.1 ± 2.6 min in ET, SED, respectively). LCHO did not benefit exercise tolerance compared to PLA and was less effective (p < 0.05) compared to CAF+LCHO for all participants combined. Thus, the two CAF treatments were averaged, resulting in ~5% lower RPE (p < 0.05) and 21% longer TTF (26.3 ± 10.4 min) compared to the no-CAF (21.7 ± 9.9 min) treatments. Blood glucose and lactate were higher (p < 0.05) with CAF vs. no-CAF. SED and ET only differed in metabolic oxidation rates during exercise (higher overall fat oxidation with ET compared to SED). CAF reduces the perceived effort during exercise and increases the capacity for sedentary individuals, as well as trained athletes, to tolerate higher intensity exercise for greater duration; and, these benefits were not further enhanced by ingesting doses of low carbohydrate regularly during exercise.

The energy requirements and metabolic benefits of wilderness hunting in Alaska

The purported healthy aspects of subsistence foods have led to the popularity of the Paleo diet. There has been very little focus, surprisingly, on health benefits derived from the nomadic nature of humans during the Paleolithic era. The purpose of our study was to examine total energy expenditure (TEE), total energy intake (TEI), body composition, blood lipids, and intrahepatic lipid in humans during a 12-day Alaskan backcountry expeditionary hunting (ABEH) immersion. Four healthy men (age: 42 ± 3 year, BMI: 27 ± 1 kg/m2 ) were recruited for the study. TEE was measured using the doubly labeled water method and a food diary was utilized to assess TEI. Body composition was measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA); cross-sectional area of the thigh (XT) and intrahepatic lipid (IHL) were measured using molecular imaging. Blood samples were collected for the measurement of blood lipids. DXA, XT, IHL, and blood data were collected pre- and immediately post-ABEH. Results were analyzed using paired t-tests and considered significant at P < 0.05. TEE and TEI averaged 18.1 ± 1.2 and 9.1 ± 2.5 MJ/day, respectively, indicating substantial negative energy balance (-9.0 ± 1.3 MJ/day). There was a reduction in percent body fat (∆-3.3 ± 0.2%), total fat mass (∆-3.3 ± 0.4 kg), and visceral fat volume (Δ-261 ± 188 cm3 ). Lean tissue mass and XT was unchanged. There was a decrease in IHL (Δ-0.5 ± 0.1% water peak), and a trend (P = 0.055) toward reduction in LDL-cholesterol. We conclude that constancy of physical activity during negative energy balance may provide metabolic benefits above and beyond variations in diet that exist with the hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

Acute effects of caffeine on strength and muscle activation of the elbow flexors

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of caffeine on strength and muscle activation of the elbow flexors. Thirteen recreationally active male volunteers (mean ± SD, age: 21.38 ± 1.26 years) came to the laboratory 4 times. Visit 1 served as a familiarization visit. During visits 2 through 4, subjects ingested a randomly assigned drink, with or without caffeine (0, 5, or 10 mg·kg of body mass), and performed 3 maximal isometric muscle actions of the elbow flexors 60 minutes after ingestion. Maximal strength and rate of torque development (RTD) were recorded. Electromyographic (EMG) and mechanomyographic (MMG) amplitude and frequency, and electromechanical delay (EMD), and phonomechanical delay (PMD) were measured from the biceps brachii. The results indicated that the ingestion of 0 (placebo), 5, or 10 mg·kg of body mass of caffeine did not significantly influence (p > 0.05) peak torque, RTD, normalized EMG amplitude or frequency, normalized MMG amplitude, or EMD and PMD. Normalized MMG frequency was significantly lower (p ≤ 0.05) following ingestion of 5 mg·kg of body mass of caffeine compared with the placebo trial. This was most likely an isolated finding because MMG frequency was the only variable to have a significant difference across all trials. The results suggested that ingestion of either 5 or 10 mg·kg of body mass of caffeine does not provide an ergogenic effect for the elbow flexors during isometric muscle actions.

Effects of multi-ingredient supplementation on resistance training in young males

Muscle strength and fatigue resistance increases with resistance training. Resistance training adaptations can be enhanced with single-ingredient or dual-ingredient supplementation but less is known about resistance training adaptations by multi-ingredient supplementation. We examined the effects of a commercial multi-ingredient supplement on resistance training adaptations for training-specific and non-training-specific tasks in young males. Male participants (n = 16, age 21±2 years, body mass 74.5±5.9 kg, body height 177±5 cm) had at least 1 year experience with resistance training exercises. Training (7 muscle groups, 4 sessions/week, weekly adjustments) consisted of two 6 weeks blocks with 4 weeks between blocks. During training, participants consumed placebo (i.e. maltodextrin, n = 7) or the sports nutritional supplement Cyclone (Maximuscle Ltd, UK, n = 9) (main ingredients creatine monohydrate, whey protein, glutamine and HMB) twice daily with one intake <15 min following a training session. Unpaired Student’s t-test was used for placebo and Cyclone group comparison of percentage changes with p < 0.05. Effect sizes (Cohen’s d) were calculated for the Cyclone group. Cyclone did not enhance maximal voluntary isometric force (MVIF) (p = 0.56), time to fatigue at 70% MVIF (p = 0.41) and peak concentric strength (60°·s⁻¹) (p = 0.66) of m.quadriceps femoris (i.e. the non-specific training tasks). For the specific-training tasks, Cyclone did not enhance one-repetition maximum (1-RM) of lateral pull (p = 0.48) but there was a trend and large effect size for 1-RM of bench press (p = 0.07, d = 0.98) and 45° leg press (p = 0.07, d = 1.41). Cyclone resulted in an increase in number of repetitions for 80% pre-training 1-RM for lateral pull (p = 0.02, d = 1.30), bench press (p = 0.03, d = 1.20) with a trend for 45° leg press (p = 0.08, d = 0.96). Cyclone during resistance training enhanced the performance of 1-RM and number of repetitions at 80% of pre-training 1RM of some training-specific tasks, all with large effect sizes. Our observations suggest that Cyclone during resistance training substantially improves the ability to perform training-related tasks.