February 2025 - AMA on Exercise

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Usual rules apply: you ask a question and then hold my feet to burning embers until I fess up! :tears: A little more seriously, think about which aspect of your exercise routine you need to fine tune, ask a question and I will come back with replies, studies, links to research as appropriate. Come back then with any follow-up questions you want. This thread will be open on February 7th and will remain open for two weeks until February 21st. When I see a question I will acknowledge it (usually with a thumbs up) and respond to it, usually within 24 hours. If I don't acknowledge your question and you're waiting for a reply please tag me, it means I missed it. (It's happened a couple of times in the past). If you're new to this, know that the AMA will be open in Discussion section of The Hive and then, after it's over, move to the Knowledge Base. If you're completely new and don't know what to expect know that it's easy-going and chatty. Check out some previous AMAs in the Knowledge Base to get a feel.
Soooo, until Friday, gather your firewood and practice your hold-feet-to-embers skills, prepare your questions. :cool:
 

Damer

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@automata gym-training has the advantage of offering equipment we don't have at home and (sometimes) knowledgeable instructors. Having said that I will stress that unless you're exercising for something really specific that needs those equipment you don't need a gym. We have a short guide on exercising from home that may be of use. Working out at home with just a couple of dumbbells and ankle weights and bodyweight exercises will definitely do the trick.

The number one enemy we always have to overcome when it comes to exercise is us: our doubts, our inconsistencies, our fears, our negative self-talk, our hang-ups and past trauma. ll of this surfaces every time we move our body and it doesn't quite do what we expect it to. So here's what I will suggest to help make your fitness journey easier:

  • Set realistic targets (look for small wins and take them)
  • Be consistent (train every day)
  • Be kind to yourself (watch your intensity, give yourself time)
  • Be patient (visible changes happen to the human body only after the eighth week of consistent training)
  • Watch your nutrition (as much as possible and always within your means)
  • Get plenty of rest (sleep is an important part of fitness)
  • Record everything (track what you do and when)
Don't do it all alone. No matter how strong we may think we are, we all fail when we go it alone. No exceptions. Start a log here if you want to keep yourself accountable. Share your thoughts, ask more questions from Hive members. On low days accept them for what they are. Seek support, support others when you can.

No fitness journey is an upward curve. It is all dips and peaks but when we're consistent, over time, we get exactly where we want to.

I really hope this helps. Feel free to ask anything it sparks off.
 

Damer

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@JohnStrong :LOL: Good question! "Bees do not have a set of lungs to breathe. They rely on tracheal sacs throughout their body which assist with oxygen and carbon dioxide transfer. To absorb fresh air, the bee relaxes its abdomen which causes valves to open spiracles. They comprise ten pairs of holes found in the abdomen, thorax, and sting chamber." Unlike them we do have a set of lungs and we have two separate pathways for oxygen to enter our body: nose and mouth.

Technically neither of these provides an advantage over the other. Having two pathways we end up with three distinct ways of using them:

  1. Nose inhale, nose exhale (NN)
  2. Nose inhale, mouth exhale (NM)
  3. Mouth inhale, mouth exhale (MM)
Apparently there are only very rare instances when someone uses mouth inhalation with nose exhalation (MN) and I will explain why that is a little later down as I explain what's 'best'.

Like in our guides, a 2024 study that looked at this concluded that from how much quantity of air we manage to get in our lungs there is no difference which also means that the tested athletic performance, equally did not suffer any dips when the breathing pattern was changed.

But, we're beginning to understand that one way of doing it is a little more efficient than the other which is why it's used by those who engage in activities where protracted hard breathing is the norm: boxing, martial arts, ballet, rowing, long distance running. That way is nose inhale, mouth exhale (NM) and the study on that is here.

Our guides predate both these studies and will need to be updated so thank you for mentioning them.

Now, why is NM a 'better' way. Well, two primary reasons and a host of secondary ones. The primary reasons have to do with oxygen absorption in the body (i.e. how much O2 we absorb with each breath) and the energetic cost of breathing (i.e. how costly it is for the body's resources to maintain a breathing pattern).

The NM is more beneficial in some cases points to new knowledge we have about the role of the nose which releases nitric oxide in the mix of outside air that enters the nose cavity, which is then pulled into the bloodstream. Nitric oxide in the bloodstream has been shown to increase oxygen exchange efficiency and increases blood oxygen uptake by 18%, while improving the lungs’ ability to absorb oxygen. In other words it puts us in a better position to utilize the oxygen we take with each breath, when we need it most. This is great when, for instance, we engage in protracted peak physical activity that activates the anaerobic use of fuel in our body and creates an oxygen deficit. Managing that oxygen deficit is the difference between simply breathing heavy and and being out breath (where we gasp for air and have to stop because we just haven't got enough oxygen in our system).

This is where the energetic cost comes in too. For us to breathe in through the nose we have to relax the muscles of the diaphragm which then expands and we can suck air in. That's just one motion. To then exhale we simply reverse it. Relaxed diaphragm muscles contract and we expel the air from our lungs. NM breathing is ideally suited for that. It feels the most easy. MM breathing is next. It too doesn't require any extra extra energetic cost to happen.

NN feels a little forced. That's because we're trying to expel a large amount of oxygen quickly through a smaller opening so the diaphragm muscles have to push for a tiny amount of time longer. If we measure this over five minutes it doesn't matter, but over the course of an hour, where we have to breathe hard, it does. That extra amount of energy we use up accumulates and makes us a little less efficient.

The easiest way to test this is to try what everyone doesn't: MN - mouth inhale/nose exhale. We quickly tire even after just a couple of minutes. Here we have the worst of all worlds: reduced oxygen uptake (because there is no nitric oxide in our bloodstream) and extra effort to expel carbon dioxide.

Now as to the secondary drawbacks of breathing through the mouth: it dries out. It becomes a distraction that adds an extra stressor to an already stressed body (because we're exercising). The air is unfiltered - particulates, germs and viruses are filtered through the nose which is the first line of defense of our immune system. Breathing for long periods of time through the mouth compromises that. Our throat can dry up and then breathing itself becomes difficult.

So yeah, the answer is NM is a clear winner when it comes to efficiency, safety and improved athletic performance. (I will try and update the Breathing Guides this month).
 
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Damer

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There are just two days left before the AMA officially closes. You brought in some amazing questions this time. If there is something which you still need clarity on, feel free to ask.
 

NancyTree

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Valkyrie from The Netherlands
Posts: 2,752
@graoumia this is a good question to clarify. Technically any exercise can be turned into a resistance, cardio or aerobic workout depending on how we choose to perform it. We have an in-depth article on this here. So, in a sense, we tend to train both in most workouts without realizing it. But you're asking, really, if we were to give emphasis on both strength training and cardio would they be effective and if so in what order?

The answer to this is provided by two recent studies carried out in 2022 and 2023 respectively that show, quite comprehensively, that combining cardio and strength training does not negate the effects of each one though it does prevent somewhat the development of explosive strength mainly, I suspect, because of the fatigue mechanisms that kick in.

The order you would engage each one in depends on which you find the easiest. If cardio is your current strength then I would start with strength training and finish off with cardio and if strength is your current best fitness attribute I would start with cardio and finish off with strength training. The reason you finish off with your strongest one is control. because fatigue is always a factor you want to finish off with the type of training you are most confident in to avoid any injuries.

I hope this helps. Please feel free to get back to me with any further questions you may have.
Hi @Damer

I sort of came with the same question as @graoumia when I was looking into de Hard Reset programs. I came across this article Morning Exercise Reduces Abdominal Fat and Blood Pressure in Women; Evening Exercise Increases Muscular Performance in Women and Lowers Blood Pressure in Men. It seems that the moment of the day influences the effect of the training. As I read it, they used a total body workout program, with every day a different kind of training.

What do you know about the effect of the type of workout on the moment of the day? And does it differ between men and women?
 

Damer

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@NancyTree the latest research we have shows that men and women are totally different. Conventionally, coaches, trainers and some researchers have treated women as "weaker men". It is kinda true and it ain't. The female hormonal cycle ensures that women's hormonal profile changes every day while men's remains the same with a more or less predictable arc at the beginning of the day and dip in the end. The difference in the chemical cocktail experienced by women's bodies as opposed to men's adds a highly variable complexity that makes it, at the moment, hard to study. Experimenting on women, even when that experimentation is relatively benign and comes with consent, is problematic due to the fact that they may be pregnant or may get pregnant during the study, so most researchers use male subjects and then assume women are more or less the same.

With that beginning you know we are in now for a wild ride. :LOL:

The study you reference above is correct. Different times of exercise and different types of exercise deliver different results in men and women. This was obviously always going to be the case. Hormones are the neurochemical messengers that prepare the body for action so their presence or lack of, depending on the phase of a woman's menstrual cycle and the time of day for a man, are going to determine to a large degree, how the body prepares for action and allocates resources to match it.

But there are complexities here too, not least the underlying question do the fluctuations in hormones negate some of the benefits of exercise for women? A 2023 analyses of studies to date concluded that when it comes to strength training the daily fluctuations of a woman't hormones were immaterial. That analysis can be found here. Another analysis, carried out in 2023, and looking at results not just of resistance training but exercise in general, again found small differences in exercise effectiveness. It then cited the poor quality of existing studies on women and the lack of many meaningful ones and suggested it cannot reach a conclusion with confidence.

So, now back to square one. Here's what we incontrovertibly know: women's menstrual cycle changes their hormonal profile every day. But the cycle itself has a fairly predictable ascending and descending curve of hormones. Here they reference sex (as a behavior) but the same goes for exercise. The changes affect behavior (i.e. motivation) and, most likely but I am speaking entirely empirically here, fuel sources.

The body uses ATP to fuel every one of its over thirty trillion cells. But it has three primary sources for replenishing its ATP supply:

  • Glucose stored in the muscles and blood
  • Glucose stored in the liver
  • Fat
Which it chooses to use in the very first instance is determined by the type of exercise, its intensity and its duration. For instance, casual to moderate speed walking will draw fuel directly from fat reserves, bypassing blood glucose s shown by this study. To understand why this should be we need to get to primary causes: what is the brain's role in all this? To help us survive a world that's designed to kill us (at least that's what it was in the past when our neurobiology was perfected). How does it do that? Well, primarily by making sure that everything we do leads to an overall reduction of the energy cost of staying alive.

Walking is not a highly active state. Once we get going we pretty much settle in it and biochemically we reach a fairly steady state. The brain's logic, which activates the body; is that since we are not at risk it can afford to engage the energetically more costly and slower process of lipolysis (the breaking down of stored fat to produce carbohydrates which then re-supply our cells with ATP) so that if, for instance, during our walk we encountered a Saber-toothed tiger, we'd still be able to internally crank everything up so we can run to safety or fight it.

What does all this have to do now with your question? Plenty. If the apportioning of energy and its sources depend upon the body's perception of its neurochemical phase it stands to reason that the same activity at different times of the day will draw energy from different sources. Morning exercise (when the body feels most relaxed) may draw energy from fat reserves, while evening exercise may draw directly from blood sugars which means the intensity will be higher.

I will point out two things: First, all the scientific evidence to date is indicative but not conclusive because we lack quality research data. Second, the outcomes in speed, strength and endurance are the same regardless when you choose to train. So really it comes down to the question what are your personal aims when you exercise? What do you want to achieve?

Finally, and this is coming up a lot on this thread, you need to experiment. Every person is different. See what works best for you by following a protocol (which means you record everything) for six weeks and then see how you feel. This level of attention on what you do will take a little commitment but the results in better understanding your own body and determining what best works for you are invaluable.

I really hope this helps.
 

JohnStrong

Well-known member
Commando from Alberta
Posts: 794
"It never gets easier, you just get better."
  1. If Darebee doubled or tripled it's annual donation pool tomorrow, how might the Darebee website change/evolve?
  2. Who is an important figurehead of fitness for you and why?
  3. What role does spirituality or faith play, if any, in your practice of exercise?
Apologies, getting a little personal 😅
 

Damer

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@JohnStrong a lot of the things we do right now rely on volunteers because our budget is stretched with core costs. If we managed to double or triple our donation pool we'd be able to hire the skilled people we need to further evolve the site's functionality (cross-browser tracking, for instance) and maintain it better so we're not always patching things up on a priority-only basis. We'd also be able to work our social media channels better. Right now we know they're under-utilized.

This is an interesting question actually because I haven't got one. As a competitor who, for a while, was at the very top of my division I always fought against myself and my own sense of limitations (both physically and mentally). I always admire when someone is fit (because I know the struggle it takes to get there) and if they're at the top of their game (I know it is never an accident or luck) but I always know that fitness, for me at least, comes down to this: me, making myself do what needs to be done in order to get what I want. Many times my own brain resists me and my body, right now, is in unknown territory (I've hit 60). I use myself as a lab rat to see just what I can maintain and what I can keep on improving on despite the fact that biologically I am aging. So here I am, still travelling my own personal journey.

Whether we accept it or not we are all spiritual to some degree. How we perceive it is always personal and it always has an effect. A friend of mine who's a devout Christian and trains with me sometimes told me he sees his body as a temple, he is making it as good a home as it can be for the spirit in him. I don't think there is any person who trains intensively or has trained intensively, who hasn't felt at some point a connection with something beyond us. It is inevitable. Our best physical efforts appear to be so puny and draining that unless we kind of abandon ourselves to the universe (which is how I see it) we can never exceed our physical limitations. At the same time I feel that the moment we push ourselves, the moment we feel that wave of fatigue that threatens to overwhelm us, the moment we stop, drained and take a deep breath and feel the peace that comes with it, we cannot help but also feel connected to every other person who has ever done something similar. It's like we are all feeling the miracle of atoms and electrons that can be found anywhere in the universe coalesce and do something that takes real focus and willpower to do and then afterwards feel that shared sense of existence. That, sort of informs my approach to exercise and also the advice I put out on our YouTube channel (when I do).

:cool:
 

NancyTree

Well-known member
Valkyrie from The Netherlands
Posts: 2,752
@NancyTree the latest research we have shows that men and women are totally different. Conventionally, coaches, trainers and some researchers have treated women as "weaker men". It is kinda true and it ain't. The female hormonal cycle ensures that women's hormonal profile changes every day while men's remains the same with a more or less predictable arc at the beginning of the day and dip in the end. The difference in the chemical cocktail experienced by women's bodies as opposed to men's adds a highly variable complexity that makes it, at the moment, hard to study. Experimenting on women, even when that experimentation is relatively benign and comes with consent, is problematic due to the fact that they may be pregnant or may get pregnant during the study, so most researchers use male subjects and then assume women are more or less the same.

With that beginning you know we are in now for a wild ride. :LOL:

The study you reference above is correct. Different times of exercise and different types of exercise deliver different results in men and women. This was obviously always going to be the case. Hormones are the neurochemical messengers that prepare the body for action so their presence or lack of, depending on the phase of a woman's menstrual cycle and the time of day for a man, are going to determine to a large degree, how the body prepares for action and allocates resources to match it.

But there are complexities here too, not least the underlying question do the fluctuations in hormones negate some of the benefits of exercise for women? A 2023 analyses of studies to date concluded that when it comes to strength training the daily fluctuations of a woman't hormones were immaterial. That analysis can be found here. Another analysis, carried out in 2023, and looking at results not just of resistance training but exercise in general, again found small differences in exercise effectiveness. It then cited the poor quality of existing studies on women and the lack of many meaningful ones and suggested it cannot reach a conclusion with confidence.

So, now back to square one. Here's what we incontrovertibly know: women's menstrual cycle changes their hormonal profile every day. But the cycle itself has a fairly predictable ascending and descending curve of hormones. Here they reference sex (as a behavior) but the same goes for exercise. The changes affect behavior (i.e. motivation) and, most likely but I am speaking entirely empirically here, fuel sources.

The body uses ATP to fuel every one of its over thirty trillion cells. But it has three primary sources for replenishing its ATP supply:

  • Glucose stored in the muscles and blood
  • Glucose stored in the liver
  • Fat
Which it chooses to use in the very first instance is determined by the type of exercise, its intensity and its duration. For instance, casual to moderate speed walking will draw fuel directly from fat reserves, bypassing blood glucose s shown by this study. To understand why this should be we need to get to primary causes: what is the brain's role in all this? To help us survive a world that's designed to kill us (at least that's what it was in the past when our neurobiology was perfected). How does it do that? Well, primarily by making sure that everything we do leads to an overall reduction of the energy cost of staying alive.

Walking is not a highly active state. Once we get going we pretty much settle in it and biochemically we reach a fairly steady state. The brain's logic, which activates the body; is that since we are not at risk it can afford to engage the energetically more costly and slower process of lipolysis (the breaking down of stored fat to produce carbohydrates which then re-supply our cells with ATP) so that if, for instance, during our walk we encountered a Saber-toothed tiger, we'd still be able to internally crank everything up so we can run to safety or fight it.

What does all this have to do now with your question? Plenty. If the apportioning of energy and its sources depend upon the body's perception of its neurochemical phase it stands to reason that the same activity at different times of the day will draw energy from different sources. Morning exercise (when the body feels most relaxed) may draw energy from fat reserves, while evening exercise may draw directly from blood sugars which means the intensity will be higher.

I will point out two things: First, all the scientific evidence to date is indicative but not conclusive because we lack quality research data. Second, the outcomes in speed, strength and endurance are the same regardless when you choose to train. So really it comes down to the question what are your personal aims when you exercise? What do you want to achieve?

Finally, and this is coming up a lot on this thread, you need to experiment. Every person is different. See what works best for you by following a protocol (which means you record everything) for six weeks and then see how you feel. This level of attention on what you do will take a little commitment but the results in better understanding your own body and determining what best works for you are invaluable.

I really hope this helps.
Thank you so much for your quick and extensive reply! It makes totally sense. I'll dive in a bit deeper and try to evaluate my current plan. :thanks:
 

graoumia

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Posts: 692
"Doing Fighter codex / Epic Five"

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@Damer what do you recommend to track ? there are so many things that can be put in a journal, what are the important ones?
 

Damer

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@graoumia when it comes to tracking what we do we should have some basics:

  • Exercise type, intensity and duration (some of these will be subjective but if they're DAREBEE workouts we give you the difficulty level)
  • How you felt before and after you started graded 1 - 10 (totally subjective but it is an indication)
  • Sleep patterns
  • Rest patterns
  • Food intake
If you track these and try to keep variations to a minimum while you experiment with exercise type and intensity it will give you a good idea of what is working and isn't.

Also track, over time: results.

If for instance you're looking to put on weight (i.e. muscle) you expect a gradual increase in both bodyweight and amount of weight you can safely lift or the number of reps you can lift a set weight, for.

If you're looking to lose weight you want to see a general progression towards that goal.

I hope this helps give you an idea of how to go about it.
 

graoumia

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Posts: 692
"Doing Fighter codex / Epic Five"

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thanks @Damer it really helps

another question before this AMA closes, are there specific rules regarding exercises for digestive health? I am thinking about a medecine doctor who was saying that too much abs exercises could lead to constipation
Many thanks
 

Damer

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@graoumia :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: without wanting to put down general medical practitioners, unless they have trained as exercise scientists of some kind they rely, mostly on what they remember from Med School's one-month long, at best, curriculum on the effects of exercise on the body. Over-training, in general, can lead to symptoms such as excessive thirst, constipation or diarrhea, depending on the person and their particular level of fitness and weaknesses.Exercise, however, that strengthens the body inside and out, also benefits the core, aids in digestion and, overall, helps it better manage its energy input. When we exercise it is imperative we listen to our body. We have a guide for that here. As long as you train within your tolerances and have taken care to get enough rest and sufficient nutrition you should be ok.

I hope this helps.
 

graoumia

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None from France
Posts: 692
"Doing Fighter codex / Epic Five"

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@graoumia :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: without wanting to put down general medical practitioners, unless they have trained as exercise scientists of some kind they rely, mostly on what they remember from Med School's one-month long, at best, curriculum on the effects of exercise on the body. Over-training, in general, can lead to symptoms such as excessive thirst, constipation or diarrhea, depending on the person and their particular level of fitness and weaknesses.Exercise, however, that strengthens the body inside and out, also benefits the core, aids in digestion and, overall, helps it better manage its energy input. When we exercise it is imperative we listen to our body. We have a guide for that here. As long as you train within your tolerances and have taken care to get enough rest and sufficient nutrition you should be ok.

I hope this helps.
It helps, as usual. Many thanks
 

Damer

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DAREBEE Team
Warrior Monk from Terra
Pronouns: He/Him
Posts: 1,016
@Damer if someone would ask you a unique advice on exercise, what would it be ?
@graoumia each week I receive maybe up to 100 questions on fitness and exercise via YouTube, X and BlueSky. Each one, as you may imagine, is a little different because everyone has specific needs, strengths and weaknesses. If, however, I was to categorize them in a way that would help most it would be to ask the question no one really asks: "What can I do to exercise better?" - The answer to that is to create a map of your fitness goals that takes you into the future you when you're biologically old.

Most people think of themselves exercising when they're younger and capable. No one truly visualizes how they'd want themselves to be when they're 80 or 90 but that is why we workout when we are younger really. :LOL:
 

Nyther

Well-known member
Samurai from USA, GA
Posts: 159
"They say your body is a temple. Mine is a fast moving dumpster."
Another food related question. Does carbo-loading the night before a marathon really help? I have never done it before a race and I've felt fine. I've done a 10k with a small breakfast and had no issues. I also did a 9mi long run to prepare for my half marathon and ate a normal portion of chicken and rice about an hour before I ran and felt fine. My logic has always been that my body has plenty of fat stores to give me energy for my run without needing to load up on carbs the day before a race. However, if there's a chance it will help me, maybe I should give it a try.
 

RangerX

Well-known member
Boxer from Kansas
Posts: 55
I need to correct my forward head posture And rounded shoulders and my lateral pelvic tilt I have the right hip and it sits higher than the left hip and while I am working with a physical therapist, I don't know what to do at home when the physical therapist isn't here I am tired of waddling when I walk also known as walking like a penguin. What should I do
 

Damer

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@Nyther this is a brilliant way to wrap this up. In keeping with most questions here, it has a complex answer. I will do my best to break it down.

The cells in the body only have one type of fuel they use: adenosine triphosphate (commonly referred to as ATP). ATP storage however is problematic. ATP is a fragile molecule so storing it would lead to issues when the body needs it (when it exercises, thinks or runs any of the processes that keep us alive). The human body has got round this problem by creating three separate forms of stable energy storage which can be broken down and converted into ATP and three separate conversion systems that are activated for each form of storage. The three separate conversion systems are necessary to ensure that the body has redundancy in such an important process as ATP production (without ATP our cells stop working and begin to die) and, also, efficiency when it comes to the conversion process.

The three forms energy is stored in are:
  1. ATP and creatine phosphate
  2. Carbohydrates
  3. Fat
The body stores a small amount of ATP in the cells (and muscles) and it has a limited supply of creatine phosphate that can be catalyzed really fast to generate ATP. Carbohydrates in the form of glucose are stored in the muscles (in small quantities), the blood (blood glucose levels) and the liver (the primary storage of glucose in the body). Fat is stored in fat cells. It is telling that we can store in the body a tiny amount of ATP (typically enough to power us for roughly 10 - 15 seconds), an adequate amount of glucose (enough for two-three hours of intensive exercise) and an almost infinite supply of fat (which is why we can become overweight, fat and then obese).

The three processes the body has for breaking down its different forms of energy storage to provide ATP that fuels everything else are:

  1. The Phosphagen system
  2. The Glycolytic system
  3. Mitochondrial respiration (sometimes inaccurately referred to as lipolysis)
The Phosphagen system breaks down creatine phosphate to rapidly replenish ATP in the cells. The Glycolytic system (also referred to as glycolysis) breaks down carbohydrates which provide compounds which, in turn, are turned into ATP. And Mitochondrial respiration, kicks in, as fat is broken down into fatty acids (this is true lipolysis) which are used in an oxidative process by the mitochondria in our cells to produce ATP.

Each of these three mechanisms is more complex than the previous one. Complexity means two things: A. It takes longer to access B. Accessing it also uses up energy to power the process so for each 1 gm of stored energy you get less and less of a yield in energy output as you go from ATP to Carbohydrates to Fat. This means that more and more of each is required to make up for the energy output deficit if the exercise intensity remains the same.

All of this (I have simplified some of the process a little but not too much :LOL: ) now gives you an idea what happens when you engage in extended physical activity, like you do. Carb loading which, ideally, should happen two - three days before a race, aims to fill the body's glycogen stores (muscles, blood and liver) so that the body has ready access to carbohydrates when it needs energy.

As you can see from this the theory that if you have carb loaded you will perform better in a long-distance race (for example) is correct. Because carbohydrates are the preferred source of fuel for muscles loading will provide skeletal muscle with a quick form of energy to access. Because the body has a significant amount of glycogen stored (enough for two-three hours) you never, during a race go into utilizing fat reserves though fat will be broken down afterwards to replenish glycogen levels so yes, you will use your body's stored energy of fat but not during the race.

You mentioned that you haven't seen much of a difference when you did try it but you're eating just before you run. I am only guessing here but whatever energy boost the food gives you is split between the activity you're doing and the digestion process so it probably just takes you back down to the performance level you had on a tiny amount of breakfast which was digested fast.

Anyway, it certainly is worth experimenting with properly and keeping in mind and it would be awesome if you could tell us how it went. :LOL:

I hope this helps.
 

Damer

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Warrior Monk from Terra
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Posts: 1,016
And just like this, this AMA has come to an end. You guys rocked! There were times when I had to triple-check my references to make sure the knowledge I shared was adhering to current science and made sense in terms of the advice I gave here. You made this AMA, like all the others, amazing. I really cannot thank you enough. I will move it, a little after I close it, to our Knowledge Base. Every AMA there as well as all the other articles are intended to give you a better understanding of your struggle with fitness so you can achieve more with less effort.

Global Goal Thank You GIF by Global Citizen
 
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