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The_Bulldog:
Alcohol retards athletic performance says study


Even moderate amounts of alcohol slows down recovery from athletic performance, besides doubling muscle performance loss, a new study has found. “If you’re there to perform, you shouldn’t be drinking alcohol,” said Matt Barnes, author of the study.

Barnes, B.Sc Honours candidate at the Massey University’s Manawatu campus, recruited recreational sportsmen and tested their muscle performance after a strenuous resistance training session, followed by either a moderate amount of alcohol in juice or the same energy content in juice alone.

Using specialised equipment at the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health, the athletes’ performance was measured at 36-hours and 60 hours later.

“That’s two mornings and three mornings later,” Barnes said. “With the alcohol the loss of muscle performance was far greater - nearly twice as much. Normally you would expect to see weakness or loss in performance after strenuous exercise but thealcohol really exacerbated that.

“This shows that if you drink even moderate levels of alcohol after you use your muscles strenuously you are impairing your ability to recover and I would say if you are serious about your sport, you shouldn’t be drinkingalcohol in the post-match or recovery period.”

Exercise physiologist and co-director of Sport and Exercise Science at Massey University Steve Stannard is supervising Barnes’ research. Stannard said he began thinking of undertaking research on the effect ofalcohol on athletic performance after organising a sport and alcohol conference in 2005.

“It struck me at the time that, whilst alcohol was commonly consumed after competition, there was very little research on whether alcohol affected the recovery process,” according to a Massey release.

“Although many sportspeople drink, rugby is the most obvious: they go after training or the match to the pub or club to socialise or celebrate. In fact some coaches encourage that - I’ve even been told matter-of-factly by a high profile coach that ‘the spirit of the team is at the bottom of the bottle’,” said Stannard.


January 15th, 2009 (IANS)

The_Bulldog:
Strength training and aerobic exercise help reduce cardiovascular risks & pain


Strength training helps lower heart disease and stroke risk factors, while all-around exercise reduces neck and shoulder pain, suggests a new study.

Lead researcher Dr. Mogens T. Pedersen, of the University of Copenhagen, says that strength training and all-around exercise are a valuable part of work site exercise programs that have multiple benefits.

During the study, the researchers randomly assigned 841 Danish employees to two exercise groups.

One group did all-around exercise like aerobics and walking, while the other focused on strength training, particularly on the shoulder and cervical spine (neck) muscles.

A third group received no exercise program at work.

The researchers found reductions in cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure and body fat, in not only those assigned to aerobic exercise, but also in those who did strength training.

The average reduction in blood pressure was big enough to lead to a 25 percent reduction in stroke risk.

Both types of physical activity also reduced back and shoulder pain by nearly 30 percent, when compared to the no-exercise group.

Dr. Pedersen and colleagues write: “These positive health-related adaptations occurred in spite of relatively small changes in physical capacity.”

The study has been published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

July 11th, 2009 (ANI)

The_Bulldog:
Nandrolone Could Cause Liver Problems

Most bodybuilders are well aware that oral anabolic steroids are toxic to the liver. So, many use injectable drugs such as nandrolone because they feel they are more liver-friendly. Brazilian researchers, in a study on rats, found that low, normal and high doses of nandrolone administered for five weeks increased key liver enzymes (aspartate aminotransferase, AST; alanine aminotransferase, ALT; and alkaline phosphatase, ALP). Changes were highest in the high-dose group, but liver function tests remained within the normal range in all groups. The authors concluded that administering higher than clinical doses could damage the liver. There are no long-term studies showing the effects of nandrolone or any other anabolic steroid on liver function.

(Medicine Science Sports Exercise, 40: 842-847, 2008)

The_Bulldog:
Intense Exercise Suppresses The Immune System

The purpose of weight training or any other kind of exercise is to stress the body so that it adapts and get stronger and improves its fitness. Too much exercise can backfire, resulting in overuse injuries, overtraining and suppression of the immune system. Serious bodybuilders almost all live by the motto that “more is better and you can’t work too hard.” Unfortunately, overwork can cause major setbacks that can delay progress many months. Japanese researchers, in a study on rats, showed that four consecutive days of treadmill running to exhaustion suppressed the immune system. Compared to a control group, the overtrained rats experienced decreases in blood levels of immunoglobulin A, which is important for fighting off bacteria and viruses that cause colds, flu and other diseases. The researchers measured immunoglobulins in the saliva and suggested that this method might be appropriate for detecting overtraining in adult athletes.

(Scandinavian Journal Medicine Science Sports, 18: 367-372, 2008)

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Weight Training And Timed Essential Amino Acids Prevent Muscle Loss During Bed Rest

Extended periods of weightlessness in space causes severe tissue wasting that interferes with performance during the missions and causes long-term health problems. Scientists use bed rest to simulate the effects of weightlessness. Typically, test subjects lie in bed for 20 or more days at a time and are not allowed to sit up. This can decrease physical capacity by up to 25 percent in a relatively short time. A Tufts University study found that combining resistance training with amino acid supplementation reduced physical deterioration by 66 percent during a 28-day bed rest study that included a low-calorie diet. Mid-thigh muscle area decreased 11 percent In Control subjects but only 3 percent in subjects who weight-trained and took the supplements. This study showed the value of weight training and supplemental Amino Acids for preventing physical deterioration during bed rest and perhaps weightlessness, aging and the rigors of cutting up for a bodybuilding contest.

(Journal of Applied Physiology, in press; published online May 18, 2008)

The_Bulldog:
Periodization Of Training Speeds Gains In Strength And Size

Periodization of training varies the exercises, volume and intensity of workouts during different times of the year and from one workout to the next. Periodization promotes the development of base strength, peak strength, general conditioning and recovery. Forty years ago, most American athletes trained as hard as they could in almost every workout. This led to overtraining and overuse injuries. Periodization of training was popularized in the Eastern Bloc countries, such as the Soviet Union and East Germany. The technique gradually made its way to the West and has been an important part of our training methods since the early 1980s. Athletes have used periodization for many years, but we have few published studies on the technique. Most of our information is based on trial-and-error observations by athletes and coaches. Researchers from Texas Woman’s University and the National Strength and Conditioning Association said that we need more long-term studies to help us understand periodization of training. These studies should involve observations and surveys, so that the research is more applicable to real world athletics.

(Strength Conditioning Journal, 30: 45-51, 2008)


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Leptin Plus Exercise Promotes Weight Loss

In 1995, scientists reported the remarkable effects of a hormone called leptin on weight loss. Genetically obese mice injected with leptin lost 20 percent of their bodyweight in only a few weeks. Scientists thought they discovered the magic bullet for weight control. The body uses leptin to maintain a constant weight. It works by decreasing appetite and increasing metabolic rate when you overeat. Surprisingly, obese people have more leptin than lean people. Overweight people become leptin insensitive, so the hormone stops working. Leptin might help people lose weight after all. Researchers From the University of Florida found that combining leptin with a small amount of exercise promoted weight loss better than exercise or leptin alone. Exercise acts as a metabolic signal that allows leptin to increase metabolic rate and depress appetite. The combination of leptin and exercise is promising, but experimental.

(Diabetes, 57: 614-622, 2008)

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