Skeletal Muscle Mass, Strength, and Speed

1
Chapter 8

• Skeletal Muscle Mass, Strength, and Speed

2
Overview

• Creatine
• HMB
• Boron
• Chromium picolinate
• CLA
• Octacosanol
• Tribulus terrestris
• Vanadyl sulfate

3
Creatine

• Skeletal muscle utilizes ATP to function
• Once used, ATP stores are replenished with
  phosphagens (stored ATP PCr) and stored muscle
  glycogen
• For anaerobic athletes, key to recovery and
  enhanced work capacity is the bodys ability to
  replenish ATP stores

4
Creatine

• Oral ATP is broken down (wont work as a
  supplement)
• PCr may also be broken down (wont work as a
  supplement)
• Creatine monohydrate provides substrate (raw
  materials) necessary to synthesize ATP
• Type II muscle fibers possess gt PCr stores

5
Creatine

• Most (95) of creatine in body found in skeletal
  muscle
• 40 free and 60 PCr
• Most red meats and fish contain creatine, but is
  decreased with cooking
• Uptake dependent upon sodium transport
• May explain electrolyte imbalances

6
Creatine

• Loading phase of 20 g/day for 5 days, followed by
  maintenance of 5 g/day for 3-4 weeks
• More specifically, load at 0.3 g/kg/day for
  5-7days and maintain at 0.03-0.3 g/kg/day
• Enhanced with carbohydrate (grape juice often
  used)

7
Creatine

• Data relatively unified creatine enhances
  anaerobic performance in activities lt 30 seconds
• Also effective in activity gt 30 seconds utilizing
  different mechanisms and literature not as
  convincing

8
Creatine

• Age differences
• Decreased type II mmdecreased creatine stores
• Creatine supplementation may help delay strength
  losses
• Gender differences
• Effect on females not as clearly understood, but
  believed to be less profound

9
Creatine

• Body composition changes
• Early changes in mass attributed to water
  retention (1-2 kg)
• Fat-free mass positively influenced with long
  term use
• Systemic diseases
• Found beneficial in lowering cholesterol,
  treating neuromuscular disorders, diabetes, and
  heart disease

10
Creatine

• Renal (kidney) function
• Key criticism in mainstream media
• No study to date indicates creatine
  supplementation impairs kidney function either
  short-term or long-term
• Overall safety
• Although many suggest dangers related to
  dehydration, cramping, strains, and even death,
  no published reports to date support these claims

11
HMB

• Branched chain amino acid found in catfish,
  citrus fruits, and breast milk
• Derived from leucine and used for protein
  synthesis

12
HMB

• Believed to help provide cells with necessary raw
  materials to elicit maximal growth response
  following training
• May increase mm cell oxidative capacity, increase
  rate of protein synthesis (anabolic), and enhance
  immune response/delay overtraining
  (anticatabolic)
• Appears safe and well tolerated

13
Boron

• 1987 investigation revealed increased
  testosterone output following supplementation
• In post-menopausal malnourished women!
• No studies to date have shown positive changes in
  healthy athletic populations
• May be toxic in high doses (gt50 mg)

14
Chromium Picolinate

• Chromium enhances insulins ability to regulate
  glucose, muscle growth, and fat deposition
• Early studies showed promise in decreasing fat
  stores and increasing lean muscle mass
• Follow-up studies have shown no significant
  positive impact

15
Chromium Picolinate

• May be useful in cases of gestational diabetes
• Potentially toxic in high doses and may
  negatively affect renal function

16
Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)

• Relatively new supplement that is found naturally
  in foods high in saturated fat (meat and dairy)
• Reported to enhance lean body mass by enhancing
  the cells response to growth factors and
  hormones and by displaying anticatabolic effects

17
Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)

• Anticarcinogenic and antioxidant actions
• May assist in glucose regulation as well
• Although data regarding humans is lacking,
  believed to be safe and relatively effective

18
Octacosanol

• Found in wheat germ oil
• Does not have any direct effect on skeletal
  muscle, but may enhance neural adaptations to
  training by stabilizing nerve cell membranes and
  enhancing oxygen transport
• Biggest improvements seem to be related to
  reaction time
• Utilized since the 50s, it appears safe

19
Tribulus Terrestris

• Puncture Vine and Caltrop fruit
• Claims to increase testosterone production
• Poorly supported by peer-reviewed literature
• Solid literature that does exist is not promising
• May be toxic

20
Vanadyl Sulfate

• Metallic element that is normally found in trace
  amounts in the body
• Found in wide variety of foods
• May inhibit ATP cleaving enzymes and mimic growth
  factors in cells
• No human data to support claims
• Toxic (usually from industrial by-products)