Recovery using "float" from high intensity stress on growth hormone-like molecules in resistance trained men.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a novel "floatation-restricted environmental stimulation therapy" (floatation-REST) on growth hormone responses to an intense resistance exercise stress. DESIGN: Nine resistance trained men (age: 23.4 ±â€¯2.5 yrs.; height: 175.3 ±â€¯5.4 cm; body mass: 85.3 ±â€¯7.9 kg) completed a balanced, crossover-controlled study design with two identical exercise trials, differing only in post-exercise recovery intervention (i.e., control or floatation-REST). A two-week washout period was used between experimental conditions. Plasma lactate was measured pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise and after the 1 h. recovery interventions. Plasma iGH was measured pre-exercise, immediately-post exercise, and after the recovery intervention, as well as 24 h and 48 h after the exercise test. The bGH-L was measured only at pre-exercise and following each recovery intervention. RESULTS: For both experimental conditions, a significant (P ≤ 0.05) increase in lactate concentrations were observed immediately post-exercise (~14 mmol • L-1) and remained slightly elevated after the recovery condition. The same pattern of responses was observed for iGH with no differences from resting values at 24 and 48 h of recovery. The bGH-L showed no exercise-induced changes following recovery with either treatment condition, however concentration values were dramatically lower than ever reported. CONCLUSION: The use of floatation-REST therapy immediately following intense resistance exercise does not appear to influence anterior pituitary function in highly resistance trained men. However, the lower values of bGH suggest dramatically different molecular processing mechanisms at work in this highly trained population.

A Pre-Workout Supplement of Ketone Salts, Caffeine, and Amino Acids Improves High-Intensity Exercise Performance in Keto-Naïve and Keto-Adapted Individuals.

Background: Acute ingestion of ketone supplements alters metabolism and potentially exercise performance. No studies to date have evaluated the impact of co-ingestion of ketone salts with caffeine and amino acids on high intensity exercise performance, and no data exists in Keto-Adapted individuals.Methods: We tested the performance and metabolic effects of a pre-workout supplement containing beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) salts, caffeine, and amino acids (KCA) in recreationally-active adults habitually consuming a mixed diet (Keto-Naïve; n = 12) or a ketogenic diet (Keto-Adapted; n = 12). In a randomized and balanced manner, subjects consumed either the KCA consisting of ∼7 g BHB (72% R-BHB and 28% S-BHB) with ∼100 mg of caffeine, and amino acids (leucine and taurine) or Water (control condition) 15 minutes prior to performing a staged cycle ergometer time to exhaustion test followed immediately by a 30 second Wingate test.Results: Circulating total BHB concentrations increased rapidly after KCA ingestion in KN (154 to 732 µM) and KA (848 to 1,973 µM) subjects and stayed elevated throughout recovery in both groups. Plasma S-BHB increased >20-fold 15 minutes after KCA ingestion in both groups and remained elevated throughout recovery. Compared to Water, KCA ingestion increased time to exhaustion 8.3% in Keto-Naïve and 9.8% in Keto-Adapted subjects (P < 0.001). There was no difference in power output during the Wingate test between trials. Peak lactate immediately after exercise was higher after KCA (∼14.9 vs 12.7 mM).Conclusion: These results indicate that pre-exercise ingestion of a moderate dose of R- and S-BHB salts combined with caffeine, leucine and taurine improves high-intensity exercise performance to a similar extent in both Keto-Adapted and Keto-Naïve individuals.

Dietary carbohydrate restriction improves metabolic syndrome independent of weight loss.

BACKGROUNDMetabolic syndrome (MetS) is highly correlated with obesity and cardiovascular risk, but the importance of dietary carbohydrate independent of weight loss in MetS treatment remains controversial. Here, we test the theory that dietary carbohydrate intolerance (i.e., the inability to process carbohydrate in a healthy manner) rather than obesity per se is a fundamental feature of MetS.METHODSIndividuals who were obese with a diagnosis of MetS were fed three 4-week weight-maintenance diets that were low, moderate, and high in carbohydrate. Protein was constant and fat was exchanged isocalorically for carbohydrate across all diets.RESULTSDespite maintaining body mass, low-carbohydrate (LC) intake enhanced fat oxidation and was more effective in reversing MetS, especially high triglycerides, low HDL-C, and the small LDL subclass phenotype. Carbohydrate restriction also improved abnormal fatty acid composition, an emerging MetS feature. Despite containing 2.5 times more saturated fat than the high-carbohydrate diet, an LC diet decreased plasma total saturated fat and palmitoleate and increased arachidonate.CONCLUSIONConsistent with the perspective that MetS is a pathologic state that manifests as dietary carbohydrate intolerance, these results show that compared with eucaloric high-carbohydrate intake, LC/high-fat diets benefit MetS independent of whole-body or fat mass.TRIAL REGISTRATIONClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02918422.FUNDINGDairy Management Inc. and the Dutch Dairy Association.