How Much Glycogen Can Your Body Store?
Glycogen is a form of carbohydrate that your body stores in your muscles and liver. During exercise, especially high-intensity exercise, muscles tap into this storage form of sugar to produce ATP, the energy currency muscles need to contract. Glycogen is constructed of long chains of glucose held together by bonds…
What is Athletic Heart Syndrome?
Exercise has an impact on every organ in your body, but the one it most profoundly affects is your heart. No surprise here! Your heart has the demanding task of pumping blood and oxygen to the muscles you’re working – and it never sleeps. It contracts like clockwork, propelling life-giving…
Does a Low-Carb Diet Interfere with Muscle Hypertrophy?
The most common reason people go on a low carbohydrate diet is to lose weight. Is it justified? Some studies show that you lose weight more quickly on a low carbohydrate diet relative to one that’s low in fat, although some of the weight loss initially is glycogen and water.…
5 Most Important Factors That Affect Total Daily Energy Expenditure
Have you ever wished for a faster metabolism, so you can eat more without gaining weight? The total number of calories you burn in a given day is your total daily energy expenditure and is often abbreviated TDEE. This value varies between individuals. That’s partially why some people can get…
Can Ibuprofen and Other NSAID Interfere with Muscle Growth?
When you wake up the day after a tough workout and struggle to get out bed because your muscles are sore, it’s tempting to reach for a bottle of Ibuprofen. Ibuprofen belongs to a class of anti-inflammatory medications called non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAID). Available without a prescription, NSAID is one of…
5 Possible Biomarkers for Longevity
There’s not a surefire way to predict how long you’ll live, but scientists are always on the lookout for biomarkers that help predict lifespan. Over the years, they’ve found a few good candidates. In this article, we’ll look at five of them. White Blood Cell Count Your white blood cell…
Strength Training: Avoid These 5 Mistakes When Lifting Heavy
To get stronger, you work muscles against a resistance that progressively challenges them - without leading to injury. To build muscle size, training volume matters. For maximal muscle growth, you lift a weight that’s light enough to complete at least 6 to 8 reps before the muscle is exhausted. That’s…
Does Stretching Boost Muscle Hypertrophy?
Stretching is what you do after a workout to lengthen your muscles, increase flexibility, and help your body transition into a more relaxed state. These are the most common reasons we stretch but there’s something you might not know about stretching. There’s some evidence that vigorous stretching might boost…
5 Things You Might Be Getting Wrong about Rest Days
Rest days – they’re a must, regardless of the type of workout you do. A rest day is a day you either skip exercising entirely or do a very light workout. The goal, of course, is to give your muscles a chance to recuperate, but also your mind a respite.…
Are the Joint Aches You’re Experiencing Due to Arthritis?
Do your joints sometimes feel stiff and achy? In the back of your mind, you wonder whether that achiness is arthritis, one of the most common age-related health issues. Although we often describe arthritis as one entity, it isn’t a single disease. The most common type in older people is…