Exercise is a form of hormesis. Akin to a vaccine, it provides a small amount of stress that causes your body to adapt and, in turn, become stronger. Unlike a vaccine, however, many more factors are at play when it comes to the adaptations that result from exercise, which occur in each and every cell of your body. These include low nutrient availability during exercise, hypoxic (low oxygen) shock, excess body heat and more. 

If we can tap into each of the biochemical and conditioning pathways that mediate the benefits of exercise then we can potentiate the hormetic adaptations that occur. For example, if we restrict nutrient availability during exercise, then we may potentiate the metabolic adaptations and enhance observed fat loss in comparison to if we ate a large meal before we exercised. This article is going to review many of the hidden secrets that athletes use to enhance the benefits of exercise.

Blood Flow Restricted Training

Blood flow restricted exercise is the application of a tourniquet to the proximal region of a limb, which restricts the venous return of blood from the muscle back to the heart. This results in the accumulation of blood, toxic metabolites (such as lactic acid) and carbon dioxide (resulting in hypoxic (low oxygen) conditioning) in the muscle being trained. [R]

In turn, the compilation of these factors causes the muscle greater stress and has been shown to augment muscle growth, increase growth hormone secretion and activate muscle satellite cells (stem cells). In fact, blood flow restricted training with low weights (20-30% of one rep max) results in the same muscle growth as non-blood flow-restricted training at 70-80% of one rep max. [R]

Hypoxic Condition

While blood flow restricted training is one way to induce muscle-specific hypoxic (low oxygen) stress, training at high altitudes, [R] using an elevation training mask [R] and/or doing high intensity anaerobic exercise [R] can stimulate whole body hypoxic conditioning. It is well known that training or even just living at altitude improves exercise performance by increasing red blood cell count. Further to this, however, is the fact that altitude training increased glycolytic enzyme activity [R], enhanced capillary density [R] and muscle mitochondrial volume [R], all of which enhance exercise performance even further.

Heat Conditioning

Hyperthermic conditioning is a well kept secret with a plethora of potential benefits upon exercise performance. By using the sauna or exposing oneself to high temperatures, the body up-regulates the number of heat shock proteins, which protect the muscle from damage, [R] and enhances its production of growth hormone and IGF-1. As one might imagine, heat is particularly useful for endurance athletes as their bodies remain at high temperatures for extended periods [R1] [R2] [R3] but due to the effects of heat stress upon IGF-1, [R1] [R2] it could improve ones ability to build muscle also. I talked about the benefits of heat stress upon exercise, lifespan and mental health here.

Stretching

Stretching is a form of hormetic stress as it results in a cascade of many adaptive responses. [R] This is part of the reason that it aids in recovery. It promotes the release of nitric oxide and triggers satellite cell (stem cell) activation. [R1] [R2] The prior leads to angiogenesis (the growth of new blood vessels), [R] while the latter leads to faster muscle recovery, greater muscle growth (via increase the number of myonuclei, which other limit muscle growth) [R1] [R2] and possible muscle hyperplasia (the growth of new muscle cells). [R] Intraset stretching has become an increasingly popular strategy to potentiate muscle adaption during strength training as well increase the muscle “pump.” [R]

Fasted Training

Fasted training and carbohydrate-restricted training augment some of the adaptive responses that occur during exercise. AMPK is a focal point that mediated many of beneficial effects of exercise and is activated in response to low nutrient availability, meaning its activity is greater during fasted training. It triggers mitochondrial biogenesis (growth of new mitochondria), which contributes to a better VO2 max, [R] autophagy, decreased cholesterol, fat loss, amongst other things. [R1] [R2] Fasted training also enhances the activation of the PPAR delta nuclear receptor, another focal point for the beneficial effects of exercise, which promotes weight loss and fat adaptation.  [R]  I talked more about supplements that enhance these two pathways here.

Arachidonic Acid Supplementation

Inflammatory signals are necessary to trigger many of the muscle adaptive effects of exercise. Indeed, the use of anti-inflammatories, such as NSAIDs (paracetamol, ibuprofen, etc) during exercise attenuates muscle growth pathways [R]  and muscle satellite cell (stem cell) proliferation (growth). [R] Arachidonic acid is a fatty acid, which acts as a precursor to pro-inflammatory prostaglandins within muscle cells meaning that acute supplementation could potentiate some of the exercise adaptations that occur downstream of inflammatory pathways. [R] I wouldn’t recommend chronic consumption, however, as this could cause excess whole-body inflammation.

Disclaimer

The information on this website has not been evaluated by the MHRA or any other medical body. We do not aim to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any illness or disease. Information is shared for educational purposes only. You must consult your doctor before acting on any content on this website, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition. We do not promote the use of legal or illegal substances.