Advanced Personal Training Essentials Metabolic Flexibility - part 2 By eating the wrong foods, at the wrong times, and in the wrong quantities (even so called healthy bodybuilding fare) we may, over time, become metabolically inflexible (or, put another way, lack the ability to properly metabolize glucose, which may lead to poor glycemic control, and fats, which may result in obesity and a poor response to caloric restriction and lower carb diets). A downward spiral in which weight gain and illness ultimately prevail may follow. So how might we become more metabolically flexible and why might metabolic flexibility be the most important dietary factor for those wanting more shredded muscle? Read on. Making the switch Both fats and carbs are both technically preferred fuel sources, depending on what activities we are engaged in. For anaerobic exercise, which typically comprises brief, strength-based activities of a high intensity nature, we need a ready supply of muscle glycogen; we must therefore switch from using fat as a fuel source to power our anaerobic efforts. Once our intensive training session is done is it desirable that we again begin drawing from our fat reserves to ensure we are functioning aerobically (any activity performed at moderate levels of intensity, where oxygen is used to generate energy). While aerobic activities primarily burn fat (but often begin with an initial breakdown of muscle glycogen which, along with oxygen and fat, produces the glucose required for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) formation), fat may also be used while we are in a fasted state (during sleep, for example). Under conditions of optimal metabolic flexibility we are able to make the above adjustments in line with the foods we eat with relative ease. Our individual cells (whether designed to burn carbs or fats) thus become metabolically flexible. This article and others like it can be viewed at: mi40nation/ - Ben Pakulski: Mi40 Nation
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 19:45:03 +0000
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