Protein, Fish Oil, Glycogen, and What Limits Muscle Growth

This is the final episode of 2020, and it’s a science-heavy episode packed full of information. After some Good News and Feats of Strength, Eric revisits a couple of previous segments and social media posts about optimal protein intakes and the potential benefits of fish oil. Greg got some new information about a paper evaluating the use of strength blocks to increase hypertrophy, so he revisits that topic as well. Finally, Greg and Eric share some new research reviews about the importance of muscle glycogen depletion for lifters and biological factors that may limit the growth of muscle fibers, followed by a sincere “thank you” to close out the year.

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TIME STAMPS

Intro/Announcements (0:00:41). 

Good news (0:01:08). 

• Big Ramy: https://barbend.com/big-ramy-wins-the-2020-mr-olympia/. 
• Possums: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-australia-55240839. 

Feats of Strength (0:06:16). 

Clarifications, Rigid Defensiveness, and Aggressive Counter-Attacks (0:16:28). 

Protein (0:16:55): 

• Studies discussed: Dose–response relationship between protein intake and muscle mass increase: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. 
• A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. 

Fish oil (0:46:41): 

• Studies discussed: Marine Omega‐3 Supplementation and Cardiovascular Disease: An Updated Meta‐Analysis of 13 Randomized Controlled Trials Involving 127 477 Participants. 
• Are There Benefits from the Use of Fish Oil Supplements in Athletes? A Systematic Review. 
• Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Benefits and Endpoints in Sport. 

Strength blocks to enhance hypertrophy (1:00:51): 

• Study discussed: Is stronger better? Influence of a strength phase followed by a hypertrophy phase on muscular adaptations in resistance-trained men. 

Research Review (1:04:59). 

Modest Glycogen Depletion May Impact Lifting Performance More Than You Think (1:06:06). 

• Study discussed: Subcellular Localization- and Fibre Type-Dependent Utilization of Muscle Glycogen During Heavy Resistance Exercise in Elite Power and Olympic Weightlifters. 

Biological factors that may limit muscle fiber growth (1:21:51 ). 

• Studies discussed: Myonuclear content regulates cell size with similar scaling properties in mice and humans. 
• Nuclear numbers in syncytial muscle fibers promote size but limit the development of larger myonuclear domains. 

To Play Us Out: Thank you (1:57:55). 

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