Myostatin is the name of a protein that causes muscles to waste away. Finding a way to stop myostatin from atrophying muscle mass has become something of a quest for nutrition researchers. While no one has found that single magic bullet, research published in the Journal Of The International Society Of Sports Nutrition shows that a combination of leucine, creatine, and HMB can slow down myostatin’s negative influence on skeletal muscle. In the experiment, the three supplements stimulated the activity of a gene called Akirin-1, which, in turn, interfered with myostatin. Further research is needed, but scientists feel that creatine had the strongest positive effect. However, HMB and leucine are also thought to be important for affecting myostatin, as each one stimulates muscle growth via a different pathway.
License To Carry
The classic Muscle Confusion Principle states that muscle fibers need constantly varied stimulation to best tap into their growth potential. That is true to a point, but varied doesn’t always mean better sports scientists at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil say. Researchers measured the muscle activation in the biceps of 22 subjects who performed a standing dumbbell biceps curl, incline dumbbell curl, and a dumbbell preacher curl. The dumbbell biceps curl and incline dumbbell curl yielded similar results, but the preacher curl lost stimulation during the last phase of the concentric portion and the first phase of the eccentric, when the elbow is fully flexed and the hands are close to the shoulders. During the dumbbell preacher curl, activation in the biceps was maximized only when the arm was close to being extended.
Be A Nostrabadass
“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people and more useful in general,” is a famous quote by strength coach and author Mark Rippetoe. A recent study seems to corroborate that opinion. The American Journal Of Medicine published research that puts an interesting spin on predicting life expectancy. They found that older folks who are underweight have similar morbidity rates as those who are overweight. According to the scientists, the most accurate determinant of lifespan is how much muscle you have as you get older. At first, researchers divided the participants into bodyweight categories, but they could find no link with mortality rates. When the subjects were grouped according to their amount of lean body mass, it became clear that those with plenty of muscle were 20 percent less likely to die. It could be because muscles better utilize glucose or the way they protect the elderly from falling, but Rippetoe summed it up best: Muscular people just don’t die as easily.