Exercise – Rules – Special – Access

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• Exercise is pointless unless you provide muscle with the building blocks to grow
• Research has shown only the EAAs are needed for protein synthesis after exercise¹. No carbs were needed and the non-essential amino acids (NEAAs) were not needed for protein synthesis to occur after exercise¹. Some studies have shown that adding carbohydrate can enhance protein synthesis² , however, this is at a cost of adding calories.
• L-Leucine is a critical amino acid for mTOR stimulation the driver of protein synthesis after exercise. Just 4 scoops of the Activ8Health Leucine-enriched EAA Blend will provide 3g of L-Leucine that maximises protein synthesis
• Exercise can be harmful without providing the building blocks for muscle growth as the exercised muscle needs additional resources to grow and repair. To get these resources like amino acids your body will ‘rob’ Peter to pay Paul i.e. the body will raid tissues like tendons, ligaments, organs and bone through the Triage Mechanism proposed by Professor Bruce Ames

1. A walk with a weighted vest first is a good idea to warm up
2. Push-ups or hanging from a door beam (see Home Equipment) for a stretch
3. Simple jumping jacks or just jumps to warm up on a rainy day will be fine
4. Keep the weighted vest on when doing your home exercises for added load

• This principle can apply to all exercises
• It ensures that the eccentric movement is maximised
• It takes away all momentum
• It provides increased Time Under Tension (TUT) 
• It increases Metabolic Stress with Super Slow Exercises especially if you can lengthen the two concentric and eccentric movements
• 50% increased strength in men and women and inceased muscle mass⁷.

1. Mechanical Tension 
   i. Increasing load gradually
   ii. Concentrating on Eccentric Contractions of a movement
   iii. Time Under Tension (TUT) – the amount of time the muscle is exposed to a load and SUPER-SLOW movements will significantly increase TUT
2. Muscle Damage – This will occur as a result of the load and reps being used and this is important to stimulate satellite cells (muscle stem cells) to mobilise and cause repair and growth. The Eccentric (stretching) movements cause more damage and hence more repair and growth.
3. Metabolic Stress – This is the accumulation of metabolites such as lactate due to anaerobic (without oxygen) muscle stress. This happens towards muscle failure (exhaustion) where the Type-IIX muscle fibres kick-in. Advanced training techniques use occlusion training with bands but this needs to be approved by your doctor and best to see an Exercise Physiologist first before commencing this training. To be avoided by anyone who has vascular issues. The safest way to build up metabolic stress is SUPER-SLOW exercises

• This simply means exercising with weights, bands or using body weight until you just can’t do another repetition.

1. Beginners – Exercise only every second day. Rest is critical to allow an increase in muscle mass as repair and growth can only occur in rest periods.

2. Type-IIX Muscle Fibres – These are the strongest muscle fibres in the human body and have the greates potential to grow. When you take an exercise to exhaustion you work your way from Type-1 → Intermediates → Type-IIX muscle fibres. These Type-IIX once engaged will not become activated again for 4 to 10 days or even more^{3, 4}. This is essentially about dietary energy conservation as the Type-IIx muscle fibres are energy guzzlers when activated and dietary energy through human evolution has been difficult to obtain so this is an energy-conservation tactic.

3. Split Routines – Because it takes time for the Type-IIX to recover, you should never work the same muscle group two days in a row. Ideally, do upper body work one day, then lower body work the next day or day after and allow 1 day rest and start again. Rest and recover is vital to muscle growth along with optimal nutrition.

• The Big-5 group of exercises can work the whole body with just 5 exercises³.
• The Big-5 can be done with body weight exercises or home gym exercises
• The Big-5 can also be done using Free Weights, Cable or Machines
• Beginners should always start off with body-weight exercises or free weights and try to use compound moves where multiple muscles and joints are used in just one movement

There are many advanced training concepts that will be mentioned here but never used unless you have consulted with your doctor and an Exercise Physiologist (EP) first!

Without optimal nutrient intake, exercise can be harmful to the body as described above.

For muscle hypertrophy the critical factors are: 

1. Ergogenic aids such as HMB (b-Hydroxy b-methylbutyrate) a metabolite of the critical essential amino acid L-Leucine. This provides both an anabolic (muscle building) and anti-catabolic (stops muscle breakdown).
2. HMB used along with the EAAs + L-Citrulline will provide not only the building blocks for protein synthesis but the anabolic stimulus for adding on lean muscle mass and prevent excessive muscle breakdown (catabolism) with exercise.
3. Creatine for high intensity exercise, recovery and ATP production – Adults have around 80 g – 130 g of creatine in their bodies mainly in the form of phosphocreatine. The phosphocreatine is a phosphate donor regenerating ADP produced by the energy-rich ATP so that energy levels are restored rapidly. Derived mainly from animal meats something you just don’t want for a variety of known medical impacts, the consumption of 3 g to 5 g per day is all that is required to maintain the level of this important compound. No loading is required. Best taken in the morning or before exercise. Helps age-related loss of muscle mass in older adults (sarcopenia)