Intra Workout - lets get scientific

In brief I have been training well this week, beating the log book in either weights or reps and weight is down. Bodyfat is noticeably reducing – the changes are noticeable day by day at the moment which is incredibly motivating. To summarise; abdominal fat significantly reducing, legs starting to go grainy with extra veins becoming visible, waist visibly looks to have shrunk as V taper is becoming much more noticeable. Will measure up in the morning to confirm but the mirror doesn’t usually lie. That’s all the about me your getting because this is actually a blog post whereby I want to talk about something a bit more technical – intra workout nutrition!

I have long been playing with and toying with pre workout, intra workout and post work out drinks to try and find an optimum solution for a number of years and finally I think I have found the answer! Protein Works are busy making my very own blend of which I will only need to add one or two further ingredients to. Hopefully this will save having about 6 pouches of varying powders to weigh and mix every time I want to make this cocktail! Thanks have to go to DBT for the idea and knowledge behind it. I have just manipulated some of the values/ingredients to suit.

The idea behind the drink is to swell the muscles during a workout. This swell has many positive benefits and the ideas are as follows:

Cell volume and hydration status are always in flux. It is not possible to constantly maintain a cellular swell. Yet research has demonstrated that the signaling cascade that takes place in the cell as a result of swelling resembles the response initiated by growth factors. Cellular swelling is an anabolic signal triggering protein anabolism and hindering catabolism. When muscle cell water content is elevated protein synthesis is stimulated and when water content is decreased, protein synthesis is inhibited and protein degradation increases.

Cellular volume decreases after exercise and after everyday life stresses (many simple normal body functions). When cells shrink due to oxidative and exercise-induced stress, glucagon activation and high urea concentration we end up with:

• A decrease in glycogen synthesis
• A decrease in glutamine uptake by inactivating transporters
• A decrease in taurine efflux (outflow)
• An Increase in the rate of release of glutamine and alanine from muscle
• An increase in protein breakdown

Cellular volume increases in response to hormones, insulin and high concentrations of L-glutamine, creatine, glycine, alanine, and glucose. When cells swell we end up with a:

• Increase in glycogen synthesis
• Increase in glutamine transporters, and therefore uptake

In turn when we have a decrease in the rate of release of glutamine and alanine from muscle we end up with:

• An Increase in taurine efflux by activating taurine transport pathways
• A Decrease in protein breakdown and an increase in synthesis
• Stimulation of urea synthesis and ammonia formation from amino acids
• A Decrease in glycogenolysis, glycolysis and glucose-6-phosphatase activity
• An Increase in alanine uptake
• An Increase in glycine oxidation
• An Increase in lipogenesis by decreasing carnitine palmitoyl transferase

Cell Volume Regulation

The increased concentration of amino acids and potassium during cell shrinkage eventually leads to swelling, which triggers volume regulatory decrease (potassium efflux). At maximum swelling, inositol, betaine, and taurine efflux begin as the cell begins a regulatory decrease in cell volume.

Just how cellular swelling creates an increase in protein metabolism is not specifically known. The most likely reason is centered on the mechanisms involved in cytoskeleton (cell stretching), regulatory proteins, and stretch-activated cation and anion channels.

For many toggles cellular swelling will play a role. The intake of Alanine, Glutamine as well as Glycine should be beneficial.

Based on DBT’s findings and my own understanding of how amino acids interact with each other (because this is also important) and how the body utilises I will be trialling the following intra workout drink over the next few months. My hope is that it will both aid in intra cellular swelling, intra workout energy levels and overall muscular hydration. As I am on a cut this will be almost completely calorie free. Maybe 2kcal as I will add a bit of sugar free squash to get rid of the taste of Leucine which I know tastes like battery acid.

Without further ado:

8g  L-Leucine
4g L-Alanine3g Beta Alanine
3g L-Glycine
1.5g Taurine
15gL-Glutamine

I plan to mix in about 1-1.5l of water with some sugar free product such as high5 zero which will provide additional electrolytes lost, and as somebody that sweats profusely due to the current intensity of my workouts that’s definitely a bonus.

What each of the ingredients do:

L Leucine: L Leucine is around eight percent of the total amino acid count in your body's protein structures. It is also the fourth most concentrated amino acid in your tissue and is one of the three essential BCAA’s. It preserves muscle glycogen (glucose which is stored in the muscle tissue used to power your movements), maintains nitrogen balance and enhances mental clarity when performing intense physical exercise. If you don't have enough L Leucine in your diet your body will not be able to make use of the protein that you give it, regardless of how much protein you consume.

L Alanine: As an amino acid, alanine is used by the body as a building block of protein. Alanine plays a major role in transferring nitrogen from tissue sites in the body, to the liver. Alanine is also used by the body to draw upon blood sugar as an energy source

Beta Alanine: Beta Alanine elevates Carnosine concentration in muscles and is useful for anyone participating in sports which require explosive actions. Increasing the concentration of Carnosine in muscles is vital to athletes as Carnosine can increase the ability of your muscles to work harder and perform for longer. It may also prevent lactic acid build up during intense exercise, thus reducing fatigue.

L Glutamine: Glutamine is a semi essential amino acid that the body is able to produce in small amounts; however the majority of it must come from the diet. It is required for hypertrophy and also plays an important role in repairing damaged tissue.

L Glycine - Glycine is recognised as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and has also been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory, antispastic, and antipsychotic activity. Glycine can improve the uptake and use of creatine by the body.

Taurine: Taurine can draw water into your cells and act as a cell volumiser. This can help draw additional nutrients into the muscle. Taurine has also been shown to increase glucose into cells and isrecognized as a great supplement to help reduce cramps.

You will note the lack of creatine, arginine and BCAAs… possibly a few other well known “pump” ingredients. Reason for this is that a lot of pump ingredients such as arginine work to store water between the skin and muscle allowing for additional blood flow/volume. Whilst this creates the look of a pump the additional volume of water pushing against muscle cells causes muscle cell shrinkage! Naturally this is not what we want! Creatine I have overlooked because I take it pre workout and post workout. I don’t need to consume during. BCAAs I take through the day. The effectiveness of Leucine is significantly reduced by the other 2 branch chain amino acids, so I’ll toy with dropping it from pre/during workout to throughout the day and we will see what happens!