Muscle Ventures Podcasts

In this podcast (Quicktime ipod compatible, 32MB; Google streaming flash video), Troy Garver and I continue our discussion of mitochondrial (endurance) training. This discussion is much less scientific and focuses on the physical side effects you may experience while training. Specifically, we consider whether vomiting while training is a sign that something terribly bad is going on and that you should stop the work out.

In short, Troy's conclusion is that puking during a workout is frequently a relief and that you can go on training afterwards. He bases this assertion on the analysis that during intense physical exercise, the body has to prioritize its blood flow. The main area that draws blood during the workout is the muscle group affected. Obviously, the brain also needs blood. However, the body places a lower priority on the digestive track during intense periods of physical activity. The easiest way to minimize this area's blood flow is to vomit out any food that may be in the process of digestion.

However, as I note in the links below, you need to consider why you may be vomiting before coming to this conclusion. Vomiting during a workout can be a a sign of a serious underlying problem. It's just that in the vast majority of cases it is not.

This analysis also raises a further reason that I might have found the initial stages of the mitochondrial regimen that Nancy and I started a few months ago difficult. During the supersets, we start with one muscle group and then immediately move to another. This change requires blood flow to move to a new muscle group while the original muscle group is still recovering. One further adaptation that might be occurring is that the number of red blood cells is increasing as more demands are placed on the vascular system to replenish different muscular groups.

Additional Links

• Ultra cyclists find vomiting during races to be a common issue. The consensus approach seems to be to slow down for a bit and slowly rebuild intensity. Bill Mayer's 24 hour races we reported on in a previous podcast series are an example of ultra cycling.
• In general, high intensity training in the weight room can lead to vomiting. One reason may be an over full stomach, but an alternative is low blood sugar. Strangely, in both cases, the explanation may be the same. The body is shutting down non-essential functions for the stress at hand.
• Recurrent nausea during training can be a sign of much more serious vascular problems like atrioventricular block.

In this podcast (Quicktime ipod compatible, 22MB; Google streaming flash video), Troy Garver and I begin a discussion of endurance training with a focus on the role of the mitochondria in supplying energy to muscles.  As shown in the second picture at left, Troy explains that the mitochondria are sub-cellular structures where chemical reactions that power muscle contractions take place.  High rep endurance training increases the number of mitochondria in muscle cells in order to continue supplying energy over longer periods of time.

I start the podcast by telling Troy that I am doing the high rep muscle definition workouts described in the book Serious Strength Training.  Several months ago, Nancy Arnold and I started with 30 reps per exercise and no supersets and have now progressed to 50 reps per exercise with four exercises grouped together in a superset.  According to Serious Strength Training, the goal of such high repetitions is to get the muscle's mitochondria to exhaust their normal ATP/CP and glycogen energy stores so that they burn fat, preferably near the muscle.

Howevever, as Troy notes, the body adapts.  In a normal person, mitochondria occupy about 25% of cell volume.  During mitochondrial training, the number of mitochondria can dramatically increase (for instance by 50 to 60% in 12 weeks).  Further, in high repetition, low weight mitochondrial training, only a portion of each muscle's fibres are recruited for each repetition.  Given these two facts, it takes longer and longer to exhaust the non-fat energy systems as you continue to perform mitochondrial workouts. 

As presented in Serious Strength Training, mitochondrial muscle definition training is oriented towards bodybuilders trying to drive body fat as low as possible so that they get that chiseled, striated look.  The tendency of the body to adapt to training stimulus means that bodybuilders have to constantly increase reps and intensity during muscle definition training to stay on track toward achieving their goals. 

One thing that has fascinated me in the periodization scheme that Nancy and I began a year ago is the extent to which the body is a changing, dynamic system.  What worked at the the start of a training regimen quickly loses its impact, so you must adapt your methods to continue pushing adaptation.

Additional Links

• The image of the mitochondrion was supplied by the Public Library of Science.
• This article discusses the time frames over which different energy sources are tapped over the duration of an exercise.  As the table clearly shows, if an exercise endures from four to 10 minutes, the primary energy supply for muscular activity switches to fatty acids.  I estimate that my supersets are taking from six to 10 minutes.
  

In this podcast (Quicktime ipod compatible, 35MB; Google streaming flash video), I work through a 1200 rep uppper body endurance (mitochondrial) training session.  Nancy and I (Bud) originally put together this series in the Fall to coincide with her diet phase for a competition she had planned for this month.  When she decided not to compete last January, we decided to complete the series anyhow.

As explained in Serious Strength Training, the mitochondria provide one of the muscle's energy systems.  They are the only place in the muscle where you can convert carbohydrate, fat, and oxygen into energy.  The more you increase the mitochondria in your muscle, the higher your workout capacity.  You tap the mitochondrial energy system when you go into high repetition endurance workouts, and we'll talk more about the exact mechanism in the next episode in this series. 

It's really quite an adaptation to go through.  Nancy and I started at 30 repetitions per exercise without combining any of the exercises into supersets.  Now, we are doing 50 reps per exercise and supersetting at least 4 exercises in a row before taking a minute's rest.

As I explain in the podcast, this particular mitochondrial workout is focused on the upper body with the exercises grouped into sets of four:

• First set of exercises (60 seconds rest at end of 4 exercises)
  • Hammerstrength decline chest press:  132 lbs. for 50 reps (I typically have to drop substantially as this goes on).
  • Hammerstrength hack squat calf raises: 180 lbs. for 50 reps (I drop a lot less on this one).
  • Dumbbell shrugs: 45 lbs. for 50 reps.
  • Inclined laterals: 12.5 lbs. for 50 reps.
• Second set of exercises (60 seconds rest at end of 4 exercises)
  • Hammerstrength seated calf raise: 130 lbs. for 50 reps.
  • Life Fitness preacher curl: 50 lbs. for 50 reps.
  • Life Fitness pec flyes: 70 lbs. for 50 reps.
  • Life Fitness military press: 40 lbs. for 50 reps (I typically have to substantially drop).

As you can see at the end of the workout, I'm pretty wiped out.  As I mentioned to Nancy when doing this kind of workout a year ago, it's like cardio with teeth.

Additional Links

• This article presents a good summary of exercise strategies for increasing your mitochondrial density and therefore workout capacity.