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The relationship between exercise and carbohydrate supplementation | How to utilize glycogen to improve endurance and performance
2020.09.30This book explains the important role of carbohydrates (glycogen) during exercise. It covers the energy intake before exercise, the recovery by replenishment of carbohydrates after exercise, the effect of glycogen depletion on endurance and performance, and the effective method of intake.
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The effects of cystine reduce fatigue caused by exercise and maintain energy efficiency
2023.09.11This article explains how the amino acid cystine protects mitochondria and enhances energy production. It also explains how it efficiently converts lipids into energy, reduces oxidative stress during exercise, and helps recover from fatigue and improve endurance.
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Causes of fatigue and tiredness after exercise
2020.09.30Muscles aren't the only cause of fatigue and post-exercise lethargy. Exercise-induced body temperature rises and reduced blood flow to the abdomen can also damage internal organs. We'll also introduce precautions to take in hot and humid environments, as well as how worsening inflammation can lead to decreased performance.
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The effects of alanine and proline help utilize carbohydrate energy to maintain endurance and performance
2023.09.11The amino acids alanine and proline help convert carbohydrates into energy. We explain how they support glycogen utilization during exercise and maintain endurance. We also introduce tips that will help you replenish your energy and maintain your stamina.
Supports fatigue recovery with amino acids | Conditioning with the effects of leucine
Muscles are important for performance in sports. It is important to work hard on fatigue recovery and conditioning. To that end, let's learn about the "High Leucine Essential Amino Acid Mix" which contains not only common amino acids (BCAA, EAA) and proteins, but also a lot of leucine!
Ajinomoto Co., Inc. has focused on the important role of essential amino acids, especially leucine, in muscle conditioning. Leucine, which turns on the switch to create muscle protein, helps keep you in top condition before, during, and after exercise. We will explain how it works and its effects!
"Muscle conditioning" is important for both performance and recovery
As interest in sports increases, "conditioning" (keeping oneself in good condition) for daily training and for actual events such as games and races has become common sense for both athletes and sports enthusiasts. Similarly, "muscle conditioning," which keeps muscles in good condition, is actually very important for performing at your best and for recovery.
Why muscles break down during exercise and how they become less conditioned
Our bodies are 60% water. Half of the remaining 40%, or 20%, is made up of protein. Muscles, which are important for athletes, are also made up mainly of protein. This muscle protein is called "muscle protein."
In muscles, new muscle proteins are constantly being produced and old ones are being broken down at the same time. When the balance between the amount produced and the amount broken down is maintained, muscle condition can be maintained. However, during exercise, the amount of muscle protein produced decreases and, conversely, the amount broken down increases, resulting in a decrease in muscle protein.
During exercise, muscle proteins are easily broken down
When you exercise hard and intensely, your muscles are damaged, which leads to a decline in muscle condition and, as a result, a decline in performance (Figure 1).
Figure 1
In other words, during exercise, it is important to maintain muscle condition by increasing the amount of muscle protein produced, and after exercise, it is important to recover from damage more quickly and return to good condition.
The effects and role of leucine
The body is made up of proteins. These proteins are made up of 20 types of amino acids. These amino acids are divided into 9 essential amino acids that cannot be produced in the body and must be obtained from food, and 11 non-essential amino acids that can be produced in the body.
Leucine – the amino acid that turns on muscle protein synthesis
Of these, the nine essential amino acids are necessary to make muscle protein. Leucine in particular is a noteworthy amino acid because it plays a role in turning on the switch for making muscle protein.
Figure 2
Based on these roles and functions of amino acids, Ajinomoto Co., Inc. has developed a mix of nine essential amino acids, including a high amount of leucine, called the "High Leucine Essential Amino Acid Mix" (Figure 9). This combination helps to quickly build muscle protein in large quantities, which is useful for muscle conditioning.
Taking amino acids before exercise reduces fatigue
In order to maintain performance, it is very important to condition your muscles before exercise.
Figure 3
There is data that shows that the speed at which muscle protein is produced varies depending on the amount of leucine contained in the essential amino acid. As shown in Figure 3, it is known that essential amino acids that contain a lot of leucine increase the speed at which muscle protein is produced compared to normal essential amino acids.
Promotes muscle protein synthesis by ingesting essential amino acids rich in leucine
Therefore, we investigated how taking an "essential amino acid mix with a high concentration of leucine" before exercise changes the function of producing muscle protein.
Figure 4
As a result, as shown in Figure 4, the values increased, demonstrating that taking the "Essential Amino Acid Mix with High Leucine" before exercise strengthens the function of producing muscle protein.
This may help with muscle conditioning.
Supports recovery from fatigue by replenishing amino acids after exercise
Just as important as preparation before exercise is minimizing muscle damage after exercise and recovering as quickly as possible. It is very important to reduce fatigue as much as possible for the next day.
The effect of leucine in reducing muscle damage and speeding up recovery
We investigated how effective taking the "Essential Amino Acid Mix with High Leucine" is in suppressing damage after exercise. Figure 5 shows the results of a blood test that looked at how much muscle was broken down due to exercise. A higher value indicates greater muscle damage. Taking the Essential Amino Acid Mix with High Leucine reduced the test result value, indicating that muscle damage was suppressed.
Figure 5
Furthermore, exercise breaks down muscles, causing a temporary loss of muscle strength, but we also investigated how long it takes for this to recover. Figure 6 shows the loss of muscle strength due to exercise, and we found that taking the "Essential Amino Acid Mix with High Leucine" prevented the loss of muscle strength over the several days after exercise and also helped speed recovery.
Figure 6
In other words, taking the ``Essential Amino Acid Mix with a High Leucine Content'' has the effect of reducing muscle damage caused by exercise and also speeding up recovery from that damage.
Timing and points to take amino acids
Various research results have shown that the "High Leucine Essential Amino Acid Mix," a combination of nine essential amino acids that contains a lot of leucine, is effective in producing more muscle protein during exercise and maintaining muscle condition when playing sports.
Essential amino acids such as leucine are found in large amounts in foods high in protein (protein foods), such as tuna, bonito, beef, chicken, eggs, soybeans, freeze-dried tofu, and cheese. However, if you take them in the form of protein from your diet, it takes 3 to 4 hours for them to be absorbed into the body after they enter the body. Before and after exercise, and even during exercise, amino acids that are quickly absorbed in about 30 minutes are useful.
Muscle conditioning is important in sports where you want to perform at your best. By carefully considering your daily lifestyle, utilizing amino acids will help you in both regular practice and in actual matches and races.