Mitochondria and Amplifying Adaptation with Professor David Bishop #193
Episode overview:
Professor Bishop is a world leader in muscle exercise physiology with more than 250 scientific publications to his name. He leads the Skeletal Muscle and Training research group at Victoria University in Australia.
The focus of his research group is to examine how diet, exercise, and genes interact to regulate skeletal muscle adaptations.
Throughout his career, Professor Bishop has held many different and important leadership positions within the exercise science community in Australia. He was the youngest-ever president of Exercise & Sport Science Australia (ESSA). He has been named as one of the top 25 influencers of exercise & sport sciences in Australia. He has twice been on the Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) panel he was was made a fellow of three different organizations, Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and the European College of Sports Science (ECSS). Professor Bishop is now a director of the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) and an assistant editor of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
Episode highlights:
(19:56) Physiological limits to mitochondrial mass: homeostasis and why athletes plateau, mitochondria can never be 100% muscle mass, car analogy and spatial limitations
(43:29) Acute responses to training with low carb availability: cell signaling and mitochondrial benefits at lower intensities, no benefit at high intensities, train low can augment moderate intensity, recovering from low carb takes time
(54:12) Mechanisms of sodium bicarbonate: lactate and hydrogen ions move down concentration gradients, sodium bicarbonate lowers blood acidity by pulling hydrogen ions out of the muscle, applications to anaerobic performance
Our conversation:
(0:00) Introduction: Professor David Bishop’s impact on the field of exercise science, discussion of mitochondrial development, the zone 2 craze, dietary interventions and supplements
(2:39) David’s background: domain expertise, background in resistance training for endurance, team sports, supplements, sodium bicarbonate, shifting research focus to the mitochondria
(6:24) Setup: conversation outline, KoopCast 73 with Inigo San Milan on mitochondria, the zone 2 training craze
(7:34) Mitochondria: more than just the “powerhouse of the cell”, Martin Picard’s research, functions in energy production, cell signaling, managing ROS production, programmed cell death
(9:47) Two types of mitochondrial adaptations: mitochondrial mass, mitochondrial morphology, mitochondrial function
(11:32) Site-specificity: mitochondrial adaptations are muscle-specific, adaptations in other organs may translate but not in the muscles, hiking versus running example
(14:53) No upper limit to mitochondrial mass: volume versus mitochondrial adaptation, the intensity conundrum, defining intensity based on lactate thresholds, KoopCast 163 with Renee Eastman
(18:07) Mitochondrial mass: indirect measurements, caveats, potential plateau at high volumes
(19:56) Physiological limits to mitochondrial mass: homeostasis and why athletes plateau, mitochondria can never be 100% muscle mass, car analogy and spatial limitations
(23:24) Manipulating volume: singling versus doubling example, normalizing volume to work rather than duration, complications with intensity
(25:45) Volume and intensity: zone 1 research study, volume is more critical above LT1, high intensity is essential for increasing mitochondrial mass
(27:00) Minimal viable intensity: guidelines for volume and intensity, examples, KoopCast 63 with Stephen Seiler, mitochondria are not the be-all end-all, performance is multifactorial
(30:16) Mitochondrial function: specifically respiratory function, low intensity increases mitochondrial mass more than function, high intensity increases function more than mass and stresses the mitochondria more
(33:20) Mitochondria life cycle: overview, high intensity training may replace old mitochondria with newer stronger mitochondria, change in shape and damage after high intensity, potential support for spatial theory
(37:26) Mitochondria-intensity continuum: biology is continuous, training zones are discrete, nutrition pyramid analogy, all zones are important
(40:00) Context for training with low carb availability: poorly defined protocols, attempt to extrapolate acute mechanistic changes to whole-body performance
(43:29) Acute responses to training with low carb availability: cell signaling and mitochondrial benefits at lower intensities, no benefit at high intensities, train low can augment moderate intensity, recovering from low carb takes time
(47:30) Drawbacks of training with low carb availability: sacrificing iron and bone metabolism, it is usually best to focus on other low-hanging fruit, this is a highly stressful intervention, supplement analogy
(50:50) Avoiding caloric deficit: this is top priority, energy availability is hard enough normally, try not to screw it up
(52:34) Sodium bicarbonate: performance improvement, boosting training adaptations, risk of GI distress, new product on the market
(54:12) Mechanisms of sodium bicarbonate: lactate and hydrogen ions move down concentration gradients, sodium bicarbonate lowers blood acidity by pulling hydrogen ions out of the muscle, applications to anaerobic performance
(57:03) Sodium bicarbonate for low intensity: lack of supporting evidence, potential for helping with mid-race surges
(59:12) Sodium for low intensity: anecdotal evidence, the sodium in sodium bicarbonate may be the factor that helps at low intensity, supplements often have side effects, sodium does not account for the benefits during high intensity exercise
(1:02:59) Sodium bicarbonate for training: a happy accident of research, sodium bicarbonate improved endurance performance and lactate threshold in female athletes
(1:05:18) Sodium bicarbonate studies: rats with sodium bicarbonate improved mitochondrial respiration and biogenesis, acidity similar dampens these effects, takeaways for human training, Australian rower study
(1:07:32) Sodium bicarbonate takeaways: worth considering for high intensity training, reasons to consider the intervention, analogy of hedging your bets, no negative effects from sodium bicarbonate
(1:10:34) Sodium bicarbonate products: baking soda is cheap, commercial products are expensive, drinking baking soda is gross, pharmaceutical sodium bicarbonate tablets
(1:12:24) Wrap-up: giving thanks, links in the show notes, where to find David
(1:14:09) Outro: giving thanks, share the KoopCast
Additional resources:
Podcast with Renee Eastman on physiological testing
Mighty Mitochondria with Iñigo San Millán
Effects of Dietary Supplements on Adaptations to Endurance Training
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