Welcome everyone to a truly special episode of the
podcast today. We're venturing into a
topic. That's both fundamental and transformative the imperative role of vigorous aerobic
exercise in our fitness routines.
This episode challenges common
perceptions about exercise delving deep into the benefits of vigorous exercise on not just physical health, but brain function aging and even cancer prevention, it tackles fundamental questions, like what genetic and
metabolic adaptations occur with vigorous.
Exercise and how it can contribute to combating the hearts age-related changes. We also unpack how these rigorous exercises affect glucose transport mitochondrial health and brain health at an intricate level and we're not just talking Theory here. We're diving into practicality. I'll be introducing you to the Norwegian 4x4 interval training protocol discussing the unique benefits of exercise snacks and offering insights on easy ways to incorporate vigorous exercise into your daily life.
Or we dive deeper. It's crucial to acknowledge a fundamental truth about aerobic exercise in general. The bottom line is any form of aerobic activity is beneficial the key lies in consistency and habit formation the type of exercise that resonates with you, whether it's lower intensity or higher intensity that you can integrate into your routine and stick with that's the exercise. You should be focusing on it's about finding what works for you personally and making it as a
stainable part of your life Central to our discussion of the brain benefits of vigorous exercise described in today's episode is Amaya kind known as brain derived neurotrophic factor or bdnf a pivotal factor in enhancing neuroplasticity and fostering neurogenesis the growth of new brain cells as a companion to today's episode. I've created a free evidence-based blueprint that you can download in this guide, which you can find at bdnf protocols.com. You will find protocols.
Sign to improve cognitive function and delay brain aging this guide explores modifiable lifestyle factors, the tactics strategies and things you can do particularly when it comes to exercise nutrition and even supplementation to significantly improve cognition and enhanced neuroprotection many of which are at least partially mediated through increases in brain derived neurotrophic Factor levels in this guide. You will also find a section entitled Rhonda's protocols. These Protocols are either practices. I actively engage in
Nor strategies, I'm currently exploring curated specifically for their promising potential for beneficial cognitive and neuroprotective impact. These Protocols are detailed and specific everything you look for in a blueprint. So if you're looking to dive deeper into these insights and start applying them head over to bdnf protocols.com to get your free guide It's a valuable tool for anyone committed to optimizing their brain Health and Longevity. Once again, that's bdnf protocols.com.
Now on to the podcast during vigorous exercise our muscles essentially become many biochemical lab synthesizing compounds like lactate in myokines. These aren't just muscle-bound. They get into circulation. They travel too far up tissues and they signal to them and they have a variety of benefits including the synthesis of elements like brain-derived neurotrophic Factor bdnf crucial for brain health in neuronal health. They also potentially initiate anti-cancer mechanisms.
Don't let your muscles little chemical producing factories, but they also act like sponges to soak up compounds that can be harmful to the brain improving mental health and reducing neurodegenerative disease risk. We're going to dive deep into the realm of VO2 max optimization VO2 max is not just about a measure of cardiorespiratory Fitness. It's directly linked to longevity essentially the higher your VO2 max the longer you're likely to live and there doesn't seem to be an upper limit to the life.
Ending benefits of enhanced cardiorespiratory Fitness at least within your genetic potential will get into the details of how to calibrate high-intensity efforts with Zone to training methodologies for improving vo2max with the spotlight on the Norwegian 4x4 protocol and even touch on some straightforward tactics, like assessing vo2max. So the pragmatic test which is the 12-minute run tests equally important will navigate through the processes of my top Aegean mitochondrial biogenesis. These are cornerstones for cellular rejuvenation.
Nation essentially reversing the aging process on a cellular level there's a lot of questions to answer. What is vigorous exercise. What is high intensity exercise? What about Zone to training? So let's start by covering what is not vigorous exercise Zone to training is also sometimes known as aerobic base training it primarily targets aerobic Energy Systems and can be sustained for longer durations. We're talking an hour and more some experts to find this type of training to
A around 70 to 80 percent of maximum heart rate possibly lower for people that are unfit. It's also defined by the talk test. So you should be able to talk comfortably comfortably but not sing. So you should be a little breathy when you're talking but still able to talk comfortably.
72 training involves exercising at a moderate intensity. It's a steady state type of lactate threshold training lactate threshold refers to the point at which the body begins to produce lactate at a faster rate than it can clear it away. So keep in mind there's a lot of individual variation in determining the lactate threshold because people can have different Baseline lactate levels for one which is typically around 0.92 1 millimolar generally speaking people also have
Different rates of lactate production and clearance and even at the same relative exercise intensity. So for example trained athletes might have a higher lactate threshold in terms of both exercise intensity and lactate concentration compared to untrained individuals genetics also play a role. There are many great podcast out there covering Zone to training including Peter AT&T as the drive with guest. Dr. Inigo Saint million.
Now let's talk about vigorous exercise. So generally speaking vigorous exercise represents a level of exertion where exercise goes beyond the lactate threshold which means lactate begins to accumulate in the muscles more rapidly. There are various intensities within vigorous exercise. So a level intensity referred to as the maximal steady-state threshold, sometimes called Zone 3 is above the lactate threshold and it's challenging to hold a conversation.
Asian and it's difficult to maintain this level of exercise for longer than 20 to 30 minutes. This level of intensity is somewhere between 80 to 85 percent max heart rate. However, vigorous exercise also includes exercising at intensities higher than this so a higher intensity training where there's significant amount of lactate accumulation and you're close to your what's called anaerobic threshold. This is a level of intensity usually around 85 to 95 percent.
His heart rate and it's difficult to maintain for longer than a few minutes. Sometimes this type of training intensity is called zone for training. Then there's the All Out near maximum intensity and this is sometimes called zone 5 training. These are shorter intervals and it's generally hard to maintain this level level of intensity for longer than one minute. So when we're talking about high intensity interval training, it involves alternating between periods of high intensity.
Chris exercise in periods of lower intensity rest depending on the the high intensity interval training or hit for short protocol. These can include intervals ranging from zone 32 zone five followed by recovery periods. The idea that high intensity interval training is only anaerobic is a misconception while high intensity interval training exercise does rely more heavily on anaerobic Energy Systems. It still requires significant aerobic metabolism.
So hit can improve both aerobic and anaerobic Fitness and it's my opinion that getting your heart rate to at least eighty percent max heart rate. So that that being at least 80% is a really good place to be if you are targeting brain benefits and we'll dive a lot into that in a minute, but I want to start by talking about cardiorespiratory fitness health span and Longevity. So VO2 max is a measure of maximal oxygen uptake.
Which reflects an individual's ability to utilize oxygen during exercise. It's considered one of the best indicators of cardiorespiratory Fitness and its associated with improved Health span and increase lifespan higher cardiorespiratory levels as measured by vo2max have been consistently linked to reduced risk of mortality and longer life span. So in the podcast when I use the term vo2max just keep in mind that it's a measurement of cardiorespiratory Fitness the greatest longevity benefit that comes
comes from improving your VO2 max is from people starting from a below-average vo2max and moving anywhere above average. So even going from below normal vo2max for your age group in gender to a low normal is associated with a two point one year increase in life expectancy bumping that up going from below below normal to high normal VO2 max is associated with a
Year increase in life expectancy and going even further to the upper limit of normal is associated with four point nine years almost five year increase in life expectancy on
average each unit increase in VO2 max. So that's
1 ml per kilogram per minute is associated with a 45-day increase in life
expectancy in another study involving
only men for every 10 unit increase in VO2 max.
So this would be then 10 mils per kilogram per minute.
There was a 70 17 percent lower risk of death from cancer and a 11% lower all-cause
mortality. So dying from many different non accidental causes
of death another study published in Jama in 2018 found that there was no
apparent upper limit to the benefit of cardiorespiratory
Fitness on
mortality within normal ranges of human life expectancy, of course.
In fact, the study reported
that Elite performers. These are people that performed in the top two point three percent on the fitness
test had
an 80% reduction in mortality risk compared to the lowest performers. So they performed in the bottom 25% on the fitness
test and if you compare the elite performers to the high performers,
so these folks did really well, but they were just under the elite they were they were between the top 25 percent and the top two point three percent the elite performers.
Had a twenty percent mortality risk decline compared to even those High performers
but going back to what I said earlier about just moving out of that low fitness group will
give huge advantages to on life expectancy. So people on the low fitness group had a
five fold higher risk of death than the elite performers, but what is also
interesting is that the risk of dying due
to low Fitness was
similar or even bigger than risks associated with having heart disease.
He's smoking or diabetes. So being fitter is really good for your health at every level of fitness and there's always room for improvement. So the question is well, how can
we improve our vo2max lots of different training protocols Zone to training for example, high intensity interval training, you know vigorous intensity exercise all improved cardiorespiratory Fitness and can increase
vo2max hit has been shown to significantly improve.
Go to Max even
with shorter training durations. This is because hit recruits both aerobic and anaerobic Energy Systems and increases the intensity of the workout resulting in greater greater cardiovascular stress and then adaptations, but this is
important there are
individuals who engage in more moderate intensity, you know steady-state Zone to training that do not experience significant improvements in VO2 max. In fact research has shown that
Approximately 40% of people do not see a measurable increase in their VO2 max, even after engaging in guideline-based moderate-intensity exercise, which is about 2.5 hours of of this type of exercise per week for several months.
But when these what are called non
responders Incorporated more vigorous intensity exercise such as high intensity interval training, they do start to see improvements in VO2
max. So this suggests that adding higher
or intensity exercise to an exercise routine can
help eliminate that non-response and also can lead to Greater benefits in cardiorespiratory Fitness. The reason for non-response
to moderate intensity exercise. It's not completely understood but
the addition of vigorous intensity exercise is important for overall improvements in VO2 max and engaging in more vigorous exercise seems to provide a stronger stimulus
for physiological.
Genes that lead to increased cardiorespiratory Fitness.
So again, I think these findings do really sort of highlight
the importance of incorporating vigorous intensity exercise particularly incorporating maybe high intensity interval training into a training routine
and obviously
for individuals who are time
pressed and can't dedicate several hours per week
to doing a more type of Zone to type of training including shorter sessions of higher intensity exercise can still have significant improvements in VO2.
Max and overall
health so you might be wondering
you know, how much time do I dedicate to my more vigorous type of exercise versus a more moderate intensity Zone to type of training
and I really think that answer depends on a lot of
factors your individual goals what you enjoy doing most what you're going to do the most I mean all those things are important because at the end of the day
establishing a
habit having an exercise routine that you're going to consistently do.
Is what is most important for endurance athletes? I mean the answer is easy, right? You're already dedicating several hours a week to doing more Zone to training
and about 20%
of that training is dedicated to Shorter higher intensity workouts more vigorous intensity workouts. And this is commonly known as the 80/20 rule. But remember this is this is people that are doing extensive amounts of training anywhere between 10 to 30 hours a week.
It's I think it's a common misconception.
To apply that
80/20 rule to like any committed exerciser and any casual exerciser who are doing well under less than 10 hours a week as you think about
someone who is a committed
exerciser. Maybe you work out three to five days a week.
How much of that time
should be spent doing vigorous intensity exercise.
I would say for
vo2max and other adaptations. We're going to discuss including the brain
about half of that
exercise training time. I think should be spent in vigorous, too.
Vigorous exercise. So again, you want to be 80 at least 80% of your max heart rate or more. Obviously, there's resistance training to incorporate as well into any training program.
There's casual
exercisers. So people that work out maybe two to three times a week.
They should probably spend more than half of their time doing more vigorous
intensity exercise. I think this this ensures you're pushing your limits and you know, making sure that you're getting adaptations Fitness gains in a shorter period
Period of
time there are a variety
of VO2 max training protocols. So for people that are looking for that more vigorous exercise using, you know, using high-intensity interval training to improve their VO2 max. The key here is longer intervals. So incorporating longer intervals such as two three four, maybe even five minutes at the highest workload, you can sustain for that time and then performing for intervals.
Rest and Recovery in between each of those. So this protocol may require maybe a 20-minute time commitment, but it can lead to significant improvements in VO2 max.
There's a few examples of
VO2 max training. Dr. Martin Kabbalah who was a recent podcast guest gave a variety of examples of this. So there's three to five-minute repeats at the highest sustainable intensity. We talked about and doing those three to five-minute intervals.
So that you can maintain and then you rest and recover and repeat those intervals for a total of
20 minutes. I think a popular variation of this is
called the Norwegian 4x4 interval training protocol. So the
intervals are four
minutes long and you're aiming for about 85 to 95 percent of your max heart rate or the maximum level of intensity. You can maintain for the entire four minutes
these internal these intervals can be
brutal. So the
Every period is three minutes long and the intensity is
significantly lower like light
light exercise more like a Zone 1 training exercise. You want to allow yourself recovery time the clearance of lactate you want your heart rate to come down significantly so that you can prepare for the next four minute interval.
So these four minute intervals are repeated
four times and again in between each intervals a three-minute recovery. So that's
the the Norwegian 4x4
interval training. There's another type of VO2 max training protocol. It's the one minute on one minute off protocol. This is where you perform one minute of intervals at the highest intensity you can do
for one minute and then it's followed by a one minute recovery period and then you repeat this interval pattern 10, or maybe five times for about 25 minutes or so, and this protocol also is effective at improving.
To Max and it does provide a lot of flexibility in terms of time commitment. It's also not as you know grueling in terms of like doing a four minute interval versus a one minute interval one minute intervals are a little bit, you know less intense and less painful.
Obviously, it's important that you know, these Protocols are
sort of templates. They vary a lot based on individual
fitness goals, you know, there's
other protocols out there that can improve vo2max the key is like a longer interval longer than like a Tabata like a 20 second interval. And so, you know probably about at least one minute at the highest sustainable intensity that you can do. I think the Norwegian 4x4 protocols probably one of the best out there one of the best hit protocols out there.
Improving VO2 max.
So how do you measure VO2 max without
equipment found in exercise physiology physiology lab, it's obviously challenging
their several sort of tests that have been developed
and verified for
getting an
estimate of your VO2 max. So they
don't directly measure maximum oxygen uptake, but they
predict your VO2 max based on the relationship between your exercise and
Density and your oxygen consumption, they're sort of useful in determining whether or not you're improving VO2 max. If you're testing a type of training protocol
so that there's a couple of really like I said validated tests that have been validated and scientific literature that can that can sort of be done. Probably one of the best
ones is the 12-minute run or sometimes called walk test depending on your level of Fitness. It's often also referred to as the Cooper
test.
And it involves
having the participant run or jog as far as possible in 12 minutes. So you're
supposed to pace yourself. Evenly. You don't want to start too fast. And the test should be conducted on a flat surface. So like a
track feel this is the best you don't want to have Hills and stuff
because it's about, you know,
the maximum amount of distance you can cover in 12 minutes and if you have Hills and stuff that's going to lessen that it's going to be more challenging and you know, the distance won't be quite as
far so.
You'll need a fitness device something
that we can record your distance an Apple Watch or you know Fitbit or something and
depending on your Fitness level you can
walk or you can run or a combination. So the distance covered within that 12-minute period serves as the primary metric for evaluating vo2max, which is then estimated using a formula. So it's distance in meters - 504 point nine and then divided by forty four point seven three and you can look this formula up.
Look up the Cooper test to find the formulas
online.
Again, you know, there's there's a some other validated test, but I think
that's probably the one of the best better ones out there. You'll
need a device like an Apple Watch or
some sort of other device that can measure your distance.
But there's also some of these devices and wearables do
estimate VO2 max during exercise using heart rate and your motion data, you know for best results. You have to make sure all your personal information is in there like your age and your weight and gender and you know, that's tough but
That's another you know possibility. I would say the 12-minute run or walk test is a more it's a better way to do it particularly. If you're trying to do something like the 4x4 Norwegian Norwegian hit protocol to measure vo2max improvements. You want to see if what you're doing is improving your your estimated vo2max. So I think the 12-minute run test is a good way to do
that. I want to sort of change gears for a minute and talk
about you know,
no
something that I also think is pivotal and it's a unique role for vigorous exercise in playing a role in enhancing Health span, and it has to do with changes in heart structure. So as we age the
heart undergoes specific inevitable changes right related to the aging process, so it tends to get smaller it gets
stiffer and this can impact the heart sufficiency
potentially reducing our Exercise capacity elevating our risk for
Yak issues but there can be
exercise interventions like consistent aerobic exercise
with a high proportion of it being vigorous intensity that can actually combat some of these effects. So there was a landmark study
published from been Levine's group
and it was an intervention study and it showed that two years of vigorous
exercise in 50 year olds
was able to reverse the aging of their hearts by as much as 20 years.
Effectively making their hearts look
more like a thirty-year-old
which in my opinion is simply astonishing you're taking a fifty-year-old heart and making it look like a 30 year old heart. Now the exercise protocol used in this this particular study. It was a protocol that that
gradually increase the exercise intensity and also frequency.
So the again I mentioned it was a two-year
intervention by the end of six the first
six months participants were exercising about five to six
Hours a week with a large portion of training being in that maximal steady-state
intensity exercise, I which I referred to earlier in the podcast. It's often sometimes called Zone 3. It is a type of vigorous
intensity exercise. They also were incorporating more higher higher intensity exercise. So they
also did the Norwegian 4x4 VO2 training vo2max training protocol just referred to
to
and they did that once a week and I just think it's like I said, I simply
astonishing that you know, you take these 50 rolls and after two years of a
more vigorous intensity exercise
training protocol is essentially reversed
the effects of Aging in the heart. Okay. So let's shift gears yet again and talk a little bit about metabolic
adaptations. And again, this is where I think vigorous exercise really shines.
Particularly high intensity interval training, it improves glucose control insulin sensitivity more and more efficiently and more potently than even continuous, you know moderate intensity workouts. And you know, I do think that of course both exercise type, you know, training protocols can enhance muscle adaptations and glucose regulation hit really seems to to do it quicker and again more robustly.
The whereas moderate intensity exercise kind of Demands longer sessions for comparable outcomes. So research has found that high intensity interval training can enhance the muscles ability to take up glucose and improve glucose transport capacity. So during high intensity interval training and during vigorous exercise. There's a demand a rapid, you know, a
demand for Rapid energy production and so the body relies both on aerobic so
oxygen using and anaerobic
Non oxygen using metabolic pathways to generate this energy the
anaerobic pathway can lead to the production of
lactate, especially when the intensity of exercise
surpasses the point at which
the oxygen intake can keep up with the energy demand. And so this is sometimes often referred to as the lactate threshold as we
talked about for a long time lactate was
considered primarily as a waste product contributing to muscle fatigue and you know,
Oh, this is of course been completely reverse Recent research has come, you know, totally change this understanding lactate generated in muscle tissue is transported not only
back in a muscle and into
mitochondria to be used as an energy source,
but it also
when it starts to accumulate at higher levels travels systemically into circulation and gets transported to other tissues like the heart the liver the brain where it's used for energy. It's also used as a signaling.
I kill so this is known as
the lactate shuttle and was pioneered by dr. George Brooks who is really
changed the field and he also happened to be my second podcast guest ever on this podcast
anyways lactate, you know it I mentioned it acts as a signaling molecule in those tissues as well and you can think of a signaling molecule as a chemical messenger that is sending a message to other cells. One of those messages is the up regulation.
Ation of glucose glucose transport capacity so vigorous intensity exercise high intensity interval training, when one that lactate production accumulates, it stimulates the expression and activity of
glucose Transporters known on the muscle known as glute for and this is on the muscle cell membrane.
And so that lactate acts as a
signaling molecule to increase the transport of glucose Transporters on the muscle cells and this
Then allows for more efficient uptake of glucose into the from the bloodstream into the muscle even at rest. And so consequently, then insulin sensitivity is also improved and blood glucose levels are better regulated. There's been several studies that have demonstrated that hit can
improve glucose uptake enhance insulin
sensitivity and
decrease the risk of developing type 2
diabetes. This may be due to the intense metabolic stress created during
hit.
Which leads to Greater activation of glucose transport great glucose Transporters and improve glucose
clearance. So as I mentioned both high intensity interval training continuous moderate intensity exercise can also be effective at improving glucose
transport capacity in the muscles hit promotes
rapid increases in glucose Transporters allowing for that efficient glucose uptake and utilization. Whereas continuous moderate-intensity exercise.
Although it's less intense still
does also enhance glucose transport capacity. It improves the
overall Fitness of muscles as well.
So, you know again, it's just a longer duration of exercise time to get there
and
with with the
lactate generation that happens with, you know, high intensity high intensity exercise, you're getting that
immediate signal from lactate to increase the glucose glute for Transporters. And so it's a very rapid and robust adaptation that
happen.
ins
There's at our other metabolic adaptation. So just just
kind of talking about
mitochondria mitochondria
are very important and they
play a lot of roles in the body. But one of the most
important ones is the production of energy in the form of ATP. This is obviously very important for muscles, but also hugely important for the brain the heart the liver pretty much every organ
athletes are very interested in mitochondrial
health because they want their muscles to
gently and effectively produce energy when they're training
but mitochondria are also very
important the context of Aging as
we age our mitochondria
become less efficient at producing energy
and this poses a problem for physical activity, but
also just for normal functioning of our organs
now that problem of mitochondria not producing enough energy can actually be overcome by increasing the mitochondrial volume or what's called mitochondrial biogenesis and exercise.
Particularly vigorous exercise is one of the best ways to do that. So one of the most powerful indicators of healthy mitochondria is
the ability to generate new healthy young mitochondria called mitochondrial
biogenesis vigorous intensity exercise, like high intensity high intensity interval training. I mentioned it's one of the most powerful
stimulators of mitochondrial biogenesis. This has to
do with the metabolic
like
stress that is induced from vigorous intensity exercise.
The lactate itself. Again lactate is a
signaling molecule when you're producing greater amounts of
lactate that actually
activates one of the major Pathways that regulates mitochondrial biogenesis. It's called
P GC 1 Alpha and again lactates acting as a signal
to produce more of that PGC one
alpha. So when we
Vigorous intensity exercise such as hit that lactate generated from the muscles. It's shuttled into the mitochondria
because exercise increases the number of mitochondria Purcell again, mitochondrial biogenesis and the more lactate that's able then to be used as energy or to produce energy. And this is
important to know if you're wanting to understand the
bigger picture of where metabolism and lactate utilization fit into you know, human performance.
but it's also important to realize that athletes put around anywhere between like I said, 10 20 30 hours of training in a
week if their endurance athletes and usually about 80% of that training is in you know, the the moderate intensity Zone 2 training world with the remaining 20% being vigorous intensity exercise like hit
if they're if they're putting in 20 hours
a week of you know the of moderate intensity training
then they're doing anywhere but you know, they're doing
you know for
We're between
four to six hours a week of vigorous exercise like
hit. So just the portion of their vigorous exercise alone. They are doing is more than what committed exercisers are doing. So the question is, what's the best training protocol for a
non-athlete someone that's perhaps a committed exerciser
who is interested in Health and Longevity again, both high intensity interval training Zone to training also modern
intensity training can increase mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle.
Hit does it more
rapidly? It's a more potent stimulus again with lactate being a signaling molecule on the other hand Zone to training, you know for which is, you know, doing a more moderate intensity exercise that sustained for a longer duration does lead to an increase in mitochondrial
content. I think the key here is the total volume of training so higher intensity higher intensity exercise is a smaller volume.
Can result in more rapid larger increases in mitochondrial content while doing a more moderate intensity Zone to training
also does the same thing
but it just requires larger exercise volume or
duration your muscles ability to use fat as a fuel is also closely
tied to how many active mitochondria you have.
So in other words increasing mitochondrial
content
Also determines the ability of muscles to be able to oxidize
fat both high intensity able training. So vigorous
exercise Endzone to
training increase
the capacity for fat oxidation by increasing mitochondrial content
Now by enhancing the growth of new mitochondria, you're increasing the activity of key enzymes involved in fat metabolism.
So one of those is the carnitine
palmitoyl
transferase enzyme or the
ET enzyme
both types of exercise
training moderate and also vigorous intensity exercise do increase the CPT enzyme
capacity as well. And you know, obviously that
is directly related to the utilization of fat as a fuel source.
So I think the bottom line here is that, you know, mitochondrial
biogenesis increasing mitochondrial volume is key for mitochondrial Health. It's key for
Improving fat oxidation as well and both high intensity interval training and a more moderate Zone to type of training will get you increases in mitochondrial volume.
So another way that exercise improves mitochondrial health is through a process known as my table G
or my toe FEI jie as some people call it.
So my top Edge e is a type of a
toffee G which involves the selective removal of damaged or
Mitochondria from the cell or within the cell
this process really helps maintain mitochondrial Quality quality control and overall cellular health. So when you put stress on mitochondria through
exercise the body triggers, you know, the elimination of damaged mitochondria and the replacement of those mitochondria with new healthy ones through mitochondrial biogenesis.
There's not a lot of
direct human.
Search on the effects of different training
types of exercise of different training types of different exercise training on my table G. But I know
of at least one human study that is found particularly vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise
enhances markers of my table G. It's likely that both both vigorous
exercise high intensity interval training and more moderate exercise training can stimulate
this process with hit
just
You faster and you know the moderate intensity Zone to requiring a larger training
volume, but overall, you know, both hit Zone to can promote
skeletal muscle adaptations including mitochondrial biogenesis fat oxidation my table G. This is a repeating theme of this
podcast and also on the one that I did with
dr. Martin Kabbalah on high intensity interval training. I think the choice between the two really depends again on individual goals preferences the amount of time available for training and just what you love to do.
Hit offers that time efficiency it potentially
has the ability to have rapid improvements and adaptations and mitochondrial content while moderate intensity Zone 2 training can yield similar adaptations with a larger volume of moderate intensity exercise, you know sustained for a longer duration,
but I do think that it's important to probably try to incorporate both types of exercise training
for a more well-rounded way to kind of cover all your bases.
And for those that are committed exercisers if you're putting in let's say anywhere between two to five hours of training a week.
It's my opinion that you know, you should probably be doing a lot of a lot of that training or half of that
training should be vigorous intensity
exercise. Not only because the vo2max improvements
we spoke about earlier, but also because of brain benefits, so let's talk about the brain
exercise intensity.
Contents the interval training has been shown to have unique benefits for brain health.
Obviously all types of exercise are
beneficial for the brain
but high-intensity exercise may
have additional neuroprotective and cognitive
benefits and one of the mechanisms that's thought to underlie.
This is you know, that the unique
effects of you know, vigorous intensity exercise or hit on the brain because of the lactate production so during
In high intensity exercise lactate is
produced in large amounts as we've talked about largely as a byproduct of the metabolic stress, you're kind of pushing that anaerobic threshold
and when you produce lactate it's getting into circulation and it can cross the
blood-brain barrier. There are lactate Transporters MCT Transporters on the blood-brain barrier and it can you know, cross the blood-brain barrier and get into the brain where then acts as a signal and it triggers a
variety.
Of beneficial adaptations. So let's talk about some of those first, you know lactate can be used by neurons as a preferential energy source. So it's actually energetically favorable. It takes less energy for
mitochondria's to mitochondria to use lactate versus glucose.
So in fact neurons are used to using lactate because
Astrocytes in the brain which are supporting self or neurons
are mostly glycolytic. That means they're
mostly using glucose as energy. They're not using mitochondria and they're producing lactate as a
by-product. So astrocytes are turning out tons of lactate in the brain and that
lactate is being taken up, you know by neurons through the MCT
Transporters and used as energy. So there's actually even been studies showing that the brain
Is working harder during
exercise much like the
muscles are working harder your hearts working harder and it's
been shown that lactate actually fuels the brain during exercise. So that that lactate that's being translated because being transferred into circulation is being just soaked up by the brain and it's fueling the brain brain activity during exercise. Now another benefit of of neurons in the brain using lactate as an energy source instead of
glucose is it's spares glucose. It's freeing up
glucose to be used
by another biochemical pathway known as the pentose phosphate pathway and this pathway uses glucose to make precursors called nadph that's needed for the production of one of the most powerful antioxidants systems in the brain called glutathione. So the less glucose is being taken up by neurons to
Use this energy
the more I can be spared to be used in this pentose phosphate Pathway to make glutathione
and this has really important relevance. Not only for just you know normal brain aging right? I mean if you're if you're able to use more of the lactate as energy and spare glucose and make more glutathione in the brain generally speaking that's going to be more beneficial for just normal brain aging but it has special relevance also for traumatic brain injury TBI because you know that
When there's that, you know bolus of damage that's been done that that traumatic
brain injury,
then glutathione is needed the most but you're also needing you know glucose for neurons as well. And so and it's and it's all so awful because you know astrocytes which are
usually making lactate for the neurons
also become damaged during a TBI and so there's a lactate
shortage for neurons and
there's been a few studies showing that a
few.
And when
there's TBI patients with TBI that get
infused with sodium lactate
this actually improves
TBI outcomes and this is you know measured by the the Glascow scores.
So, you know, generally speaking. I think that this glucose sparing effect. Also, you know, there's some evidence again obviously direct evidence with TBI
outcomes that's been shown to have any improvements in TBI TBI outcomes. I'm proposing a mechanism here with glucose pairing.
And with respect to the with respect
to lactate lactate again also stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis animal Studies have shown this in the brain and neurons
as well. We don't have direct human
evidence of that but
there's no reason to think that wouldn't be a conserved mechanism.
So I think you know, we covered the importance of brain lactate
energetically speaking. It's energetically favorable right neuron neurons preferentially. They
prefer to use it
we talked about
The glucose pairing
but let's go back to the signaling
molecule aspect as we talked about earlier in the muscles. We talked about it increasing glute for Transporters. It's also a signaling molecule in the brain, you know, it's acting as a messenger. It's a way for the muscles to communicate with the brain directly and when neurons in the brain are using
more lactate
there, they're releasing
a variety of
neurotransmitters. They release more norepinephrine.
For example, so to help the brain working better to have more focus and attention.
It also
signals to the brain to make more brain derived neurotrophic factor bdnf.
And I mean, this is a very
powerful neurotrophic Factor it promotes the survival the growth and the function of neurons.
It plays a crucial
role in neuroplasticity. So this is the ability of the brain to adapt form new.
Next sessions higher levels of bdnf have been linked to improved cognitive function enhanced memory protection against
neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer's disease
if you want to put this into a sensational words to explain
it b d and f is the youth
Elixir for the brain
and exercising muscles produce lactate to help you bathe your brain in
it. So that's a little sort of simplistic and more Sensational way of
Think
about it, but essentially that's what's happening when the
lactates increasing bdnf in the
brain lactate is also a messenger not only in the brain, but at the
blood-brain barrier, you
know, this is made up of tiny
blood vessels. We covered this in a podcast with dr. Axle montaigne.
So lactate signals to increase
another growth factor at the blood brain barrier called vegf and this is vascular endothelial growth factor.
This helps grow new tiny
bus vessels. It's called This is called angiogenesis the growth of new tiny blood vessels.
It helps them grow at the blood-brain barrier. It also helps repair damaged blood vessels. I mean these are these are these are things that are, you know
important for preventing the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier.
So essentially veg, f
is increasing the vascular density and
breakdown of the blood-brain barrier is a major
cause of
Blood of brain aging it's a major cause of neuroinflammation. It contributes to the Vicious
Cycle of neuron filmation. And there's also emerging evidence that now suggests breakdown of the
blood-brain barrier is one of the earliest signs of
dementia.
So again another reason why vigorous intensity exercise through that just generation of a lot of lactate then getting to the brain get into the blood-brain barrier
has unique benefits on overall brain
health. It's important to know I guess this is you know, there are benefits to high intensity exercise on the brain that are not just exclusive to lactate, right?
So there's increased blood flow.
There's the improved cardiovascular fitness the release
of
neurotransmitters the release of endorphins,
you know, all of these things contribute to the positive effects of physical activity on the brain, but vigorous intensity exercise. I do think
has some unique and very robust effects on brain health
because of that lactate and so I
really wanted to kind of dive deep into that so that you guys understand that, you know, your muscles are being pushed to work extra hard.
Heard and this is then now causing adaptations in the brain that are pretty
substantial.
In addition to lactate exercise intensity also
affects the muscles ability to produce other compounds known as myokines. So these
are molecules released from muscle cells that signal to non muscle tissues that the body is physically active,
you know. So again, it's similar to what we've been talking about with lactate
myokines have anti-inflammatory. They have anti-cancer effects. They also participate in
Metabolic pathways involved in fat oxidation of glucose uptake
they play a role in you know in again cancer biology as
well. So generally speaking
the greater
the intensity of exercise
the greater the myo kind release again, it's one of those you're
putting stress on the muscles and the muscles are then forced to adapt and one of the adaptations is releasing myokines.
Again duration also matter so the harder and the
longer the muscles work the greater the myo kind release
some myokines are a little more sensitive to exercise intensity. So il-6 was is one probably one of the most
well-known myokines. It was initially thought to be a pro-inflammatory cytokine. So aside a kind that plays a role in instigate instigating inflammation when it is produced from
Muscle it acts as a myopic. I'm so it does play a role in inflammation, but when
it's produced from muscle during
exercise, it's not it's
signaling to other tissues to have an anti inflammatory response.
And so you'll often find an
even larger production of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as il-10 in response to il-6 produced during
exercise.
Iris in is another myo, Kine it's involved in cancer protection. It's involved in bone health metabolism and more.
And then there's also another well-known mile kind known as oncostatin M and that my oh kind
sort of plays a little more prominent role in you know, anti-cancer
effects. The key here is I think that exercise exercise intensity and or
duration are really what increase my oh kind levels. So you're going for a two or three mile
run probably crank it up a little more
intense right you want to be
You know at least 85% your max heart rate, so you're not going to be really talking during that run. Are you going on an eight mile run maybe duration is on your side, right and intensity can go down a notch
since we were just talking about cancer. Keep in mind that any level of physical activity is better than none. So a study investigating physical
activity in breast cancer and colorectal cancer found women who were more physically active before being diagnosed with breast cancer had about a
23 percent reduced.
Risk of dying from any cause and
a 23 percent reduced risk of dying from breast cancer compared to those who were less active those who were more active before being diagnosed with colorectal
cancer had a 26
percent reduced risk of dying from any cause and about a 25 percent reduced risk of dying from colorectal cancer.
So being active after diagnosis had
even stronger benefits for both cancer types. So these women had a 48 percent reduced risk of dying from any cause and a
e eight percent reduced risk of dying from breast cancer compared to those that were less
active after diagnosis and the individuals with colorectal
cancer had a 42 percent reduced risk of dying from any cause and a 39 percent reduced risk of dying from colorectal cancer again, after being diagnosed with with the cancer,
so I do want to talk a little bit about you know, there's a lot of mechanisms by which
exercise can you know dampen can
Sir, metastasis can improve cancer
outcomes but there's one specific mechanism that involves tumor cells escaping
from the original tumor site and then traveling into circulation to other locations other organs and you know other tissues they sort of take Camp there they grow and divide and they form a secondary tumor
those cancer cells are called circulating tumor cells and that process I just described is often
called cancer metastasis, right?
Right
those circulating tumor cells are in circulation for a period of time and these
circulating tumor cells are very sensitive to the shearing forces of blood flow.
So when you exercise and blood flow increases those circulating tumor cells, they actually they actually die and this happens in a dose-dependent manner. So the more intensity exercise
The more sensitive they are to to
cell death durations also a key. Right? So I mean you're talking about increasing
the shear forces both intensity and duration or key here. And so it's really just a
matter of getting that blood flow up intensity
duration and that has been shown to kill circulating tumor cells. And again, this is associated with more positive outcomes with respect to cancer.
oil
Not only are we talked a lot about you know muscles being little
chemical producing factories are producing chemicals like lactate they're producing
myokines, but they also act like sponges to
soak up compounds that could be harmful to the brain.
So skeletal muscle has the ability to take
up a compound known as kind learning and
convert it into kind
uric acid, which is a non toxic metabolites,
and it does this by
Using an enzyme on
the muscle called concerning aminotransferase.
So this essentially
reduces the amount of cayenne yearning available to then be transformed into other harmful
metabolites such as Quinn oolitic acid in the brain. So Quinn Olynyk acid is a neurotoxin that plays a role in
depression. It plays a role in schizophrenia and neurodegenerative
disease. And so this is just one other mechanism by which you know exercise
also
seems to improve mental
health. It's also, you know another way that again exercise intensity is important here that is what is increasing that you know, that enzyme that
can your kind yearning Amino transferase on the muscle cells to then transport kind urinating into the muscle. So that is not converted into
the clinic acid. So again, just another another mechanism that I kind of wanted to point to point out because again
intensity
Is a role here with those Amino transferase Transporters soaking up more of that kind of learning. I
want to shift gears and talk about short bursts
of high-intensity interval training.
So this is sometimes called exercise snacks exercise snacks are short bursts
of vigorous intensity exercise
that are Incorporated throughout the day and they it can have numerous benefits on metabolism overall health these exercise snacks can be as simple as
doing some vigorous jumping jacks or vigorous are
squats or high knees or burpees and they can be done in just a few minutes.
There might be some distinct metabolic benefits to exercise
snacks particularly when timed around meals so performing these these, you know short bursts
of exercise before or so directly before or after a
meal is
particularly effective in controlling blood sugar levels. I
think, you know, this
this sort of thing can lead to a rapid uptake
of
Cows into the muscles again having to do with increasing those glute for Transporters. It helps to lower blood glucose levels more efficiently than staying sedentary post
meals. So timing exercise snacks around meals really can help the bow the body handle sugar influx better and it helps, you know, utilize glucose
more effectively and reduces the demands on the pancreas to produce insulin. So it's particularly beneficial for people with
both type 1 and type 2
diabetes in addition to the direct metabolic benefits exercise snacks can also combat
sedentary Behavior
so many individuals, even those who
engage in regular
exercise still spend
a significant portion of their day
sitting at their desk
working being sedentary Centauri
Behavior has been shown to be a modest
independent risk factor for certain types of cancer.
And it can
also increase the risk of premature
death even among
Physically Active individuals. So
by incorporating exercise snacks individuals can kind
of break up those prolonged periods of sedentary behavior and potentially further, you know, reduce their cancer risk and just
have a broad variety of bell health benefits. So exercise snacks also can enhance cognitive function. It's directly increasing blood flow to the brain.
Brain, you know again
that that can also just have an immediate mood enhancement which affects motivation. There's not a lot of direct evidence on exercise
snacks in the brain, but and of course methodologies can differ anywhere between one
minute to 10 minutes,
but they're at least is one study showing that 10 minutes of an exercise snack does improve cognitive function.
So what could be a good
protocol to implement? Let's say during your sedentary time
would be perhaps, you know,
Setting a timer and every couple of hours you get up and you do a couple of
minutes of you know, high intensity interval training on
a very similar note. There's something called vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity. They'll Papa it's somewhat similar to exercise snacks, but it takes advantage of everyday sort of situations to get your heart rate up high
and to do some high intensity exercise. So for example,
instead of you have to take they take the stairs every day to
work one set of walking up the stairs Sprint. You're getting your heart rate high. So these types of Philip has have been measured in large numbers of
people. So there's a variety of Publications and studies that have been done measuring, you know, people's their their Villas that they're doing and you know, just three to four minutes a day of this vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity has been shown to be associated with eight.
25 to 30 percent reduction in overall mortality risk when that bill pad durations increased to about nine
minutes a day. It's associated with a
50% reduction in cardiovascular rate related mortality and a 40% reduction in cancer related mortality
and these benefits extend even to individuals who identify themselves as non
exercisers. In other
words these people that are not necessarily
doing Leisure Time.
Activity, they're not going to the gym and not going on
runs, but they're still engaging in these Ville puzz. So even those people are getting
mortality reductions and you know cancer mortality cardiovascular entire Productions with built us.
So I think that you know,
that's that's also an important benefit to keep in mind.
So I hope you guys enjoyed this episode a deep dive into the science
of why vigorous exercise is important. It's important for
Are improving cardiorespiratory Fitness particularly people that don't respond to more moderate intensity exercise. It's important
for metabolic
adaptations. It's very powerful at increasing glucose intake into muscles. It's also a very potent stimulator of mitochondrial biogenesis allowing for mitochondrial adaptations improving not only mitochondrial volume,
but also fat oxidation capacity as well.
It's increasing my tapa G the
it's of damaged mitochondria from muscle tissue, and it seems to have really unique benefits for the brain
and a lot of this does
come down to lactate production the metabolic stress that's induced from vigorous intensity exercise produces more lactate. This lactate is getting into circulation going to other tissues including the brain
and not only is this
allowing the brain to use an energetically favorable energy.
So neurons are using lactate as energy. It's allowing the sparing of glucose to be used to make precursors for a very powerful antioxidant glutathione in the brain.
It's also acting as a
signaling molecule in the brain increasing brain derived neurotrophic Factor.
This is hugely important for
you know, staving off neurodegenerative disease and just improving cognitive function. It's increasing vegf at the blood-brain barrier, you know, staving off the break down the blood-brain barrier
lat
Tate's also increasing myokines in the
muscle that have all sorts of
benefits. So I think I think we covered a lot
about the importance of vigorous exercise. And also
these the the vigorous exercise can be done in short exercise snacks as well. And I think this is a really great way
for schools and workplaces to incorporate some sort of physical activity to break up this sedentary time when people are sitting in their cubicles at the computer or sitting at their desks for prolonged periods.
Because just those periods of being sedentary in and of itself is a risk factor for early mortality.
So again exercise snacks are a
type of
vigorous exercise that can be incorporated, you know into everyday life as well
as the the bill possess. These are things where you're you taking advantage of everyday situations like like sprinting up the stairs rather than walking up them as well.
So I hope you guys enjoyed this podcast and I'll talk to you soon.
Thank you for listening to today's episode as we wrap up. Today's
discussion. I want to remind you about the special guide we put together. It's a valuable resource that aligns perfectly with what we've covered in this episode focusing on lifestyle practices and scientifically backed protocols to boost cognitive function and slow down the brains aging process Central to the guide is the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor or bdnf and enhancing neuroplasticity and promoting the growth of new brain cells. This guy delves into protocol.
Pacific to exercise and nutrition that can be pivotal for cognitive enhancement and increasing bdnf levels.
Plus it features a section entitled Rhonda's protocols
where I share a mix of my personal practices and research driven strategies aimed at improving cognitive Health.
These Protocols are flexible and evolving designed to be
integrated into your lifestyle for maximal cognitive benefit.
If you're intrigued and ready to deepen your understanding and application of these Concepts visit bdnf,
If protocols.com to download your free guide,
it's an invaluable asset for those
dedicated to improving cognitive function and staving off brain aging. Once again, you can find that
at bdnf
protocols.com. Thanks so much for listening and I'll talk to you soon.
