1 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:13,399 Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, welcome to another edition of Wisdom Wednesdays. Today 2 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:15,520 Speaker 1: we are going to talk about exercise again. I know 3 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: I talk about it a lot, but today we're going 4 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:20,760 Speaker 1: to talk about not just how much of it you're doing, 5 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:25,079 Speaker 1: but what kind of adaptation your body is building because 6 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: of it, Because, as it turns out, it's not just 7 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: about moving more, but how you move that is critical. 8 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:35,360 Speaker 1: Now we've been told about this idea for decades that 9 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: you should get one hundred and fifty minutes a week walking, 10 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 1: jumping on a bike, maybe some jogging, and you're taking 11 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 1: the health box right now. I have recently talked about 12 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 1: some research that showed that intensity and like high intensity 13 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:55,680 Speaker 1: stuff was worth way more than two minutes of moderate intensity. 14 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: I think it was somewhere between five and nine, depending 15 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: on what health parameter you're looking at. But a brand 16 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: new systematic review and meta analysis, which has pulled outa 17 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: from over four hundred studies including nearly six thousand participants, 18 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:21,440 Speaker 1: has unpacked just high different types of exercise reshape our muscle, mitochondria, 19 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: and our capillaries, the blood flow network within that the 20 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 1: review was published in twenty twenty five, and that the 21 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: title is Effects of exercise training on mitochondrial and capillary 22 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: growth in human skeletal muscle, A systematic review and meta regression, 23 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,399 Speaker 1: and this really adds a bit of depth to that 24 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: earlier study that showed that high intensity was way more 25 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: impactful than moderate intensity. So what these researchers found was 26 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: that these two things, mitochondrial density and capillarization are absolutely 27 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: critical for your metabolic health, endurance, and your longevity. And 28 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:09,799 Speaker 1: they clearly showed once again the intensity is king. So first, 29 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: let's talk about your mitochondria. You may have heard before 30 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,959 Speaker 1: that these are your cellular energy factories. They're talking about 31 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: as the powerhouse of the cell, but the reality is 32 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: they do way more than that. It is known now 33 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: that your mitochondria play a role in the following processes 34 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: in the body, calcium and iron, homeostasis and signaling, then 35 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 1: control of apoptosis. You may have heard of this before. 36 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 1: This is programmed cell death where your sales diets certain times, 37 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:46,680 Speaker 1: but that triggers the growth of new cells. The next 38 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:51,360 Speaker 1: way they impact our health is management and detoxification of 39 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: reactive oxygen species, which you've probably heard of. These are 40 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 1: these little nasty cellular nasties that practically rust your cells. 41 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: Mitochondria have an impact on steroid hormone synthesis. They also 42 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:11,080 Speaker 1: impact on neurotransmitter and hormone production. They play critical roles 43 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: in circadian rhythm regulation, and we know that that has 44 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: huge impacts on our health. And they play big roles 45 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 1: in metabolic signaling and regulation, including blood sugar control. Now, 46 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: on top of all of that, if that list isn't 47 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 1: enough damage, Mitochondria are one of the twelve major hallmarks 48 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: of aging that I talk about in my new book 49 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: and I've covered in the podcast before, and it is 50 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 1: the one hallmark that impacts more hallmarks than any of 51 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:47,680 Speaker 1: the others. So more mitochondria equals better health on so 52 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: many levels and better aging. Now, this review found that 53 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: high intensity training and sprint interval training produced two to 54 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: four times greater mitochondrial gains per unit of time than 55 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: your standard long duration, steady state jog or background basically 56 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 1: the moderate physical activity that we're totally so important. So 57 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:16,920 Speaker 1: if your time poor, and let's face it isn't these days, 58 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:21,119 Speaker 1: then doing a few very hard sessions can deliver more 59 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:26,039 Speaker 1: mitochondrial bang for your buck. Sprint intervals were the most efficient, 60 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: followed by high intensity interval training then traditional endurance training. 61 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: So don't believe all the hype on the internet about 62 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 1: Zone II training. Yes it plays a role in our health, 63 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:43,039 Speaker 1: but it's actually minor compared to working out at higher intensities. 64 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: Now let's shift and talk about capillarization. So that is 65 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:51,039 Speaker 1: the expansion of your muscles blood vessel network, which we 66 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:53,839 Speaker 1: know is really important for our health as well. And 67 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: it turns out that capellary growth responds a bit differently 68 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: than mitochondria to exercise training. In this topic, volume and 69 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: duration start to matter more. We know now that increases 70 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,279 Speaker 1: in capillaries per fiber per muscle fiber, they happen across 71 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: all exercise types, but density gains were more robust with 72 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:21,040 Speaker 1: your longer duration, moderate intensity efforts like your classic enurine 73 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 1: training or your Zone two, So this is where this 74 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: becomes really important. However, what these researchers find was that 75 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 1: the response plateaued after about eight weeks, So even if 76 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: you're targeting vascular remodeling, you don't need endless, endless hours 77 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:42,839 Speaker 1: of Zone two, You just need consistent exposure over a 78 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: couple of months. And importantly, in this research, capillary growth 79 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:53,040 Speaker 1: is not the same thing as hypertrophy. Bigger muscles don't 80 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 1: necessarily mean better blood flow. The study made this distinction 81 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: pretty clear. Vascular remodel is its own biological response. So 82 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: let's talk about who benefits, because they also looked at 83 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: that in the study and what they find it's good news. 84 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: Everybody adapts. Doesn't matter what your age, your sex, or 85 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: your disease status. None of those blunt your ability to 86 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:22,720 Speaker 1: respond to the right exercise dose. Now, some disease in 87 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: the aide status might impact some of the exercises that 88 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: you can do, but we can all still go at 89 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 1: intensity unless we've got really chronic conditions. But they find 90 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 1: that even people with diabetes, cardiovascular or pulmary conditions showed 91 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:43,600 Speaker 1: meaningful improvements. Right, so having a condition doesn't mean that 92 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:47,799 Speaker 1: you stop exercising. You just need to tweak it, probably 93 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: under the guidance of an exercise physiologist. But what they 94 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: find is that the untrained people showed bigger gains. But 95 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:02,800 Speaker 1: this is important. Well trained individuals still adapted, particularly when 96 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: the intensity was cranked up, so there's no what we 97 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: call a ceiling effect if you push the stimulus appropriately. 98 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,200 Speaker 1: So let's talk to takeoms. What does this mean for you. Firstly, 99 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 1: intensity matters most for building mitochondria. I think sprint interval 100 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: intervals being king then hit. They are the best bang 101 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:28,000 Speaker 1: for your back with exercise, and they also the take 102 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:33,280 Speaker 1: on is capillary growth is more about duration, but it 103 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: happens early. You don't need the grind for years. You 104 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: just need to be consistent for eight weeks or a 105 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,000 Speaker 1: little bit longer. And hypertrophy and muscle is not the 106 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 1: same as capillarization. Just because your muscles are getting bigger 107 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 1: doesn't mean that your vascular system is improving. And that's 108 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: probably why in the research muscle strength has a bigger 109 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 1: impact on longevity the muscle size. It's actually what's happening 110 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: inside the muscle that's key, including extra capillarization. And a 111 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: big take on here is that everybody benefits, regardless of age, sex, 112 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: or health condition. And the last one is that that 113 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 1: trainability is context specific. Untrained people improve greater or are 114 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 1: more than trained people, but even trained athletes can continue 115 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: adapting if they adjust the intensity. So the next time 116 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: you're planning your workout, don't just ask about how long 117 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:34,360 Speaker 1: have I got ask yourself the big question, how hard 118 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 1: can I go? Because exercise in just to behavior eight 119 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 1: is a very clear biological signal, and that signal gets 120 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 1: louder the harder you train. That's it for this week, folks, 121 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: catch you next time.