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In today’s edition:
• Impact of fasted vs. fed state on resistance training
• Risk assessment tool for energy deficiency in active females
• Exercise-induced muscle damage patterns in older adults
• Beetroot juice supplementation benefits for aging muscles
• Biomechanical insights on stride length and pitch velocity
• Hip flexibility optimization through targeted warm-up protocols
and several more…
In focus: The Impact of Fasting on Resistance Training Performance
Research indicates that fasting prior to resistance exercise can shift the body’s reliance towards fat metabolism rather than carbohydrates, as demonstrated in a study reporting significantly lower respiratory exchange ratios during fasted sessions compared to fed ones for exercises like back squats and military presses. This suggests potential adaptations in how energy resources are utilized and may enhance fat oxidation during workouts Effects of Prior Fasting on Fat Oxidation during Resistance Exercise. A landmark 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis examining fasted versus fed resistance training found no significant differences in fat-free mass, muscle hypertrophy, or strength gains between the two approaches. However, the fasted state was associated with greater reductions in body fat mass, suggesting metabolic advantages for body composition goals Resistance training performed in the fasted state compared to the fed state on body composition and strength.
Moreover, a recent randomized clinical trial by Vieira and colleagues directly compared 12 weeks of resistance training in fasted versus fed states in 28 young adults. Both groups showed similar improvements in muscle thickness and strength, with fasted participants training after 10-12 hour fasts while fed participants consumed carbohydrate-rich meals 1-2 hours before training. Additionally, findings from systematic reviews indicate that pre-exercise feeding is generally associated with enhanced metabolic signaling in muscle and can boost overall exercise performance while accelerating recovery post-exercise. Research on fat oxidation during exercise shows that fasted exercise produces significantly higher rates of fat oxidation, particularly during moderate-intensity exercise below 70% VO2max.
-Haresh 🤙
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Python Coding Challenge
This tutorial teaches you to create a comprehensive workout performance analyzer that reveals hidden patterns in how nutrition timing affects training intensity. You’ll build a tool that processes real training data to quantify the performance differences between fed and fasted states, complete with visual progress bars and evidence-based coaching recommendations.
💻 Launch This Project in Colab
Open the interactive Google Colab notebook for today's project — with full instructions, hints, and solutions to the extension task.
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Key finding:
The Female Energy Deficiency Questionnaire effectively assesses energy deficiency risk in young active females across various sports.
How they did it:
Methodology: A total of 202 young active females, ages 18-35, with a BMI between 16-25 kg/m², participated in a retrospective analysis involving seven studies, completing various validated questionnaires to assess health and eating behavior. Energy deficiency was defined via serum total triiodothyronine (TT3) levels, with models developed to predict low TT3 (<73.2 ng/dL or <80 ng/dL) using logistic regression based on a subset of 152 participants.
Results: The final prediction model demonstrated an 84.2% sensitivity, 80.6% specificity, and 82% accuracy for identifying low TT3 levels <73.2 ng/dL, and an 85% sensitivity, 83.3% specificity, with 84% accuracy for identifying low TT3 levels <80 ng/dL when validated against a separate group of 50 individuals.
Innovational Tool: The Female Energy Deficiency Questionnaire (FED-Q) represents a novel, non-invasive risk-assessment tool specifically designed to identify energy deficiency in exercising women across multiple sports, derived from a comprehensive analysis of eating behavior and health-related indicators.
Statistical Validation: The development involved 500 iterations of stepwise logistic regression, ensuring high reliability; predictors included Body Mass Index (BMI), the number of menstrual cycles in the last six months, dietary cognitive restraint scores, and body dissatisfaction index, all selected based on their frequency of occurrence across iterations.
Practical Application: The FED-Q can be easily accessed and utilized in both clinical practice and research, allowing practitioners to assess energy deficiency risk without requiring extensive laboratory measures, thus broadening the ability to identify at-risk individuals in a variety of settings.
Why it matters:
Understanding energy deficiency in young active females is crucial for promoting their health and performance. The development of the Female Energy Deficiency Questionnaire (FED-Q) offers a reliable tool that boasts an impressive 84% accuracy in identifying those at risk based on triiodothyronine (TT3) levels. This means coaches and practitioners can better monitor athletes’ energy availability, making informed adjustments that could prevent potential health issues related to the Female Athlete Triad, thus supporting athletes in maintaining optimal physical and mental well-being.
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Key finding:
Both fasting and fed states lead to similar improvements in muscle growth and performance from resistance training.
How they did it:
Methodology: The study involved 28 participants (6 men, 22 women) aged 20-40 years, randomly assigned to either fasting resistance training (Fast-RT, n=15) or fed resistance training (Fed-RT, n=13), both following individualized nutrition plans and performing two resistance training sessions per week for 12 weeks.
Results: Both Fast-RT and Fed-RT groups experienced significant increases in quadriceps muscle thickness (1.21 cm vs. 1.18 cm), and maximum dynamic strength for bench press (10.53 kg vs. 4.89 kg) and knee extension (28.53 kg vs. 29.31 kg), without significant differences between groups for muscle power or strength improvements.
Innovations: The study utilized controlled dietary interventions to ensure macronutrients were matched across groups, effectively isolating the effects of fasting versus fed states on resistance training adaptations.
Performance Metrics: Total resistance training workload was similar between groups over the 12-week intervention (Fast-RT: 8,255 kg vs. Fed-RT: 7,562 kg), indicating that the fasting condition did not compromise training intensity or volume.
Safety Observations: Some adverse events were noted, particularly in the Fast-RT group, including dizziness (5 participants), suggesting that while fasting may be beneficial, it could lead to discomfort during workouts for some individuals.
Why it matters:
These findings reveal that resistance training (RT) can lead to similar muscle strength and hypertrophy gains whether performed in a fasted or fed state, a discovery that may ease concerns for athletes who struggle with pre-workout nutrition. Notably, participants in the fasted group saw a significant increase in fat-free mass, indicating that time of eating may not be as critical as previously thought.
Aging and Athletic Longevity
-Older adults experience less exercise-induced muscle damage than younger adults, allowing them to engage in physical activity confidently.
Aging and Athletic Longevity
-Dietary nitrate supplements improve muscle function and fatigue resistance in older adults but have no effect on younger adults.
Aging and Athletic Longevity
-The Sustained Athlete Fitness Exam offers valuable fitness benchmarks for older athletes, enhancing assessment and training approaches.
Biomechanics
-Altering stride length in baseball pitching does not significantly affect total energy transfer or ball velocity.
Environmental Factors in Sport
-Air pollution negatively impacts athletes’ health, driving the need for effective mitigation strategies and guidelines.
Injury
-Warm-up with 15 straight leg raises significantly improves hip and knee flexibility, with optimal results achieved in 10 repetitions.
Nutrition
-Current resting metabolic rate prediction equations vary in effectiveness, impacting the diagnosis of energy deficiency in elite athletes.
Sport Physiology
-Uphill skiing performance in Olympic ski mountaineering is primarily determined by near-maximal intensity training tailored to race formats.
Sport Psychology
-Former professional cricketers face unique challenges in retirement, highlighting the need for broader narratives about their future identities.
Sport Psychology
-Long-term physical exercise improves persistent self-control but does not significantly affect inhibitory self-control abilities.
Sport Technology
-A new conversion table provides reliable power estimations for effective training with the Wattbike AtomX cycle ergometer.