Good article but it leaves me feeling a bit conflicted.
A lot of supplements are hell bent on increasing mTOR take forskolin for example.
So all these supplements have it wrong?
Isn't mTOR the body's rate of how it regenerates, so how would slowing this down actually increase gains?
Hey Daz,
Some quotes from the article for ya:
"Perhaps an inhibited mTOR profile indicates that slow n’ steady, controlled protein synthesis is a more appropriate strategy for remodeling a larger muscle cell..."
"Once again, these results points to the possibility that “controlled” coordination of growth (as opposed to an all cyclinders firing, maxed-out protein synthetic response), as well as satellite cell involvement (see more below), are both important for packing on the beef."
"Perhaps muscle protein synthesis represents an acute alarm reaction, whereas satellite cell activity plays a more important role over the course of larger, more pronounced, long-term increases in cell size."
I'm not suggesting that blunting protein synthesis is advantageous, and, as noted in the article, several studies show that, overall, acute protein synthetic responses to a given condition (e.g., taking in an intra-WO supplement) are predictive of overall growth over training. So, overall, turning on protein synthesis is part of the adaptive process. However, there is so much variability and so many other important processes going on that acute protein synthesis per se, does not seem to be the most telling of whether someone will grow well or not in all circumstances.
Just like the construction site analogy (building a mall) in the article: The rate at which 2 x 4's get used up at the construction site (protein synthesis) is not the only factor determining how fast the mall is built, when you consider that there is drywall, electrical, HVAC, painting, roof work, etc. that are all necessary for the mall (muscle cell) to be functional... Generally speaking, 2x4 inclusion in building a necessary component of building the mall, but it does not seem to be the hypertrophy-limiting aspect of fiber remodeling.
-S
