Sigma Nutrition Radio

Special guest host Ciaran O' Regan interviews Dr. Israel Halperin about research and application of S&C coaching. Israel is a post-doctoral researcher at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Israel completed his PhD at Edith-Cowan University, Australia in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). His research centered on the effects coaching feedback has on the performance of resistance trained subjects and combat sport athletes. Israel spent the 3 years working with the four Olympic Combat sports in the AIS Combat Centre as a sport scientist. Over the years Israel has trained many world-class combat sport athletes as an S&C and Muay Thai coach. Israel has international competition experience in Muay Thai, and has spent 2 years in the U.S and a year in Thailand for training and competition purposes. He also holds two black belts. In This Episode We Discuss: Israel's background as athlete, coach and scientist The role of strength and conditioning in open loop sports and the cost to benefit analysis of GPP vs SPP An evidence-based approach to designing combat sports training sessions Becoming comfortable with the uncertainty and chaos of working with humans Humility as a scientist and a coach and being willing to change our views in light of evidence Becoming aware of our biases and what to do about them This episode is brought to you by Health IQ. To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/sigma or mention the promo code SIGMA when you talk to a Health IQ agent.

Andy Morgan is back on the show to discuss a whole host of topics related to coaching, fitness and learning. Andy is the founder of RippedBody.com and an online coach. He co-authored the Muscle & Strength Pyramids books along with Dr. Eric Helms and Andrea Valdez. He has published a host of excellent nutrition and training resources in the form of ebooks, articles and podcasts, which can be found on the Ripped Body website. Born in the UK, Andy has been living in Japan for over a decade, currently residing in Tokyo. In This Episode We Discuss: Current projects Andy is working on Characteristics of great coaches Developing a framework for client success Learning from experiences regardless of outcome How excitement and philosophies change with experience in fitness Interpreting studies more effectively Lessons learned from Mike Tuchscherer How past experiences and culture have influenced Andy as a coach and person. This episode is brought to you by Health IQ. To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/sigma or mention the promo code SIGMA when you talk to a Health IQ agent.

Dr. Andy Galpin of CSU Fullerton talks about blending evidence and practice, as well as the potential beneficial and detrimental roles of technology for making training decisions. Andy is a tenured Professor in the Center for Sport Performance at CSU Fullerton. Andy spent 4 years studying the structure and function of human skeletal muscle at the single cell level, a feat which earned him a PhD in Human Bioenergetics in 2011. This also resulted in the friendship with frequent collaborator Dr. Jimmy Bagley and the ability to open up his own "Biochemistry and Molecular Exercise Physiology Laboratory" at CSU Fullerton. He now focuses his attention on teaching classes (Sports Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, Designing Exercise Programs, Applied Strength and Conditioning, Athlete Assessment and Measurement, etc.) and running the BMEP lab (which studies the acute responses and chronic adaptations of human skeletal muscle in response to high force/velocity/power and fatiguing exercise from the whole body, down to the individual muscle fiber and even into the individual DNA. The team does this by taking muscle biopsies from non-athletes and elite athletes from different backgrounds (e.g. normal college student, MMA fighter, Boxer, Weightlifter, etc.) and use highly sophisticated laboratory techniques and equipment to address questions about single fiber "type", size, function, protein quantity, diameter, mitochondria, and myonuclear function. In This Episode We Discuss: Communication of scientific concepts Physiology of the adaptive response Decision-making process for how to decide on whether a specific technological tool is useful to use Assessing readiness to train: in either remote athletes or combat athletes where you can't visually see them for every session This episode is brought to you by Health IQ. To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/sigma or mention the promo code SIGMA when you talk to a Health IQ agent.

Marty Kendall is the man behind the Optimising Nutrition blog and creator of the Nutrient Optimiser. On the show we discuss energy density, nutrient density and insulin load. To see if you qualify for a special life insurance quote due to being health conscious, then go to healthiq,com/sigma

Greg Potter is currently just finishing up his PhD at the University of Leeds in the UK. His research focus on chronobiology; looking at circadian rhythms, light-dark cycles and the potential for meals to entrain peripheral circadian clocks. Two Research Papers Examined in this Episode: Paper One: Stothard et al., 2017 - Circadian Entrainment to the Natural Light-Dark Cycle across Seasons and the Weekend Paper Two: McHill et al., 2017 - Later circadian timing of food intake is associated with increased body fat

Michael (Mike) C. Zourdos, Ph.D, CSCS: Mike is an Assistant Professor in Exercise Science at Florida Atlantic University with a specialization in strength and conditioning and skeletal muscle physiology. He earned his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from The Florida State University (FSU) in 2012 under the guidance of Dr. Jeong-Su Kim. Prior to attending FSU Mike received his B.S. degree in Exercise Science from Marietta College and M.S. in Applied Health Physiology from Salisbury University. At Marietta Mike lettered in soccer for four seasons and captained the squad in his final two. While at Salisbury he also served as the graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach for all sports teams. Further, Mike served as the Head Powerlifting Coach of FSU's 2011 and 2012 state championship teams and currently serves as FAU's Head Coach in addition to being a faculty member. Mike's research focuses on optimizing periodization and program design methods, along with improving training efficiency, and examining skeletal muscle adaptations and the inflammatory response to exercise." This line of high performance research is currently ongoing in the FAU 'Muscle Lab.' His best powerlifting competition lifts include a 230.0kg (507lbs.) raw squat as an 83kg lifter. Finally, Mike is recently married to Dr. Catherine Coccia, Ph.D., R.D., and Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Florida International University (Miami, FL). Papers Discussed in this Episode Paper 1: Fink et al., 2017 - Effects of drop set resistance training on acute stress indicators and long-term muscle hypertrophy and strength Paper 2: Murlasits et al., 2017 - The physiological effects of concurrent strength and endurance training sequence: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Brianna Stubbs, PhD In 2016 Brianna completed her PhD in Metabolic Biochemistry at Oxford University. She also became a World Champion rower as part of the GB Rowing Lightweight Women's four person crew, and won 3 other World Rowing Championships medals. She has published peer-reviewed studies looking at ketone metabolism, ketone ester supplementation in athletes and effects of ketones on appetite. In This Episode We Discuss: Brianna's background as an elite-level rower Her PhD research on ketone metabolism Misconceptions about ketones (both endogenous and exogenous) Ketogenesis: why do we make ketones? Brianna's study examining effect of ketone ester supplementation on appetite and ghrelin levels Who needs to even know their ketone concentration? Ketone supplements: glycogen sparing or glycogen impairing? Effect of ketone supplementation on fuel selection in endurance athletes Potential for supplementation: where is the area we will most likely see some benefit? Limitations of current literature base

Click here to subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium This is an "open discussion" between Prof. Tim Noakes and Martin MacDonald on the topic of carbohydrates, insulin resistance and body fat. Prof. Noakes obtained an MBChB degree in 1974, an MD in 1981 and a DSc (Med) in Exercise Science in 2002. In the early 90s, Noakes teamed up with Morné du Plessis to drive the founding of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA). Prof Noakes has published more than 750 scientific books and articles. He has been cited more than 16,000 times in scientific literature, has an H-index of 71 and has been rated an A1 scientist by the National Research Foundation of South Africa for a second 5-year term. He has won numerous awards over the years and made himself available on many editorial boards. After his research convinced him that a high fat, low carb diet is the healthiest option for many, Prof Noakes founded The Noakes Foundation in 2012. Prof Noakes retired as Professor of Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2014 and is now an Emeritus Professor at UCT. While his career has seen him involved in some controversial circumstances, love him or hate him, you cannot deny his contributions to scientific research. Martin is a clinical performance nutritionist and the founder of Mac-Nutrition, a thriving nutrition consultancy boasting sought after long-term internship and weekend mentorship programs. He has also developed Mac-Nutrition Uni, the UK's first ever evidence-based, nutrition course that can be completed online. Martin has worked as a performance nutritionist in elite sport with British Weight Lifting, Derby County Football Club, English swimming and other elite sport organizations. He has lectured at the University of Derby and has guest lectured on the prestigious MSc Sport and Exercise Nutrition course at Loughborough University. In This Episode We Discuss: Should carbohydrates be restricted for weight loss? weight maintenance? health? Confusing messages given to the public surrounding nutrition Do insulin resistant people need to be very low-carb? Does LCHF mean less hunger, and therefore better long-term results? You can find the show notes at sigmanutrition.com/episode210/ Click here to subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium

Sleep researcher Dr. Amy Bender discusses the most current evidence-based recommendations for optimizing your sleep for health and athletic performance. Dr. Bender is the Clinical Program Director of Athlete Services at the Centre for Sleep & Human Performance and is also an adjunct professor of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. She received her PhD and Master of Science degrees in Experimental Psychology from Washington State University in Spokane, WA specializing in sleep EEG. Her current research focuses on the relationship of sleep and recovery on athletic performance in Canadian National Team athletes. Her research interests stem from being an athlete herself; she is a Hall of Fame basketball player, has summited a number of volcanoes, and completed an Ironman in 2009. In This Episode We Discuss: Circadian biology and light/dark cycles Effects of artificial light at night The importance of daylight exposure early in the day Daily vs. weekly sleep quantity What exactly is "good quality" sleep? Strategy of "banking sleep" Assessing and tracking sleep in clients and athletes Strategies to mitigate detrimental effects of sleep before competition Are there any supplements that actually work for helping sleep? Interested in doing an online nutrition course? Check out sigmanutrition.com/mnu

Herman Pontzer, an evolutionary biologist, discusses the constrained energy expenditure model, physical activity paradox, and why humans can expend so much energy in short time frames. The podcast challenges beliefs about calorie burn and activity levels, delves into evolutionary biology of energy balance, and explores the impact of physical activity on health and disease.