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Have you ever been told that exercising at lower intensities will burn more fat? Or that you shouldn't do high intensity exercise if you're stressed out, because the added stress isn't good for your body?

These claims are pretty common in the fitness industry.. BUT THEY ARE SO WRONG!!! In this episode we debunk this common "fat burning zone" myth, and explain why high intensity exercise is awesome! At least according to the science..

References:

High intensity resulted in better body composition and glycemic control compared to moderate intensity: https://doi.org/10.1111/dom.13198

High intensity has greater mitochondrial adaptations: https://doi.org/10.1113/JP272570

High intensity results in more fat oxidation ("fat burning"): https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-020-04409-2

Meta analysis showing the millions of benefits of high intensity exercise compared to moderate: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35859145/

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On this week's episode we have Zack Roloff, PhD - ABD at the University of Minnesota. Zack shares his expertise and ongoing research in muscle physiology and metabolism. DISCLAIMER: we do deeeeep into the molecular biology at the beginning of the episode, so if you aren't interested in those specifics, you can skip forward when we break it down in layman's terms. At around the 53 minute-mark, we summarize the research. Then at around 1 hour and 33 minutes we begin Reid's Reddit Read's and broaden our discussion to apply Zack's research to more concepts in the world of health and wellness.

Zack's is part of a lab that studies skeletal muscle physiology, specifically in terms of aging and sex hormones. Zack, however, is a bit of the black sheep (in a good way) within his lab. His research focuses on the relaxed states of skeletal muscle myosin and how those states are influenced by (or actually do the influencing of) metabolism. This is a very new and exciting area of research, and could change the way we think about metabolic diseases, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and all other areas of metabolism and thermogenesis.

We talk about calorie intake, the influence of biological sex on metabolic function, hormone replacement therapy, cold water immersion, muscle physiology, menopause, aging. There is truly something for everyone in this episode!!!

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This week we break down the science related to strength training. We discuss the research on how to optimize your training to increase strength. We talk about the reps, sets, rest, frequency, type of workouts, recovery, progression, intensity, and supplements to get you as strong as possible.

We also talk about the impressive research showing how strength is one of the best metrics for health and longevity. We discuss how to improve strength at any age (even in your 90's), and why everyone should care about how strong they are. You'll be amazed at the impact that strength has on all aspects of your health.

Kick back and listen! If you find the podcast content interesting, please like, share, subscribe, and follow! You can also submit feedback, comments, questions, or request the next podcast topic on our website (www.kickbackscience.com). We will answer submitted questions live during the podcast episodes!

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Hopefully we've convinced you that muscle is the most important organ in the body after listing to last week's episode. This week we discuss the science of HOW to build muscle. There is a little bit of something for everyone in this episode, whether you're just beginning your fitness journey and want to know how to structure a workout, or you've been lifting weights for decades and want to know how to grow the biggest muscles possible.

We cover it all by breaking down the latest research on muscle hypertrophy (size). We talk about everything from blood flow restriction to supplements to the optimum amount of sets, reps, time, days, fuel, and rest that are needing to maximize muscle building. By the end of the episode, you'll have the knowledge and tools needed to become the next Arnold Schwarzenegger!

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In this week's episode, we discuss why muscle is the most important organ in your body!! If you think of muscle as an organ that just helps us move and lift heavy things, you've got it all wrong. Muscle is involved in nearly every aspect of our health. It is an incredibly unique organ that directly impacts the brain, heart, lungs, kidney, liver, etc. Muscle is absolutely essential to our overall health and longevity.

Listen as we break down all the incredible research in the world of muscle. I promise you'll never think of muscle the same again!

If you find the podcast content interesting, please like, share, subscribe, and follow! You can also submit feedback, comments, questions, or request the next podcast topic on our website (www.kickbackscience.com). We will answer submitted questions live during the podcast episodes!

REFERENCES:
Muscle declines with age: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcsm.13522
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8574623/

Muscle has antiinflammatory properties: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40477-024-00917-5#:~:text=Skeletal%20muscle%20tissue%20showed%20a,%2Dinflammatory%20reactions%20%5B11%5D

Muscle impacts the brain:
https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article/77/10/1959/6602136?login=false

Muscle can treat symptoms of depression and anxiety: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/eip.13528#:~:text=We%20reported%20that%20resistance%20training,elevated%20depressive%20or%20anxiety%20symptoms

More muscle = longer life:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11147802/#:~:text=Performing%20any%20amount%20of%20weight%20training%20was%20associated%20with%20lower,observed%20among%20women%20than%20men

It's never to late to start!
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37875254/

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In this week's episode, we discuss various sleep disorders, and talk more about how alcohol, caffeine, marijuana, and other substances impact sleep. We also touch on sleep medications and some crazy cool research on how sleep can impact literally every component of your life. You won't want to miss this one!!! Here is the link (also see link in bio)

If you find the podcast content interesting, please like, share, subscribe, and follow! You can also submit feedback, comments, questions, or request the next podcast topic on our website (www.kickbackscience.com). We will answer submitted questions live during the podcast episodes!

**SEE PART 1 EPISODE DESCRIPTION FOR RESEARCH CITATIONS**

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Tune in to the latest Kickback Science Episode where we talk all about SLEEP!! There is soooo much to discuss in this episode, so we broke it into 2 parts.

For part 1, we discuss what sleep is, why it's important, how much sleep you need, how to determine if you're getting enough, and how you can improve your sleep. We touch on how sleep impacts learning, memory, studying, and test taking. We also discuss chronotypes, circadian rhythm, blue light, alcohol, caffeine, and so much more!!

In part 2 we discuss various sleep disorders, and talk more about how alcohol, caffeine, marijuana, and other substances impact sleep. We also touch on sleep medications and some crazy cool research on how sleep can impact literally every component of your life. You wont want to miss this one!!!

If you find the podcast content interesting, please like, share, subscribe, and follow! You can also submit feedback, comments, questions, or request the next podcast topic on our website (www.kickbackscience.com). We will answer submitted questions live during the podcast episodes!

REFERENCES:
2023 - AUSTRALIA - systematic review of 17 RCTs - found no evidence of blue light and sleep quality in short term use (from 1 day to 5 weeks) - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37593770/

2014 Harvard study - digital screen resulted in a harder time falling asleep, reduced melatonin, and shifted circadian rhythm - https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1418490112

Impact of sleep on Alzheimer's - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3669060/

Impact of sound machines on sleep - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34964434/#:~:text=Nineteen studies had positive findings,noise (2.36%2F0.81).

Impact of sex/orgasms on sleep- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6409294/

Melatonin has antioxidant properties and improves insulin sensitivity - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpi.12137
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6332205/

Amount of melatonin on the label is not usually accurate - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5263083/

Sleep impact on immune function -
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2629403/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12243633/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3242694/

Caffeine as early as 7am can influence sleep - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7796154/

Sleep and cardiovascular risk - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7271997/

Sleep impacts the gut -
ttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5123208/
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(14)01236-7

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In this weeks episode, we discuss VO2max. If you haven't heard of it before, I encourage you to listen. VO2max is the single greatest tool we have to determine someone's overall health. Knowing your VO2max will tell you more about your risk of disease and mortality than any other metric used in healthcare (blood pressure, HbA1c, cholesterol, etc.)

Tune in to hear all about what VO2max is, why you should know yours, how you measure it, how to improve it, and more!

References:
VO2max and mortality risk: 2019 paper- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2707428
2022 paper - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109722052603?via%3Dihub#undfig2

How METS correlate with mortality risk: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254621000703?via%3Dihub#fig0004

Sprint training influence on VO2max: https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezp3.lib.umn.edu/doi/10.1111/sms.12092

ways to ESTIMATE your VO2max: https://sites.uni.edu/dolgener/Fitness_Assessment/CV_Fitness_Tests.pdf