IM
OVER-40 FITNESS
Expert advice for over-40 athletes about training, supplementation, nutrition, hormones, and more.
By Jay Campbell and Jim Brown
PHOTO: NATALIE MINH; MODELS: JAY CAMPBELL AND MONICA DIAZ
Q: Why does the body seem to burn more fat at a lower intensity level as opposed to a higher intensity level? Jay Says: Let me set up a few situations for you as examples. First, let’ s say you wake up in the morning and do fasted cardio at a steady state for 30 minutes. Your blood sugar is at its lowest level, meaning you don’ t have available glucose floating around to be used as energy. If you start doing steady-state cardio with a lower heart rate, you are more likely to start burning fat as an energy source, not taking in consideration glucose being released by liver. If you keep the intensity lower, this should continue the whole time you’ re doing cardio. Now, let’ s imagine the same situation but you’ re doing high intensity where your energy demands require glucose. You will go through the stored glycogen in liver, then start breaking down muscle protein for glucose. Overall, for trying to gain or retain muscle, we recommend low impact, steady-state cardio for the most part. Some high-intensity activities are fine, just plan ahead nutritionally so that you have adequate fuel as opposed to breaking down muscle proteins.
76 JUNE 2017 | ironmanmagazine. com
Q: My wife and I tried Metformin and experienced some lower GI issues. My doctor suggested Berberine as an alternative substitute. Do you have any recommendations? Jim and Jay Say: We have experience with both agents. Berberine does have some of the same benefits and a few others that Metformin does not have. We do think overall that Metformin, in terms of lowering A1C, is much more effective. Both Berberine and Metformin will likely make your intestinal flora better than it is before initiation of therapy, unless of course you have been actively addressing that. Users have experienced GI and abdominal issues with both compounds; however, Metformin is much less tolerant in our opinion of an unbalanced flora. It is our theory that if you have an unbalanced flora, you are much more likely to have those sides effects with Metformin. We have seen people in that situation deal with it one of three ways. First, you can cut dosage down and take a quarter or half of the prescribed amount and see if you have hit a point where you are able to take it without side effects. Most people who have done that successfully were prescribed, say, 500 milligrams twice a day and would then break one of those tabs in half and just take 250 milligrams or even 125 milligrams once a day and try to work up to the full dose. Second, you can pause the Metformin therapy and start working on your intestinal flora. This may be done by taking a probiotic supplement and / or eating fermented foods such as kefir, sauerkraut, and kimchi. Thirdly, you can just forget about Metformin, try Berberine, and monitor your A1C levels. Of course, we are not doctors and would discuss these strategies with your prescribing physician before acting. There are also special considerations when taking Metformin such as the importance of supplementing B12 and to not use with certain kidney conditions.
Q: I’ m curious about insulin and its use in bodybuilding today. What does it do, and how is it used? Jim and Jay Say: By insulin use we assume you mean exogenous insulin. Insulin is used to shuttle nutrients into cells, which is exactly why bodybuilders find value in it. Typical usage is either before, during, or after