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mammalian Target of Rapamycin Complex C1

Sun, 08/17/2008 - 8:09pm — skyray

I just read an interesting article in Peak Performance issue 263 relating to this enzyme, its relation to strength building, and its vulnerability to adenosine monophosphate kinase, a bi-product of aerobic exercise. Maybe I just don't know how to read scholarly articles, but the only support for several of the assertions made was a compendium of "References" to which I do not have access. On the contrary, several of the assertions seemed to have the status of axioms such as adenosine monophosphate being the product of the breakdown of adenosine triphospate for the production of energy. The bottom line was that if you are trying to build both strength and endurance, you should do your aerobic exercise before you lift. I tried it for a couple of days, and I couldn't lift much after I trashed myself running.

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Sat, 05/02/2009 - 1:32pm — jwitt

Mammalian Target of

Mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) is one of the main pathways your body uses to make proteins (not just muscle protein), so this is an anabolic pathway. Strength training and protein ingestion activate this complex. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP - adenosine with 3 phosphates) is the main energy source for every process in the body, whether it be exercise or keeping you alive. Taking off the phosphate is where the energy comes from, so you can break ATP down to ADP (diphosphate) and eventually AMP (monophosphate). All food you consume can produce ATP.

High AMP means there is very little energy available. When high AMP is around, it activates another CATABOLIC process called AMPK (AMP activated protein kinase). AMPK activates GLUT4, the same process insulin uses to get carbohydrate into the muscle. It also promotes the benefits you see with high endurance training. However, the key is that AMPK blocks mTOR, meaning you will not synthesize much protein (ie. muscle) if AMPK is around. Simply put - you can forget about gaining muscle while in this state. While AMPK is great for weight loss, endurance athletes, and diabetics, it's not so great for anyone interesting in strength training. The recent studies on rats where they could simulate "exercise in a bottle" used AICAR, which is chemically similar to AMPK.

While it's true long duration endurance training without taking in carbs will promote AMPK, you can do this as well with a long/intense strength training workout where you haven't eaten and don't follow any post workout nutrition. Simple answer for strength training is to stay fueled and consume protein pre/post - this will activate mTOR and downregulate AMPK. For concurrent training, I don't see why endurance before strength would make this any better. The key is energy balance - don't run out of ATP ie. make sure your nutrition is sound before/during/after exercise. I did see one study that showed endurance before strength resulted in less GH than the other way around, but not sure if AMPK had anything to do with it.

John