Episode 54 Dr. Andy Galpin on the Science of Muscle Growth and Dietary Supplements

Nov 21, 2023

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Ever wonder how your muscles adapt and grow through exercise? Join us as we embark on a journey into the depths of muscle physiology with the insightful Dr. Andy Galpin, a renowned professor and human performance scientist. We're going to get under the skin of muscle hyperplasia, a topic that has sparked fierce debates within the scientific community. Get ready to challenge your understanding of muscle growth, as we also discuss muscle hypertrophy in relation to muscle damage.

Timeline:

3:22 Muscle fiber fusion versus splitting? Which is it? We discuss this paper by Grith Hojfeldt et al. Fusion of myofibre branches is a physiological feature of healthy human skeletal muscle regeneration (nih.gov) – Folks need to read this paper: Muscle fiber splitting in stretch-enlarged avian muscle : Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (lww.com)

10:34 – Are muscle biopsies a true representation of what happens in a whole muscle?

11:33 – I don’t buy this fusion stuff

12:20 – How does skeletal muscle fibers hypertrophy

13:37 – Fiber type profiles can differ within the same fiber

14:12 – Muscle fiber hypertrophy is never uniform from proximal to distal

15:47 – Skeletal muscle damage or injury – is it required for muscle fiber hypertrophy?

20:49 – Why would you waste your time doing 30 reps vs 3-6 reps if they both induce the same level of hypertrophy? Here are the exceptions.

32:54 – You can’t do an RCT on elite or professional athletes

36:17 – Why is sports nutrition advice held to a different standard than training advice?

37:25 – Pragmatic supplement advice for the general fitness enthusiast

39:06 – Vitamin D

45:06 - Adulteration of supplements – much ado about nothing? Do these trace amounts cause a positive drug test? Or do they have a physiological effect? For most consumers, this is more important than the first point.

50:06 – How do you educate students on what is good advice online?

58:38 – Product-specific trials – Galpin’s Momentous partnership

61:19 – Alligator and python hunting in Florida

Andy Galpin is a tenured full Professor at California State University, Fullerton, where he is also Co-Director of the Center for Sport Performance and Founder/Director of the Biochemistry and Molecular Exercise Physiology Laboratory. He is a Human Performance scientist with a Ph.D. in Human Bioenergetics and over 100 peer-reviewed publications and presentations. Dr. Galpin has worked with elite athletes (including All-Star, All-Pro, MVP, Cy Young, Olympic Gold medalists, Major winners, World titlist/ contenders, etc.) across the UFC, MLB, NBA, PGA, NFL, Boxing, Olympics, and Military/Special Forces, and more. He is also a Co-founder in Absolute Rest, BioMolecular Athlete, Vitality Blueprint, and RAPID Health & Performance.

About the Show

We cover all things related to sports science, nutrition, and performance. The Sports Science Dudes represent the opinions of the hosts and guests and are not the official opinions of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), the Society for Sports Neuroscience, or Nova Southeastern University. The advice provided on this show should not be construed as medical advice and is purely an educational forum.

Hosted by Jose Antonio PhD

Dr. Antonio is the co-founder and CEO of the International Society of Sports Nutrition and the co-founder of the Society for Sports Neuroscience, www.issn.net. Dr. Antonio has over 120 peer-reviewed publications and 16 books. He is a Professor at Nova Southeastern University, Davie, Florida in the Department of Health and Human Performance.