Q and A - 31/08/11

Q1 - If doing cardio (such as swimming) is it more beneficial to do to it before or after doing weight training?

A1 – I do feel it can be beneficial to start a workout with some light cardio, purely to get warmed up (10mins or less). I think in terms of practicality however swimming wouldn’t be the best choice of cardio, you don’t want to be damp in the gym! Also the time between finishing your swim and starting your resistance training would render the cardio next to pointless. If however you’re looking to burn fat then I think swimming is a great choice for post workout cardio (20mins minimum). This could actually be beneficial for recovery purposes too, however be sure to time your post workout supplementation (or food if you don’t take supplements) carefully. Remember the key “window of opportunity” in regards to post workout supplementation is about twenty minutes; however you don’t want to go swimming on a full stomach. I’d suggest taking 35-50g’s of whey immediately following your resistance (wait for it to settle before going swimming, shouldn’t take long) then after your swim go home and eat a good meal of protein, fat and/or carbs depending on where you are with your diet.

Q2 – What’s your opinion on bcaa supplements, and how should they be used around a workout?

A2 – A lot of my opinions are based on the work of people with a far greater knowledge of specific areas (usually scientists), as a nutritionist I try to bridge the void between scientific discovery and practical application. Amino acid supplementation is pretty new and exciting area of sports supplements, in this case most of my understanding is based on the work of Layne Norton and Dr. Scott Connolly. As I previously mentioned amino acid supplementation is a relatively new concept (at least successful amino acid supplementation), as I understand it bcaa’s shouldn’t be seen as a replacement for whole proteins. Instead they should be seen as an activator for protein synthesis (muscle building). Leucine is often described as the most “anabolic” amino acid, it plays an integral part in kick starting protein synthesis. 3.5g’s of leucine is needed for this purpose there for make sure your bcaa supplement has at least that much per serving (otherwise it’s next to useless). So what does this mean in relation to pre and post workout supplementation? I personally feel that bcaa supplements should be utilised immediately following your workout, followed by a meal with a source of whole protein around twenty minutes later. In my opinion the best current bcaa supplement on the market is ALRI’s branched out, it’s great value for money and like all ALRI products the quality is unbeatable.

Q3 – Is running the best way to burn fat?

A3 – Running requires readily available energy, for this reason running tends to deplete glycogen stores instead of fat. A lot of this depends on the speed you’re running at however, a slow jog would result in a greater depletion of fat cells than say sprinting. I personally feel walking is the best fat burning cardio, it spares glycogen and you’re far less likely to pick up and injury. The one advantage higher intensity forms of cardio do have is that they raise your metabolism. So you’ll burn more fat throughout the day after a run than you would a walk, but that shouldn’t be an issue if you’re training hard enough in the gym.

C.I.A - Nutrition

There are two categorises of variables we can manipulate in order to positively affect one's body composition. The first category relates to literally anything we put inside our body, food, fluids, supplements and drugs. The second category includes variables such as exercise and sleep/rest. We're all familiar with the phrase “reaching a plateau” in regards to training, but what many people overlook is that for the very same reason we reach plateaus in training we also reach plateaus with our diet, supplement and drug protocols. This “reason” is generally expressed as homoeostasis, our body's constant need to maintain equilibrium. Nothing lasts forever, whether it's the effect of a drug or a specific training protocol. The human body has a somewhat frustrating tendency to acclimatise to any kind of stimulus eventually. So what's the best way to combat the effects of homoeostasis in order to achieve one's body re-composition goals?

Consistent Intuitive Adaptation.

Our society is becoming more and more health/image conscious. As a side effect of this trend, newspapers and magazines are constantly employing nutritionists to create diets for the masses. The important thing to remember is that everyone is different, and it's completely unrealistic to assume that someone who's never even met (or spoke to) you could possibly know your body better than you. The other problem with these “one size fits all” diets is that they never change, they work under the assumption that your body's metabolism is at a constant. Your metabolism is the sum of countless reactions dictated by several variables within your digestive system, it's never at a constant! This is where consistent intuitive adaptation comes in, you need to learn how to listen to your body and make smart changes in your diet to help you achieve your goals.

Consistency

Consistency plays a huge role in the development of any self-intervention strategy, it's impossible to know exactly which variable is having an effect if you're constantly changing all of them. Being realistic is the corner stone of any success, it's often the case that a small but consistent change to one's diet will yield far greater results than a larger inconsistent one. For example it's unrealistic to wake up one day and say “I'm going to eat clean for the rest of my life, starting today I'm completely changing my diet and lifestyle” and actually stick to these drastic changes. It would be far easier, healthier and successful to start by changing something smaller and less extreme. A good tip to ensure consistency is to keep a food diary, I personally find it keeps me honest and motivated.

Radical changes rarely end well.

                                              

Intuition

There's an ancient Greek proverb which reads “know thyself”, I feel this sums up the single most important aspect of any individuals self-intervention body re-composition strategy. You have to know your body, and you have to listen to it. In 2010 I had the privilege of meeting one of our generations greatest body-builders, Phil “The Gift” Heath. As a nervous aspiring young body-builder I asked him a couple of fairly generic questions about diet and training. Phil is a true professional, he told me the following "In order to look how you want to look you have be in tune with your body, you have to listen to it and learn what works for you. The easiest way to do this is by looking in the mirror, but first you've got to get in decent enough shape to be able to see what your body is doing and how it responds to different nutrients". To be honest I think intuition is something you develop over time, but the take home notion I want to convey is that your body is absolutely the most accurate source of information once you learn to read it. So don’t just rely on the scales as a marker of progress, take a look in the mirror every now and then too. How you look and how you feel are the two easiest ways to judge your progress, for example if you’re feeling sluggish or “fat” after a meal it might be a good idea to change the macro-nutritional composition of that meal in the future.

Yes I stole that from The Martix, nobody's perfect.

                                                 

 Adaptation

After intuition comes adaptation, the changes you decide to make based on your intuition. It’s a pretty straight forward concept, consistently adapt your diet and training regiments in line with your intuition successfully and your body will adapt positively. As I’ve already mentioned consistency is crucial, so don’t go making tonnes of changes at once. When it comes to nutrition extreme changes are never a good idea in my opinion, it’s far better to make smaller easier to maintain changes. To some extent the same is true with training. I think it’s important to have long term goals, i.e. improving your bench press. But there’s no reason to think that having a week off from doing a particular exercise is going to have a negative effect on your long term goal. I think a little variation in training style is always good, just don’t do something completely different every week.

If you get it then you watch too many films too.

Conclusion

I’m aware that this has been largely targeted at bodybuilders, but it doesn’t mean that the concepts/philosophies aren’t useful to everyone. I definitely understand why most people wouldn’t want to look like a bodybuilder, but you can’t deny that bodybuilders know what they’re doing and have done for decades. Developing a self-intervention strategy is a learning curve; it takes years to properly “know thyself”. I guess what I’m trying to say is stop using second hand information from magazines, newspapers, books etc. to make life changing decisions. Because the people writing those plans have never met you, and they certainly don’t know your body anywhere near as well as you do (or have the potential to). And if you really can’t be bothered to start learning then hire a nutritionist, one who knows what they’re doing.

So not her.

Calorie Misconceptions - 10/08/2011

Every time I hear anyone mention the word calorie I get that “nails down a chalk board” like cringe reaction. The simply fact is that most people have literally no idea what they’re talking about when it comes to calories, even the professionals (who should). The message I want to convey in this article is that when it comes to calories the best thing you can do is pretend they don’t exist.

What is a calorie?

A calorie is man made expression for food energy, 1 kcal is enough energy to increase the heat of 1kg of water by 1 C. At this point I think it’s important to note that this reaction takes place inside a machine called a bomb calorimeter and not a human body. In fact you could argue that this reaction is entirely different to a human metabolic reaction, mainly because human metabolism is a lot more complicated. The term “burn” is often used in relation to human metabolism, “if you do this you’ll burn more fat” etc. But the meaning is far from literal, we don’t actually ignite food upon digestion. That would be ridiculous, but apparently using results from a machine which does just that isn’t?

                                           Your metabolism, apparently.

                                

All calories are equal.

Soon after the invention of the not so brilliant bomb calorimeter it was discovered that each of the macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat) has a definite kcal per gram value. Protein and carbohydrates each contain 4kcals per 1g, and fat contains 9kcals per 1g. Now remember what a calorie actually is (a measure of energy) and take into account the fact that of the three macronutrients only carbohydrates are used exclusively for energy. So why give protein and fat a calorie value if we don’t use them exclusively for energy? So called professionals who prescribe to this theory literally amaze me, sometimes a picture truly can say a thousand words.   

                                                               Info taken from nutritiondata.self.com. 
                                               

Calories in = Calories out.   

Nutritionists often over simplify things, and usually as a result of calorie misconceptions. The most extreme example of this is the dogmatic belief that human energy homeostasis can be described simply as “calories in = calories out”. This statement in its self isn’t actually that dangerous (or untrue), it’s the conclusions which are drawn from this that are more sinister. For example, the notion that eating less calories is the healthiest way to lose weight. There are two ways to create a calorie deficit (needed to lose weight) without increasing exercise, you can either optimise your metabolism through nutrient partitioning (see coming article). Or you can starve yourself. It’s that simple. Most nutritionist genuinely believe and preach that the second option is the healthiest.

I don’t want people to read this and think “wow, he hates nutritionists” because I don’t! I have a lot of a respect for good nutritionists, they’re just hard to find from my experience. Every industry has its good and bad practitioners, and unfortunately due to nutrition’s relatively new public involvement a lot of very bad nutritionists have made a lot of money in the past. So if you are thinking of hiring a nutritionist choose carefully, and don’t be afraid to tackle them on subjects such as calorie counting.

I have had rather a long layoff from writing but hopefully I’ll be a lot more active in the coming future. So if you have any feedback or suggestions for future articles please email them to me at lee.tailorednutrition@gmail.com.

Until next time I’ll leave you with this to think about.

The image below is a very basic model of human metabolism, demonstrating the complexity of human energy homeostasis. 

So just a tad more complicated than "calories in = calories out", sigh.

Lee A Gray

Q and A 11/04/11

Q1 - I want to put weight on everywhere but just not my stomach, is this possible?

A1 – It certainly is possible, but not easy. Obviously the easiest way to gain weight is through fat, but the problem with doing that is that most people are genetically prone to gain fat around their stomach or "love handles". The other issue with gaining fat is the obvious detrimental effects on longevity and overall health. The healthiest weight you can gain is muscle mass, unfortunately bodybuilders have created a stigma around the term muscle mass. Don't think that you're just going to wake up one day looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger, a body like that takes years and years of hard training, strict diet and extreme supplementation. With this being said I would recommend you increase your daily protein intake (meat, fish, eggs, protein shakes etc) as much as you realistically can. Without more information I can't give an exact number, but just remember there’s no upper limit on protein intake because you can't store it as fat. You also might consider increasing your carbohydrate (bread, pasta, rice, fruit etc) intake, just be sure to keep an eye on your waist line as carbohydrates are the trickiest nutrient (eating to much will make you gain fat). And finally I'd recommend a stimulus such as lifting weights, this can either be at a gym or from home.

Q2 – Lee, what's the low down on pre, during, and mainly post workout carbohydrates. most often concentrated around proteins. Want to hear your take on carbs.

A2 – Carbohydrates are without question the most controversial macro-nutrient out of the three, and it seems like everyone has a different opinion on how best to utilise them. I personally think almost all of the conventional wisdom surrounding carbohydrates is complete rubbish, much like calories. In my opinion there is no one universal answer for how best to supplement in and around a workout, the important thing to establish is one's individual NEED for carbohydrates. And that's important because if you eat more carbs than you need then you will get fat, there's no getting around that. For example when I'm cutting/dieting I don't eat carbs at all, I simply don't need them to perform at full strength. However you could be the complete opposite! What I would suggest is that you play around on a trial and error type strategy with different amounts of carbohydrate before and after a workout out. I don't believe anyone needs carbohydrates during a workout, apart from anything else you couldn't possibly need any extra blood glucose if you've already had a pre-workout carbohydrate supplement. I also don't believe that you could even utilise carbohydrates fast enough to have any effect except cause bloating. What I would recommend pre-workout is either a low g.i source of carbohydrates with a fairly fast acting protein such as whey, or a high g.i carbohydrate source with protein and fat (fat decreases the glycemic index of carbohydrates). For example waxy maize starch with whey and olive oil. Post-workout most people will tell you that high g.i carbohydrates are the best because they restore glycogen faster, but the rate of glycogen replenishment isn't really what matters. A recent study showed no added benefit in terms of glycogen levels between two groups, one taking protein with a high g.i carbohydrate source and one just taking protein. Another reason why taking fast acting carbohydrates could be a bad idea is that it could effectively switch off your anabolic response to training, causing a elevated insulin levels in turn shuts of insulin sensitivity and igf1 levels (growth hormone). What I suggest is that you try just having either bcaa's or whey immediately after your workout then have a meal with carbohydrates an hour later. If however you find that your recovery is inhibited then add a fast acting carbohydrate source like waxy maize starch to your post-workout protein shake, because like I said before everyone is different.

Q3 - I'm going to buy some more carbs, I've read about the molecular weight of them, vitargo seems to be the best? will it make much difference to an amateur athlete such as my self? For a post workout shake, or just carb loading before a match? cheers

A3 – The whole theory behind vitagro is that the high molecular weight of it causes a "wake" like effect which supposedly increases nutrient uptake into muscles and the liver to some degree. The "wake" effect basically is the idea that because the molecular weight of vitagro is so high it passes through the digestion phase faster and causes other nutrients to to be drawn though with it, not unlike the "wake" like effect of a boat passing through still water. I don't have a problem with this in theory and the only real knock I have on vitagro is that it's basically a prettier more marketed version of waxy maize starch, which happens to be considerably cheaper than vitagro. So my advice would be to add it to your protein shake, either pre-workout, post-workout or both. And see what happens in terms of the quality of your workout and your recovery time.

Q4 - Hi lee, after being a bit lazy leg trainer in the past I have decided to start hammering my legs hard as they are seriously lagging. however I find it really painful to squat to and below parallel is this an hip mobility problem? does the ROM really matter so much as long as the weight is heavy? and can you recommend any ways to rectify this problem?

A4- I'm not actually a huge fan of squating, I don't personally believe it's as crucial for leg development as people say. I personally haven't been able to squat since before Christmas (pulled hamstring) but when I did I would do it almost last. I don't think the weight is particularly significant, but the range of motion is. I' m not saying that everyone has to squat till there arse's touch the floor but certainly most people don't squat low enough, and instead opt out for ego boosting half squats. I think the important thing is to establish what range of motion works best for you, and in my opinion the best way to do that is to pre-exhaust your legs before squating (this also might help you loosen up and improve your range of motion). That way you can feel exactly what muscles are working because they're already sore. What I found worked for me was if I started my leg workouts doing the abducting and adducting machines for inner and out thighs, then go on to either leg press of single leg press, then I would squat and finally finish with isolation movements such as extensions and curls. Hope this helps.

The simple issue of complexity

Written by Edward Caddye

Protein is a very important component of the human diet. The important and useful proteins in our diet come from meat, fish, eggs and diary products. Proteins are broken down and digested when we eat them, to produce amino acids which are in essence the building blocks used to make our living cells.

It is common knowledge that carbohydrates can be classed as either complex or simple sugars – whereby complex carbohydrates release glucose as a steady stream, and simple sugars have an instant signalling effect. This can be somewhat equated to the type of protein and/or amino acids that we eat too:

• Whole protein foods (such as fish, for example) can be considered to be “complex amino acids” – when you eat these, they are digested and result in a steady stream of amino acids being released into your blood stream over an extended period of time. Dr. Scott Connelly states that the rate is about 8g of protein per hour. It is important to note that this digestion uses energy and therefore the body burns calories when it has to digest whole proteins – something to quote when people say that your protein shake is going to make you fat.

• Free form amino acids, as mentioned in my previous article, such as the branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), can also have a physiological role. These require no breaking down, and can instantly act on the cells which require their presence or signal. Leucine in particular, acts on a switch inside cells (known as the mTOR for those who are interested and like wikipedia) which tells the cell nucleus to stimulate and produce machinery necessary to create new proteins.

• In carbohydrate metabolism there is also a GI rating. Proteins such as Whey protein, a very widely used protein in supplementation, are more quickly digested. Whey proteins can be in multiple forms which determine their digesting speeds: concentrated, isolated and hydrosylated. Hydrosylated Whey proteins are pre-digested and therefore are the most readily digested form.

As an extra area of interest: Dr. Scott Connelly, in collaboration with others, discovered a component of Whey which he concentrated and used in one of his revolutionary products. This fraction, when given in concentrated form, within a complete product produced incredible results. The recovery from a broken leg which would usually take 6-8 weeks, took 4 weeks. This is one of the first real demonstrated examples where protein can be used in a medical scenario. This component is found in milk and Whey proteins however not in concentrations high enough to cause the amplification of recovery. The bad news is that some moronic fraud ruined the company behind the product so now it is not readily available to the public, in medical or bodybuilding worlds.

Further reading for those interested in the application:

In the light of understanding certain aspects here, I have recently altered my diet to try and optimise protein synthesis and the incorporation into muscle cells (please note I have not included fats and carbs in this protocol). I will try and explain this here:

1. Upon waking I take an essential amino acid product or Whey protein, these provide a quickly digesting source to overthrow the lack of available amino acids during sleep. If it is thought of as a car assembly line (with muscle proteins as cars), work begins in the morning with a delivery of parts. These products also contain adequate Leucine, so the first worker can switch on the conveyor belt and the cars can be pieced together.

2. About 2-3 hours afterwards, the levels of all amino acids are depleted and therefore it is necessary to take a larger, longer term delivery. At this point I eat a large meal consisting of 50-80g of protein.

3. 2 hours after this meal, the rate of synthesis begins to drop. In order to get the workers back into action, a BCAA supplement can be taken in order to re-spike Leucine levels.

4. 1-2 hours after this the levels of amino acids may start to dwindle and here it is possible to either consume another whole protein meal, or perhaps if you plan a training session (which can be likened to a large car order with a close deadline) a faster acting protein source such as some Whey, along with branch chain amino acids may be better.

5. A similar fast acting source as in step 4 can be used after a workout to replenish supplies quickly. Otherwise the steps 1-4 can be repeated throughout the day until it is time to sleep.

6. Before bed, I like to have a slow digesting protein source. This can be achieved using any of the aforementioned sources, along with some essential fats which will slowly release amino acids throughout the night. A pre-mixed branched chain amino acid drink might be good if you are one of those people who wake up during the night, to re-spike protein synthesis in your sleep.

Some things to note:

• Although Whey protein, and other whole foods may contain high concentrations of Leucine, adequate enough to maximise protein synthesis, the Leucine may not be readily available. It is thought that the mTOR switch which stimulates protein synthesis closes its doors in response to receiving a mixture of many amino acids, and this is why Leucine alone in a BCAA product can be considered superior. (The reference here is the BodyRx show episode featuring Layne Norton)
• Taking Leucine alone will not be sufficient to cause growth, as this is equivalent of turning on the conveyor belt but having no components to build with.
• Remember that the signal of protein intake can be just as powerful in causing growth, as the amino acids that are used as building blocks. There is no such thing as too much protein!

It is important to remember that the information I provide in my articles is generally an interpretation and culmination of many opinions designed to make them more accessible – these are only theories and you need to learn what works best for you! Please keep writing to Lee to hear more from your resident biochemist!

Q and A 05/04/11

Q1 - Hi lee, i'm currently on a high protein, low fat and low carb diet to try and become leaner. I've been reading different articles about dieting and they suggest you have one cheat meal a week, why is this?

A1 – Firstly I'd never recommend a low fat diet to anyone, fat is an essential nutrient and very important in producing hormones important for building lean muscle and breaking down adipose tissue (stored body fat). Having a cheat meal once a week is crucial in my opinion, the easiest way to explain why is if you think of a cheat meal as being a means to reset your metabolism. Basically your body is forever trying to normalise through adaptive rates of metabolism, think about it like this if you did the same workout week after week your body would adapt and after a while the workout would be too easy. The same idea can be applied to dieting, after a while any diet looses it's effectiveness. A cheat meal allows a fresh start if you will. It can also be strategically implemented to bring up a lagging body part, for example if you cheat the night before training a weak body part then you'd have slightly more energy (glycogen) for the workout.

Q2 - Hi lee, been trying to get lean for a while now and found out about fat burners, I know they're not miracle workers but i'm up for giving anything a try if it's going to help me in my training to achieve my goals. so my question to you is are they worth the money? And if so what ones do you recommend?

A2 – Most fat burner claim to be thermogenic, meaning they increase the thermic (fat burning) effectiveness of foods. They tend to include ingredients which have very limited scientific proof of their fat burning properties, and are usually completely misdosed and over priced. There are however a few companies which have excellent reputations as being true pioneers in the supplement industry. For example Arthur L. Rea's company ALRI have a couple of products which I haven't personally used but do have very good reviews as well as air tight scientific evidence to back up their claims. ALRI are always changing their products to keep up to date and original, they currently have a product called Poison which has been very well received by customers.

Q3 – Hi, I've recently been experiencing pain in my right shoulder after my chest workout out. It sometimes prevents me from training shoulders as well. Do you have any idea what this could be and what can I do to prevent it in the future?

A3 – It sounds like you're pulling your rotator cuff, it's a fairly common injury in weight lifters. The best thing to do is spend five to ten minutes at the beginning of your chest and shoulder workouts just warming up with rotator cuff exercises. For examples just search you-tube for rotator cuff warm ups.

Q4 – Hi Lee, I've always had a slight belly which I find it impossible to get rid of! I really want a six pack in time for summer, will doing lots of sit ups help?

A4 – The most important aspect in regard to building a six pack is your body fat percentage. You could train your abs every day for an hour and not see any changes if you have a layer of fat sitting on top of them. I personally believe that people find it hard to loose that last “tire” of fat because their fat intake is too low. Everyone knows that if you don't drink plenty of water you tend to retain water, the same is true with fat. Unlike carbohydrates your body actually needs fat for all kinds of biological processes, so if you're not eating enough fat your body is more likely to hang on to the fat it already has stored (in adipose tissue) to ensure there is enough for these processes. So with that being said I would recommend a high protein, moderate fat and low carbohydrate diet as well as regular exercise. If these variables are in place then by all means doing sit ups and crunches will have a noticeable effect on ab development.

Q and A 30/03/11

Q1 - Hi Lee, I was looking at creatine the other day and saw that the powder options seemed to be thought of as being much better, was just wondering what you thought? And what's the optimal amount of creatine you should take and does it depend on your weight/natural tolerance? And how long before training should you take it?

A1 – If we're talking about creatine as a stand alone product then it really doesn't make any difference, for example creatine monohydrate capsules are exactly the same as pure creatine monohydrate in powder form. If however you mean products which feature creatine along with a tonne of other ingredients (usually glucose as a delivery system) then that's a whole different kettle of fish. In my opinion these high sugar products which claim to enhance creatine absorption through a glucose induced insulin spike aren't all they're cracked up to be. Insulin is the most anabolic hormone, however the word anabolic simply means “to build up” and this, unfortunately can refer to fat as well as muscle tissue. In my opinion a huge insulin spike isn't needed to drive creatine into muscle cells, however there are a few products which I think have nailed this on the head. Products which cause a small insulin spike adequate for driving creatine into the muscle cells without causing fat gain do now exist, the ones I know about and personally recommend are; Gaspari's Size On – Precontest, Species Nutrition's Crealyze and BodybuildingWarehouse's own brand creatinegluconate. As for directions just go by what it says on the tub, every product is slightly different.

Q2 – Lee, I’ve always wondered is there any benefit to taking amino acid supplements?

A2 – This is actually a question which I'm hoping to get Ed to shed some light on, as this is more along the lines of his expertise. I will however say this, in my opinion amino acid supplementation is the future for the sports supplement industry. It is an area which interests me personally and area which is largely untapped by all but a few innovative companies. I personally use bcaa's (branch chained amino acids) immediately post workout and have found them to be as good if not better than whey in aiding recovery.

Q3 -Does doing a cardio session of swimming the day after a chest workout effect your recovery of your chest workout?

A3 – I actually used to like doing it after a chest workout, I'd finish my workout have my post workout supplementation then head into the pool for some laps. Breast stroke in particular I found to have a positive effect on my chest recovery, I'm not entirely sure why but it could be due to stretching the muscle through a different plane of motion.

Q4 – I have a full time job which mainly involves sitting at a desk all day, over the past few years I've gained a couple of pounds and I think it's mainly because I'm a lot less active these days. I was wondering what kind of exercise you recommend for weight loss, as well as duration etc?

A4 – Low intensity cardio is the best for burning fat, no question about it. High intensity cardio such as sprinting depletes glycogen and possibly inhibits muscle growth. By low intensity I mean either walking or jogging at a slow pace, cycling (at a slow pace), step mill. I'd recommend doing at least twenty minutes per session, and about an hour at most. The best time to do it is either on an empty stomach or having just had a whey protein or bcaa's supplement.