Flip Up The HEAT For Muscle Mass!

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Flip Up The HEAT For Muscle Mass!

PQ: It used to be strongly recommended through the researchers that the application of heat to injured or damaged muscle may facilitate recovery and enhanced satellite cell activation leading to enhanced muscle mass.

He’s big, red, strong, has a bad attitude and loves the heat…his name is Hellboy! During World War II, the portal to hell was opened and out came a baby demon that was raised to fight the forces of evil. Is it a coincidence that Hellboy was massive and strong but also loved the heat, as well? It may not be a coincidence, according to a new study that shows that heating muscle may increase muscle mass through the expression of heat shock proteins. The following research may persuade bodybuilders to use the sauna and hot tubs more often for muscle recuperation and muscle growth. In this month’s Journal OfOrthopedic Science, researchers reported that the muscles of animals exposed to heat stress stimulated increases in heat shock proteins, which not only caused the activation of satellite cells (skeletal muscle stem cells are responsible for the repair and hypertrophy of skeletal muscle), but also increased protein synthesis during the regeneration of injured skeletal muscle.⁶ It was strongly suggested by the researchers that the application of heat to injured or damaged muscle may facilitate recovery and enhanced satellite cell activation leading to enhanced muscle mass. Want more? Also, in the Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers reported that intermittent heat application (30 minutes on alternating days) to the muscles of rats enhanced muscle hypertrophy.²⁴ You might want to go steal grandma’s heating pad after reading these research papers! Heat shock proteins have previously been shown to increase muscle protein synthesis and increase muscle mass.^{6,7,8,9,10,11,12} In fact, a single bout of heat stress has been demonstrated to increase muscle mass and protein synthesis.^9,11 Heat shock proteins are stimulated by many factors, but originally were discovered to be increased by the application of heat, hence “heat shock proteins.”

Heat Shock Proteins Protect Cells From Further Damage

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are a group of proteins whose expression is increased when the cells are exposed to elevated temperatures or other stress. The exercise-related stressors that have been shown to induce HSPs are: elevated temperature, decreased glucose availability, increased intracellular calcium levels, increased catecholamines and reduced blood flow to muscle. Consequently, HSPs are also referred to as “stress proteins” and their upregulation is sometimes described more generally as part of the stress response because they are increased in response to numerous stressors. HSPs provide cellular protection and work together with the antioxidant system to prevent further damage to cells. Thompson²⁸ observed a large HSP response to high-force eccentric exercise, but a reduced HSP response following a repeated bout of high-force eccentric exercise. Thus, the increases in HSPs after high-force eccentric exercise may have reduced further damage to muscle.

Heat Shock Proteins May Increase Intramuscular Growth Factors

HSPs have recently been shown to be important for increasing muscle protein synthesis and muscle hypertrophy. Scientists believe that heat stress-associated muscle hypertrophy may be induced by calcium-related intracellular signals. It is speculated that the application of heat stress to muscles may activate the intracellular signals, which stimulates the protein synthesis and/or modifies the protein breakdown. Therefore, heat stress may modify the intracellular Ca2+ level in skeletal muscles. Others have reported that Ca+ signaling is important for mediating muscle hypertrophy. For example, Oishi et al. recently reported that muscle hypertrophy induced by muscle overload was associated with an increased intracellular calcium level and that treatment with a drug that blocks calcium signaling reduced muscle hypertrophy during muscle overload.¹⁷ Activation of calcium may be one of the intracellular signals for skeletal muscle hypertrophy in response to IGF and increased loading.^17,18 Preheating of skeletal muscles is being experimented on as a means of preventing muscular atrophy during bed rest inactivity and also the possibility of exposing astronauts to heat stress to reduce anti-gravity-related muscle atrophy.

Doc…I Have Heartburn— Real Bad!

Back in 1995, researchers were examining how reduced blood flow or so-called tourniquets could increase muscle hypertrophy. They performed surgical procedures on rats to reduce blood flow to their legs; surprisingly, the rats’ legs grew in size due to reduced blood flow. Muscle fibers were 34 percent larger from the reduced blood flow in the experimental group. The content of HSPs also increased in muscle, which the researchers speculated may be important for muscle hypertrophy. Additionally, Locke et al. showed that overload of muscle caused muscle hypertrophy in rats and increased both myosin heavy-chain protein (a consequence of muscle cell remodeling) and HSP expression in the hypertrophied leg muscle compared to the control leg.²⁹ Taken together, these data demonstrate a relationship between protein synthesis, muscle cell remodeling and HSP expression. HSPs are not only increased by heat and exercise, but also can be increased pharmacologically. Clenebuterol has previously been shown to cause an increase in HSPs in muscle, which may be a molecular pathway in which clenebuterol increases protein synthesis and increases muscle mass.³⁰ The anti-ulcer drug geranylgeranylacetone (GGA) is used in Japan and also increases HSPs. In a recent study, researchers were looking specifically at how the expression of HSPs affect muscle protein content and muscle differentiation (process in which precursor muscle cells become mature muscle fibers. It’s a necessary process for muscle growth). Both processes are important for increasing muscle mass. The researchers examined heat stress, GGA or heat stress plus GGA. The researchers found that the administration of the anti-ulcer drug, GGA, as well as the heat stress, increased the expression of HSPs and protein content in muscle cells. It was suggested that GGA may activate intracellular growth signals, which stimulates muscle growth and protein synthesis. The researchers concluded that the administration of GGA could be one of the useful tools to gain muscular mass not only in athletes, but also in patients during rehabilitation.¹ Why, all of a sudden, do all bodybuilders feel a burning sensation in their chest?

Go For The Burn To Increase Heat Shock Proteins

If you are in the gym busting your ass, and your legs are on fire from the high intensity, then that burning sensation is more than determination— but rather HSPs being expressed! The degree of HSPs expressed in muscle seems to be influenced by the total amount of work performed in the gym. Liu et al.³¹ investigated the HSP response in trained humans exposed to four weeks of rowing exercise by taking serial muscle biopsies after each week of training. The expression of HSPs increased in relation with increasing amounts of exercise, and they suggested that the HSP response was related to the total amount of exercise. The same research group then revised this statement and found that more importantly than just total work volume, HSPs are also stimulated to a greater extent during high-intensity exercise. For example, elite male rowers had muscle biopsies performed during two parts of their training season and post-season. During the training season, the sessions were divided so that the volume was the same, but one group performed at a low intensity and the other group performed at a high intensity. At the end of the study, there were the largest increases in HSPs being expressed during the high-intensity training season while HSP levels declined during the post-season when training volume and intensity were reduced.¹⁹ A recent study also found that HSP was correlated with the concentration of blood lactate levels during exercise, which may be the reason for higher HSP expression during high-intensity exercise.³²

Eccentric Exercise Increases Heat Shock Proteins

HSPs seem to be increased with exercise sessions that cause muscle damage. Protocols that are higher in intensity and performed eccentrically elicit significant increases in HSPs. A recent study showed that a single bout of maximal eccentric exercise increased HSPs by 203 percent within 23 hours of exercise.²⁶ Interestingly, heating muscle and intense exercise causes a greater rise in HSPs than either one alone.⁷ One study looked at two forms of eccentric training and HSP expression. Researchers compared high-force eccentric barbell curls and moderate aerobic-intensity downhill running for 30 minutes. HSPs increased during high-force barbell curls but not during aerobic downhill running. The study demonstrates that a high-force eccentric stimulus promotes HSP responses that are not seen following a moderate, mixed-contraction exercise modality such as downhill running. The researchers concluded that the lower training intensity used in downhill running failed to increase HSP levels because of insufficient training intensity.²⁸ Additionally, it has been suggested that the eccentric overload causes an increase in HSPs, which play an important role in the regulation of muscle mass.¹³ Performing eccentric contractions seems to be a better stimulus of HSPs than concentric contractions. Eccentric contractions are known to promote more hypertrophy than concentric contractions. Although the mechanisms of why eccentric contractions increase muscle hypertrophy is not clear, it is known that the process of hypertrophy involves long-term changes in protein synthesis, and several suggests that increases of HSPs are involved in these processes. Thus, HSPs are stimulated by high-intensity training. High-intensity exercise can increase testosterone levels as well; it should be of no surprise that when testosterone is administered, there is an increase in HSP expression in fast-twitch muscle fibers.²³Remember that fast-twitch muscle fibers have the most potential for muscle growth! Testosterone increases muscle mass, so could testosterone be increasing protein synthesis by activation of HSPs?

Can Saunas And Steam Rooms Increase Muscle Hypertrophy?

For many years, heat treatment has been used as a therapy for muscle injuries. There are several different heat modalities, such as heat packs, whirlpools, ultrasound and recently, microwave hyperemia. Molecular mechanism responsible for muscle hypertrophy in response to various stimuli, such as strength training and bodybuilding, is still unclear. Recently, the application of heat stress has been found to induce hypertrophy in muscle cells and facilitate the recovery of muscle atrophied following muscle unloading. Although we generally don’t think of a sauna as anabolic, it could possibly be for bodybuilders. Heat stress has been shown to reduce muscle atrophy and increase muscle protein synthesis. For example, Naito et al. reported that heat stress before an eight-day period of hindlimb unloading (unloading causes rapid muscle atrophy) in rats reduced muscle atrophy. Compared with sedentary cage control rats, hindlimb unloading resulted in a 25 percent atrophy and a 40 percent decrease in the level of HSPs. When muscle unloading was pretreated with heat stress, muscle atrophy was only 17 percent and had >20 percent higher HSP levels than control after eight days of unloading.¹⁴ It was postulated that the elevated levels of HSPs could have retarded muscle atrophy by both maintaining protein synthesis and decreasing the rate of protein breakdown. Other researchers have reported similar findings; it was reported that if animals underwent hindlimb unloading and then were immediately exposed to heat stress, thereafter the muscle exposed to heat stress had accelerated protein synthesis and muscle mass as compared to animals that had nothing.⁷

Heat Stress May Increase Strength

A direct role of HSPs in protection of skeletal muscle has been demonstrated in both animals and humans. An increase in HSPs may also be able to increase strength the day after a heavy workout. For example, animals that overexpress HSPs by 20 times greater than normal had a 63 percent lower rate of strength decline as compared to normal animals three days after a session of lengthening contractions.¹⁵ High-intensity resistance training increases HSP in muscles of both older and younger individuals— although the average relative increase of HSP expression appears to be larger in the young.¹⁶ The HSP response to exercise is lower in older rats with more hypertrophy-prone fast-twitch muscle fibers, which may play a part in why older people don’t have the same increase in muscle mass as younger people.²⁵ Others have demonstrated the failure of successful recovery of skeletal muscles of older animals is due to a blunted activation of HSPs following muscle damage and suggests that abnormal activation of HSPs may play a major role in the defective regeneration seen in muscles of old mice.²⁷ The defect in HSPs may provide strong evidence for the protective role of HSPs in preventing damage and strength loss in skeletal muscle during the aging process.

Glutamine Increases Heat Shock Proteins!

It is known that exercise and heat stress induce muscle fiber injury or protein breakdown. Because HSPs function to maintain cellular function under stressful conditions, it is speculated that HSPs are involved with the repair of injured skeletal muscles exposed to stress. The exposure to heat, muscle damage by eccentric exercise and high-exercise intensity are potent stimulators of HSPs. HSPs are currently being examined as a possible anabolic treatment to athletes, as the British Journal of Sports Medicine researchers found that microwave hyperthermia to muscle increased HSPs in the legs of subjects.²⁰ Who knows? Maybe you can get big by lying out in the sun and getting a tan! As far as supplements, glutamine may also enhance HSP expression. Researchers examined the role of glutamine in muscle under two environments: heat stress and resting. Glutamine has a stimulatory effect on the rate of protein synthesis in skeletal muscles subjected to heat stress, while it has no effect on the rate of protein synthesis in normal muscle fibers. Glutamine increases HSP expression only in heat-stressed muscle fibers. Therefore, HSPs may play a role in the mechanism by which glutamine enhances the rate of protein synthesis in heat-stressed muscle fibers.²² One final bit of wisdom— stay away from alcohol if you want to increase HSPs, as alcohol consumption blunts HSP expression in muscle.²¹ Hellboy had the mass and strength to match his bad attitude; maybe going to hell isn’t so bad, after all— at least you can be big!!

If you do decide to start using saunas or steam rooms for increasing heat stress, be sure to hydrate properly. If you aren’t replenishing fluids lost through perspiration, your muscles will tire more quickly and you may experience muscle cramps. Your body may also have a hard time keeping its core temperature regulated, which can lead to serious health conditions, such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink water, since thirst is a sign that you are already dehydrated.

Key Points:

• Heat stress activates satellite cell activity, increases muscle mass and enhances muscle rejuvenation.

• HSPs provide cellular protection and protects against further damage.

• HSPs are increased in response to training intensity.

• Eccentric exercise is a potent stimulator of HSPs.

References:

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