Guides & Insight

What Is Arm Pump? If you ride bikes, whether that’s motocross, enduro, MTB or road racing the likelihood is that you’ve experienced it! Arm pump is one of the most talked about exercise induced conditions associated with two wheeled action sports. But what actually is it and what is the root cause? Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome (CECS) According to the literature, the underpinning condition resulting in the onset of ‘arm pump’ related symptoms is Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome (CECS). CECS is defined as an increase in intracompartmental pressure within the muscle fascia, resulting in reduced blood flow and tissue perfusion...

Glucose & Glycogen Did you know that glycogen is the most efficient fuel source for our body to use during exercise? If you have read our article covering the importance of carbohydrates, you will know that glycogen is essentially the storage of excess glucose in the liver and muscles. But where do we get the glucose from in the first place? The answer to that question is carbohydrates! Depletion Of Glycogen Stores As intensity increases, so too does muscle glycogen usage. With this being said the glycogen stores in our muscles and liver are limited. It can be expected that...

An Important Fuel Source  Carbohydrates are one of three main macronutrient groups found in foods. Despite often being falsely portrayed as the 'bad guy' to those looking to lose body weight, carbohydrates play a pivotal role in supplying energy to the working muscles! Let's strip it down to the basics. To maintain the contraction of skeletal muscles during exercise, active muscle cells require a constant supply of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Note that ATP is used to fuel all metabolic reactions, often referred to as the energy currency within cells. When ingested, carbohydrates (CHO) are broken down into glucose molecules. During...

Fluid Is Fluid Right? “As long as I’m drinking some kind of fluid I’m helping my body stay hydrated”. Unfortunately this is not the case! When in a hydrated state, the amount of fluid retained by the body thus helping to maintain hydration status over a period of time differs from drink to drink. Factors such as macronutrient content, electrolyte content and the presence of nutrients with diuretic actions are thought play a role in fluid retention. What Does The Research Say? Maughan et al. (2016) conducted a study investigating fluid balance responses to the ingestion of commonly consumed beverages...