Monday, March 28, 2011

From The Nervous System to The Muscle: The Order of Stimulation

In order to develop muscle it is important to know the order of stimulation.  Whenever you start an exercise program there are many physiological processes that are at work. It is important to understand that the body builds from inside out.  What I mean is that the first system that is directly affected by exercise is the nervous system.  The nervous system is a network of intricate nerves that send impulses (synapses) to the cells of the body. The nervous system is also in constant communication with hormones. The endrocrine system is responsible for the release of many different hormones that all help regulate the body's internal physiology.

When a person begins an exercise program their hormone levels and nervous system have a low tolerance to stress. This level needs to be developed and increased to help support any further progress in the health of the systems. Over time the synchronicity of the nervous system and endrocrine system begin to improve allowing the person to increase their overall intensity and duration of a stress response (exercise).

Initially the body perceives the new exercise regime as a stress to the body and a disruption in homeostasis. The cells are under attack and this causes, in some cases, ill effects. With a low tolerance to physiological stress the body produces cortisol, which is a stress hormone that inhibits anabolism.  In order to avoid an increased release of cortisol it is important to work within your threshold point. The intensity level must be increased overtime in a gradual format to avoid over production of stress hormones.

Over a period of weeks the body will adapt to gradual increase in intensity and will begin to be less threatened by the stimulation that is being subjected.  Once you have overcome the initially nervous system adaptation cycle, the muscles are then able to be used to respond to the continuing overload of intensity.

As the frequency of exercise becomes more prevalent and the intensity has been gradually increased, the systems of the body are then able to establish new growth patterns.  The cardiovascular system and the muscular system are two systems that are directly related to increased stimulation.  The muscles communicate directly with the nervous system by motor units that are attached to the muscle cells.  When the muscle contracts there are messages sent to the brain to illicit the proper response. The more intense the contraction the more output from the nervous system and muscle becomes.  In order to build muscle tissue it is important to progressively overload the muscle fibers. However, keep in mind that you also must stay within your own biochemical threshold level. You must train with the correct amount of intensity to stimulate the muscle without increasing the production of cortisol. The cardiovascular system will also increase in its ability to take in and deliver oxygen to the working muscle tissue.  The more trained the muscle is the higher the hormonal threshold will become. This is why people who have been training on a regular basis for so long can workout with high intensity and aren't too fatigued from the exercise session. While those that are not as conditioned will become overtrained trying to perform the same feat as the conditioned person. This is a mistake that many upstarts make.

Often times folks who are de-conditioned will join in a fitness class and will try to keep up with those that have been taking the class for awhile.  Those that have been taking the class for a couple of weeks or longer have developed their threshold of progression to match the intensity with their own physiology.  The upstart who is too over-zealous will go beyond their threshold and will become overtrained within a short period of time. They will feel sick and sore the next day. This sick feeling will produce a negative feeling about ever going back to exercise.

It is important to work out within your own stress threshold.

Once your nervous system, endrocrine system, muscular system and cardiovascular system threshold has been improved over a period of months. The next level of increased stimulation will directly effect the muscle fibers.  This is when the muscles go into a hypertrophy and hyperplasia state. This is when you can really have fun with making significant changes with your physique.  It takes time to establish the neuromuscular system.  It is important to never take any addition lay offs from training, because this will only set you back.

Here is a brief review of the order of stimulation

1. Nervous system adaptation
2. Endrocrine system adaptation
3. Cardiovascular system adaptation
4. Muscular system adaptation
5. Hypertrophy and Hyperplasia

tags: Vince Gironda, Butler, VCU, March Madness, Houston Open, Daryl Conant, Ron Kosloff, muscle, fitness, building muscle, strength,

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Available For Seminars

Hi Everyone,

I am available for meet and greet nutrition and body building seminars.  I will travel to your gym or home town.  You will learn a tremendous amount on nutrition and bodybuilding techniques than I could ever write about in this blog.

$ 500.00/  1 hr. lecture.

The best way to afford the lecture cost is to get many people to chip in and pay.  The more people you can get the cheaper the cost will be for you.

I would love to come to your town and share  with you the secrets of nutrition and body building that has saved me years of wasted efforts.

At the conclusion of the seminar I will be signing books for anyone interested in purchasing any of my books.

Please contact me if you are interested in my seminars.

tags: Vince Gironda, Ron Kosloff, Daryl Conant

Monday, March 21, 2011

Try This Trick To Break Out of Rut

If you have been struggling with your chest development, try this little trick to break out of the rut.  No matter what program you are currently following, go into the gym on your next scheduled chest workout and do this. Set the bench to a 10 degree incline. Go to the dumbbell rack and grab a light weight, about 50% maximum. Perform 6 reps. Immediately return the weights and grab the next heaviest weight. Perform 6 reps and immediately return them and grab the next heaviest weight. Perform 6 reps etc... Follow this format until you have worked up the rack and can only perform 2 reps with the heaviest dumbbells that you can attempt.  Once you achieve 2 reps, work your way back down to the starting weight.  By the time you get back to the original (50%) weight you will be amazed at how hard it is to lift that easy weight.  Your chest will be pumped.  Don't perform anymore chest exercises after you performed the entire up and down the rack sequence.

Do this every once and a while to blast the chest. Then go back to your regular chest routine.  The idea is to shock and confuse the muscle every once and a while to stimulate new growth.  This little trick keeps you one step of adaptation, and helps you get out of the dreaded plateau.

tags: Daryl Conant, Vince Gironda, Ron Kosloff, Scott Stallings, Ghadifi, Japan Nuclear power plant, March Madness,

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Scotty's First PGA TOUR hole in one.

This is my nephew Scott Stallings making his first PGA Tour hole in one.  He is playing great this weekend. Only two behind the leader. Go Scotty Robby!!!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Ten Reasons Why You Have A Soft Mid Section

The abdominal region is an easy place to store extra fat. This area is most effected by collecting fat because of a few reasons.  First, there is not much bone support in the abdominal area. The spinal column runs down the center of the abdominal region. The spine is a very flexible and movable joint complex. It is hard to create a forceful contraction in the abdominals without proper bone support.  The abdominal muscles are attached to pelvis, ribs. These two attachment are far away from each other making some of the abdominals long. When a muscle is attached to bone the muscle tends to be more contractable because as the bone is moved the muscle contracts. The tendon attachments that are on the bone make the muscle contraction more forceful (the stretch reflex). This constant movement produces more work from the muscle. The more work that a muscle produces the greater the metabolism that is created. For example, when you perform a bicep curl you can isolate muscle to produce a strong contraction. You can feel the tendons pulling and the bicep muscle get tight. This leverage advantage is key for developing a deep contraction and getting the muscle fibers to be recruited. The greater the intensity the more muscle fibers are recruited. All muscles that are directly attached to bone can easily be developed.

When starting an exercise program the first place that most people see a change in their body is in the arms and legs. The muscles of the arms and legs are directly attached to bone and can produce strong contractions resulting in greater recruitment and motor unit activation.  Fat metabolism tends to be more efficient in "hot" areas. Hot areas are muscles that are worked hard and produce a fatigued state.  The muscle is depleted and must be regenerated. Fat is dumped into the muscle after intense exercise to help repair and rebuild the cells, this is known as the "thermogenic effect. The more intense the exercise is the longer the thermogenic effect will be.  The intramuscular fat deposits that are closest to the muscle tends to be used up first. Once the intramuscular fat is used up then fat from other areas of the body is sent to the worked muscle. It appears the muscle that is attached directly to bone produces a greater thermogenic effect. Please understand I am not talking about spot reducing. Spot reducing is a myth. Spot reducing suggests that only one area of the body can get lean and ripped while the other areas remain the same. For example, the belief is that if you work only the abdominals that they will get ripped and defined, while the other areas remain the same. This is just not true. What I teach is spot burning. I believe that we can isolate a muscle group to create more heat from that area. For example when I train my chest only, I feel heat radiating from that area for hours after the exercise, while the rest of my muscles remain cooler. That is what I am talking about here when I talk about creating the hot zone.

The second reason is since the abdominals are not directly attached to bone they don't have the ability to produce a long lasting thermogenic effect. The reason for this is because of all the tissue that is associated within the mid-section. The mid-section is comprised of muscle, fat, intestines, vital organs. The abdominal muscles surround and protect the vital organs of the body. However, without bone support the muscles are subject to collecting large amounts of fat. The abdominals lie on top of the vital organs and underneath the subcutaneous tissue and the omentum. So there lies the problem. We have muscle in between two areas that can collect large amounts of fat. The visceral area tends to store fat because of survival. Fat is necessary to protect and fuel the vital organs of the body.  We all have a certain amount of necessary visceral fat around the vital organs of the body. It is when too much visceral fat is stored around the vital organs that becomes a problem.  Next, the subcutaneous tissue and omentum tend to collect a lot of fat because those areas are needed to protect the abdominal muscles.  Fat is needed to insulate the body. Fat helps regulate body temperature when tissues get too hot or cold.

When the abdominals are worked they can produce a thermogenic effect. However, this effect is short lived. It is very hard to keep the abdominal muscles "hot" because of all the fat protection.  Since there is soft tissue on both sides of the abdominals the regulatory system of the body will quickly cool down the area when it gets overheated.  This is a protection cycle that this instilled in us to help protect the vital organs. The vital organs don't like to be overheated for long periods of time.  The fat in the mid-section helps to cool down the muscles. This makes losing fat around the mid-section more difficult.

The third reason for having soft abdominals is poor dietary habits.  Eating poorly will result in added fat gain around the waist. Fat storage is greatest around the intestinal area because it is where food breaks down. Excess fat is stored in the omentum from the stomach. When the omentum is over active it creates high concentrations of cortisol secretions.  Cortisol is an inhibitory hormone that is associated with stress. When a person is stressed out they tend to over eat carbohydrates. The added sugar gets stored.  I believe  that the reason why they tend to store more in the omentum than normal is because of vasoconstriction. When  a person is stressed out  the blood vessels tend to vasoconstrict (get smaller). Vasoconstriction of the blood vessels in the stomach and intestines tend to slow down nutrient absorption. This slow down causes a backing up of food. The extra sugar that can't get absorbed gets stored. The storage usually occurs around the mid-section.  Not only does a stressed condition produce fat gain, eating the wrong foods also does.

Foods that contribute to added fat gain around the mid-section are, carbohydrates (including alcohol), junk foods, chemicals (including coffee). Carbohydrates come in many forms, grains, starches, fruits, candies, vegetables. Grains, starches, fruits, candies, cake, ice cream etc. are the biggest contributors to fat gain around the mid-section. I am often amused at the idea that to be healthy and to protect yourself against disease that we should all eat high quantities of grains per day. This is ridiculous. Eating high levels of grains will make you fat. The only amount of grains a person should consume is equivalent to a cup of oatmeal, or one to two pieces of 7-grain bread a day-- and that is it, no more. Eating junk foods loaded with salt, chemicals and preservatives will soften the mid-section. Eating protein and adequate amounts of green leafy water soluble vegetables is sufficient.

The fourth reason why the mid-section stays soft is because of too much low level cardiovascular exercise. People think that spending time on a treadmill, running out doors, riding a bike, riding the elliptical machine for long periods of time is beneficial. This is one of the biggest downfalls most people make. Performing slow cardiovascular exercise does nothing for losing the mid-section. You must do short bouts of intense exercise to get results. When you perform cardiovascular exercise for too long you burn up more muscle. When you lose muscle you lose the ability to metabolize fat effectively.  Look at different body types of a sprinter compared to a marathon runner. The sprinter has well defined muscles and low body fat. The marathon runner has little muscle and is soft around the mid-section.  To maximize effective abdominal definition, I recommend that a person perform no more than 15 minutes of high intensity cardiovascular exercise. Anything more than that is a waste of time in regards to burning abdominal fat in my opinion.

The fifth reason for softness around the mid-section is genetics. Some folks are just born with great genetics and have the incredible balance of hormones, fat, muscle and digestive efficiency to keep the abdominals looking great. They have superior physiological attributes. They are the lucky bastards of the world. For those that don't have good genetics, then there really much you can do to have those well defined abdominals, but you can help reduce the fat that collects under and on top of the abdominals.

The sixth reason why the mid section stays soft for some folks is because poor exercise selection. There are many valueless abdominal exercises that people perform every day that don't accentuate the mid section. I have developed an abdominal system that is fantastic in working the abdominals.  I will be releasing my abdominal system in a few months, once I work out all the legalities. I must protect myself so that my idea and invention won't get ripped off.  But until I release my abdominal system, the two best exercises to perform for the abdominals are the frog sit up and the abdominal bicycle.

The seventh reason why the mid section stays soft (especially for those over the age of 30) is because of lack of sex. Sex is a fundamental physiological need for the human being. The reproductive system draws a lot of blood to the area during the peak cycle of intercourse. This blood surge increases the contractibility of the reproductive muscles and organs. The mid section can burn a lot of calories during reproductive system activation. This system becomes weaker as we age and are not sexually active. So we lose the benefit of this system on keeping the abdominals trim.  Often times women ask me how they can work the lower abs. Well unfortunately one of the best ways to work the lower part of the abs, below the belly button, is to contract the reproductive muscles on a regular basis. When the area becomes less active the blood flow also decreases. This will form a cold area making fat harder to be metabolized from that area.

The eighth reason for being soft in the mid section is adrenal, pituitary, and thyroid gland dysfunction. If there is any type of imbalance in the regulating hormones of these three glands then the ability of losing fat is compromised. These three little glands do a great deal in regards to metabolism and keeping the body lean. If you are taking medications or have had the thyroid or parathyroid glands removed then it will be harder for you to have a lean mid section. There is a direct link to fat accumulation and healthy glands.

The ninth reason for being soft around the mid section could be related to low levels of anabolic hormones. Testestorone, growth hormone, insulin, progesterone, estrogen, decrease in concentration as we age and/or if we are sedentary. These hormones are essential in building muscle and maintaining proper fat metabolism. Low levels will result in abdominal fat.

The tenth reason for being soft around the mid section is not knowing how to breathe correctly. When we were babies we would use the diaphram completely. If you ever notice a baby sleeping their belly fills and extracts, they are breathing deep from their diaphram. As we get older and more stressed we tend to breathe from the the thoracic region. We aren't fully engaging the diaphram.  When performing abdominal exercises many people hold their breath or does shallow breathing (thoracic). The abdominals don't fully engage because too much air is being contained in the abdominal region. This will produce an effective effect.  To remedy this I recommend that you breathe completely, focusing on getting all the air out of the abdominals. Breathe through pursed lips, as if you were trying to blow up a balloon, when contracting the abdominals.

Through discipline and perserverance you can help reduce and maintain a healthy mid section.  My motto is "if you can contract it, then you can build it." What this means is as long you can activate a muscle, making it contract and tight, then your muscles are responding. If you can't contract a muscle then you won't be able to develop that area and will most likely store fat. Fat tends to store more in cold areas. If you follow the recommended suggestions for improving the mid section you can significantly lose the extra fat collected.

Tags: Abdominals, Vince Gironda, Daryl Conant, Ron Kosloff,

Tuesday, March 8, 2011


Hi everyone,

I am trying to get my book "diet EARTH" out there more in the public. I feel that it is important to get this information out there.  I am asking all of you who have purchased diet EARTH to please go to the following link at and write a review of the book. The more reviews  increases more traffic to the book.  I greatly appreciate you all for supporting me.  Thank you.
search: diet EARTH

Daryl Conant, M.Ed
Author: diet EARTH

Where Did 7,9,11,13 Go?

Have you ever wondered why most exercise programs are written for even counts of 6,8,10,12.  Odd numbers get ignored.  I find this very interesting. So I decided to experiment with my programs to see if there would be any change in the effect of the exercise.  Low and behold I saw a difference.

Here is the difference among different rep counts.

1-2 Reps to develop Power.
4-6 Reps to develop Strength
8-12 Reps to develop Hypertrophy
12-15 Reps to develop Muscular Endurance / Increase in capillary beds

The human brain is often times based on predictability. It likes to figure out certain patterns and stick with them. We often times follow a certain program performing the exact amount of exercises, intensity, reps and sets.  We don't deviate too often.  Getting to an even number seems to be the goal. We tend to stop on an even number of reps rather than an odd number.  Perhaps the reason for this is that most people like things balanced. Even numbers are balanced.

So, I decided to change things up in training today. Rather than doing my regular rep count of 8 reps I performed 9 reps instead.  It was amazing. I got a tremendous pump in the muscle.  I also noticed that my brain was already designated to stop at 8 reps.  But when I went for one more rep my brain was stunned. This form of confusion set off the central nervous system to go into a frenzy. It had to recall a new neuronal synapse to the muscle. This new surge also set off a boost in the anterior pituitary gland, sending a secretion of growth hormone into the blood. These events caused more blood flow to enter into the muscle providing a great pump.  By just increasing the rep count by 1 I felt a whole new experience in the muscle. For many years I have, like everyone, neglected the odd numbers. Little did I know that these odd numbers are my friend. From now on I will never neglect the odd numbers. Next week I will be cheating on the number 12 and going for 13. Sorry 12 but I think you understand it is time for a new number.  

This little experiment has prompted me to develop new programs that will incorporate the use of odd numbers for the rep count.  In fact, I am in the process of writing "The Elite Bodybuilding Series" that will have cutting edge programs that will promote phenomenal increases in muscle size and strength.  I consider this program to be a continuation of Vince Gironda's Master and Pro Series. I will keep you all posted on this program.

Also, for all Buff Daddy's out there.  I am happy to say that all the writing is done and I am now in the final edit and publishing phase.  I am very, very proud of this publication. It is by far the best work I have done to date.  It is over 325 pages and filled with many secrets of becoming a Buff Daddy.

tags: Vince Gironda, Charlie Sheen, Ron Kosloff, Daryl Conant, Boston Red Sox, Libya, Egypt, Iran, Muscle confusion, reps, sets, fitness, bodybuilding,

Monday, March 7, 2011

Not Seeing Results

Everyone once and awhile I have a frustrated member who asks me why they are not seeing results. They explain to me that they are eating perfect, exercising the right amount, sleeping well through the night, not stressed, drink plenty of water throughout the day, and are still not able to make any progress with changing their body composition. They search high and low for the answers in hopes that someone will give them a secret technique or special answer to resolve their problem.

Here is my answer:

1. If you are training correctly (100% honest workout) and changing the prescription every couple of weeks, (which I highly recommend) and using the right amount of intensity to provoke progressive overload and not overtraining and are not seeing any results then I look at nutrition next.

2. If you are eating 100% clean and healthy with minimal pollutants and valueless foods (alcohol, simple sugars, etc.), eating 5-6 small meals a day loaded with good sources of nutrients, keeping protein intake up to match the daily required intake and are still not seeing results I then look at psychological well-being.

3. If you are stress free and are not struggling with anger, depression, anxiety or other disruptive behaviors, and  you're getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night, and still aren't seeing results, then I look at anatomical / physiological systems of the body.

4. If you go to the doctor and have all of your organs tested, kidneys, liver, heart, intestines, stomach. And everything checks out to be normal, then I would look at the glands.

5. If your adrenal glands, thyroid gland, pituitary gland, testis are all normal and functioning fine, and you are still not seeing results then I would look at the hormones.

6. If your hormone levels, testosterone, growth hormone, leptin, ghrelin, cortisol and cholesterol levels are all normal and you still are not seeing results then I would look at your hereditary factors.

7. If disease, obesity, high cholesterol and / or diabetes runs in your family then you are at risk of developing these issues as well.

Overall, there are many factors to why a person doesn't see results from exercising.  Perhaps this is due to increasing an inflammatory effect to their systems when they were younger. Not everyone that I see has been exercising and eating right their whole life. There might have been years that they chronically abused their systems.


When we are young we can beat the hell out of our body systems and most of the time can recover with ease. But what this really means is that the immune system is superior during those years and can combat the damage. However, as we age some of the damage that has been done, the immune system can no longer defend against, eventually giving rise to the inflammatory processes.  For example, if someone drank a lot of alcohol in their youth from 18-32 years old. They have damaged many of the cells of their liver.  The immune system helps combat some of the ill effects keeping the person alive.  But when the natural process of aging takes affect and the persons natural hormone levels and immune system levels drop then the damage that has always been prevalent finally takes over, leaving the person with a harder time of utilizing the full capacity of the system.  Let's face it folks! If you have 100,000 liver cells and damage 40,000 of them you lose 40% of liver function.  As you get older this gets even worse, because as we age we naturally lose cells and they don't regenerate (so is the process of life) leaving us with less ability to process nutrients.  This process of nutrient degradation as we age means that the cells aren't able to sustain their number and will ultimately reduce significantly.

In my book, diet EARTH I have written extensively on the aging process and the differences between acquired age and time dependent age.  If you would like more information on this topic I strongly urge that you purchase my book, or if you have the book all ready, please refer back to that section.

Here are some key points that can affect your body composition as you age.

1. Eating disorders when you were younger from the age of 9-28 years old.
2. Smoking from age 9-100 years old.
3. Drinking alcohol from age 9-100 years old.
4. Chronically drinking coffee from age 18-100 years old.
5. Eating excessive amounts of junk food, high carbohydrate garbage from age 8-100 years old.
6. Taking anabolic steroids from age 18-28 years old.
7. Being stressed out, type-A personality from age 21-100 years old.
8. Smoking the weed from age 9-28 years old.
9. Taking prescription drugs from age 9-28 years old.
10. Excessive exercise addict from age 10-40 years old.
11. Chronic insomnia, or lack of sleep for many nights from age 21-60 years old.
12. Being an angry bastard from age 25-60 years old.
13. Being depressed from age 15-80 years old
14. Not eating enough protein from age 28-50
15. Not exercising regularly from age 15-40

These are just some of the most common reasons for damaging the regulatory systems of the body affecting body composition.

Like I always say what you eat today will affect your body composition 3 days from now. How you treat your body while you were young will affect how you will look when you are older.

Inflammatory process:

For every year you remain in an inflammatory situation you add 5 years to your age.  So, if a 20 year old person abuses their system for one full reproductive cycle (1 year) they have now increased their physiological age to 25 years old.  The more years of abuse the older they become.  A great example of this is the 25 year old alcoholic.  An alcoholic at age 25 often times looks 30-35 years old.  A forty year old alcoholic looks 55-60 years old.  Smokers are the same. Look at a person who has been smoking for many years they look much older than they appear.  Sometimes a forty year old smoker looks 60-70 years old.  Over eaters also have the same aging effect.  Those that are grossly over weight tend to look a lot older than they are.  All this is because of the physiological damage they have inflicted upon themselves.

Staying fit and healthy during the younger developmental years are crucial for staying fit and having good body composition throughout life.  This is because the cells and hormones are at their greatest concentrations during the maturation of the human body. If no damage is present the DNA can stay intact and protein synthesis is stabilized.  If damage is present then irreversible damage to the cells develops, creating acquired aging which will influence time dependent aging.

For those of you who suffer from insufficient results. Realize this, even though you aren't seeing a change in the scale when you weigh yourself, if you haven't gained any more weight then you are making progress. If you were not exercising you would be much bigger than you are.  So in essence you have slow down the aging process and have been able to maintain your body composition.  You might never have the six pack that you always dream of, but you can keep the abdominals conditioned enough to help reduce back pain, and from collecting more fat around that area.

Don't think for a minute that your efforts are fruitless.  What you have done to the internal organs is tremendous. And your nervous system thanks you for keeping it charged throughout the day.

So, if you are doing everything possible and have checked every aspect of your body then it might be time to accept what cannot be changed and keep pursuing on to what can be done to help keep what you have.

tags: no results, red sox, charlie sheen, tiger woods, lebron james, miami heat, daryl conant, vince gironda, ron kosloff, lindsay lohan, bon jovi, u2, bono

Friday, March 4, 2011

DIFFUSION: The key to cell assimulation

Cells are sophisticated networks that provide all the systematic functions of the body.  For those of you who are interested in learning more about the energy and nutrient transport system here is a brief look into  diffusion.  I apologize for the length and the technicality of this blog, but that is the only way I can explain it.


The interior of the cell is composed of organic and inorganic materials dissolved in H2O; these substances are constantly involved in a myriad of chemical reactions to produce energy and hence maintain life. Outside of every cell is the interstitial fluid, whose composition is quite similar to the interior of the cell.  Food and gases move from the blood through the interstitial fluid and into the cell, while waste materials come from the cell through the interstitial fluid into the blood.  Forces are constantly at work to maintain this dynamic equilibrium.

Diffusion, facilitated diffusion, osmosis, electrical potential, and active transport are the forces that allow this delicate balance between the inside and the outside of the cell to be maintained.

Each molecule is in constant vibration, and  as a result, the molecules contained within a given volume will be constantly colliding with one another. The vibrating and colliding result in a mixing of the molecules throughout the system. The movement is caused by the kinetic energy of the particle.  This randomness of movement, or diffusion, is an excellent mixing device and is the most important means by which particles move into and out the cell. In diffusion, particles always move from a region of higher concentration to one of lower concentration. For example, oxygen moves from the capillary to the interstitial fluid (lymph surrounding the cell) and from the interstitial fluid into the cell. By the same token, carbon dioxide (Co2) moves from the cell through the interstitial fluid and into the capillaries. There are by far a greater number of oxygen molecules in the blood moving about in random fashion--this is the reason why more will diffuse toward the cell. By the same token, CO2 is produced in the cell and the random motion of these molecules will result in their greater diffusion out of the cell through the interstitial fluid and into the capillaries. When the concentration of the other, a diffusion gradient exists. One might say that the oxygen has a downhill grade toward the cell, where Co2 would have a downhill grade toward the capillary.

Facilitated Diffusion

Each cell is surrounded by a membrane within which is contained a matrix. The matrix is composed of lipids (fats), and therefore is called a lipid matrix. In ordinary or free diffusion carbon dioxide, oxygen and other compounds such as fatty acids and alcohol (1) pass through the pores of the outer membrane, (2) dissolve into the matrix, (3) diffuse to the inner membrane, and (4) finally pass through the membrane wall into the interior of the cell.

Sugars, such as glucose, however, do not dissolve in the lipid matrix. Consequently, they must find some other means of diffusing to the inner membrane wall. It is thought that this is accomplished with the help of an unknown carrier substance. The carrier substance (lets call it X) combines with glucose just inside the outer membrane of the matrix, forming a compound we can call glucose X. Because this compound is soluble (dissolvable) in the lipid matrix, the glucose can now diffuse across to the inner membrane of the matrix. At this point, the carrier substances breaks away and glucose passes to the inside of the cell. The carrier substances then diffuses back across the matrix where it can once again transport more glucose to the inside of the cell. This process is called facilitated diffusion because, as we have seen, the carrier substance facilitates the transport or diffusion of glucose into the cell.


Small molecules and other particles, such as CO2 and O2, pass into and out of the cell membrane through pores, with ease, as was discussed previously. However, certain molecules are too large to find passage through the pores of the cell membrane and as a result, too little or too much water moving into or out of the cell may cause it to swell or shrink.  The reason for this may be explained in the following manner. Consider a cell with only water on the inside and outside. As water molecules pass easily into and out of the cell through diffusion, there will be an equal number of molecules on either side of the cell membrane--I.e. a diffusion gradient does not exist. Now suppose there were a number of large no diffusible particles (too large to get through the pores) on the outside of the membrane, which would prevent the water molecules from entering the cell. In this situation, the water molecules on the inside would remain continuously in motion and gradually move to the outside of the cell by diffusion. The condition where by there are a greater number molecules bombarding one side of the cell membrane than the other is called osmosis. Osmosis is a special case of diffusion that occurs when you have: (1) a semi permeable membrane, and (2) a liquid containing particles on either side of the membrane.

Osmosis can be demonstrated using a U-tube with a semi permeable membrane that separates water and a solution of sodium chloride. The relatively large sodium and chloride ions find it difficult to move through the membrane. Because of the presence of these ions about the membrane, fewer water molecules will come into contract with the membrane and fewer will diffuse through to the other side. The side containing water molecules alone will lose more of these molecules by diffusion as there is nothing to impede their progress through the cell membrane. Water will diffuse to the other side of the membrane containing a larger number of sodium and chloride ions and the fewer number of water molecules. In other words, the water diffuses  from a higher to a lower concentration. As a consequence of the diffusion of water, pressure will gradually increase on the other side of the membrane  containing  the greater number of sodium and chloride ions because of the weight of the additional amount of water. The buildup in pressure will stop when the force tending to drive the molecules into the compartment is equalized by the force tending to drive them out. This is a hydraulic pressure, which overcomes the tendency of water to diffuse into the compartment of higher concentration of ions. This force is called the osmotic pressure.

Electrical Forces
The capacity for producing electrical effects is called electrical potential. When certain compounds, such as sodium are placed in water they ionize. That is, the sodium breaks away from the chlorine, resulting in a positively charged sodium ion or sodium and a negatively charged chloride ion. Like charges repel and unlike charges attract. The outstanding difference between the intracellular fluid and the interstitial fluid is the concentration of ions. Sodium, calcium, and chloride concentrations are many times greater outside the cell; on the other hand, potassium, magnesium, and phosphate concentrations are greater inside the cell. As a result of the distribution of these ions, the inside of the cell has a negative charge, whereas the electrical potential of the interstitial fluid is zero.

The electrochemical force on the inside of the cell tends to attract the positively charged cations into the cell and drive the negatively charged anions out of the cell. For example, potassium would tend to diffuse from the cell because of its high concentration, but the influence of the internal negative charge would cause the potassium to remain within the cell.  These two forces (diffusion gradient and electrochemical force) are almost equal, but are sufficiently unequal to favor the movement of potassium from the cell. The opposite is true for chloride. Chloride ion has a high interstitial concentration, which  would cause diffusion into the cell, but the electric forces are sufficient to keep the chloride from entering the cell. In other words, the chloride ions inside the cell are in electrochemical equilibrium with those on the outside.

Active Transport

Sodium is a large ion because it attracts water molecules about its surface. Consequently, even though it is a cation, it experiences difficulty in penetrating the pores of the cell. Although there is a small leakage of sodium into the cell, the number of ions inside the cell remain small, which suggests that a mechanism is in operation that actively removes sodium from the cell. The movement of substances against their concentration gradients by the expenditure of metabolic energy is referred to as active transport. Remember, when sodium moves from the inside to the outside of the cell it is going against the concentration gradient (uphill) for sodium is in greater concentration outside the cell). It is also moving against the electrochemical force because the inside of the cell is electrically negative, and unlike charges attract. The explanation for this suggests the presence of an enzyme active in cellular metabolism, which affords the energy to move sodium from the interior of the cell. Exactly how this comes about is unknown, but it is observed that as sodium leaves the cell, potassium enters. This phenomenon, which is referred to as the sodium-potassium pump, maintains an equilibrated movement of sodium and potassium against the diffusion gradient and the electrochemical forces.

Diffusion, both free and facilitated, osmosis, electrochemical potential and active transport are the forces that move materials into and out of the cell. This is a dynamic process going on continuously. The time factor for a given particle to diffuse from the capillary to the cell and vice versa is measured in microseconds at the cellular level. Upsetting this equilibrium, as was mentioned earlier, can result in serious physiological consequences.

tags: Vince Gironda, Ron Kosloff, Daryl Conant, Natural Bodybuilding

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Malnourished Boys

This is what happens when you eat too much sugar.  Here are my boys making me proud.

Bon Jovi: Great show In Boston

Saw them last night, 2nd row. Great show!!! This is the song that launched their career. Next, show U2 in Philly July 14th.