Exercise and AMPK activation.

I have communicated with persons who don't think it's a good idea to work out when the body is in a fasting state. But when it comes to AMPK activation it is best done when the body is not in a fed state.

” commencing endurance exercise with low muscle glycogen stores (so-called “train low”) results in a greater transcriptional activation of enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism, including the adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), GLUT4, and the pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex, compared with when glycogen content is normal”

https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00857.2014

My point is that if maximal AMPK activation is a goal, then it is preferable to exercise when the body is not in a fed state. And also to avoid eating carbohydrates after the workout. So when doing intermittent fasting it is great to exercise when one is at the end of the fast.

I usually work out in the morning when I am in a fasting state and after having a cup of coffee.  That makes me more alert for many hours, compared to when I work out in the morning and have my coffee after the workout. Strange but a fact for me.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6186337/#!po=46.2500

As we all know Physical exercise and the primary adaptions it causes take place in skeletal muscles cells. But what is fascinating is the systemic adaptations that influence the micro environment in cells far the primary target (muscle cells) of the exercise. Not only by AMPK but by many other pathways. 

How Physical activity influence, in the above link, the specific tumor microenvironment in triple negative breast cancer is one example of how exercise indirectly influence cells in many parts of the human body. I find it a good but, at first, a rather difficult read.

In the article they discuss the role of Physical exercise, Chronic calorie restriction, intermittent fasting, Leucine deprivation, Glutamine restriction, whey protein concentrate supplementation, a possible influence of EHA-DHA, downregulation of mTOR, AMPK etc.

“Physiological adaptations to exercise occur in skeletal muscle but have an impact on the entire body through systemic control of energy homeostasis and metabolism, which in turn influence the TNBC (Triple negative breats cancer) tumor microenvironment.”

It confirms what many in this forum knows and what we practice. But the fact that the authors are interested in a specific kind of cell environment, the cellular tripple negative breast cancer environment, and how exercise can influence the outcome and the reoccurrence of triple negative breast cancer can be translated to many of the age reversing strategies that is at our hands. 

“Downregulation of mTOR signaling in TNBC (triple negative breast cancer) by exercise and CR (Calorie restriction). It has been shown that mTOR network inhibition is mostly mediated through the effects of CR (Calorie restriction) and vigorous PA (Physical activity) as well as long-term exercise, which decrease the level of circulating growth factors and hormones.

During exercise, the body is exposed to different types of stressors, including temperature, metabolism, hypoxic, oxidative, and mechanical stress. These stressors initiate biochemical targets, which in turn actuate different signaling pathways that regulate gene expression and adaptive responses.”

The article ends with direct recommendations regarding how to exercise to reap the most benefits.