Dr Holden MacRae (PhD) is Professor Emeritus of Sports Medicine, at Pepperdine University Malibu, California USA. His area of expertise is in  exercise metabolism, the science and neurobiology of sports performance, exercise and aging, and the development and implementation of high performance programs to support Esport athletes and Gamers. As a lecturer on the Sports Nutrition training,  Professor MacRae builds a compelling case for a low carbohydrate high fat diet in exercise.

In his lecture, Low Carb High Fat: Metabolically flexible for both low and higher intensity exercise, he elucidates the tissue fuel stores in the average human and explains what ATP production looks like for various fuel sources under different levels of activity. He presents the early literature showing that fatty acids supply the majority of energy at rest, with increasing contribution by glycogen and glucose as exercise intensity (VO2 max) increases. 

He compares glycolytic intermediates and ATP use at rest to during exercise. 

Prof MacRae also overviews fat oxidation. He presents Bergstrom’s muscle biopsy technique as heralding in a sequence of studies which assumed muscle glycogen is the limiting factor in exercise. These studies showed that carbohydrate availability, particularly maintenance of blood glucose and muscle glycogen stores, is diminished during prolonged exercise, an effect which is mitigated by exogenous carbohydrate ingestion in exercise bouts lasting longer than an hour. 

Prof MacRae shows how skeletal muscle’s fat oxidation capacity is upregulated in response to training and to a low carbohydrate high fat diet, implying that in this context, exogenous carbohydrate and muscle glycogen stores may be less important. He presents studies showing no impairment in performance on low carbohydrate high fat diets, even at intensities as high as 75 to 80% VO2 max.

As mentioned, this training includes leading experts covering other key topics in Sports, Exercise and TCR nutrition, such as

• Prof Tim Noakes: My life in Sports Nutrition: from High Carbs to High Fats
• Tracey McBeath: Exercise & Modern Women
• Dr Tro Kalyjian: Low Carbohydrate Diets & Athletic Performance
• Dr Ben Bocchiccio: Exercise as if Your Life Depended on it. Here’s Why it Does.
• Laurie Rauch: Nourishing your Muscles
• Holden McRae: LCHF: Metabolically Flexible for both Low and Higher Intensity Exercise
• Andre Obradovic: How should we Exercise when we are Moving to Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF) Nutrition

This highly anticipated provides flexible online learning, allowing you to become specialized in the effective implementation of body and lifestyle transformations through exercise and sports nutrition. 

This training is open to exercise and fitness professionals as well as coaches, medical and allied health professionals. The training launches end June 2022 and is currently open for enrolment at a 30% Early Bird discount, for only $230. For more information click here

We’re here to answer your questions. For more information reach out to us on [email protected]