Acetylcholine: The Next Frontier in Strength Development

(First published in the January 2004 issue of Powerlifting USA, #1 Powerlifting Magazine in the United States)

THE REASONS:

Much research has been conducted related to training for muscular hypertrophy and maximal relative strength development, including repetition ranges, rest period durations, and repetition cadence.

That said, if two hypothetical athletes have identical muscular development and muscle fiber composition, how does one exceed the other if they have equal training experience and technique? The fastest method can be found in the scientific improvement of muscle fiber recruitment, implemented over as brief a period of time as one day.

Lift progress is both faster and more substantial when one increases the number of muscle fibers used in a given movement vs. simply increasing their individual size or firing speed.

There are no direct connections between nerves and skeletal muscle fibers. There is a microscopic gap, a space, between motor neurons and the muscles they contract, referred to as the Neuromuscular Junction (NJ) or synaptic cleft. This is, for strength athletes, the essential "power gap" that must be bridged for strength development beyond muscular hypertrophy and training effect.

To properly maximize the electro-chemical nature of muscular contraction, it is important to understand the series of discrete events that leads to all physical movement, in this example, the arm extension in the bench press:

1) Based on the intended movement, a signal from the spinal cord causes an electrical current, referred to as the action potential, to travel down the motor neuron towards its paired group of muscle fibers in the tricep. This motor neuron and its paired group of muscle fibers are, combined, referred to as a single "motor unit".
2) When the electrical impulse reaches the end of the motor neuron, the neurotransmitter acetylcholine is released and travels across the gap to the surface of the muscle membrane.
3) Acetylcholine binds to receptor sites on the muscle, recreating the electric action potential.
4) The electric current causes the release of calcium (Ca++) from the sarcoplasmic reticulum in the muscle.
5) The calcium contacts the contractile machinery of the muscle (actin and myosin), and muscular contraction occurs; the fibers in the tricep head slide over themselves like a ratchet, shortening and extending the arms.

Without chemical stimulation from a motor neuron, muscular contraction cannot occur. Without optimal chemical stimulation, maximal strength output cannot be generated.

To facilitate and optimize the above process for strength gains, one can increase area-specific calcium release, increase the number of motor units activated by a given motor neuron, or increase acetylcholine production at the Neuromuscular Junction. Two vehicles can be used to further these goals: training and supplementation.

As a sample of the former, researchers and scientists at the University of Connecticut have demonstrated that high-intensity training, defined as resistance training at a minumum of 90% or more of Maximum Heart Rate (MHR), can increase the number of branches that extend from the end of a given motor neuron. In this manner, broader connectivity increases the number of motor units reachable by multiple motor neurons, resulting in greater muscle fiber recruitment and strength output. This is of particular value within larger and most easily fatigued muscle groups, where each neuron must service larger numbers of muscle fibers (i.e. white type II-b fibers in the thighs, back, and other major groups critical to maximum lifts in strength sports).

Training, however, is for another article, and the above physical adaptation does not increase neurotransmitter production or the number of receptor sites for them: the two missing links, so to speak. Within the context of this brief article, we shall focus on the most neglected vehicle for maximal strength development via supplementation: acetylcholine itself.

THE RESEARCH:

Thomas Incledon, president of Human Performance Specialists, a sports pharmaceutical consulting firm, cites acetylcholine and associated neural co-factors as the next generation of ergogenics: "Increasing acetylcholine and neurotransmitter enhancers will be one of the next phases. When you increase acetylcholine, you are able to activate more muscle fiber, which, in turn, lowers the relative intensity of a workout [by increasing the amount of weight that can be lifted]."

By actively providing the precursors and conversions agents necessary for optimization of nerve conduction, strength is increased through the power of multiplication: using more muscle fiber in a given movement, which equals greater gains and hypertrophy in a shorter period of time.

The quantifiable real-world improvements athletes are demonstrating with neural accelerators, now that they are appearing in the competitive circuits, is more impressive than physiological theory or hypothetical speculation.

Scot Mendelson, who has increased his world-record bench-press from 786.2 lbs. to 875.2 lbs., now has 9 world records to his credit and states: "BodyQUICK [the only acetylcholine-based neural accelerator currently on the market] helps everything fire faster. The power and speed it generates is like nothing I've ever tried."

Peter Primeau, IPA World Champion, states: "Last year I was able to squat 565 in a competition. By using [neural acceleration] earlier this year I achieved a 705 squat in competition. My bench went from 440 to 550 in the same cycle. My deadlift improved from 625 to 645. Today I squatted 715 deep for a double."

It is understood that world-class athletes progress based on multiple factors and training is no small component; a supplement cannot replace these prerequisites at is intended only to amplify and multiply the training effect. That said, if acetylcholine production is impaired or suboptimal, no type or volume of scientific training will produce the highest-possible performance gains, as all contraction is limited by its supply. Using blood analysis testing, it has been demonstrated that plasma levels of choline (a precursor to acetylcholine) are decreased by 25-40% in runners after completion of the Boston Marathon. Randomized placebo-controlled crossover testing has also concluded that increased acetylcholine levels directly correlate to faster running and swimming times in competitive athletic subjects. It is important to note that, as critical as acetylcholine is to strength output, it is equally important to extended muscular performance and sports endurance.

THE RECOMMENDATIONS:

How does one simultaneously increase motor unit recruitment, increase muscle fiber stimulation, and decrease muscle fiber fatigue? Understanding the role and optimization of acetylcholine is the key to bridging the "power gap" and actualizing true genetic strength potential.

Consumption of acetylcholine precursors and necessary conversion agents improves muscle-fiber recruitment and introduces a new basis for the development of maximal strength within shorter timeframes than ever before possible with training and supplementation focused on hypertrophy, whether sarcoplasmic or sarcomeric.

Acetylcholine (ACh), unstable when ingested directly, is ideally produced by consuming constituent precursors, conversion agents, and extension agents that increase the intersynaptic half-life once acetylcholine is produced internally.

At the time of this writing, there is only one patent-pending and tested neural accelerator on the market that contains these above three necessary components, sold in New Zealand, Japan, and now the USA as BodyQUICK (www.getbodyquick.com). Featured on FOX Sports and CBS' "Science of Fitness", BodyQUICK has quickly entered the world of professional sports and immediately demonstrated the power of acetylcholine, setting nearly 10 world records in competitive powerlifting alone within the last 12 months. BodyQUICK has been fully tested by the ASDA (as RAPID) and contains no banned substances listed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), NCAA, or WADA.

Analogous to insulin as a so-called "master hormone" in its ability to regulate testosterone and Human Growth Hormone (HGH) production, the nervous system is the parent biosystem that determines the output and limits of the muscular and cardiovascular systems, as they both depend on electric impulses and action potentials. For this reason, the biochemicals that support neural transmission and help recruit the maximal number of motor units must be optimized to realize the true upper limits of muscular power output.

With an excellent record of clinical safety, acetylcholine-based neural accelerators may present a safer alternative to the more harmful anabolics and androgens so prevalent and so often misused in competitive strength sports today.

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REFERENCES:

1. Wurtman RJ. Effects of dietary amino acids, carbohydrates and choline neurotransmitter synthesis. Mt. Sinai J Med 1988; 55(1): 75-86.
2. Wurtman RJ, Hefti F, Melamed E. Precursor control of neurotransmitter synthesis. Pharmacol Rev 1981; 32(4): 315-25.
3. Maire JC, Wurtman RJ. Effects of electrical stimulation and choline availability on release and contents of acetylcholine and choline in superfused slices from rat striatum. J Physiol Paris 1985; 80: 189-95
4. Blusztajn JK, Wurtman RJ. Choline and cholinergic neurons. Science 1983; 221: 614-20
5. Bierkamper GG, Goldberg AM. Release of acetylcholine from the vascular perfused rat phrenic nerve hemidiaphragm. Brain Res 1980; 202: 234-37
6. Dietrich HA, Lindmar R, Loffelholz K. The role of choline in the release of acetylcholine in isolated hearts. Arch Pharmacol 1978; 301: 207-15
7. Linden DC, Newton MW, Grinnell AD, Jenden DJ. Rapid decline in acetylcholine release and content of rat extensor digitorum longus muscle after denervation. Exp Neurol 1983; 81: 613-26

Authored by Adaptagenix DC Staff

Adaptagenix DC has developed neural acceleration programs for world-class athletes in 16 countries. The founders of BrainQUICKEN™ (Cognamine) have been featured by Maxim, Philadelphia Inquirer, MTV, CBS, and other media worldwide.

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