10) A rock climber needs to be strong, and the heavier he is the stronger he needs to be.

For this
reason, many rock climbers training on their own diet to become light while they exercise
hard to become strong. Do you think this is a recipe for success as a rock climber? And is there
potentially a dilemma becoming strong and light? Base your knowledge on the curriculum and
your knowledge of metabolic integration.

I believe that this method of training is valid for rock climbers as their goal is to maximize their
climbing ability. If the goal was only to gain muscle, then I would not label this as the most
effective method. The difficulty with becoming stronger while losing weight is to find a good
diet with the right number of calories and nutrients. While training to become stronger, glycogen
storages will likely be depleted, meaning that the body will rely on gluconeogenesis instead of
glycogenolysis for energy after exercise. Gluconeogenesis is capable of using both fats and
proteins to increase blood glucose, so it is important to have a diet that promotes the usage of fat
over proteins. Muscle is broken down for gluconeogenesis after fats are utilized, so it is
important to not fast too long (roughly 16 hours for someone with a lean build). It is equally
important to have a high protein intake because muscles are broken down during training and
need to be replenished for muscle growth. Another important component of the nutritional end is
to find the “sweet spot” for carbohydrate intake, where the body receives enough energy for
intense exercise while at the same time causing gluconeogenesis to be activated, initiating fat
breakdown.

Arguably the most important factor in this question is the activity of mTORC1 (mammalian
target of rapamycin complex 1) which is the primary complex involved in muscle and cell
growth. In order to gain strength the activation of mTORC1 is essential. One activity that
activates mTORC1 is mechanical stress which the rock climber can attain simply during training.
Another activity that enhances the activity of mTORC1 is the presence of essential amino acids
which a rock climber would have to include in their diet in order to gain strength. There are also
signals that decrease mTORC1 activity, so the rock climber should try to minimize
circumstances in which this occurs. Two factors that can decrease mTORC1 activity are low ATP
levels and the activation of AMPK. Low ATP levels directly decrease mTORC1 activation as
mTORC1 is sensitive to ATP for activation. AMPK is activated during phases of low ATP and
acts to inhibit anabolic pathways to decrease energy usage. The mTORC1 pathway happens to be
one of the anabolic pathways that is inhibited. In order to lose weight and gain muscle, rock
climbers have to maximize mTORC1 while in a caloric deficit, which is possible but takes a lot
of management of nutrients and training.