Exercise Biochemistry

Exercise Biochemistry, Second Edition, takes a potentially difficult and technical subject and translates it into a clear explanation of how exercise affects molecular-level functioning in athletes and nonathletes, both healthy and diseased. Extremely student friendly, this text is written in conversational style by Vassilis Mougios, who poses and then answers questions as if having a dialogue with a student. Using simple language supported by ample analogies and numerous illustrations, he is able to drive home important concepts for students without compromising scientific accuracy and content.

With significantly updated research, the second edition of Exercise Biochemistry offers a complete compilation, from basic topics to more advanced topics. It includes coverage of metabolism, endocrinology, and assessment all in one volume. This edition also adds the following:

• A chapter on vitamins and minerals present in the human diet

• An evidence-based chapter on exercise and disease that shows how appropriate exercise prescriptions can mobilize biochemical mechanisms in the body to fight obesity, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, diabetes, the metabolic syndrome, cancer, osteoporosis, mental disease, and aging

• Updated information on nucleic acids and gene expression, including exercise genetics, RNA interference, and epigenetics

• An examination of caffeine as an ergogenic aid to better demonstrate the relationship between caffeine and fatigue

• Up-to-date findings on how different types of exercise affect lipid metabolism and the use of individual fatty acids during exercise

To facilitate student learning, Exercise Biochemistry incorporates chapter objectives and summaries, key terms, sidebars, and questions and problems posed at the end of each chapter. It leads students through four successive parts. Part I introduces biochemistry basics, including metabolism, proteins, nucleic acids and gene expression, carbohydrates and lipids, and vitamins and minerals. Part II applies the basics to explore neural control of movement and muscle activity. The essence of the book is found in part III, which details exercise metabolism related to carbohydrates, lipids, and protein; compounds of high phosphoryl-transfer potential; effects of exercise on gene expression; integration of exercise metabolism; and the use of exercise to fight disease. Part IV focuses on biochemical assessment of people who exercise, with chapters on iron status, metabolites, enzymes, and hormones. Simple biochemical assessments of health and performance are also discussed.

Exercise Biochemistry, Second Edition, is an authoritative resource that will arm future sport and exercise scientists with a clear understanding of the effects of exercise on the function of the human body.

Vassilis Mougios, PhD, is a professor of exercise biochemistry and director of the Laboratory of Evaluation of Human Biological Performance at the University of Thessaloniki in Greece. A teacher of exercise biochemistry, sport nutrition, and ergogenic aspects of sport for 30 years, Mougios served on the Scientific Committee of the 2004 Pre-Olympic Congress. He has coauthored many articles in international scientific journals and has done research on muscle contraction, exercise metabolism, biochemical assessment of athletes, and sport nutrition.

Mougios is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Physiological Society. He is a fellow and member of the reviewing panel of the European College of Sport Science. He serves as a topic editor for Frontiers in Physiology and a reviewer for Journal of Applied Physiology, British Journal of Sports Medicine, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Acta Physiologica, Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, Metabolism, and Obesity. In his leisure time, he enjoys rafting, hiking, and photography.