Muscle health

The loss of muscle mass and strength is now recognised as a central marker of longevity, and yet it too often remains invisible in our consultations, masked by a simple scale or a reassuring BMI. This training invites you to understand, from the biochemical mechanisms to concrete clinical actions, why and how to optimise the muscle health of every person you support, whatever their reason for consulting.

What you will learn

• Understand the main pathways of muscle protein synthesis and breakdown (mTOR, AMPK) and the balance to seek between building and recycling, with the associated nutritional levers (leucine, arginine, serine, glutamine, HMB, measured insulin).
• Master the energy metabolism of the muscle, from ATP production to mitochondrial coupling and uncoupling, including oxidative stress and the antioxidant defences that work in synergy.
• Stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis and mitophagy, and identify the lifestyle levers that activate them (resistance training, endurance and HIIT, fasting, cold and heat exposure, photobiomodulation).
• Concretely assess muscle health in consultation, identify in whom to optimise it first, and use accessible tools such as grip strength, functional tests and functional biology.
• Build personalised recommendations in nutrition, supplementation and physical activity, and deconstruct common misconceptions about proteins and creatine.
• Link muscle health to mitochondrial health, the gut microbiota and the hormonal climate, to always trace back to the deepest cause.

On the programme

• Introduction: the muscle as a biomarker of longevity, supported by a literature review (muscle mass, grip strength, sarcopenia and mortality).
• Reminders of skeletal muscle anatomy and physiology: sarcomere, fibre types, neuromuscular junction, excitation-contraction coupling and the key role of ATP.
• Biochemistry of muscle health: protein synthesis and breakdown (MPS and MPB), mTOR and AMPK pathways, ATP energy pathways, mitochondrial coupling and uncoupling, oxidative stress, mitochondrial biogenesis and mitophagy.
• Adaptation to extreme temperatures (cold and heat), photobiomodulation, and the link between the mitochondria and the gut microbiota.
• The factors that influence muscle health: nutrition, physical activity, hormonal climate and the anabolic resistance linked to age.
• Assessment in practice: in which contexts and in whom to act (metabolic, mental, osteoarticular health, immunity, cancers), which criteria and which tools to use.
• Functional nutrition, supplementation and physical activity, with contributions from invited experts and a practical training guide.
• Myths or realities about proteins and creatine, then correction of the knowledge assessment quiz.

Who it is for

This training is for healthcare professionals and therapists committed to prevention and the optimisation of health, in micronutrition and functional medicine, as well as care practitioners and sports coaches who wish to anchor their recommendations in solid biochemical and physiological foundations.

At the end of the training

You will be able to explain the mechanisms underlying muscle health and justify your management choices rigorously, rather than reproducing standardised protocols. You will be able to assess muscle health with concrete tools, identify the people to support first, and personalise your recommendations in nutrition, supplementation and lifestyle. You will thus be able to contribute to building muscle health, in the service of healthier ageing.