EXPOSURE TO HOT ENVIRONMENT PLUS WHEY PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTATION ENHANCES AEROBIC PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE IN MICE: A PILOT STUDY

Skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the body and essential for posture, locomotion, and metabolism. The maintenance of muscle mass is critical for health and quality of life, while its gain or metabolic and morphological adaptations can enhance performance in various sports. Whey protein (WP) supplementation is a nutritional strategy capable of stimulating whole-body protein anabolism, leading to muscle hypertrophy. Exposure to a hot environment (HE), e.g., sauna or immersion in hot water, is a physical strategy that has shown effectiveness in stimulating both hypertrophic signalings and oxidative muscle phenotype. Although the isolated effects of WP and HE are relatively well known, the possible synergistic effects of the association of both strategies in skeletal muscle and in physical performance have not been studied.