Biochemistry Primer for Exercise Science

Students trained in traditional exercise physiology have learned the basic concepts of energy but often don’t fully understand human energy consumption at the molecular level. Biochemistry Primer for Exercise Science, Fifth Edition, offers students a fundamental understanding of how biochemical processes underpin physical activity, performance, and overall health.

Reflecting the rapid development of the field, this foundational text continues to present the essentials of biochemistry—molecular biology, basic chemistry, metabolism, and transcription regulation—in an easy-to-understand format. With new and updated illustrations, the fifth edition features the most recent research in exercise biochemistry and contains new and expanded content on the following topics:

• The structure, expression, interactions, and adaptations of proteins in the body (proteomics)
• Muscle contraction and fatigue
• The regulation of gene expression in health and disease
• Control of biochemical and muscular adaptations to exercise and training through signaling pathways
• The basics of signaling mechanisms associated with different types of exercise and adaptations to different forms of exercise training
• New and developing research areas highlighted through Next Stage sidebars

Biochemistry Primer for Exercise Science, Fifth Edition, combines information from nutrition, physiology, and biochemistry to provide a clear explanation of metabolism and the human body’s response to physical activity. Special elements throughout the text help to demystify this complex and dynamic field of study. Key points, sidebars, and chapter summaries help reinforce essential concepts. A comprehensive glossary and abbreviation and reference lists help students gain confidence in their understanding of exercise biochemistry.

With its combination of essential topics, new findings, and future directions in research, Biochemistry Primer for Exercise Science, Fifth Edition, provides a foundational understanding on the working of cellular and integrative whole-body metabolism and the human body’s response to physical activity.

A. Russell Tupling, PhD, is a professor and chair of the department of kinesiology and health sciences at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. His research program, which is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, is dedicated to the understanding of the regulation of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) function in muscle and understanding how defects in the function of SR proteins that occur with oxidative stress contribute to fatigue, weakness, and disease.

Tupling has published over 110 peer-reviewed publications in scholarly journals and over 185 conference abstracts based on his research. In 2010, he received the Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision from the University of Waterloo. Tupling is a member of the American Physiological Society and the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP). He was invited to give the inaugural Mike Houston Tutorial Lecture in Skeletal Muscle at the CSEP conference in 2009.

Peter Tiidus, PhD, is the dean of the faculty of applied health science at Brock University in Ontario, Canada. He has authored more than 95 refereed publications and presented his research in numerous lectures and conference presentations. His research focuses on the effects of hormones such as estrogen on muscle damage, inflammation, and repair as well as the influence of treatment interventions on muscle recovery from damage and physiological responses. In recognition of his years of contribution to exercise physiology, Tiidus was made a fellow of the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) in 2023. He is also a member of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and European College of Sports Science (ECSS).

Rene Vandenboom, PhD, is a professor in the department of kinesiology at Brock University in Ontario, Canada. His research has focused on excitation-contraction coupling and the mechanics of skeletal muscle contraction. Vandenboom has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals, many on the topic of myosin phosphorylation and force potentiation in skeletal muscle. An avid weight lifter, runner, and ball hockey player, he extolls the value of exercise across the lifespan.

Michael E. Houston, PhD (1941-2008) received his undergraduate training in biochemistry from the University of Toronto and his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Waterloo. A superb athlete and lifelong exercise fanatic, he was able to integrate his training in biochemistry with his love of exercise science and to forge a career as a teacher and scientist in the field of kinesiology. During his 40-year career, he authored more than 100 refereed publications and taught courses on the biochemistry of exercise to many undergraduate and graduate students. In 2003, he was presented with the Honour Award from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology in acknowledgment of his lifetime contribution to research and education in exercise science.

Houston was the author of the first three editions of Biochemistry Primer for Exercise Science. This fifth edition, which is built on his body of work, still incorporates a major portion of his third edition. Dr. Houston passed away in 2008.