Have You Grown Your Mitochondria Today?

Bret McClellan
Aug 3, 2015
3 min read

The demands of modern day society require copious amounts of energy, regardless of where (or how) you work or play. For this energy, your mitochondria (cellular power plants) must work overtime, especially if you are not following a healthy lifestyle. I’ve already written about how to maintain consistent energy in a previous blog, so I won’t belabor the point.

However, I feel the need to express to you how the mitochondria in each of your cells can be grown, and how this will benefit your health across the board. First, let’s look at what your mitochondria actually do:

Mitochondria supply energy for all cellular and bodily activities. They do this by extracting energy from nutrients to produce ATP for virtually every activity you perform. In reading the words on this page, you’re using ATP to fuel the muscular movements of your eyes and power thought processes in your brain.

It therefore behooves us to not only have an adequate supply of mitochondria for our activities, but to make them as efficient as possible so that we don’t run out of energy. Think of it like this: If your body were a race car, would you want a bigger engine or a smaller one? Would you want the engine to maximize fuel usage or let it spill out through cracks and crevices? Would you put 2 large, efficient engines under the hood to maximize output if you could? Considering that mitochondria are the engines of your body, the answers to these 3 questions are obvious. Now let me tell you how to accomplish all of these goals:

To grow the size of your mitochondria such that they produce more energy, simply incorporate sprints into your workouts. Sprints have been shown to increase the size of your mitochondria. The Primal Blueprint recommends sprinting every 7 to 10 days - easily attainable since it takes less than 30 minutes per session. Certainly you can find 15 to 30 minutes every 1.5 weeks to accomplish this, and your body will thank you for it immensely. Sprinting sessions do not have to be completed by running, although it’s likely the easiest and best method. As long as you perform an intense exercise at 100% effort over 8 to 30 seconds (no more, no less), for 3 to 6 repetitions per workout session, then that can be considered a “sprint” workout. Do you want more power in your daily physical or mental activities? Sprint!
To maximize your mitochondrial fuel efficiency, you must become adapted to burning fat as your main fuel source. Since mitochondria burn fat more efficiently than glucose, you need to adopt a diet which is higher in fats and lower in carbs. The best way to do this is to adopt an ancestral health lifestyle, avoiding grains and emphasizing grass-fed meats and wild-caught fish while incorporating organic produce. Do you want more consistent, efficient energy throughout the course of your day? Become a fat-burning beast!
Having more mitochondria in your cells provides more power to each cell and makes each cell more efficient. Think of it like having 2 engines running at 50% rather than 1 engine running at 100% - plus you have the capability of running BOTH engines at 100%! Once again, sprinting accomplishes the task of growing additional mitochondria in your cells.

The bottom line is that mitochondrial function is essential to ALL bodily functions, and YOU have the ability to increase their size, efficiency, and number if you follow the proper lifestyle. With bigger, more efficient, and more numerous mitochondria in your body, you cleanse yourself of toxins better, increase protein synthesis (generating more muscle mass), burn fat more easily, increase your hormone levels, and the end result is that YOU LIVE LONGER.

Sprinting is one of the best - if not THE very best - ways to grow your mitochondria. It is the quintessential primal workout, and one which everyone can and should benefit from. Start sprinting today and reap the rewards for a long time down the road!

Bret McClellan

Certified Primal Blueprint Expert

McClellan Natural Health, Wellness & Nutrition