Maximizing Muscle Growth-radio show 09/14/2012

I read an interesting part of a book online entitled The Max Muscle Plan by Brad Schoenfeld.  He has a great viewpoint on the muscles' response to exercise.  I am going to share some of that information with you because understanding muscular response to exercise is key to increasing muscle mass and strength if that is the goal of the program.  Specifically, I will be quoting his book in the numbered points because the explanations given are thorough and well-written.

It is important to understand that for muscular development and mass gains that no nutritional element is more important than protein.  Without adequate protein intake the body cannot properly recover for exercise and respond with growth.  Shoot for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight when gaining muscle mass.  The other most important nutrient is water.  Water comprises approximately 70% of a muscle while another 25% or so is made from the various proteins, cells, and tissues that form the muscle.  Drink about a gallon of water per day to support proper muscle function and growth.

Muscle tissue is always in one of two different states.  It is always either anabolic, muscle-growing, or catabolic, muscle-breakdown.  Which of the two states exists comes down to a combination of exercise and nutrition.  Protein synthesis is the process by which the body creates new muscle tissue resulting in an anabolic period.  Despite the potential for new muscle to be formed as a result of exercise the body is never in a state of protein synthesis (anabolic) during exercise.  Exercise always causes a state of protein breakdown (catabolic) as the fibers of the muscles are broken down from the resistance of the weights.  Following the end of the exercise session the muscle tissue begins the process o rebuilding.  The body's response to exercise is to accelerate protein synthesis, and with proper nutrition, a prolonged state of anabolism can occur and the result is that the muscles will become bigger.  This state can potentially last up to 48 hours.

There are three primary factors other than nutrition that have an affect on the muscle's response to exercise: muscle tension, muscle damage, and metabolic stress.

From The Max Muscle Plan by Brad Schoenfeld

1. Muscle tension. Tension exerted on muscles during resistance exercise is generally considered the most important factor in muscle development. The tension from lifting weights disturbs the integrity of working muscles, thus bringing about a phenomenon called mechanotransduction. Simply stated, mechanotransduction is the process by which mechanical signals are converted into chemical activity; in this case, the signals turn on anabolic pathways. Up to a certain point, greater muscle tension leads to a greater anabolic stimulus—a classic case of adaptation. However, it seems that an upper limit exists, beyond which high tension levels have a diminishing effect on muscle growth. Once this threshold is reached, other factors become increasingly more important in the growth process. This is why bodybuilders generally display superior muscle growth compared with powerlifters even though bodybuilders routinely train with lighter weights.

2. Muscle damage. Anyone who lifts weights has undoubtedly felt achy and sore after an intense exercise session. This phenomenon, called delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), generally manifests approximately 24 hours after an intense workout, and the peak effects are seen about two to three days postexercise. DOMS is caused by localized damage to muscle tissue in the form of microtears in both the contractile proteins and surface membrane (i.e., sarcolemma) of the working muscles. What many people fail to grasp, however, is that a certain amount of soreness may indirectly benefit muscle development. Here’s why: The response to muscle damage can be likened to the acute inflammatory response to infection. Once the body perceives damage, immune cells (neutrophils, macrophages, and so on) migrate to the damaged tissue in order to remove cellular debris to help maintain the fiber’s ultrastructure. In the process, the body produces signaling molecules called cytokines that activate the release of growth factors involved in muscle development. In this roundabout way, localized inflammation—a source of DOMS—leads to a growth response that, in effect, strengthens the ability of muscle tissue to withstand future muscle damage. Adaptation!

3.  Metabolic stress. Perhaps the most intriguing factor associated with muscle development is exercise-induced metabolic stress. Research on patients confined to bed rest show that metabolic stress induced by the application of a pressure cuff can help attenuate muscle wasting, even in the absence of exercise. Other studies have found that pressure-cuff exercise performed with very light weights—far less than what is normally considered sufficient for promoting muscular adaptations—can promote significant muscle growth as a result of generating a substantial amount of metabolic stress.

Anyone who has been on a strength training or mass building program can tell you that DOMS gradually becomes easier to deal with and the body recovers more efficiently as a person becomes more fit.  Soreness after a workout is not necessary for the body to increase in protein synthesis and result in a gain of muscle.  In fact, for people that have been regularly training for six months or more, excessive soreness can be a problem.  It is a symptom over training and inadequate nutrition.  The body's ability has been impeded and it remains in a catabolic state after the exercise is completed.  Ever have trouble walking after a leg workout? Or does the back tighten up at the slightest movement.  Over training is most likely the cause, make the workout easier.

Getting the proper nutrition into the body as quickly as possible optimizes the recovery process and begins the anabolic phase resulting into muscle growth.  Ideally a person should eat within 45 minutes of completing exercise.  If that is not possible, do not sweat it.  However, it is absolutely necessary to eat within two hours of exercise in order to maximize anabolic potential.  I advocate eating real food whenever possible but if that is not practical for you have a protein shake consisting of 300-400 calories, 10-15g fat, 30-40g protein, and 20-40g carbs.

Here is a couple of sample recovery meals for maximizing the anabolic recovery.  One meal is for every morning exercisers the other is for those who workout in the afternoon or evening.

Anabolic Breakfast
1 cup or two packets of sugar free oatmeal
2-4 eggs
1-2 tbsp of Peanut Butter
1 tbsp of flax seed

Anabolic Lunch or Dinner
1 baked sweet potato or 2 cups of spinach
1 chicken breast of salmon fillet
1/2 avocado