Chris250
MuscleChemistry Registered Member
Promoting Gains in Muscle Mass
Question: I have always been told that you must take in more calories than you expend each day to build muscle. Is that really true?
Answer: No it is not true. Certainly, calories are extremely influential in promoting gains in muscle mass. However, other factors play a role such as your protein intake, meal timing, your carbohydrate intake and hormones.
Many nutritionists will argue that you must always eat more calories than you take in to build muscle mass. That idea is limited in that you always have to consider other factors; those listed above. Calories – say from carbohydrates- provide fuel for the muscles to do work. That is, you need calories – energy – to train. But ask yourself, can a car drive 100 miles per hour on only ½ a tank of gas? Does the gas tank have to be entirely full for that car to drive as fast as possible? Of course not. The same concept is true with training. The bodybuilder can easily train as hard as he can with an all-out high level of intensity without overloading on calories. Specifically, muscle glycogen, the collection of stored carbohydrates located in muscles that support your training, does not have to be at peak levels to support hard training sessions. In addition, when you always try to eat more calories than you need on a daily basis, you will end up storing a lot of body fat. Therefore, by eating a lot, you might get big, but you will also store a lot of unwanted body fat.
Besides calories, protein is immensely important and plays a huge role in growth. It is just as, if not more, important than “total calories” or eating more calories each day than is required. Protein serves as the foundation for muscle growth. It is the “bricks” to build a bigger body. Calories are simply the energy that allow the body to use those bricks. Without enough protein, you will not grow- even if you eat a lot of calories. So, the idea that you have to eat more calories on a daily basis than you need is faulty if, in fact, you fail to eat enough protein. In this case- eating a lot of calories – without eating enough protein; the result will be an increase in body fat while simultaneously a failure to gain muscle mass. This is one reason a quality, easy to digest protein powder becomes essential for supplementing protein intake.
Meal timing, how many times you eat daily, also impacts muscle growth and is of greater importance than “eating more calories than the body needs.” Eating multiple times through the day, such as 5, 6 or 7 times, helps pave the way for muscle growth by maximizing nutrient absorption. Eating a large meal before training and again after training can offset muscle breakdown associated with hard training. One of the paradox’s with training is that it tears the body down. Nutrition and rest help build it back up. Specifically, timing your meals so that you are eating larger meals 90 minutes before training and another large meal right after training is essential in preventing the muscles from being broken down too far, to the point where you are doing damage to the muscle rather than stimulating muscle growth. You could eat more calories each day than the body needs, yet if you fail to eat the right size meal before and after training and also neglect to structure your meals so that you are eating 5, 6, or 7 times a day, then you might just gain body fat and fail to grow.
The last part of timing has to do with what you eat before bed. In general, you want to time your meals so that you are not eating a lot of carbohydrates before bedtime because an excess carbohydrate intake can interfere with growth hormone output. Growth hormone is released within the first 90 minutes of sleep and it helps increase another hormone called IGF-1 which initiates a splitting of muscle cells where entirely new cells are generated from current muscle tissue leading to gains in mass. When cells plit, the body’s metabolism rises, so skipping carbs before bed, and using a GH releaser like GH Accelerator, over the long haul can keep you growing even when calories are not excessive
Question: I have always been told that you must take in more calories than you expend each day to build muscle. Is that really true?
Answer: No it is not true. Certainly, calories are extremely influential in promoting gains in muscle mass. However, other factors play a role such as your protein intake, meal timing, your carbohydrate intake and hormones.
Many nutritionists will argue that you must always eat more calories than you take in to build muscle mass. That idea is limited in that you always have to consider other factors; those listed above. Calories – say from carbohydrates- provide fuel for the muscles to do work. That is, you need calories – energy – to train. But ask yourself, can a car drive 100 miles per hour on only ½ a tank of gas? Does the gas tank have to be entirely full for that car to drive as fast as possible? Of course not. The same concept is true with training. The bodybuilder can easily train as hard as he can with an all-out high level of intensity without overloading on calories. Specifically, muscle glycogen, the collection of stored carbohydrates located in muscles that support your training, does not have to be at peak levels to support hard training sessions. In addition, when you always try to eat more calories than you need on a daily basis, you will end up storing a lot of body fat. Therefore, by eating a lot, you might get big, but you will also store a lot of unwanted body fat.
Besides calories, protein is immensely important and plays a huge role in growth. It is just as, if not more, important than “total calories” or eating more calories each day than is required. Protein serves as the foundation for muscle growth. It is the “bricks” to build a bigger body. Calories are simply the energy that allow the body to use those bricks. Without enough protein, you will not grow- even if you eat a lot of calories. So, the idea that you have to eat more calories on a daily basis than you need is faulty if, in fact, you fail to eat enough protein. In this case- eating a lot of calories – without eating enough protein; the result will be an increase in body fat while simultaneously a failure to gain muscle mass. This is one reason a quality, easy to digest protein powder becomes essential for supplementing protein intake.
Meal timing, how many times you eat daily, also impacts muscle growth and is of greater importance than “eating more calories than the body needs.” Eating multiple times through the day, such as 5, 6 or 7 times, helps pave the way for muscle growth by maximizing nutrient absorption. Eating a large meal before training and again after training can offset muscle breakdown associated with hard training. One of the paradox’s with training is that it tears the body down. Nutrition and rest help build it back up. Specifically, timing your meals so that you are eating larger meals 90 minutes before training and another large meal right after training is essential in preventing the muscles from being broken down too far, to the point where you are doing damage to the muscle rather than stimulating muscle growth. You could eat more calories each day than the body needs, yet if you fail to eat the right size meal before and after training and also neglect to structure your meals so that you are eating 5, 6, or 7 times a day, then you might just gain body fat and fail to grow.
The last part of timing has to do with what you eat before bed. In general, you want to time your meals so that you are not eating a lot of carbohydrates before bedtime because an excess carbohydrate intake can interfere with growth hormone output. Growth hormone is released within the first 90 minutes of sleep and it helps increase another hormone called IGF-1 which initiates a splitting of muscle cells where entirely new cells are generated from current muscle tissue leading to gains in mass. When cells plit, the body’s metabolism rises, so skipping carbs before bed, and using a GH releaser like GH Accelerator, over the long haul can keep you growing even when calories are not excessive
