When it comes to building (and sustaining) muscle mass, it's different for everyone. Depending not only on your body type, but also your body's performance (breaking down food for energy, muscle synthesis, etc etc...) You might be putting on a kilo of muscle in the time it takes your neighbor to put on 3. I've seen it first hand and heard friends complain about such situations.
However, I've learnt that building muscle is more complex than counting calories along side regular resistance training... There are other factors I have learnt along the way which have helped me understand it better, 3 of which I'll share today. :)
1. Breathing Techniques and Cold Showers
So, you go to the gym... what more is there to know than lifting heavy and eating protein?
Ever heard of Wim Hof? His teachings have revolutionized how to re-program our conscious mind, which in turn re-programs our body. His practices have been proven to protect the immune system, one study he partook in demonstrated the ability to immunize the body from harmful bacteria, by introducing E-Coli into regular patients along side patients having spent a couple of weeks with Wim. He's worth checking out whether it be online or in person - the latter is possible if you take part in his mountain top workshops, unfortunately, his prices do not accommodate everyone and anyone...
So how does this relate to muscle building?
His breathing techniques are not only designed to toughen your immune system up, they can also be used pre-work out for allowing more oxygen into the muscle, which in turn allows more explosive power for lifting. Fast breathing in and out, without pause in between ("make it circular" Wim Hof's deep voice whispers), allows oxygen to build up in the muscle tissue.
Simply being aware of this importance of breathe has changed the way I work out, the best would be to check the techniques out and apply them as desired.
Sufficient oxygen intake in the muscle post-workout is also important to promote recovery. In can be achieved with the previously mentioned technique applied while stretching, for example. Something simple but effective to consider after a gym sesh, whether it be heavy or light.
After heavy workouts or prolonged cardio, cold baths have been an essential tool used by athletes in recent years for recovery (Jamie Vardy is known for having a cool-therapy tank in his home). I am writing this having been to the gym late last night, followed by a cold bath when I got home: the heavy-duty squats and dead-lifts haven't disabled me for the day and I feel able to go again.
Cold showers in the morning (I go from hot to cold to make it smooth) help the cardio-vascular system wake up, and I can't recommend them enough to wake yourself up - those energized 8am starts might be worth the initial pain, it just entails retraining your body to not freak out about the cold.
2. Growth Hormone
The beginning of my gym experience was paralleled with one simple idea: I need to eat a lot to put on weight. Well, although that idea was not wrong in itself, it was not refined for lean muscle growth, but rather for fat gain through spare fat storage. I have learnt that the latter is not a healthy way to toughen up- it strains our organs which are working around the clock to maintain our good health.
Eating isn't everything. A weight enhancing tool - a hormone stimulated by certain lifestyle choices, is our body's Growth Hormone (GH). This will help stimulate muscle growth amongst other things. It helps increase protein synthesis along with an enhancement of cell reproduction and regeneration, which is ideal for recovery.
Growth hormone, in fact, is pumped into livestock to increase meat weight and thus farmer revenues. It makes the animals more meaty (no pun intended). Needless to say, producing this hormone naturally may give your muscles the volume you have been searching for, without eating masses of starch and protein.
Resistance training in a fasted state is a great way of boosting GH, but the most effective way to promote GH on a long-term basis is simply by lowering your insulin production, the hormone that stops GH.
This brings me to my last point:
3. Insulin
For me, it has not only been a case of which foods to eat for maximum effect, but also when to eat them.
The importance of not constantly loading the stomach is not straight-forward. In fact, when the desire to put on weight emerged in me, all the articles I read went on about making sure your body is in a constantly fed state, with the all important pre-sleep protein powder advised, too.
I understand how this works, your body stores the excess Glycogen (made from sugar), which becomes body mass in the form of stored body fat. But when really getting down to it, there's a far better (and less damaging) way of gaining body mass: muscle.
For our cells to be 'open' they need to be in a receptive state, which is essentially helped with low levels of insulin in the body. This will, in turn, allow more protein into the muscle.
However, the act of eating raises blood sugar, which in turn results in the pancreas releasing insulin. This process slows down many health benefits gained from being in a non- fed state, notably one called autophagy (literally: self-eating - the cleaning out of damaged cells). This example is a demonstration of how eating all the time may not always be beneficial for muscle growth contrary to popular belief (those people may be putting on fat and muscle, and not just lean muscle.)
It is, therefore, possible to put on satisfactory muscle mass without eating all the time - it will help maintain low levels of insulin allowing positive changes within the body. Intermittent fasting is an effective way of managing insulin levels without being too restrictive - I go for a daily 18-6 (18 hours fasting, 6 hour eating window).
Within the eating window, minimizing insulin spikes can be achieved by eating low Glycemic Index (GI) foods. Carbs are essential for energy, yet the high GI ones spike blood sugar, which in turns results in insulin being released to manage it. Consistent blood sugar spikes in a given lifestyle can lead to more than just fatigue; a damaged pancreas, type two diabetes, insulin resistance (stubborn fat that stays despite weight loss). All the mentioned are linked with each other and are avoidable health problems.
All in all, it is not only what you eat, but arguably more importantly, when. Choosing low GI foods over sugary and starchy ones will also help with energy levels and mood. All I'm saying is that to know for yourself, just experiment. Finding a diet which you enjoy with addition of positive health effects is a simple pleasure - one of my favorites in life...
Hope this works for you like it did for me. I am not a nutritionist nor do I have any health-related qualifications, but I do pass on information from trusted sources, and share with you my honest experiences and opinions.
2 - https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/growth-hormone-athletic-performance-and-aging
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