Who Else Wants to Turn All The Protein You Eat Into Lean Muscle?
Protein is made up of components called amino acids. When you eat protein, your body breaks down the protein into these amino acids. The amino acids can be broken down into groups of 1,2, or 3 amino acids before they enter your bloodstream. When they enter your bloodstream, they’re used up by organs and muscle tissue to build and/or repair. So how does weight-lifting build muscles, which consist mainly of protein and water? Weight-lifting damages muscles, and creates a response in the body that causes hormones to lead toward muscle growth. So, in order to build muscles and to replace damaged proteins, you body needs an ample supply of amino acids.
As we mentioned before, weight lifting causes reaction due to hormones that lead to muscle growth. In simpler terms, when you train, your body enters a mode to prepare for building muscle. This mode is called anabolism, an anabolic state.
However, researchers have discovered that you don’t enter this muscle building anabolic state until you eat. That is, if you lift weights and don’t eat, you’re not building muscle. If fact, you’re actually losing muscle, since weigh-lifting sessions damaged your muscles.Muscles don’t grow when you train them, they grow in recovery between session, as they feed on protein and energy.
Thus, to maximize your muscle growth rate, you have to make sure your body has plenty of energy and protein available to your muscle at the times when your muscles are the hungriest: during the workout and right afterwards. Energy and protein from consumed food will fuel the muscle building mode, and your muscle will build up. Since your body begins digesting food about half an hour after you’ve eaten it, you should eat a pre-workout meal 30 minutes before each workout.
After reading this book, the short answer for the perfect amount of protein is 1.2 grams per pound of body weight. For example, an 150 pound person should eat 180 grams of protein to maximize muscle growth.
Your muscles build with the proteins they need from amino acids you have consumed. If you consume large amounts of protein, you maximize your muscle growth by supplying your muscles with plenty of material to build.So, the question is, how much protein exactly should we consume?
As we’ve seen, weight lifting fosters a hormonal response that favors muscle growth. Simply put, when you train, your body enters a muscle-building state. That state is called anabolism; it’s an anabolic state.
Thus, to make sure you’re building the most muscle, you have to supply your body with plenty of energy and protein during and before the workout. These are times when you muscle will use up the energy and protein to build. Energy and protein from food will run the muscle-building hormonal state, allowing your muscles to grow.
Muscles don’t grow when you train them. They grow and recover between training session, when you feed them with energy and protein. So, to maximize muscle growth, make sure your body has plenty of energy and protein available when you need it the most: during and right after the workout. Energy and protein from food fuel the muscle-building hormonal state: your muscles grow.
Since your body begins digesting food roughly 30 minutes after you’ve eaten it, eat a pre-workout meal of either solid or liquid food 30 minutes before each workout. Digestion slows down during the workout and most lifters experience discomfort when they eat food during the workout: drink your energy and protein instead.
Pre-Workout:
0.2 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight;
0.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
During Workout:
30 grams of carbohydrate ; 15 grams of protein.
Post-Workout:
0.4 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight;
0.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
Tags: Training programs