Monday, November 17, 2008
Human Growth Hormone
| With thousands of supplements to rave about, an entire cloaked market of potent steroids and the debate about their legalization, why on earth would anyone want to discuss Human Growth Hormone (hGH)? |
Human Growth Hormones
With thousands of supplements to rave about, an entire cloaked market of potent steroids and the debate about their legalization, why on earth would anyone want to discuss Human Growth Hormone (HGH)? Hasn't it been proven totally useless as a muscle builder?
Well, if that were true then why is every pro on the circuit injecting massive amounts of the stuff into his already crowded veins? It should be obvious that HGH is one of the most active hormones in the world today. The miracles of testosteronehave amazed the world of bodybuilding with its regular turnout of 300-pound behemoths and she-men, but GH is another story altogether.
When you take into account that hormones may hold the secret to stopping aging in its tracks and that GH is the hormone produced on the largest scale in the human body, it may be our own fountain of youth. I'm not saying that if you start injecting large amounts of an illegal substance you'll live to be 200, there is also the matter of tissue resistance, but again: every little bit helps.
GH starts to decline in the body as we grow older. After the age of 30 it declines by 25 percent every decade, so by the time you hit 60 you are operating at 25 percent of original capacity. If HGH was present in the same amount throughout our lives we'd easily live to 140, be several inches taller and a lot more muscular.
The Benefits of HGH
Growth hormone was discovered in the 1920's and was isolated in the form of somatotropin in 1956. The benefits of HGH are immense, even today new research pops up regularly that reveals new uses for it. HGH is present in the body at a rate of 500 micrograms at any time in the blood of males between the ages of 20 and 30.
It's produced by the anterior pituitary gland under the stimulation of the Hypothalamus (like LH, the testosterone precursor). The effects on our system are tremendous:
- HGH promotes and increases the synthesis of new protein tissues, such as in muscle recovery or repair. This is the way new muscle is built.
- Recent research suggests its involvement in the metabolism of body-fat and its conversion to energy sources. Tests were conducted in obese people and medical use in treating obesity was proven beyond a doubt. Pro's have used GH as a way of maintaining and increasing lean mass while dieting for years.
- It improves the sleeping pattern, makes for less unintended awakenings and betters REM-stage sleep.
- HGH produces more energy
- It may improve sexual performance
- It builds stronger bones
- Improves the quality and duration of heart and kidneys
So you can tell the benefits are not few. What's an even bigger card in the weighing of HGH against testosterone and its derivatives is that it is not androgenic, causes no aromatization and shows no side effects in limited doses. It just makes you bigger, huge even in combination with testosterone.
It is believed that we may benefit from doses up to 1 to 1.5 mg in the bloodstream. That is somewhere in the optimal range for natural GH.
How do I up my GH?
Well that's the point everyone was hoping I'd get to. The ways to improving GH concentration is by utilizing the 4 areas of bodybuilding: Training, rest, nutrition and supplementation.
The first way of stimulating GH release naturally is training. Working out, putting the body under extreme stress, I'm sure it's something none of you are unfamiliar with. Intense workouts, energy-consuming events and long periods of physical exhaustion are keys in releasing more Growth Hormone because these catabolic states require extra protein synthesis and in case of lack of energy, fat metabolization to make up for glycogen depletion.
This is no doubt the most potent kind of GH release as it's targeted to meet the demands of the bodybuilder. Of course I'm not telling you anything new when I'm saying you have to work out to gain muscle mass. I hope. Moreover the production of this GH is a direct reaction to a catabolic state that is not wishful to those looking for gains.
The only interesting I can tell you is this: I learned this in my first year of physiology. GH can be manipulated. The general rule of thumb when working out is never to train longer than 45 minutes because that's when GH tapers off and cortisol production sets in. But the half-life of HGH can be influenced.
If you train 40 minutes for a month and increase it by 2 minutes every month, after 10 months, you could train for an hour without inducing a catabolic state. No one has ever tested how far you can push the envelope, but is a proven fact. At this point I see no use for working out longer than an hour. Anyone using moderate to heavy intensity should be able to finish 25 sets in that time.
The highest I use at this time, being a competitor myself, is 22 sets for back. Since I'm still growing I assume that's enough. And since you have to match recovery to training intensity and vice versa, 25 or more sets would nescessitate at least 4500 to 5000 calories, maybe more. My stomach just isn't that big.
75 percent of your total daily HGH output is produced while sleeping, and most of that in REM sleep. This again stresses the need for a good night's sleep, in case that hadn't quite dawned on you. Though cat naps may further your case a bit, it's unlikely that you can induce a deep enough sleep to start producing GH.
This GH, in any case, is not near as potent as the other kinds because it is produced as a response to a need for sleep protection and a need for energy repletion for the next day, not so much in response to a need for EXTRA energy. But I think everyone understands that without this amount of GH other sources of GH will not be used as efficiently. Getting at least 8-10 hours of sleep is a sacrifice everyone should consider making if you want to get big in a hurry.
Also the regularity of your sleeping pattern could promote more REM cycles and result in more hormonal output. So keeping steady hours of rest is beneficial. If you are one to stay out late on weekends it may be best to still wake up at the same time instead of sleeping in. Otherwise you may disturb your sleeping pattern.
If you are used to sleeping from 10 to 8 and in the weekend you get home at 1, sleep until 8 and add a 1-hour nap every afternoon for the next 3-days to make up for the lack of sleep. But if at all possible maintain steady hours.
Most likely the most important section of the article, and that of the most interest to the natural bodybuilder looking to make the most of his GH. Naturally I have to ask you to take the past two paragraphs into regard before continuing here. You can't expect gains from nutrition or supplementation if your recovery is not adequately adapted.
The search for natural GH secretagogues (secrete and agogue (to teach), so literally to teach to secrete or induce the production of) begins with the most basic of nutrients. Yup you guessed it (or you read it in the previous article):amino acids. But for aminos to have a good effect you need to make sure that 15-20 percent of your diet consists of clean fats. These induce cholesterol, the storage of the base-hormone in the body that leads to the manufacture of most steroidogenic hormones.
The ultimate goal of this paragraph is to give you a complete stack, with amounts, of amino acids that can synergistically produce more GH, but any of them should further the case. I'll list them in order of importance (in this instance, this is not the importance of the amino in the diet).
The doses I'm about to give you are the best range for maximizing GH in a pre-workout stack. If you have anti-aging properties in mind, smaller doses will work as well.
Arginine (5-8 g) or arginine Pyroglutamate,I hinted at this in my last article, are prime movers in the production of natural GH.
Ornithine (4-7 g) works synergistically with arginine, from which it is derived. Together they have the best impact.
Glutamine (5 g) or Glutamine Peptides preserve the use of arginine in depleted circumstances.
Glycine (3-10 g)
OKG (3 g) is very expensive, but useful
BCAA's (3-6 g) for musclebuilding properties, enhanced by GH.
GABA and Lysine in trace amounts, but since they may inhibit the other amino's, it would be best to take these at different times.
Other dietary sources of GH promoting nutrients are Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), Vitamin B3 and most anti-oxidants. Take your stack, which ever amino's it ends up consisting of, 45 minutes prior to your workout for maximal levels of Growth Hormone. On non-workout days, take your stack either before bed or in the morning, both on an empty stomach.
If you wish to learn more about specific amino acids in this stack, or others that may be of benefit to your training regimen, I refer you to the previous article about amino acids. This stack is more than adequate to boost HGH gains by 50 percent. If I hadn't convinced you of the use of protein to gain muscle, the potential amount of GH you get from maintaining protein levels should make you change your mind.
Whey protein especially, and dessicated liver are high in arginine levels. Gearing protein intake to specific goals could be a motivation to keep up the work on the nutritional end of things.
What's more, in small doses it exerts no side effects. In large doses it may be very harmful however.
Too much natural GH causes a condition called acromegaly. A person's muscles grow, but so do his bones, his face, his intestines. Not funny, huh? Plus the muscle you gain on GH is not functional. GH causes no gains in strength. Larger muscles naturally increases strength a little, but without training of the tendons and attachments, no strength increase is noticeable.
The enlarged intestines are what cause the bloated guts on stage in Mr. Olympia contests. Only two substances cause this bloating: IGF-1 (insulin-like Growth factor 1) and HGH. Pros swear by the stuff. It's relatively new to the market as well. For a long time the only source of GH was from cadavers.
This held a great risk of infection with BSE (Kreutzfeld-Jakob disease) a debilitating disease that leads to death in weeks and is currently a hot topic because of recent cases in the European bovine stock as a result of processing animal waste in animal food. Now it's available as somatotropin, synthethized outside the body.
So why did I bring up supplementation if it's illegal? Well how do you suppose you make an illegal drug a legal supplement? In the States there is a law that says that you can sell certain substances over the counter if they are below a certain concentration. So GH is currently being sold as a supplement, though suspended in alcohol. It is supposed to be absorbed sublingually (under the tongue) or through the nasal glands (in the nose).
It's small enough to do this and yields high rates. It can't survive the digestive process and find a way into the blood through ingestion and the only other way is to inject it, which makes it illegal again. The law is the same one that allows ephedrine in fat-loss supps and pseudo-ephedrine in cold-medicine.
The GH we are talking about here is not very effective, nor very cheap, but it pays off as a recovery supplement. I tried it once taking a few drops sublingually after every workout. I didn't gain much extra muscle, none to speak of, but I found that my muscles recovered faster, noticed a decrease in lactic acid buildup and slept better overall.
So it has its merits. The downside: a pricetag of 70 or 80 bucks for a months worth. I wouldn't regard this last paragraph as key to your supplementation regimen and take the three paragraphs prior to it, if you learn anything, but for those who had questions about legal GH, I hereby answered them.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Creatine and the Muscle Fiber Connection
In this part I will take you through a short course in the science of weight training (resistance training) as it relates to muscle fiber development and bio-energetics. Familiarizing yourself with some of these terms and concepts will help provide an understanding of the link between resistance training, nutrition, muscle fiber development and how creatine supplementation fits in.
I also want you to know some of the basic muscle physiology and biomechanics concepts, and the underlying reasons of how and why certain types of exercise will condition your body (muscles) in different ways. I will also explain to you how creatine fits in to the muscle fiber picture, and how it works at the biochemical level of muscle function.
Confusion Abounds About Resistance Training (Exercise)
Puzzlement about resistance training is still too common despite the advancements in resistance training science. It is more common to see people who are training ineffectively with weight lifting equipment, than to see people who are training correctly for specific strength and muscle building goals; seems unbelievable but true.There are a few reasons for this. First, it's human nature to want to do it yourself. So, armed with a little bit of knowledge, most people try to copy what the so-called experts are doing and make-up their own weight training program. In most cases these programs are not based on science or proven principles, or might not even be suitable for your specific goal.
I am not suggesting that you should not or could not customize your own weight training routine. By all means do so, but do your homework to make sure that you are following a program that is scientifically based, and both safe and effective to get the best results for your exercise effort and level of fitness. For example, following a resistance training program that bodybuilders follow may get you bigger muscles, but might not get you the specific type of strength development you need to be better at your sport.
Another common mistake is that people try all sorts of crazy exercise variations, which in most cases puts them at risk and leads to more exercise related injuries. They put themselves in extreme positions, attempting to shock or "isolate" the muscles in contorted ways. Don't do this.
In the end, a contorted weight training program is counterproductive and will lead to injury, and yield inefficient results. Stick to the basic resistance training exercises that are proven to work the muscle groups most effectively.
- You may have asked yourself, why are there so many different weight training programs published in books and magazines? Perhaps it is because there are so many different types of machines, free weights and exercise program possibilities. Some programs are better than others.
The good ones are based on solid exercise science. They offer clarity for the reader to help them achieve their personal goals.
As you get more advanced in your training, you will be ready to add some new exercises so reading how others have achieved their performance-fitness goals in your sport may help you to stay on target, or enable you to discover something new to try. In addition, learning about the scientific insights from research studies is also very important.
When you take a close look at the exercises, therepetitions and sets, there is an underlying similarity among effective weight training methods.
In other words, most of the best athletes are training in a similar way, the scientific way. The key to effective resistance training is to follow the best routines that will help you achieve your specific goals, within the least amount of time.
Keep mind that professional strength athletes use the same resistance training equipment as everyone else. Everybody follows the same principles of exercising different muscle groups using repetitions and sets.
Different body parts may be trained the same days or on different days. Resistance training sessions are followed by periods of rest for those muscles exercised, which is needed to give the muscles you exercised time to recover, and grow. You may be wondering if resistance training is so standardized, then why do people get such varying results.
- When you compare the bodybuilders of past and present, or any group of strength athletes, it is interesting to note that these champions followed scientific resistance training programs "of the day" to build their massive physiques and super-human strength. Modern day resistance trainers on average are much bigger and stronger than their predecessors. Why are there such differences in the size of their physiques and strength?
Some of the extra gains you see in today's strength athletes stem from a new understanding of muscle anatomy and physiology, plus better nutrition science and sports nutrition products. We have made huge advancements in sports supplement technology, and have refined the strength and bodybuilding diet composition.
What you may find surprising is that there have been only a few advancements concerning the weight training equipment used by professional strength athletes. Free weights are still the primary instrument of choice for most of their exercises. They offer the best stimulus for muscle growth, providing a full range of motion, and usually, other muscles in the body are recruited for stability.
However, research also indicates that combining free weight exercises, with exercises performed on machines is also beneficial. Machines offer convenience, especially when having to select a workload to exercise with, and provide a means to accomplish some exercises not otherwise possible with free weights. Resistance training machines also provide additional safety for some exercises. Ultimately, the resistance training exercises you use will reflect a balance of what best suits your goals, and what is available to you.
Specific Training Yields Specific Results
Keep Your Goals In Mind
Today championship bodybuilders and strength athletes can develop massive muscles using a more diversified scientific weight training program - one that's not necessarily longer, or harder, but smarter. This is due in part to a new understanding of anatomy and physiology and how growth occurs at the microscopic and biochemical level.
With this new knowledge, resistance training programs for other athletes can be designed for stimulating the different types of muscle cells, called muscle fibers, that make up your muscles. If you want a strong, lean, slim muscular body, or a massive, lean muscular body, the secret is in how you train your muscle fibers.
- You may find it interesting to know that your muscles are composed of different muscle fiber types, which in turn are programmed to respond differently depending on the type of exercise, frequency of exercise, workload/intensity, and duration of sets and exercise sessions.
One type of muscle fiber is called fast-twitch, and it has the potential to significantly increase in size and strength. Fast-twitch muscle fibers can generate explosive power, so whether it's lifting a heavy load, leaping out of the way to avoid getting hit by a car, doing heavy physical work, or being your best in strength sports, your body will do it better, if you develop more fast-twitch muscle fibers.
Another type of muscle fiber is called slow-twitch muscle fiber. Slow-twitch muscle fibers contract more slowly than fast-twitch muscle fibers do. Genetically, some people have more slow-twitch muscle fibers, while others have more fast-twitch muscle fibers. In the trained individual slow-twitch muscle fibers have the capacity to perform work for a long period of time, with light workloads.
| Muscle Fiber Types Summary |
| Type I Muscle Fibers Also called Slow-Twitch or Slow Oxidative (SO) |
Type I muscle fibers have a high oxidative metabolism capacity. They are highly fatigue resistant, with little capacity for exercise induced hypertrophy, and highly resistance to exercise induced structural damage. They are best conditioned using high repetition training with lighter weights (low intensity workloads) and slow continuous tension movements. They will increase in size with weight training, but not as much as fast twitch muscle fibers will. With progressive long duration training, slow twitch muscle fibers develop higher density of mitochondria, which increases their ability to produce energy from fatty acids and also glucose. They have a small diameter, with high capillary density and low glycogen content, when compared to fast-twitch muscle fibers. Another major difference between type I and type II muscle fibers is that type I muscle fibers have larger myoglobin content. Myoglobin stores ready to use oxygen in the muscle fibers. Type I muscle fibers are the muscle fibers that get fully developed by long distance athletes. In general glucose and free fatty acids are the major fuel sources during long distance type activities that use predominantly type I muscle fibers. |
| Type IIa Muscle Fibers Also called Fast-Twitch Oxidative-Glycolytic or Fast Oxidative Glycolytic (FOG) |
Type IIa muscle fibers have a balance of oxidative-glycolytic metabolism capacity. They are moderately fatigue resistant, the have a good capacity for exercise induced hypertrophy (increase in the size of the muscle fiber), and moderate resistance to exercise induced structural damage. Development of Type IIa muscle fibers is important for sustained, strength stamina. They respond best to medium repetition training using moderate weight (medium intensity workloads) and fast concentric movements, but slower eccentric movements. They are medium diameter, with intermediate capillary density, and intermediate glycogen content. Type IIa muscle fibers generate most of their muscle contraction energy from glucose. |
| Type II b Muscle Fibers Also called Fast-Twitch Glycolytic or Fast Glycolytic (FG) |
Type IIb muscle fibers have high capacity for glycolytic metabolism, low oxidative capacity, and are highly susceptible to fatigue. They can be trained to store a ready to use supply of immediate energy in the form of ATP and CP. They have great capacity for exercise induced hypertrophy and susceptibility to exercise induced damage. Well developed type IIb muscle fibers have the capacity to generate explosive strength and power. They respond best to high intensity, explosive concentric movements using heavier weights (high intensity workloads), and a slow eccentric movement. When fully developed they have the largest diameter, high glycogen content, and low capillary density. In general, creatine phosphate is the major source of energy for the first several seconds of high intensity activities, and also glucose metabolized via anaerobic glycolysis. Medium intensity and medium duration physical activity starts to depend more on aerobic energy producing pathways. Muscle glycogen is also depleted at a faster rate during high intensity training and athletics. Note: the high energy storage / producing molecules ATP and CP are collectively referred to as phosphagens. |
One way long distance exercises develop your slow-twitch muscle fibers by increasing the number of fat burning machinery in the cell, called mitochondria. Distance exercise also stimulates your body to make more blood vessels in your muscles to deliver oxygen and nutrients, and remove waste products at a higher rate.
Sports such as long distance running, swimming, cycling, and walking condition slow-twitch muscle fibers, and so they are called aerobic exercises, or oxidative. The reason for this is that plenty of oxygen is needed for the slow-twitch muscle fiber cells to make energy from fats and carbohydrates, to fuel the steady pace muscle contractions, performed over time.
In fact, the longer you exercise, and the better conditioned your slow-twitch muscle fibers will be, and the more fat your body will use for energy both during exercise and during rest.
From a strength and bodybuilding development standpoint, this low intensity, long duration exercise, provides certain fitness benefits, but does not build-up much muscle mass, or maximum strength potential. In fact, it can have the opposite effects. To illustrate this, think of how a marathon runner is built when compared to a sprinter. They both run fast, but the marathon runner is conditioned to run as fast as possible for a long period of time - usually about a maximum of 12.5 miles per hour. The marathon runner has well developed slow-twitch muscle fibers, but underdeveloped fast-twitch muscle fibers. Some long distance runners actually develop bodies that make them look undernourished.
This takes explosive muscle power, and a higher output of energy per second. To develop the capacity to do this, the sprinter needs to build up fast-twitch muscle fibers, which have the capacity to get really big, and generate explosive muscle contractions, for a short period of time before fatigue sets in.
Visually sprinters are more muscular and shapely when compared to long distance athletes. And while athletes with highly developed fast-twitch muscle fibers mostly draw upon carbohydrates for energy, they are still able to maintain a low percentage of body fat because these larger muscles need more total calories per day for energy. Sprinters and other strength athletes have the timeless classic body of champions depicted in early Greek and Roman art--the body type that comes from high intensity resistance training.
The point of this excursion into muscle anatomy and physiology is to show you that your body has the ability to respond and develop differently depending on the type of exercise, frequency of exercise, intensity of exercise and duration of exercise.
For the sake of this overview, heavy intensity resistance or weight training means using heavy workloads (weights, resistance), and expending a lot of energy in a short period of time. When you exercise at heavy intensity, your duration will be limited because muscle fatigue occurs quickly from this type of physical exertion.
Weight Training Involves
Expending A Lot Of Energy In A Short Period Of Time
Light intensity weight or resistance training means using light workloads that can be performed for more repetitions, and longer periods of time. Medium intensity weight or resistance training means using weights somewhere in between heavy and light, with the number of repetitions per set also in the middle range.
When following a weight training program using a variety of heavy intensity, medium intensity, and light intensity work loads, you will actually be stimulating increases in strength and muscle growth in all of your muscle fibers; typically what bodybuilders do.
Where Creatine Fits In
Due to the fact that your muscles are composed of both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers, this leads to some dynamic muscle building possibilities. But the story gets even more interesting, because there are two primary types of fast-twitch fibers in your muscles. One type, called type IIb (or fast-twitch glycolytic), can be trained to grow to massive proportions and has the ability to store more immediate energy in its cellular liquid; can then be used to fuel extremely powerful muscle contractions.
Preferential development of type IIb muscle fibers is important to people who are involved in sports that require extreme bursts of muscle contractions, such as competitive weightlifting, powerlifting, sprinting, football, baseball, shot put, goal keepers, and the like. Your fast-twitch muscle fibers can be developed to perform over a range of heavy to middle to light intensity workloads. The extent to which you need to develop the type IIb muscle fiber energy systems depends on your performance goals, and what energy systems are needed to be best at your activities.
When type IIb muscle fibers are exercised correctly they get quite large, and store a resting level of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and creatine phosphate (CP) (also called phosphocreatine (PCr). So, when a powerlifter attempts to squat 1000 pounds for one repetition, as ATP gets depleted, the CP is used quickly as an immediate source of biochemical energy to replenish and make more ATP very, very quickly.
This is one reason why loading up with creatine monohydrate supplements results in increased strength and longer workouts. When you load up your body with higher amounts of creatine, your muscles eventually are able to increase the amount of creatine phosphate stored in them. In the process, muscle fibers also grow larger.
Research has revealed that it is also important to keep on taking creatine supplements to maintain this higher than normal amount to keep total body creatine and creatine phosphate in your muscles. So from taking creatine supplements, during high intensity exercise and sports performance, there is more creatine phosphate to replenish ATP. Now keep in mind that these ATP - CP bioenergetics occur in a short timeframe, measured in seconds. This is why much of the research has proven that taking creatine is more beneficial to strength athletes (Type II muscle fiber athletes) than endurance athletes.
From knowing about these muscle fiber bio-energetics, it is easy to understand why sports scientists thought it would be beneficial to increase creatine level in an athlete's body. During the course of over a decade of research, additional benefits of ingesting creatine monohydrate supplements were also revealed, in addition to creatine being a strength athlete performance enhancer as originally thought.
 |
Benefits, such as increased muscle size and lean body are what have made creatine supplements one of the most popular and useful strength and bodybuilding supplements in the world.
This ready-to-go supply of ATP and CP in your muscle fibers, much of it is in the large Type II fibers, is referred to as the immediate energy source. While it lasts only a few seconds, it is important to explode in to action, and generate tremendous force for short periods of time. Also occurring during these seconds of all out effort is the splitting of glucose in the muscle fiber's cellular fluid, to assist in the replenishment of ATP and CP.
This is the biochemical step that forms pyruvate, or lactic acid as a byproduct (as further explained below). Once this immediate energy supply of ATP and CP is depleted, the ability to generate high intensity force is reduced, and some time is required for the muscles to rest, clear out waste products, rebuild the ATP - CP, and engage in another high intensity bout of exercise or work.
As strength athletes develop their muscles, i.e., more and more type II muscle fibers, the need for creatine supplementation becomes even more important. These bigger muscle fibers require more creatine to help maintain high levels of total creatine and creatine phosphate. So, with progressive strength and muscle size development, keep taking creatine to support your progress and peak athletic performance.
Some Additional Muscle Bio-energetics Information
As the immediate energy system is getting depleted of its capacity to produce ATP, glucose molecules (glycolytic energy production - producing energy from glucose) the muscle fibers is quickly split in half, which produces more ATP for muscle contractions to continue. If all out effort is maintained, lactic acid eventually builds at a rate faster than it can be cleared away, and muscle fatigue occurs. In the process of this type of exercise, these workloads actually stimulate development of type IIb and type IIa muscle fibers. Keeping in mind that type IIa muscle fibers have the capacity to develop and perform over a range of intensities and duration due to their glycolytic and oxidative abilities. As the workloads are reduced, a moderate intensity weight training set can be performed for a longer duration of time.
All of this bioenergetics knowledge is important, because it is your underlying energy system that you are actually training to build up a capacity of your muscles to develop and to store and use energy, to accommodate different types of workloads, and eventually turn chemical energy in to mechanical energy to best suit your athletic needs. Additionally, the rapid production of energy from CP and or glucose in the type II muscle fibers occurs mostly without oxygen, which is why this type of muscular exertion is referred to anaerobic.
Slow-twitch muscle fibers metabolize glucose more slowly and completely than fast-twitch muscle fibers, and also use more fatty acids for the production of energy, in addition to glucose. This means that training and developing the slow-twitch muscle fibers will burn fat more readily. As described above, high intensity exercise uses primarily immediately available ATP, CP and glucose from muscle tissue (from glycogen stores) and glucose circulating in the blood stream as supplied from the liver.
Therefore, anaerobic exercise is not very effective in burning body fat. Studies show that by varying the amounts of anaerobic and aerobic exercise you can achieve a diversity of body composition and performance results, which is ideal for general fitness. However, competitive athletes and bodybuilders have to be more selective, and train to develop their muscles to an extreme point to achieve athletic excellence.
Aerobic and anaerobic metabolic pathways are occurring all of the time, but different energy systems will employ one system more than the other. Depending on how your body is trained to best use the different energy systems is what makes the difference. Let's look at an example.
If you were to lift a one pound weight for several minutes, the slow-twitch muscle fibers in your arm muscle would be supplying most of the energy to do this type of low intensity, long duration work.
If you chose to lift up a thirty pound dumbbell, and began to do reps, your type IIb fast-twitch muscle fibers are activated and anaerobic energy systems are called upon to generate the energy need to produce this short duration, high intensity work. Keep in mind however, that the muscle fiber activation boundaries are not perfectly segregated and that at this level of all-out muscular effort, all of your muscle fibers are at work.
The Intensity-Duration Muscle Fiber Connection
So, what does all this talk about fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers have to do with you?
It opens up new possibilities to how you can use weight training to develop your body best for your sport or personal fitness goals. Let's face, it's hard pumping heavy loads of iron. But, maybe you do not need to. Very few athletes need to lift very heavy weights for a few repetitions like powerlifters and Olympic weight-lifters do. When you think about using weight training to improve your sports performance, ask your self if being able to squat 1000 pounds once would help, or being able to run a marathon will make you better at your sport? Even in power sports like football there is a balance to developing muscles that can produce powerful muscle contractions, over and over again for peak athletic performance throughout the entire game.
- When you take a look at a professional competitive bodybuilder you see several types of athletes in one. Most bodybuilders have developed all of their muscle fibers to the maximum possible size, in particular both types of fast-twitch muscle fibers. As they get stronger, they get bigger. Even their warm-up sets contribute to building strength and muscle, in particular type IIa and type I muscle fibers.
To illustrate the magnitude of type IIb and type IIa muscle fiber development, let us take a look at some impressive statistics from the bodybuilding legends.
Strength-Stamina Potential
- In an article from Muscle & Fitness magazine, Arnold Schwarzenegger was reported to be able to lift the following weights and repetitions in the bench press: 500 pounds for one rep, 405 pounds for eight reps, 315 pounds for 25 reps, and 225 pounds for 60 reps.
From a muscle fiber development standpoint Arnold's ability to lift such an impressive amount of weights for a variety of repetitions is a direct reflection of his diversified muscle fiber development. I think most people would be satisfied with being able to bench press 225 pounds for one repetition. But being able to bench press 225 pounds for 60 repetitions demonstrates the strength-stamina potential that well developed fast-twitch muscle fibers have to offer, especially type IIa muscle fibers.
Total Muscle Fiber Development
- 2. Bodybuilding legend, Ronnie Coleman, is reported to display similar diversified muscle fiber development and wide ranging weight lifting abilities. In fact, in one of his favorite exercises, the dumbbell lateral raise giant set, he is reported to lift (without stopping) 30 pound dumbbells for 25 reps, then 40 pounds for 15 reps, then 50 pounds for 10 reps, and 60 pounds for 8 reps.
He performs two of these giant sets, about twice a month, and produced drastic gains in shoulder muscle development. This again demonstrates how variable weight training can be used to stimulate total muscle fiber development.
Muscle Fiber Recovery and Growth
There is another side to the muscle fiber story that concerns time for recovery; muscle fiber growth and repair. When training with heavy workloads for a few repetitions to develop type IIb muscle fibers, the muscle fibers breakdown and need several days to fully recover.
When, resistance training with medium workloads, targeted at developing type IIa muscle fibers, these muscle fibers are more resistant to exercise induced damage, but still need a few days to recover. When using light workloads, for higher repetitions, less muscle damage occurs, and less rest is needed for muscle fiber recovery and repair.
In practice, when the purpose of your resistance training is for maximum muscle building, this means that it is best to alternate the intensity of your weight training sessions from workout to workout for maximum muscle building results. After a high intensity weight training day, you need to wait several days for your type IIb muscle fibers to fully recovery.
In the meantime, your muscles can endure medium and light intensity weight lifting sessions. Ideally, each training day should consist of a combination of high, medium and light resistance training intensities for different muscles.
|
Note however that these training-recover principles vary when applied to training for maximum sports performance, as the primary goal is not training for maximum muscle growth, but maximum sports-specific muscle performance. Even in the context of sports performance training, the application of varying high intensity training sessions with medium and low intensity training sessions is viable, as your body cannot withstand the stress of high intensity training, day after day.
In fact, Russian scientists developed a technique to determine if their athletes, especially strength athletes, were over-training and if they needed to take a medium to low intensity training day versus a high intensity training day. To do this, the scientists developed a quick test that measured the amounts of testosterone and cortisol in the saliva of the athletes. The athletes would get their saliva tested first thing in the morning. Depending on the relative levels of testosterone and cortisol, the scientists would determine what intensity level of training an athlete can handle that particular day. Generally speaking, when cortisol levels are high, this is an indication of over-training, and a medium to low intensity training day is best.
The moral to this story is that training smarter and not necessarily harder is what works best. Too often when the gains slow down, individuals start training harder, and harder, when in fact they might need to be staggering high-medium-low intensity workouts smarter, and make sure that their nutrition and sports supplement programs are adequate. Keep in mind that this approach is being applied at the level of the elite athlete, who trains sometimes several hours a day. So, medium and low intensity training days, does not mean you are not breaking a sweat, you are just not pushing yourself to the maximum limit of your performance, like you would on a high intensity training day / workout.
There are some individual dynamics concerning recovery from weight training sessions to also consider. Some people may recover quicker than others. In general, young people recovery quicker than older people, and men recovery quicker than women. So while you can follow general resistance training example programs, ultimately, as you become more advanced, you will need to fine-tune your weight training to best suit your individuality. This is why you need to keep a good training and nutrition log book; the evidence based, scientific approach.
These are just some general rules to keep in mind for muscle building and strength training. Resistance training for sports performance is a bit more complicated. Keep in mind that while advanced bodybuilders have huge muscles, this is just what they are training for. They are not training to improve their performance on the playing field to win powerlifting contests.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Body Building & Chemicals
| Everything good or bad in life and bodybuilding depend upon the chemistry we introduce our bodies to. |
In our society a reality has at last become accepted: Age and sexual gender do not dictate athletic potential. With the main stream acceptance of high quality sportssupplementation came stronger fitter bodies of all ages and entire thirty, forty and fifty-something generations pouring into the once undisputed young man's domain…the gym.
The term "sports chemistry" once meant anabolic/androgenic steroids (AAS) and seedy images of team doctors closing their office doors to inject some illicit substance into an already enhanced athlete. Oh how things have changed!
I often marvel at the way that mere perception alters the responses one will receive to any given statement of fact… so let's open with a good one:
"Everything good or bad in life and bodybuilding depend upon the chemistry we introduce our bodies to."
Action/Reaction Factors
Before anyone gets their panties in a bunch and dials up all of the three letter organizations that investigate illegal activities, let me explain that statement of fact. All organic and inorganic matter is made up of chemicals and chemical substrates. Any living organism (uh, like you and me) not only has the ability to, but an absolute need for interaction with the environment around it through Action/Reaction Factors.
As an example, think of the saturated fat in red meat and eggs (don't get me started on synthetic trans fats). The liver utilizes saturated fats to manufacture or synthesize a steroid called 5-Cholesten-3b-ol. (Most people know this chemical by the name of cholesterol) Through Action/Reaction Factors controlled and induced by natural endogenous (manufactured inside the body) enzymes the body (begins its illegal activities) utilizes a series of chemical biosynthesis pathways that include the following:
(1) Cholesterol > (2) Pregnenolone > (3) Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) > (4) 4-Androstenedione > (5) Testosterone
Officer, arrest that body! It just manufactured an illegal AAS and administered it without a doctor's prescription.
If this body had not been provided with saturated fats (chemical substrates) it simply would have utilized unsaturated fats as the initial testosterone precursor. If the intake of all fats had been excluded, the eventual outcome would be predominant loss of lean muscle mass, energy, and libido with dramatic increase of female pattern fat deposits.
This fact has leveled the playing field for athletes of all ages, level and gender by blurring the fine line between chemical muscle enhancement and nature. Interestingly enough, training and the results that come from it are nothing more than chemistry as well. What few people realize is that there are specific training protocols that result in specific responses. This again is controlled by a series of Action/Reaction Factors and, to a great degree, are readily altered to induce a specific response of choice.
Hormones & Horomone-like Substances
Testosterone, GH, IGF-1, insulin, and many other hormones and hormone-like substances are manufactured endogenously by the body in response to different training stimulus if the proper chemical substrates are provided. Since each of these has multiple and significant different effects upon an individuals physiology, and more specifically upon muscle and fat tissue, it is therefore possible to significantly effect the outcome of a chosen training and supplemental protocol. I realize that many have unnecessarily accepted the level of mediocrity that is often justified by the catch-all words "genetic potential" and touted by way to many magazine articles.
This of course means that I am about to make some bold and crazy statement to the contrary. (Definition of crazy: Not accepted by the main stream publications as their current point of view) Anyone can significantly effect their own genetic potential in a favorable way and by specific choice. (Yeah, I said and have proven that many times.) I am not saying that everyone can be an Arnold, Dorian, orRonnie, but I am factually stating that through specific-intent protocols and phases an individual can significantly effect specific results far greater than ever imagined by the average athlete regardless of age or sexual gender. (Ya, I said that too)
Okay, I hate the quoting research sites game simply because any idiot can alter a quote or statistic of most research results. But just to momentarily quiet those who erroneously depend upon them for sole validity (instead of actually training and being living examples themselves etc.) I would like to point out a few actual findings. (Geez, you would think a few pictures would do the job, huh?)
8-Week Study On Heaving Weight Training
Sometimes good information comes from unexpected places. In a study done to evaluate what effects 8 weeks of heavy weight training has upon serum lipid and lipo protein concentrations scientist made an interesting series of discoveries.
As the scientist analyzed the data from 32 college males and females after concluding an 8 week heavy weight training protocol they realized that the test subjects muscle fibers showed evidence of converting from type-I (slow twist) to type-II (fast twist) muscle fibers. First realize that this occurred in only 8 weeks. Second, the fact that the aerobic muscle fibers changed into size/strength oriented (therefore high growth potential) muscle fibers in itself validates the potential for specific training stimulus for specific results issue. By the way, it is good that the researchers were able to extract this finding from their research project. (Research projects are not cheap to fund) In fact an 8 week period is not enough time to produce any type of result concerning lipid profiles.
| Each of us possesses type-I (slow twist) and type-II (fast twist) muscle fibers in different ratios in different muscle groups. The so-called "average" individual initially possesses about a 50/50 body ratio. Type-I fibers are considered low growth potential aerobic oriented muscle fibers and type-II fibers are considered high growth potential anaerobic/strength muscle fibers. Obviously the greater an athlete's muscle fiber ratio favors type-II fibers, the greater the potential for muscular growth and strength increase. |  Type-II Muscle Fiber |
The ability to alter the ratio through specific training protocols means also the ability to effectively alter genetic make-up. A study done in Oslo, Norway examined long term and short term (acute) hormone responses of 9 experienced test subjects to two different training intensities. The high intensity work-out required the test subjects to perform free bar back squats (front and back) using 100% of their 3 rep max for sets. The moderate intensity work-out required the athletes to do the same exercises utilizing 70% of their 3 rep max for sets. Rest periods were 4-6 minutes.
Results Of The Study
The test subjects blood samples were taken before, after 30 minutes into, and every 15 minutes for the first hour after each work-out. Next, blood samples were taken at 3, 7, 11, 22, and 23 hours post work-out.The analysis of the blood samples was for:
- (1) Hormones positively affecting anabolism (tissue synthesis): LH (leutenizing hormone), FSH (follicle stimulating hormone), testosterone (free), insulin, growth hormone (GH), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1).
- Other substrates analyzed include creatine kinase and lactate. (As indicators of actual training intensity)
(2) Hormones that affect catabolism (tissue wasting): ATCH (adrenocortotropic hormone) and cortisol.
The test results verified that high intensity training induced a significantly higher level of testosterone and cortisol secretion (and moderate intensity did not) as a short term hormonal response. Though both testing protocols showed a decreasing testosterone level in the post-training hours, the high intensity training results were consistently higher than those of the moderate intensity. LH and FSH levels were not significantly altered as a result of either training intensity. This is a huge finding that exceeds the evidence of higher intensity training protocols being the better method for triggering a significant increase in testosterone.
The majority of endogenous (naturally produced inside the body) testosterone synthesis in males is handled and regulated by the hypothalamus-pituitary-testes-axis (HPTA). It all begins when the hypothalamus receives neuro-net impulses that signal the release of leutenizing-hormone-releasing-hormone (LHRH) which in turn tells the pituitary gland to release leutenizing hormone (LH). LH then makes contact with the testes Leydig's cells that produce testosterone and release it into the vascular system. However, there is a secondary testosterone synthesis pathway that may be hyper-activated as a result of high intensity training protocols.
The adrenal glands produce several different hormones. The hormone of interest for this issue is called dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). DHEA is an androgen that is responsive to enzymic alterations called conversions. Two of the enzymic conversion products of DHEA are 4-androstenedione and 4-androstenediol which in turn are converted into testosterone by the 17-BHSD and 3-BHSD enzymes respectively. Of course under normal metabolic conditions there are several other potential conversion products possible including estrogens. But high intensity training appears to foster a pro- 17 & 3- BHSD environment that results in a favorable conversion rate of these two DHEA conversion products to testosterone.
So specific training does have specific hormonal responses. What does that have to do with altering genetic potential?
Other Professional Opinions
Histochem Cell. Biol. 113(1): 25-29, 2001
It is well documented that consistent heavy resistance training actually increases the concentration (number) of androgen/anabolic receptor-sites on trained muscle tissue. All AAS, whether produced endogenously or provided exogenously (form outside the body), exert their serious anabolic effect by binding or merging with androgenic/anabolic receptor-sites on muscle cells. If muscle cells and fibers possess a greater number of these receptor-sites they also possess a greater genetic growth potential. Guess what. Yup, testosterone is an AAS.
J. Streng Cond. Res. 14(1): 102-113, 2000
So you have been told that you can not alter the peak of your bicep or build a wider chest and back? To a great degree…B.S. Muscle is not merely a bunch of fibers that attach to bones contracting and relaxing to provide potential movement. Muscle is composed of multiple fiber sizes and types. Each fiber is made up of different size cells with different individual metabolisms, and different contractile potential and amino acid profiles. This means that during different exercises and different angles of execution there is a different recruitment pattern of different regions of the muscle (confirmed by EMG). Therefore it is possible to trigger the growth process on a more site-specific basis. So is it obvious yet that you can utilize specific protocols to induce growth in specific areas resulting in an alteration in shape?
J. of the Amer. Med. Asso. 286(10)
It is too often accepted that age is the final deciding factor for muscular growth potential. Without a doubt this is the silliest reason of all for anyone to endure mediocrity.
When we are discussing the issues of muscular accruement we are actually discussing which side of the protein-turn-over-rate (PTOR) an individuals body favors. The PTOR is the rate at which an individuals body builds new proteins (anabolism) and destroys old ones (catabolism). This means that for actual muscular accruement to occur an athlete's body must build more new proteins than it destroys each day.
At the University of Texas in Galveston researchers utilized amino acid tracing techniques to study 48 healthy men. The protocol was intended to track the rate at which test subjects bodies created muscle proteins and destroyed muscle proteins. What the researchers found was that the PTOR (protein turn over rate) for both younger and older men is nearly the same. This means that an individuals potential for lean muscle mass gain is potentially the same regardless of age.
It seems that the reason for lean muscle tissue loss and weakening is not necessarily age related. A sedentary life style is a sure way to cause a dramatic decline in endogenous anabolic hormones such as testosterone, GH and IGF-1. Poor dietary habits not only increase insulin insensitivity but also alter an individuals body biochemistry to a point that disallows the ability to properly utilize protein from food.
This may appear an over simplification of a normally complicated topic, but in truth it is the tip of the ice burg and only the introduction to what is possible for anyone who chooses, and what has been embraced by those have experienced the reality.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
