Dietitian Nutritionist
Eating consciously so that your muscles are fit and have all the nutrients they need brings you numerous benefits:
Helps prevent fractures. By strengthening connective tissues, bone density increases and, incidentally, the risk of injury and the chances of developing osteoporosis are reduced.
Increase metabolic rate. The more muscle we have, the higher our resting metabolic rate. That is, without doing anything, you can burn calories.
You gain quality of life. Increasing muscle mass helps improve balance, regulates the amount of sugar in the blood, improves the quality of sleep and relaxes the mind.
Improve posture. And it can prevent nonspecific back pain (the cause of which is often not discovered).
How long does it take to gain muscle?
If you have proposed to gain muscle by following a training routine in addition to eating well, you should know that different aspects intervene in the results. First of all, genetics. In this matter, there is little we can do. The other three factors are:
The type of training.
Feeding.
Rest.
People who are new to muscle building notice changes in muscle volume in the first two months, but they are a consequence of an increase in muscle glycogen stores, which retain fluids.
In this matter, you have to think long term. Visible muscle gain takes time and perseverance. The first year of the gym is already beginning to notice the muscle gain, but it is from the second year when the changes begin to be considerable.
the importance of taking care of the muscles
If we have not been too constant and regular with physical exercise throughout our lives, after 40, we lose up to 8% of muscle mass in the next ten years.
Everything accelerates from that moment: if we continue to lead a more sedentary than active life, upon entering the seventh decade of life, this loss increases up to 15%.
Perhaps at first, these data may seem insubstantial, but the truth is that a muscular system in good shape (and delaying the “loss” that we have mentioned as much as possible) helps – and a lot – to have a more robust, more resistant and healthy.
Conscious technique: To achieve optimal muscle stimulation, the ideal is not to perform the exercises automatically but to execute the technique consciously and voluntarily. At Vitónica, we have previously described the anabolic technique.
2- Global and localized exercises: The release of anabolic hormones and growth factors such as insulin (IGF-1) that have been shown to influence muscle development significantly should be stimulated with training.
To achieve this hormonal stimulation, it is necessary to perform global exercises such as squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, bench press or others and, at the same time, execute the technique as we have said before, activating few or small muscle groups through localized exercises such as biceps with dumbbells: calves, lateral raises, and more.
3- Series to muscle failure? Although the subject is still under investigation, and each one will have a different opinion, the ideal is not to generate severe neuromuscular fatigue since this will not allow the body to recover to continue producing high levels of tension in the following series.
So far, it has not been determined that reaching muscle failure promotes the release of anabolic hormones or stimulates the production of growth factors, and these substances are essential to achieve good muscle development.
In these pre-training periods, we are very interested in the correct contribution of the nine essential amino acids, including, of course, BCAAs. Some researchers even cite only leucine to initiate protein synthesis.
Based on the above, it can be helpful to preserve muscle mass in periods of calorie restriction, prioritizing formulas with only essential amino acids.
AJINOMOTO, a leading Japanese company in its field and formulas with pharmaceutical-grade amino acids, explains why in some cases, it may be more effective to give your body only the nutrients or building blocks that your muscles need to recover or increase muscle mass. Using protein powder formulas in some cases or schedules may be a better option than consuming foods rich in protein, mainly for two reasons:
Higher absorption speed
They do not provide extra calories; you only give your body what it needs at the correct times.
However, using only supplements would NOT cover the factor of feeling satiated; for this you have to give your body a base of real food, vegetables, foods rich in carbohydrates or at the best times. The use of supplements with essential amino acids would be beneficial since they are not as expensive as before, and now they taste better. Use them before, during and after training. Also, of course, to use quality protein powders such as whey, soy isolates, protein powder mixtures, etc. [Check also: The importance of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.