Thursday, December 02, 2004

Bigger Muscles...Window of Opportunity

5 Familiar Bodybuilding Troubles...Which Do You Want To Overcome? Part 3-Window of Opportunity

In my 3 decades of training experience I have identified 5 major bodybuilding troubles or problems. These are:-

1 Overtraining...training too much...too often and too long. Not taking a complete week off every 3 months...
2 Under eating...Not eating enough...you need 6 meals per day minimum...every day, including weekends... 3 Neglecting the window of opportunity for rapid growth by not taking Whey protein and creatine immediately after training...
4 Not stretching properly to facilitate easy growth...
5 Not focussing your mental muscle on who you want to become...


This is the third part of a five part series,and in this I'll be addressing the number three problem...and that's neglecting a window of opportunity after training for facilitating accelerated muscular growth...

3 Neglecting the window of opportunity for rapid growth by not taking Whey protein and creatine immediately after training...


Hard (high intensity) weight training results in many physiological reactions occurring in your body. Among these are increased blood flow to the muscles and increased secretion of anabolic (muscle building) hormones...such as HGH ( Human Growth Hormone), IGF-1,and Testosterone. This increased blood flow to the muscle cells, and increased anabolic hormone levels, can and should be fully utilised if you want to build maximum muscle size in the fastest time frame...and with the least effort. To take advantage of this opportunity, which will make a significant positive impact to your bodybuilding goals over time, you must supply your body with nutrients that these anabolic hormones will help convert to muscle. And the nutrients must be supplied in a timely manner while the blood flow is still elevated (your muscles are pumped)and the higher levels of HGH, IGF-1, and testosterone are circulating through your body. To do this you must eat immediately and up to 45 minute after training. If your goal is maximum muscle...ie you are bulking...You should eat a meal or drink a shake that contains both carbohydrates and protein.Dr Michael Colgin in his excellent book "Optimal Sports Nutrition" recommends eating 25% of your daily protein intake at this critical time.eg If your daily intake is 200 grams of protein...50 grams of protein should be consumed at this post workout snack. Also eat plenty of carbs...especially high glycemic ones such as rice and bananas.This will give your body an insulin spike to drive more protein into the muscle cells. If your goal is not to bulk up, but rather to cut up...you still need to eat in this window of opportunity...but you should eat slightly differently. Instead of ingesting copious amounts of carbs along with the protein as just mentioned...leave out the carbs and just take protein. You may still have some if you want...but choose low glycemic type carbs, and don't have too many. You want to avoid the insulin spike, because although this is great for packing on muscle...it also inhibits fat burning.By just taking in protein, you will actually be helping accelerate your fat burning efforts.The best form of protein to take at this time is a Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) or Whey Protein Isolate (WPI) This type of protein has the highest biological value of any protein...with an amino acid profile very similar to human breast milk(and look how fast a baby grows!) Whey protein is also very high(25%) in Branch Chain Amino Acids ( BCAA'S), which are essential for speedy recovery and energy replenishment. Whey also has great anti-oxidant properties, to further help repair the damage done by intense weight training. A couple of other bonuses to using WPC or WPI is that it tastes great,and is fast acting and easily digestable...especially at a time when you might not feel like eating a big meal of solids. If you are bulking...mix your Whey Protein Shake with milk. If you are ripping up, use water to mix your shake.The other major supplement to take at this time is creatine monohydrate. Studies have shown 2 grams is adequate...but I would recommend 5 grams since it is safe and quite economical these days...and I have personally found I get better results taking the higher dosage.