Got mass? If you’re goal is to gain lean body mass and muscle fiber size, and be a bigger and badder human being, then you need to take advantage of hormonal response to exercise. With that said, we know that nutrients can further impact the presence of anabolic hormones. So let’s examine what you can do in real-life to enhance your physique goals.
Penn State University scientists had nine men consume either a placebo or a protein-carb supplement for one week. The supplement was consumed two hours before and immediately after exercise. The supplement contained 600 calories, 50 grams of protein, 100 grams of carbs, zero fat and an assortment of vitamins and minerals. During the last three days (we’ll call it days 1, 2, and 3) of training/supplementation, scientists measured an assortment of hormones and metabolites in the blood.
They found that lactate response was much lower in the supplemented group on days 2 and 3; cortisol decreased immediately after exercise on day 1 but this response was less on days 2 and 3. Glucose and insulin increased by 30 minutes post-supplementation; the placebo remained stable. Also, insulin-like growth factor was elevated in the supplement group on days 2 and 3. Oddly, serum total testosterone was less in the supplemented group. So you’re scratching your head; what’s the net effect, you ask?
Even if testosterone drops, you’re still getting an increase in insulin and IGF-1, both anabolic factors. Also, you have a blunting of the cortisol response. So the theoretical net effect should be one of anabolism. But let’s look at another investigation.
A study from the University of Southern California looked at what happens to your body when you consume a six-percent carbohydrate beverage versus a non-caloric placebo during a weight training session, as well as a regular supplement taken over a 12-week training period. In the first experiment, they performed a nine-station weightlifting regimen, three sets of 10 reps, at 75 percent of their max. One group ingested a six-percent carbohydrate beverage while the other group ingested a non-caloric placebo.
The researchers found that the carbohydrate group had higher levels of glucose and insulin (makes sense) but more importantly, they had a blunted cortisol response (seven percent increase versus a 99 percent increase in the placebo group!). Remember that cortisol is a stress hormone; the blunting of this hormone would indicate that consuming carbs might lessen the overall endocrine stress associated with exercise.
In the next study, the researchers supplemented with carbs over a 12-week period. They found that the carb-consuming group had greater gains in type I, or slow-twitch, fiber size (19.1 percent) and type II, or fast-twitch, fiber size (22.5 percent) compared to weight training alone. These researchers suggested that the difference in cortisol response accounted for the better growth response in the supplemented group.
Thus, you can reasonably conclude that taking a carbohydrate-containing drink immediately before and during training can augment the hypertrophic response vis a vis an amelioration of cortisol. I would, however, suggest the addition of essential amino acids to further promote muscle protein synthesis.
Supplementation suggestion: Consume a carbohydrate-protein cocktail right before training (perhaps add 10 grams of whey to a sports drink); sip on this during your workout. Immediately after exercise, consume roughly 250-500 calories of a carb-protein beverage. Aim for roughly two times as much carbs as protein, and make sure the carbs are high-glycemic and the protein is fast (i.e., amino acids or whey).Insulin, Glucose and the Glycemic Load
You want to gain muscle mass without putting on those extra fat pounds. That’s everyone’s goal. Okay, maybe not Richard Simmons, but you get my drift. Now, one way to avoid gains in body fat is by consuming lean proteins, unsaturated fats and low-glycemic carbohydrates.
Let’s talk specifically about low-glycemic carbohydrates. Let me introduce you to the concept of glycemic load. The equation for the glycemic load is: Glycemic load = glycemic index x carbohydrate content per serving/100. So as a standard, let’s take white bread. White bread has a glycemic index, or GI, of 70. And there are 15 grams of carbohydrate per slice.
So the glycemic load is:
Glycemic load (white bread) = 70 x 15 / 100 = 10.5
So using 10.5 as the highest value, you can calculate the glycemic load of certain foods. Or, put it this way: How much sweet corn would you have to eat to produce the same glycemic load as seen in one slice of white bread? Or how much of an apple(s) gives you the same glycemic load as a slice of bread? Let’s do the calculations. (Sweet corn has a glycemic index of 55).
Glycemic load (sweet corn) = 55 x 19 / 100 = 10.5
So you need to eat about 19 grams of carbs from sweet corn to get the equivalent effect of one slice (15 grams of carbs) as white bread.
Glycemic load (apple) = 36 x 30 / 100 = 10.5
So you need to eat 30 grams of carbs from an apple to get the equivalent glycemic load.
But keep this in mind. Foods such as apples contain a ton of other stuff besides carbs. There’s a good deal of water and indigestible fiber, as well. So to get 30 grams of carbs from an apple, you need to eat about 247 grams of an actual apple. How big is that? That’s a large apple that weighs 0.5 pounds and is 3.25 inches in diameter.
Granted, most of us say that if you stick to eating low glycemic carbohydrates, you’re less apt to gain fat and your insulin and glucose levels are more stable and don’t get quite as high. But glycemic index and total carbohydrate intake should be assessed as a total package. So if you give up the one slice of white bread for an apple, aren’t you just giving your body the same basic glycemic load? Well, in a word, yes! Yet, I still think apples are healthier for you than white bread. But this does mean you can’t go hogwild on the oatmeal (because it’s a low GI food). You still need to watch serving size. And if you do pig out, it’s better to pig out on low glycemic carbs.
My advice: For optimal body composition and glucose/insulin metabolism, stick to low glycemic carb foods, but also, keep the portions small.
source:www.musculardevelopment.com
