Carbohydrate for Building Lean Muscle: Were all generally aware of the importance of protein for developing lean muscle tissue. After all, protein is the only macronutrient that will rebuild damaged muscle tissue from exercise and weight training. The muscles must be fed a constant supply of protein in order to rebuild and grow larger and stronger. Carbohydrates, however, have gotten somewhat of a bad rap over the years. Thanks in part to the various low-carb diets that have become so popular in this country; carbs have taken a back seat in nutritional importance to protein. Even many bodybuilders and athletes dont pay as much attention to carbohydrates as protein. This is actually a big mistake for those seeking to maximise lean muscle and performance. Carbs are the main fuel used by the muscles during a weight-training workout. Glycogen (carbs stored in the muscle cells) provides energy for workouts and allows you to lift those heavy weights in the gym day after day, which translates into bigger and stronger muscles. Without enough carbs, youll run out of gas before you can do justice to a good muscle-building workout. So when is the single most important time to consume carbs? AFTER training. Since your body uses glycogen for energy during an anaerobic weight training workout, your glycogen stores will be depleted after hitting the weights. If you do not replace those burned carbs immediately after your training session, youre missing out on a great opportunity to increase your muscle growth and enhance muscle recovery and recuperation. If youre trying to lose stored body fat, you should always avoid consuming too many carbs at one time and eating too many simple sugars. Either one of these practices will force your body to release a large amount of insulin to transport those carbs out of the bloodstream and into the cells of your body in order to keep the blood sugar level stable. Most of the time, too many carbs consumed at one sitting or eating too many of the wrong type of carbs will lead to more fat storage. However, after a weight training workout, your body will be desperately looking to replace the depleted glycogen stores in the muscle cells. If you consume lots of carbs right after your workout, those carbs will be shuttled directly into the muscle cells instead of the fat cells. The depleted glycogen stores in your muscles will act like a sponge and soak up all those carbs into the muscle cells. The result will be bigger and fuller muscles with a much quicker recovery period. Insulin is like a transport system, shuttling the nutrients from the food you eat into the cells of your body. Your body is in a unique metabolic state after an intense weight training session. The glycogen and the amino acids in your muscle cells are depleted in response to the stress imposed on muscles by the workout. It is critical that you replace these essential nutrients into the muscle cells as quickly as possible to avoid muscle tissue loss. In addition to the carbs, its important to consume protein to replace the amino acids lost during the workout. The carbs consumed immediately after a training session will raise the insulin level in the body, which will transport those carbs into the muscle cells. Wouldnt it make sense to also take in protein at this time so those important nutrients are also shuttled into the muscle cells by the high insulin level? Because you want these carbs and protein immediately absorbed into the muscle cells to take advantage of this critical window of opportunity, it is more advantageous to consume a liquid drink containing these important nutrients instead of going home and eating a whole food meal. Food would need to be more fully digested and assimilated to the muscle cells and this process would take too long. This post-workout recovery drink should contain the right amount of protein to restore amino acids and the right amount of carbs to replace the glycogen that was depleted during the workout. Its also important that you consume fast-acting protein and carbs so they are digested quickly, thus forcing the body to release high amounts of insulin to transport these nutrients directly into the muscle cells.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 10:17:40 +0000
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