Alright readers it’s time to hit the gym. And if you’re trying to bulk up, you know you need protein to help build muscle. But how does that work? How much protein do you need? How much is too much? Ahhh it’s also confusing!
First things first, there’s three different types of muscles; skeletal, cardiac and smooth. We’ll be talking about skeletal muscles. You know, biceps, triceps, quads, and so on. They’re the most adaptable tissues in the human body and can be molded through working out or … by sitting on the couch. The way you can build muscles is by … well, damaging them. Not real damage, like a major tear that will keep you on the side lines. When you do intense exercise like resistance training, little microtears occur in your muscles that need to be repaired. But before we talk about repair, we need to talk protein. Proteins are essential because they are made of amino acids, which are responsible for most of the reactions and processes in living cells. Your main source of amino acids is through proteins in your diet. Foods like meat, fish, eggs, and seitan are chockful of amino acids, some more so than others. After you eat protein, your body breaks it down into it’s amino acid parts. Which brings us back to your damaged muscles. The damage causes your body to string together amino acids into new proteins to repair the microtears. The damage also activates satellite cells, which are kind of like stem cells. The satellite cells flood the damaged area where they multiply, and fuse onto the muscle fibers to repair the strand and make it bigger and stronger. So here’s where your swole comes in. Muscle growth only occurs when you have enough amino acids to repair all the microtears, plus some extra left over. The extra amino acids can be used for further muscle growth, bulking you up. But if you don’t have enough amino acids, your muscles won’t heal, you won’t bulk up, and you’ll be more prone to injuries and muscle loss. To prevent that, you need to eat enough protein. So how much protein is that, you ask? Well it’s all relative. Gender, body size, body composition, age, and hormone levels all determine how much protein you need. Someone with amore muscular body that is pumping heavier iron will use more protein than someone who is smaller and just starting to work out. Women don’t gain muscle nearly as fast as men, because more testosterone means more muscle. But don’t start taking T just to bulk up. There can be serious consequences. It is recommended that you eat 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight to maintain muscle. For a 175 pound person, that would be 63 grams of protein per day. Not bad. However, some dietitians recommend up to 1.8 grams per kilogram of body weight for athletes. Think Michael Phelps or Cam Newton. At 1.8g/kg, that 175 pound person would need to consume 143g of protein per day. Now that’s a lot of protein. To get 143 grams of protein you’d need to eat 24 eggs, or 4 chicken breasts or around 6 scoops of protein powder. This is why some athletes drink protein supplements. It gives them a lot of protein without having to eat as many calories. Still, it doesn’t have nutrients like vitamins, fiber, minerals and so on. So don’t depend on them completely. But when should you eat your protein? One study suggests that for young men, protein’s benefits max out at 20 grams after a workout. With that said, everyone’s different and there’s a lot of conflicting research out there. But you can’t just eat a whole bunch of protein and expect to hulk out. In fact, excess protein is metabolized into glucose and used for energy or stored as fat. So when you’re trying to bulk up, make sure to consult a specialist to get your protein consumption right. Have any science-backed workout tips that you swear by?
That's it for today and good luck for your strong and muscular body. Did you take a balanced protein diet while doing work out? Let us know in the comment section. And hey, thanks for reading.
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