Day 286 - Body Beast and Hypertrophy

I will give a very quick crash-course on my thoughts on Body Beast:

"Hypertrophy" has been shown to be elicited best in a 6-12 rep range. 6-8 is sometimes referred to as "functional hypertrophy" where it is a bit more strength based, 8-12 is *generally* the magic zone for bodybuilders.

Having said that, your muscles are split into 2 fiber types (there are actually further sub-groups, but we will stick to types 1 and 2 for simplicity). Type 1 or "slow-twitch" and type 2 or "fast-twich".

Type 1 fibers are more aerobic, so they primarily use oxygen as their energy source. This means that they contract slower, produce less force, and are therefore targeted with lower resistance, higher reps.

Type 2 fibers are more anaerobic, so they primarily use stored energy. This means that they contract quickly, producing higher amounts of force/power, and are therefore targeted with higher resistance and lower reps as they are great at generating force, but fizzle-out quickly.

Now, whenever you lift (or press) a weight, your body "recruits" muscle fibers to do the job. Obviously, the heavier something is, the more fibers must be recruited to move said weight. But, regardless of how heavy something is, your body NEVER recruits all of its fibers into any given lift. This may or may not be an evolutionary thing, as you don't want to completely fatigue a muscle 100% in any given action just in case you still need to use it in times of need.

When you are lifting a lighter weight for more reps, the body recruits *mostly* Type 1 fibers, while the type 2 fibers are *mostly* just resting or coming along for the ride (being lazy). Then, as you increase weight and lower the reps, the reverse effect happens, the type 2 fibers are doing the work while the type 1 fibers are being lazy.

If you are training for strength, there is no reason why you shouldn't be lifting heavier weights in lower rep ranges, as you want to improve strength. BUT, when training for hypertophy, you want to recruit as many fibers as possible to increase your chance of growth.

Type 2 fibers have a greater affinity for growth, but there is still room for growth with Type 1. So, what I believe Body Beast is attempting to do is target both types of muscle fibers with the varying repetition ranges. First, you start off with 15 reps to target the Type 1 fibers, then as you increase weight and lower reps, then you are targeting the type 2 fibers. Not only that, but with training a wider range of rep ranges as you do, you recruit more overall muscle fibers, eliciting a higher chance for muscular growth.

Make sense?

Quote of the day:
"Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well."
~Jim Rohn

Check out my new Website: tylerrobbinsfitness.com

Day 50 - Build Muscle, Lower Body Fat

I have a question about weight loss and muscle gain. I want to increase muscle mass, therefore I have to take in more calories. But if I do that won’t it just turn to fat? How does the body know to build muscle instead of storing the extra calories as fat? Am I missing something? Can I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time?

Ah yes, the million dollar question for a lot of guys. I know a lot of guys (and gals) who wish to put on some muscle mass while cutting body fat at the same time. This can be an extremely difficult task to do, but it is possible.

First of all, let's assess the need to put on mass. From an athlete's perspective, some folks have the misconception that bigger muscles mean stronger muscles, which is not always true. Athletes who compete in events that require speed and agility, for example, should train their muscles to be strong and powerful, but do not necessarily want to add any weight to their frames as that could potentially slow their speed. Soccer players are a prime example of this. Soccer players need to be strong and powerful for fast acceleration and dynamic changes in direction, but unnecessary weight could slow them down.

On the other hand, an athlete like a football player (lineman for example) may want to put on mass to not only become stronger and more powerful, but the mass will also make them more difficult to push around.

In this case, however, I believe the individual asking this question wishes to put on a bit of muscle mass for cosmetic reasons, which is fine, as this is one of the most common questions I receive.

There are a number of factors involved in performance and body composition, but for the most part, your diet regulates how you look. Again, this is a pretty broad statement, as the types of exercises you perform as well as your genetics play a big part in how you look.

So what do you eat to put on mass? Well, to put on any type of mass, you need to eat...a lot. Again, I am generalizing here, but for the most part, your calories in must be more than your calories out in order to gain weight. If you are a young male (or female) who has an extremely fast metabolism, this can be a tricky task, but it is doable, you just need to keep feeding yourself every few hours.

How does the body know to build muscle instead of storing the extra calories as fat?

This is the trickiest part of the equation, because let's face it, anyone can gain weight by eating a lot of crap. What most people intend to do is build lean mass, aka muscle.

Any tissue in the body that is being structured requires the building blocks to do so. This is where protein, or more specifically amino acids, come into play. There are a wide variety of studies that have been done on just how much protein should be in one's diet in order to build muscle.

Some folks think more is better, but remember that protein is still a macronutrient, which means too much is still just extra calories, and therefore if unused will be stored in the body as fat. I personally like to aim for the 1g/pound of body mass rule. I usually sit around 176/177lbs, so I try and aim for at least 170-180g of protein a day.

Even with all of this discussion on diet, one fact still remains - you need the proper stimulation for tissue growth. What I mean by this, is that in order to build muscle, you need to resistance train. Not only that, but you need to lift heavy things. Resistance training causes damages to your muscle fibers which, in turn, cause stimulation for growth.

Essentially all types of resistance training causes at least some sort of stimulation for muscular growth, but in order to maximize your potential for growth, you should lift very heavy things. When you lift heavy, your body produces more testosterone, which in turn, causes a chain reaction of processes that stimulate muscular growth.

The nice part about this, is that the more muscle mass your body has, the more calories it burns at any given time. The more calories being burned at any time can translate into lower percentages of body fat.

Other resources to help with this topic can be found on my blog:

My Mass Phase Final Results

Tips for Hardgainers

Muscular Growth

Quote of the day:

"One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes."

~Benjamin Disraeli

Muscular Growth

Since I am soon heading into my own 'mass phase' where I will be looking to build a bit of muscle, I figured now would be as good of time as any to discuss the facts on muscular growth. There may be some myths or misconceptions that some people have so hopefully I can clear the air the best I can.

Hyperplasia

This form of muscular growth is one of the most debated amongst researchers because many are not even sure if the process is possible. Hyperplasia is the action of growing a muscle by increasing the number of muscle cells/fibers. This seems to be one of the biggest misconceptions amongst individuals who look to grow their muscles. The shape and size of your muscles is largely determined by the number of muscle fibers contained in each muscle which is set by the time you reach puberty. Many people think that by working out, your increase the number of muscle fibers or cells therefore increasing size, which is not true.

There have apparently been studies that have shown cases of hyperplasia via longitudinal fiber splitting as a response to high-intensity resistance training (actually sounds painful!), but these studies have been largely ruled-out. Other such cases have been reported when muscles are treated to optimal conditions. Some theorize that muscle fibers only experience hyperplasia once they reach a theoretical size limit. If they can then be pushed beyond this point - oftentimes with anabolic steroids - they may potentially split to form new fibers.

Hypertrophy

Muscular hypertrophy refers to muscular enlargement resulting from training. Muscle fiber disruption and damage during intense resistance exercise stimulates muscle growth. Once the damage has occurred, the repair process on the muscle fibers involves many different mechanisms such as hormonal variations, immune system functions, and metabolic demands. The various bodily systems can only assist in repair if adequate amounts of specific building blocks are present (i.e. protein). Protein synthesis involves 3 main steps. First, there needs to be adequate water intake. Secondly, the body will restructure noncontractile protein structures. Lastly, contractile protein synthesis will take place.

One common misconception amongst individuals starting a new resistance training program is that they may initially experience strength gains from resistance training, but this is generally caused by increased neuromuscular adaptations. What this basically means is that the brain becomes much more efficient and develops new and stronger pathways in order to contract muscular fibers. To simplify this even further, understand that the muscle fibers simply become more coordinated in their contractions. When more fibers contract at once, you can produce more force. For hypertrophy to occur however, research suggests that an individual would need to exercise beyond 16 intense workouts or so. Mostly all strength gained within those first 16 workouts are attained from neural adaptations. Beyond that, the muscle fibers will then begin to grow.

Magnitude of Hypertrophy

So how does one maximize muscular hypertrophy? First of all, a well-structured program is key to reaching a goal of muscular growth. There are two main factors at play in order to increase muscle size. Mechanical and metabolic systems must be stressed in a pretty specific way. Mechanical factors include lifting heavy loads with progression. Also known as progressive overload, muscles must be continually pushed and challenged in order for continued growth. An example of this would be increasing either repetitions or resistance during every single workout. If an individual can perform 40lbs bicep curls for 8 reps for a set, they should try and push themselves to 10 reps the next workout, then potentially increasing resistance to 45lbs the workout following that.

Short rest periods are also encouraged during resistance training to increase stress on the glycolytic energy system. This increases concentrations of metabolites that may be involved in muscular growth. This is the second component of hypertrophy mentioned above - the metabolic system.

Muscle Fiber Types

Muscle fibers can be categorized into two different types - type 1 and type 2. Type 1 muscle fibers are referred to as 'slow-twitch', have lower force production, and rely heavily on oxidative energy systems. Type 2 on the other hand is referred to as 'fast-twitch' muscle fibers, have higher force production, and rely heavily on non-oxidative energy systems. When a muscle is resistance trained, both types of fibers are recruited for force production, therefore they both possess the affinity for growth. However, type 2 muscle fibers have a much higher affinity for growth so muscle size is largely dependent on an individual's ratio of type 1 to type 2 muscle fibers.

Load and Repetition Goals

Hypertrophy training should aim for 67-85% of 1RM with a repetition goal in the 6-12 rep range. I personally feel that individuals should try to not use resistance that would force them to drop too far below an 8-rep goal for assistance exercises. Assistance exercises are those that are single-joint and usually single-muscle (i.e. bicep curl, tricep pushdown). By using too heavy of resistance for assistance exercises, individuals can place far too much stress on those single joints.

Diet

In order to build mass, your body will require more calories than what you are used to. Having said that, if you wish to try and build as lean of mass as possible, your intake of calories should be clean. What I mean by this is that you still do not want to ingest total junk calories such as processed foods or refined carbs. Also, your macronutrient ratios should be spot on. Calorie counts will vary based on the individual and their mass building goals, but remember that building about a pound of muscle a week requires pretty serious dedication so do not set goals too much higher than that!

I have seen different opinions on this, but for the most part, ideal macronutrient ratios for lean mass building should be somewhere in the ballpark of: 40-50% carbohydrates, 30-40% protein, 20-30% fat. You will need carbohydrates (clean; whole grains, fruits, vegetables) to fuel your intense workouts and protein to build tissue.

Sources:
Baechle, Thomas R. and Earle, Roger W. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning Third Edition
Picture: http://www.thedreamlounge.net/2010/09/