Carbohydrates Print E-mail


Protein is the key for direct muscle growth. Carbohydrates are an indirect key for gaining muscle mass. Carbohydrates provide the fuel for the workouts that build the muscle. They are also essential for providing enough substance to prevent the body from having to use muscle as fuel. There are three types of carbohydrates - complex, fibrous, and simple. As noted earlier, protein can be used to provide energy if there is a shortage of the other energy nutrients. If your body runs out of glycogen (the carbohydrate fuel in its basic form), in an anaerobic state, it will use protein and muscle tissue as a source of energy. This is exactly what you want to avoid if you are trying to pack on muscle mass. And you can avoid this condition if you take the right carbohydrates in the right fashion.

Complex carbohydrates ordinarily are the ideal energy source. They are slowly digested and absorbed and their calories are burned in a prolonged, even way, which provides a steady release of the critical anabolic hormone insulin. Fiber-rich carbs ensure good elimination, too. The amount of carbs needed each day varies widely depending upon biochemical individuality and on training intensity and duration. All endurance athletes need far more carbohydrates than proteins. A runner can train with greater intensity for longer periods of time with full stores of muscle glycogen. Glucose from the blood and liver is less efficient. When you exercise hard, glycogen is your main fuel. Elite athletes show muscle glycogen levels twice as high as sedentary people. Regular exercise is the primary stimulus for topped-off glycogen storage. Almost immediately after exercise the enzyme necessary to refill glycogen stores increases in activity. If carbohydrate intake is plentiful during the next couple of hours, you recover quickly. Oddly enough, this is one time when simple rather than complex carbs may be preferred. The liver likes to be flooded with fructose such as is found in fruit juices and sports drinks. The muscles are ravenous and thirsty, so this is the perfect time to succumb to the seductive sucrose in soda. After the initial hydration and ingestion of simple carbs, consumption of a protein drink (milk or protein powder) can synergistically speed up the repacking of muscle glycogen. While carbohydrate calories are being spared for glycogen synthesis, lipids are vigorously oxidized after exercise almost as effectively as they were during training.

Legendary NFL football coach Vince Lombardi quoted to his players that "the difference between success and failure is in energy." This is especially true in the gym. You need energy for the hard workouts necessary to maximize your muscle size. Carbohydrates provide that energy. However, it is important to get the right type of carbohydrate at the right time.


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