Chapter 4

Muscle Gains DO NOT Happen During Training:

Muscle gains are initiated during a training session; however, the actual gains in strength take place during a proper recovery.

In order for a muscle to grow it needs to be:

1) Broken Down

2) Repaired and Strengthened.

Giving your muscles the proper fuel to work out and build up your muscles is perhaps the most underestimated and ignored element of any workout program. 

Understanding Anabolism and Catabolism.

Most people are working out adequately to induce muscle growth (note I use adequately and not optimally). It is important to know that muscle growth is stimulated when tissues receive damage (this is good damage) called micro-tears. As a result of the micro-tears your body is called upon to repair and build the muscle even stronger than before. Think of it like the body realizing that this type of activity may be taking place again soon and this time it will properly prepare the muscles to be stronger. You must realize that stimulating muscle growth from a workout DOES NOT ensure muscle growth. Here is why:

Your body is in constant need of energy to build tissues and run all of its various systems. Your body creates this energy from carbohydrates. Carbohydates are broken down into the various energy sources used for bodily functions, muscle movements, and tissue repair/building. During an intense workout your muscles and body are greatly reduced of their energy sources. This is significant when it comes to what happens next with your muscles.

So what happens when you don't have enough energy?!

This is when catabolism kicks in. Catabolism happens when your body does not have sufficient energy stores to meet your body's energy requirements. The effect of this is that your body breaks down other potential forms of energy from fat stores and from protein found in muscle. So instead of being built back up immediately your muscles could be broken down further! Catabolism is bad.

When your body is in a catabolic state you are not bulding muscle, and may in fact be losing muscle.

The opposite of a catabolic state is when your body is in an anabolic state. This may sound scary as it is associated with anabolic steriods, but it is a natural-occuring state in the body that is optimal for muscle gain and thus gains in your vertical jump. Anabolism occurs when your body has ample source of carbohydrates and other nutrients to build and recover muscle tissue.

When your body is in an anabolic state, your body is in the best possible environment for creating muscle gains.

So your body is either in a position to build and recover (anabolic) or it is not in this position and must break down in order to maintain energy requirements (catabolic). The operative words for each state are breakdown (catabolic) or build (anabolic). You want your body to be in anabolic mode in order to get the most out of each training session.

Your training is only as effective as its weakest point!

For years I struggled to gain muscle and gain inches to my vertical. Now, when I am properly implementing my system I am always accused of using steroids (which I don't and never have). Add this to your training, and you will realize what you have been missing out on. As you provide your body with the proper proteins, amino acids, carbs, and other nutrients it needs to build muscle, you will notice results much faster. You will be able to obtain results that you simply could not obtain without proper nutrition.

What your diet needs more than anything else for optimal muscle growth and vertical jump gains.

Protein - The most important muscle-building and muscle-sustaining element.

Protein is what your muscles are physically made of. Each protein consists of peptides called amino acids. Amino acids are classified as essential (must be received from food) or non-essential (naturally created by the body), and in order for a protein to be usable by the body it needs a full set of amino acids, both essential and non-essential.

Without sufficient protein intake, your muscles will NOT grow or they will grow very slowly.

Many foods, although they contain protein, ARE NOT complete proteins, and thus do not contain a full set of amino acids, essential and non-essential to be used by the body for muscle building.

As a general rule, grains, cereals, nuts, or seeds, although not complete proteins, can be eaten together with dried beans, dried peas, lentils, peanuts or peanut butter in order to make or create a complete protein.

As the essential building block for muscles, protein can also be broken down and used as energy if you are not providing proper carbohydrates and calories. To build on this idea, your body can also take the protein used in your muscles to create energy. This is why it is so important to have not only a sufficient supply of protein but also a sufficient supply of carbohydrates, as you will read below.

When should you take protein and how much?

My recommendation for protein intake is 1 gram of protein per pound (lb) of body weight, or for those on the metric system 2.2 grams of protein per kilo (kg) of body weight. When eating a lot of protein make sure to drink plenty of water so your system does not become dehydrated, as well as to help your body process the protein. You can find other estimates of how much protein is needed. A more detailed idea can be produced by knowing exactly how much lean muscle mass you have in your body. The process has been oversimplified in many progams because doing so is more complicated than simply determining body fat percentage. As we all have bone and other supporting structures of varying sizes and weights, just determining body fat is not an accurate measure. If you have the funds and patience for getting the exact amount email me and I can guide you through the process. I personally do not believe it to be worth the trouble.

With protein it is better to err on the side of excess, within reasonable means. Excess protein is simply used by the body as energy, or eliminated by the body. Once again be sure to drink plenty of water. In general, if your urine is clear then you are drinking enough water in proportion to your protein intake.

What's the best way to get enough protein?

The discipline of nutrition can be much more difficult than the actual workout portion of your training regime. At the end of this section I provide a system that I use to make sure I get enough protein and other nutrients in my system. Near the end of this chapter I show strategies for getting a proper diet without having to change your entire life and eating habits, which is not only a pain, but also makes you less likely to be successful.

As well as the other strategies that I recommend near the end of this section, I fully recommend a protein supplement. You can make your own or buy one of many great supplements that are on the market. Whey protein isolate or whey protein concentrate is the fastest abosrbing protein known to science and thus is best suited for post workouts, as well as taking right after you wake up. When I need extra carbs, calories, and protein, I mix a shake with peanut butter, grinded oats (grind them in a blender before you add them to liquid and they will be like powder), and other creative ingredients.

When I am building muscle I take a protein shake anywhere from 3-5 times per day. The most important times for a protein shake or meal equivalent are:

1. After an intense workout.

In the critical minutes after an intense workout, your body is depleted of energy, and your muscles are craving protein to start the building process. Nothing could be worse than to let your muscles be broken down and used for energy when they should be building up. If you let this happen your entire workout could be counter-productive. In the post-workout section I recommend a small post-workout meal that works for everyone, and will ensure muscle growth.

2. Right before bed.

Nighttime is the longest fast that our body will endure. We go 6-10 hours with no nutrient consumption, yet our body is still building and repairing during this time. The concept is simple: provide enough protein, carbs, and other nutrients for your body to build your muscles and repair other tissues during the night.

3. Right after waking up.

During the night your body will use up the protein and nutrients you gave it before going to bed. You need to break the fast (breakfast) with the proper nutrients to continue building your muscles.

4. Before workouts.

During workouts your muscles pump massive amounts of blood to your muscles. A small pre-workout snack consisting of protein and carbs will help you body make the most out of this muscle pump, as well as give you additional stores to use directly after your workout.

Other diet necessities for optimal muscle growth and vertical jump gains.

Carbohydrates - Simply put, carbohydrates are stored as in the muscle as a usable form of energy for building muscle and working out. Carbs stored in the muscles are called "glycogen." Carbs are generally categorized as simple or complex, and this classification has been used popularly to describe how fast a carb can be absorbed by the bloodstream and be taken into the muscles. However, the glycemic index is a more scientific approach to this. The GI ranks foods on how they affect blood glucose levels.

For our purposes we want to always have ample stores of carbohydrates. Our post-workout meal will include some simple carbs in order to "spike" carb storage. The practice of intaking substantial amounts of carbs directly after a workout causes the body to release insulin, which accelerates the process that carbs and other nutrients are put into the muscles.

I recommend that you eat around 1500 grams of carbohydrates per day, most of which should be consumed from sources other than sugars.

Calories - Calories are the measurement of energy that comes from all the food you eat. For example, there are 4 calories per gram of protein, 4 calories per carbohydrate, and 9 calories per gram of fat. The amount of calories you eat per day will give you an idea of how much energy you are providing your body.

Most of you should be eating around 2500 calories: 50% percent of that should be carbs, 30% should be protein, and the rest will be fat.

Vitamins and minerals - In a perfect world we are eating healthy, well-rounded meals and there is no need for vitamin supplementation. If you are doing that already, GREAT: ignore this. If you are like most of us I recommend a multivitamin. Stay away from vitamins that provide 100% of all vitamins because you will be getting a lot of vitamins from food and protein shakes. I recommend taking half of a multivitamin each day.

Water - Your body is made 60-70 % of water. Water helps nutrients uptake into muscles and circulations. Sufficient water wards against dehydration and helps energy levels to stay high. Lack of water can cause you to store water and appear bloated.

Consuming at least one liter of water during a workout is an excellent rule of thumb to stay hydrated and ensure good muscle pumps. We are asked to drink 8 glasses of water a day to stay healthy. I recommend to drink at least 12-16. This can be annoying at first as you will find yourself rushing to the bathroom often. Soon your body will become accustomed to so much water.

Other recommended supplementation:

Creatine - The supplement world can be confusing. There are so many supplements available promising improved perfomance that it is easy to become disillusioned. It can also become very expensive if you are not careful. One supplement that has worked for me and others I train is creatine.

Your body naturally creates creatine in the muscles. When your body runs out of energy stores for anaerobic events (lifting, jumping, etc.) it uses the creatine your body makes. Taking a creatine supplement will allow you to have additional stores of energy for your workout as well as for performing. Taking creatine regularly will give you a noticeable boost in athletic performance which makes for better workouts as well as better performance.

If you are skeptical about creatine, I understand. I have researched it thoroughly and found it to be safe. I will not attempt here to convince you: you will have to decide for yourself. Please note that if you decide not to use creatine you will still make very substantial gains. All of my original gains from this workout were without creatine.

 

CREATE YOUR OWN PORTABLE SUPPLEMENT AND NUTRITION SYSTEM

As we have discussed above, nutrition is extremely important, and typically neglected. The fact is that it can be very inconvenient. I created this simple system while I was traveling. I found it nearly impossible to get proper nutrition while I was traveling from country to country in Europe. I thought it would be impossible. I used to use an expensive Magic Bullet blender, but as I only had one bag I had to minimize my belongings during my trip and the blender had to go. I came up with this solution, and although we could call it a bit "ghetto" I have found it to be more convenient than my more expensive system.

What you need:

- 1.5 liter or bigger bottle with small mouth.
- Empty peanut butter or other container with fastenable top (same size in circumference as the 1.5 liter bottle).
- Clear packaging tape, or duct tape.
- Scissors or a knife (BE CAREFUL)
- Smaller Gatorade or other wide mouth bottle (big enough to stick the other bottle top directly inside).

1st Cut the bottom off both the 1.5 liter bottle and the peanut butter bottle, and clean them out thoroughly.

2nd Stick the opposing ends of the 1.5 liter bottle and the peanut butter bottle next to each other. You can see in the image in red where the peanut butter bottle would be inside of the 1.5 liter bottle.

3rd Use the packaging tape to seal it.
4th Now you have a bottle that you can easily load a week or more's worth of protein powder. Unscrew the top and load it with powder.








5th You keep this bottle in your backpack with your Gatorade bottle. Whenever you want to supplement you simply dump a portion of powder into the larger mouth Gatorade bottle. Then just add water to your Gatorade bottle with no mess, shake it up to mix it well, and drink it.

So what am I supposed to do with this piece of junk? (I am taking suggestions for the name of this thing.)

Keep it in your backpack with you and use it to make sure you are getting your protein, carbohydrates, or whatever other supplements you want to take. It's much more convenient than a blender. If you are taking supplementation seriously you will find this to be a very easy way to get nutrition throughout the day.

How do I use this contraption?

I make protein shakes on the subway. If I don't have enough space I fill the bottle before I leave, and stick it in my back pack or bag. If I know I am not going to eat a meal in a few hours I take it with me to keep my body anabolic at all times. It's simple, it's silly, and it works.

A parting note about nutrition:

If you want to get more specific email me and we can get more into the specifics of your diet. Remember this: imperfect action is better than no action. Just because your diet isn't perfect, or you can't afford parts of it, doesn't mean you shouldn't at least be doing what you can. If you're dedicated to your progress as an athlete you will find a way.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Nutrition

 

Are supplements healthy for me or for my kids?

I am required by law to request that you consult your doctor, and I am not a doctor. However, protein supplements are the equivalent of eating plenty of eggs, chicken, or dark greens. A protein supplement will pose no problem to your health, unless you take ridiculous amounts.

Is creatine dangerous?

Creatine has become an accepted nutritional supplement. Its effectiveness is scientifically documented. As long as you are not dehydrated, creatine poses no threat to your health.

Are protein shakes healthy/natural?

I completely commend you for not wanting to take something into your body that could harm it. But consider this. These shakes are specifically designed to give your body all the good stuff that it needs to perform and function at peak level. Think about all the junk food and all the canned and processed goods that we eat that are in no way designed to help our body function at maximum level. I believe protein shakes and meal replacement shakes to be a great source of additional nutrition. I will say that you can get the benefit of a protein shake from whole foods and meals, but that it is very inconvenient and also less cost-effective. It could easily cost you $50 - $100 dollars a month to buy protein shakes. But how much would it cost you to replace that with tuna, chicken, vegetables, etc.? Consider a can of tuna that costs about $1. If I ate three cans of tuna per day I am already spending $90 per month on tuna! It's really up to you how you get your protein and nutrition; it's a personal choice. Just know that you need this nutrition for optimal results.