You Want Results? Build Muscle!
By Dr. Rick
Kattouf II
When it comes to the
term "muscle" or "build muscle", often times, there is a
big disconnect. All too often, individuals hear these terms and they think of
large, massive muscles. What we have to understand is that building muscle is
the key to success, no matter what our goals. Whether we are looking to achieve
body transformation, improve overall health & fitness or improve athletic
performance, building muscle is one of the main keys to success. I've heard
individuals say things such as, "Rick, I want to burn fat, but I do not
want to build muscle." Therein lies the disconnect. The only way to burn
fat is
to build muscle. So, let's put to rest that Muscle = Mass. Rather, we are
talking about building muscle so that we can achieve a strong, lean, light,
healthy physique that will set us up for great success, no matter what our
goals.
When it comes to
workouts and building muscle, you may have heard terms such as, muscle
confusion. And you may have heard this term associated with the key to achieving
results. So is that the goal? Are we trying to confuse the muscle? Well, not
really. Actually, the goal of building muscle is to teach the muscles to adapt
to the overload/stimulus that is being applied to it. For example, we are not
looking to strength train one week, run the next week, stationary bike the
following week, etc. Sure, this will "confuse" the body, but this is
not going to lead to the body becoming properly adapted to the overload and
stimulus. Let's say, for example, an individual is looking to improve their one
repetition maximum bench press and their goal is 300 pounds. If this individual
were to never bench press more than 135 pounds during their workout, this is
not going to lead to the proper muscular adaptation to the stress needed to
achieve the goal. As the weeks and months of progress, and as the individual
continues to get stronger, the goal is to continue to increase the load (amount
of weight) being lifted. This is how we teach the body to become properly
adapted to the overload and stimulus being applied to it.
We also have to keep in
mind that it takes at least six weeks for the human body to become adapted to a
given workout/exercise. Therefore, knowing this, it's not a matter of trying to
confuse the body; rather, we want to continue to load and overload the body
with the stimulus so that it can properly adapt, grow and improve. Skeletal
muscle is extremely adaptable. Therefore, when we perform resistance exercises,
the adaptation can begin immediately following a workout. Now, this does not
mean that we are going to see immediate results. Point being, with the skeletal
muscle adaptation happening so quickly, you can now see how the muscle
adaptation process is going to take effect. As we continue to load and overload
the muscles with resistance exercise, in time, we can start to reap the
benefits of muscle growth. This process can take many weeks and months of
course. (Looking for great strength training workouts? Visit
Anatomy of Muscle
Development
Muscle hypertrophy
is muscle growth. How do we get muscles to grow? When we perform a resistance
exercise, we are disrupting the muscle fibers. We are creating micro
trauma/injury to the muscles. When this micro-trauma occurs, it alerts the body
that these muscles now need repaired. It is this muscle repair process that is
part of the muscle building and muscle development. Satellite cells around the
muscle are alerted and will then rush to the injured area and now muscle repair
and growth can begin. In addition, growth factors (hormones) are vital in the
muscle repair and muscle growth process. Resistance training stimulates the
release of growth factors. Can you now see how important resistance training is
for building muscle? Another huge piece to the puzzle for muscle repair and
growth is nutrition. Fueling the muscle properly is a big key to success. In
addition, getting the proper amount of sleep each night (7-8 hours) is another
vital aspect of muscle repair and growth.
Fuel The Muscle
When it comes to fueling
the muscle properly, there can also be a lot of confusion in this arena as
well. All too often, individuals have the mindset that they just need to eat a lot
of protein and this will help muscles grow. But, eating a ton of protein is not
the key to success. Rather, it's the proper fuel and the right balance of
carbohydrate-protein-fat that is one of the biggest keys to success when it
comes to fueling the body and fueling the muscle properly. TeamKattouf® Nutrition
helps take the thinking out of this process for you. When we fuel our body
properly at every meal, every snack, every single day; we are then setting the
body up for success and helping to assist in muscle repair and muscle growth.
In addition, amino acids which are the building blocks of protein, are also
critical in the muscle repair and muscle growth process. Of the 20 amino acids
that are part of the muscle repair and muscle growth, 10 of them are not
produced by the human body. Therefore, we must get these through nutrition and
supplementation. These 10 are referred to as the essential amino acids;
Arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine,
threonine, tryptophan & valine. (leucine, isoleucine & valine are the
BCAAs-branched chain amino acids). These essential amino acids can be supplied
to the body by eating right and using supplements such as Athletes Aminos 2.
Confusion or Adaptation?
We want to keep in mind
that the goal is not necessarily to confuse the muscles. Rather, we are
teaching the muscles to adapt to the load and the stimulus. This is how we are
going to continue to reap the benefits of our workouts. And this is where
workout consistency becomes so critical. Workout consistency is a huge
component of the muscle building and muscle repair process. As you progress, you
want to continue to challenge yourself (and this is where LEANDOWN FITNESS® comes into play).
Remember the bench press example above. If you can continue to increase the
load (amount of weight being lifted), without injuring yourself of course, do
so. This is part of the muscle adaptation and growth process. As you find
yourself being able to lift more weight and/or perform more repetitions, this
is progress. This is a direct sign that you are building muscle and you will
continue to see improvements with your muscular strength and muscular
endurance.
References
How Do Muscles Grow? Young sub Kwon, M.S. and Ken
Kravitz, Ph. D.
SHOW YOUR WORKOUT WHO’S BOSS®!
Download the
TeamKattouf® Nutrition LLC app: Apple Android
Rick Kattouf II, O.D. is a
2x Best-Selling Author and Fitness & Nutrition expert and has been named
one of America’s PremierExperts® and one of the World Fitness Elite® Trainers
of the Year. Rick is a Sports Nutrition Specialist, Heart Rate Performance
Specialist, Master Personal Trainer & Triathlon Coach. He has been seen on
ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates around the country as well as in the USA
Today, Chicago Tribune, National Examiner, Ironman.com, My Fitness Pal,
Livestrong.com, Runner’s World, Bicycling Magazine, Men’s Health UK, FIGHT!
Magazine, Florida Cycling Magazine and The Independent in the UK. Rick is the
CEO/Founder of TeamKattouf® Inc, CEO/Founder of TeamKattouf®
Nutrition LLC, CEO/Founder of Virtual Gym LLC, Creator of TeamKattouf®
Nutrition Supplements, Host of Rx Nutrition, author of Forever Fit, Creator of
5-Round Fury® Nutrition Supplement, 5-Round Fury Fitness® workout app, Creator
of Coach2CEO,
Creator of Fuel Keeper®, Entrepreneur and Inspirational Speaker. Dr.
Rick has personally coached individuals in 30+ states and 10+ countries.
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