Weight training is a great way to improve body composition. However, weight training is very expensive metabolically, which means that energy requirements can increase considerably. This is good news for those that want to lose body weight because the increase in resting metabolic rate associated with muscle gains are one of the best solutions to being overweight. It is for this reason that high intensity exercise such as weight training and other anabolic drivers are recommended for the obese who have been through cycles of dieting. Such dieting is associated with damage to the resting metabolic rate which can be corrected only through muscle building exercise such as weight training. However, the benefits of weight training, in terms of muscle gains, are dependent on two things. Firstly enough energy must be provided to allow anabolism to occur. Secondly, enough protein must be consumed in order to provide adequate nitrogen for the construction of new muscle.
The difficulty that some find in gaining muscle with weight training exercise can therefore be traced to inadequate energy and protein intakes. Such a situation can leave the individual in a state of negative nitrogen balance and thus a net catabolic state. In addition, the lack of energy diminishes the synthesis of high energy compounds such as NADPH via the pentose phosphate pathway, and this limits the flux through synthetic (anabolic) reactions. As a result the hormonal conditions within the individual are adjusted by the hypothalamus to correct for this by increasing energy efficiency and preventing the wasteful process of muscle building. Hardgainers, those who find it hard to gain muscle in the gym, might therefore benefit from addressing these two short falls. Increasing energy intake can also provides the body with usable substrates such as creatine to increase power output during training, and this can have a significant effect on the ability to gain weight and improve athletic performance.
Researchers have investigated the effects of increased energy on amount of work performed in order to ascertain the association between energy intake and worker productivity1. Sixty seven percent of the Kenyan road workers who were studied had bodyweight that were less than 85 % of their ideal weight for their height. The subjects were then given either an additional 200 kcal per day or 1000 kcal per day in addition to their normal diets. The authors then analysed their work output and their anthropological measurements. The results showed that an increase in arm circumference and haemoglobin levels in the subjects was associated with significant productivity gains of around 4 %. Those males given 1000 kcal per day gained 1.1 kg in weight, while those given only 200 kcal per day showed no such gains. In fact the group being supplemented at 1000 kcal per day over normal energy requirements had productivity gains of 12.5 %, suggesting that they were in negative energy and protein balance at baseline.
Dr Robert Barrington’s Nutritional Recommendation: Consuming too few calories and too little protein is a common mistake amongst novice gym goers. Recommendations for protein are currently around 1 gram per pound of lean body mass for those wishing to gain skeletal muscle from weight training, but recommendations for energy requirements are less certain. In this regard experimentation is the best policy. However, it is important that any extra energy consumed is in the form of high quality foods, and that foods containing metabolic poisons such as trans fats and fructose are avoided (Although fructose can be consumed following a workout to resynthesise liver glycogen). Eating high quality foods will prevent the food being stored as fat and should maximise weight gain from muscle growth.
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