Weight Training and Amino Acids: Are Amino Acids and Protein Crucial?
( Clear your Confusion with the Importance of Aminos - fitFlex Articles - Learn, Share and Discover! ) ..
There's been a great deal of confusion about the amount of protein that natural bodybuilders need to consume in order to maximize their muscle growth. Numerous
manufacturers insist that supplementing your diet with specific amino acids is the only way to achieve your true physical potential. On the other hand, some
researchers feel that the role of protein has been vastly overrated. As is often the case, the truth lies somewhere between the two extremes.
Achieve the Optimum Nutrient Balance
The human body contains nearly 2,000 protein-based compounds, including many enzymes and hormones. Such substances as hemoglobin and insulin are in fact complex
combinations of many amino acids. All of these proteins are derived from 20 essential amino acids. Every amino acid contains an amino group, which is composed of
a nitrogen atom and two hydrogen atoms, and an organic acid group, which consists of one carbon, one hydrogen and two oxygen atoms. These groups are identical for
each amino acid. What distinguishes the individual amino is its amino-acid side chain.
Of the 20 amino acids, only eight are essential for adults. These include isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine.
The other 12, including ornithine and arginine, can be produced by the body whenever they're required, provided that the body has sufficient quantities of the eight
essential aminos on hand. The relative amounts of these essential aminos that you get from different foods vary, with eggs having the highest biologic value, or the
most usable combination. Fish, beef and poultry have the next highest biologic values, followed by milk products. Vegetables are poorer sources of protein because
they lack one or more of the essential amino acids and so they're considered to be incomplete proteins. Methionme is frequently the amino acid in the shortest supply.
All required amino acids must be available at the same time for protein synthesis to occur. The amino acid that's lacking, the one that stops protein synthesis, is
referred to as the limiting factor. The best way to ensure that you have the raw materials on hand to synthesize the required proteins is to eat food and/or take
broad-spectrum amino-acid supplements that have high biologic values. Stay away from individual-amino supplements, which can easily upset your body's delicate protein
balance by providing too much of one particular amino. This can actually hinder protein synthesis by knocking things out of kilter. Rather than using ornithine and
arginine supplements to stimulate growth- hormone secretions, stimulate your growth hormone levels through exercise and adequate sleep and recuperation.
Always Consume Enough Protein
The estimates of required daily protein for athletes are all over the board. What is clear is that protein requirements are activity-based. The United States Recommended
Daily Allowance (USRDA) is obviously inadequate for weight-training athletes because it was established for the average American couch potato. Natural athletes should aim
for one gram of protein per day per pound of lean body mass. This will provide all of the amino-acid supply you need as well as a small margin of error for days of peak
utilization.
Natural bodybuilders actually require somewhat less protein than drug users because they don't - or shouldn't - train as much, which results in relatively less
tissue breakdown. Since drug-free trainees don't get the dubious benefits of the anti-catabolic effects of steroids, however, the difference in protein requirements is
not as great as the relative difference in exercise frequency. Some natural athletes who have high basal metabolic rates may need as much as one gram per pound of total
bodyweight. Spread this protein consumption throughout the day and always eat it in combination with carbohydrates- because the body creates nonessential amino acids in
association with the intermediates of carbohydrate metabolism.
Supplementation for Workouts
Workouts increase the demand for amino acids to repair the micro-cellular damage to the muscle tissues. In particular, requirements for the branched-chain amino acids -
leucine, isoleucine and valine - increase the harder you train. There are two options for achieving adequate amino-acid levels: daily protein loading or pre- and post-
workout supplementation. Protein loading is like carbohydrate loading.
If you consume at least one gram of protein per pound of lean mass, you'll have enough protein stored in your liver and circulating in your blood that you won't need
supplements. If, however, your protein consumption varies from day to day or if the total level is borderline deficient, you should take a combination peptide-bonded amino
acid supplement before and after workouts. Use a 1-to-2 formula, such as five capsules before training and 10 afterward to make sure that sufficient levels of all aminos,
including the branched- chain varieties, are circulating in your system when you need them for muscle growth.
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