Gaining Weight For Strength And Endurance

Most athletic individuals are content to maintain their existing weight. A few select others--football and basketball players, body builders and teenagers--try to gain weight by building muscles. To do so, they need to consume more calories than they expend in workouts and daily living. This sounds simple but it's not. It generally takes longer to gain weight than to lose it.

Family history plays a major role in the development of an athlete's physique. Individuals from thin families are less likely to transform their svelte bodies into bulky, muscular ones. With improved nutrition and appropriate weight training, however, athletes can enhance that likelihood. As they age, many young athletes will also naturally gain weight.¹

Building Muscle The primary goal of an athlete's weight-gain program is to increase lean body weight. Weight measured on a scale indicates only total body weight--not how much is fat and how much is muscle. To tell the difference, both scale and body-weight composition measurements such as underwater weighing or skinfold measurement should be used to check weight-gain progress. Underwater weighing involves weighing a person on a regular scale, then again while he's submerged in a tank of water. The two measurements are plugged into a mathematical formula that estimates lean body mass and fat. Skinfold measurement involves using hand-held calipers to measure the thickness of fat under the skin on various points of the body. These measurements are plugged into yet another formula that estimates total body-fat percentage.

No nutrient or nutrient combinations from foods or supplements alone can induce muscle development. Exercising appropriately, consuming enough calories and fluids, and getting the right essential nutrients such as protein, vitamins and minerals is the key to increasing muscle mass.

Carbohydrate And Fat Needs The amount of potential energy in a pound of muscle tissue is about 2,500 calories. Linda Houtkooper, Ph.D., a nutritionist from the University of Arizona, estimates that an increase of 2,500 calories over the energy needed to maintain body weight will theoretically provide the energy needed for one pound of muscle gain.² "Theoretically" must be emphasized, since there is marked individual variation in gaining muscle weight. The variation is the result of many factors, including the efficiency of calorie use, body size, body composition, and the type, frequency, duration and intensity of a workout program. A strict regimen must also be followed to avoid turning these extra calories into fat.

How rapidly can an athlete put on muscle? The answer varies. Since calorie needs and the rate of muscle gain differ considerably from person to person, recommendations should be based on frequent diet monitoring, body composition and an individual's workout program. It's generally thought that a weight-gain diet should include 50 percent to 60 percent of total calories from carbohydrates; 30 percent to 35 percent from fat; and 10 percent to 15 percent from protein.

These additional calories should come mainly from eating more high-nutrient-density foods--those that contain vitamins, minerals and protein as well as calories. Such foods include breads, cereals, pasta, low-fat milk products, low-fat meat, poultry or fish, vegetables, and fruits. (In contrast, low-nutrient-density foods such as soft drinks, sweets and alcohol supply mostly calories and contain very little vitamins, minerals or protein.)

* Carbohydrates: A high-carbohydrate diet helps maintain adequate glycogen levels in the body. Glycogen, which is stored carbohydrate in the muscles, provides fuel for muscles undergoing intensive weight training. Glycogen stores are limited, however, and regular, demanding training depletes them. High-carbohydrate diets increase the rate of glycogen replacement.

* Fats: A modest increase in dietary fat levels from the recommended 25 percent to 30 percent of calories to a maximum of 35 percent (preferably from vegetable fat) may also be needed if energy requirements are greater than 3,500 calories a day. This temporary dietary fat increase allows an athlete to meet energy needs without eating enormous amounts of food. Extra calories from carbohydrate, fat or protein that are not needed immediately are primarily converted to triglycerides and stored as fat in adipose tissue.

Heightened Protein Needs Compared to carbohydrates and fat, protein is a minor energy source during exercise--it is estimated that amino acids in protein provide only 5 percent to 15 percent of exercise fuel.³ Dietary proteins' major role is to provide amino acids that build proteins, including those in muscle.

After conducting a comprehensive review of protein and its role in athletic performance, I concluded that the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for protein (0.8 g/kg body weight per day) may be inadequate for athletes in training.

During the early stages of training or increases in training levels, athletes may need more protein to support increased muscle mass, myoglobin (a protein that pulls oxygen into the muscle cell) and enzyme-content formation. Enzymes are important catalysts that speed energy production in the muscles. The recommended protein intake during this period may be as high as 1.2 g/kg body weight/day. For weight lifters or athletes in intense strength training, the intake may increase to 2.0 g/kg body weight/day.⁴

Rozenek and Stone, known for their extensive research on strength conditioning, reported in the journal Strength and Conditioning that a study of athletes' protein metabolism during strength training indicated protein requirements as high as 2.6 g/kg body weight/day.⁵ Increasing food intake to supply athletes' increased energy needs usually meets their protein requirements as well, researchers say.

Supplements Increase Muscle Mass In addition to simply eating more, athletes can supplement their diets with certain key anabolic agents to help maintain or increase muscle mass. The advent of high-quality, well-researched supplements has been a boon to athletes, who had very few options just a decade ago. Here are just a few supplements that have received attention in the last two years.

* Glutamine: This amino acid is generating interest in the scientific community because of its ability to increase nitrogen retention and preserve skeletal muscle mass. High glutamine levels in muscle cells stimulate the entry of other amino acids into the cells.⁶ Thus, glutamine is anti-catabolic ("catabolic" is destructive metabolism) and can be considered to be an anabolic (constructive metabolism) amino acid.

* Fatty Acids: No supplement on the market has attracted more publicity in the last year than HMB (short for beta-hydroxy beta-methyl-butyrate). HMB is found in muscle cells and helps prevent the breakdown of muscle. Results from recent human research on HMB look promising.⁷ Several studies involving both trained and untrained subjects on three-per-day-per-week workout schedules, who were given HMB, found increases in muscle and decreases in fat.

The concept of taking fatty oils as supplements isn't new to body builders and other athletes. Some athletes take medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) because of their supposed ability to prevent the body from using protein as fuel during hard training.⁸ Recently, controlled scientific studies have shown that conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a fatty acid, promotes muscle growth in healthy animals and can slow the loss of muscle tissue in catabolic conditions. Mike Pariza, Ph.D., from the Food Research Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, found that CLA-supplemented animals produce more lean muscle and less body fat.⁹

* Creatine: Found in all muscle cells, creatine is commonly used as a muscle-building supplement and has gained popularity with athletes since its use in the 1992 Olympics. Creatine doesn't seem to have any bad side effects, unless you consider weight gain detrimental.¹⁰ It is stored mainly in skeletal muscle as free creatine or bound to a phosphate molecule (phosphocreatine). Phosphocreatine is an immediate source of energy for muscle contraction.

Bulk Up Intelligently A bulking-up diet is little more than a nutritionally balanced weight-maintenance diet that includes larger amounts of foods eaten in three to six meals or snacks each day. This means eating a variety of wholesome, high-nutrient-density foods such as breads, cereals, pasta, rice, vegetables, fruits, legumes, meats and dairy products. In addition, eating more high-quality protein--sometimes more than three times the RDA--may be necessary in the short term to increase muscle mass.
Lastly, enjoy the bulking-up diet. Millions of overweight people would be happy to have the same problem.

Edmund R. Burke, Ph.D., is an associate professor of biology at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, as well as a lecturer and co-author of Training Nutrition. Burke also serves as director of sports sciences for the U.S. Cycling Team.

REFERENCES
1. Burke, E., & Berning, J. Training Nutrition: 126-129. Indianapolis, Ind: Cooper Publishing, 1996.

2. Houtkooper, L. "Nutritional support for muscle weight gain," NSCA J, 8(1): 62-3, 1986.

3. Lemon, P.W.R. "Do athletes need more dietary protein and amino acids?" Intl J of Sports Nutr, 5: S39-61, 1995.

4. Burke, E. "Getting the right amount of protein for endurance and strength training," NSN, 1: 23, 1996.

5. Rozenek, R., & Stone, M.H. "Protein metabolism related to athletes," NSCA J, 6(2): 42-45, 1984.

6. Haussinger, E., et. al. "Cellular hydration state: An important determinant of protein catabolism in health and disease," Lancet, 341: 1330-32, 1993.

7. Nissen, S. "Effects of HMB supplementation on strength and body composition of trained and untrained males undergoing intense resistance training," Experimental Biology Meeting, Washington, DC, April, 1996.

8. Burke, E. R. "MCTs metabolize like carbohydrates," NSN, 12, September, 1995.

9. Pariza, S. "Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) reduces body fat," Experimental Biology Meeting, Washington, DC, April, 1996.

10. Volek, J. S., & Kraemer, W. J. "Creatine supplementation: Its effect on human muscular performance and body composition," J of Strength and Condition Res, 10(3): 200-10, 1996.

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