4 rules to help maintain and build muscle at any age

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Advice from Professor Van Loon, a researcher who has dedicated his life to the study of the human body.

In his laboratory, Professor van Loon tests various muscle-building supplements and exercises, and studies the mechanisms of atrophy - loss of muscle mass. Based on data from his research, as well as other scientific work in this area, four important rules can be derived about muscle growth.

1. Your muscles are built from what you eat

You've probably heard that protein is needed to build muscle. In 2009, Professor van Loon developed a special technique to determine how amino acids - the building blocks of protein - become part of our body.

To do this, cows are given special labeled amino acids, milked and casein, one of the main proteins of dairy products, is isolated from milk. Casein is then given to the person and periodically blood samples and muscle biopsies are taken from the person to trace the entire path of amino acids from the digestive tract to the bloodstream and muscles.

Using this method, scientists found that within an hour and a half after taking 20 g of casein, 55% of the amino acids were in the bloodstream. About 20% of them entered the skeletal muscle tissue and stimulated their growth. Within five hours of taking protein, 11% of the amino acids became part of the muscle.

2. It is important how much protein you eat and when you do it

Amino acids from protein play a dual role in muscle building: they provide building blocks and provide an anabolic signal “Time to Grow!”. The amino acid leucine is involved in the latter. It is irreplaceable: our body does not synthesize it. Therefore, the amino acid must be supplied with food, moreover, in sufficient quantities. Ideally, each protein dose should contain 700-3,000 milligrams of leucine.

But leucine alone is not enough for muscle growth. All amino acids are needed, moreover, in a certain amount. Scientists have found the ideal dose of protein to make muscles grow at maximum speed:

Each meal should include 0.25 g of protein per kg of body weight for young adults and 0.40 g of protein per kg of body weight for seniors.

As a rule, to maintain and build muscle, it is advised to consume 1, 4-2 g of protein per kg of body weight per day. In a recent review of scientific papers, scientists named a more accurate amount, upon intake of which, protein synthesis accelerates to the limit - 1.62 g / kg of body weight per day.

Of course, you can't consume it all at once. The daily protein intake should be divided into equal parts (0.25 g / kg of body weight) according to the number of meals. For example, if you need to eat 130 g of protein per day (for 80 kg), you can divide it into six parts and take 20 g every three hours, and 30 g before bed.

Eat more at night. Another study with van Loon showed that 30-40 g of casein before bed increases muscle protein synthesis, and less protein does not have this effect.

3. Protein is powerless without movement

With age, muscle mass begins to go away. After 30 years, a person loses 3–8% of muscle per decade, and in order to maintain their muscles, they have to consume more protein. However, it is not only a matter of age-related changes in the body, but also of a person's lifestyle.

The study showed that muscles in older people leave non-linearly. They do not just gradually disappear, but do it in leaps and bounds - precisely in those periods when a person of age observes bed rest during an illness. At such moments, part of the muscles leaves and does not come back.

Immobility also kills muscles in young people. In one experiment, young people lost 1.4 kg of muscle mass during a week of strict bed rest. It takes more than eight weeks of regular strength training to build that amount.

In another experiment, van Loon found that complete immobility for just five days reduces muscle by 3.5%, and its strength by 9%. But if you stimulate the same muscles with electrical impulses, losses are greatly reduced or absent altogether. Electrical stimulation helps even comatose patients: it reduces protein breakdown and prevents muscle wasting.

Without training, muscles do not grow, without movement, they generally melt at high speed.

Without movement, no protein can help you maintain muscle mass, and with strength training you can do it at any age. And another study by Luna confirms this: in six months of strength training twice a week, older people well over 70 have increased 1, 3 kg of lean muscle mass.

4. Careful chewing is the key to success

If you get your protein from foods and not in powder form, it makes sense to chew it thoroughly. For example, a study showed that after consuming ground beef, the percentage of amino acids in the blood rises faster than after steak with the same amount of protein. In addition, within six hours of eating the minced meat, the amino acid level in the blood was 61%, and in the case of the steak, only 49%.

Scientists did not find a difference in protein synthesis, but perhaps this was because a muscle biopsy was taken only six hours after a meal, and accelerated synthesis is observed, as a rule, after 1-2 hours.

It is logical to assume that since muscles receive more building material and stimulus for growth, then they will grow faster. Although, for sure, only additional research can find out.

Either way, chewing thoroughly is good for your overall digestion, so you don't have to lose anything by spending a few extra minutes devouring your steak or breast.