Hey everyone!
Well, another week has gone by. I've decided to put 2 posts this week, and 2 more next week in order to conclude my summer project. By doing this, I feel that my posts just have more quality, and have more legitimate things to say. All in all, I won't feel like I'm forcing myself to write something. This will give me some time to look at my lifting records and charts, my diet, and weight changes, to see where I'm at.
--------------
Body Stats (Beginning/Current)
--------------
Height: 5'8/5'8 (0 inch increase)
Weight: 130/140 lbs (No increase)
Body Fat Percentage: 6.4%/6.67% (No increase)
Lean Body Mass: 121.7/128 lbs ( No increase)
Since I've began playing soccer, my gains have slowed. I'm getting stronger and stronger, but my weight gain is super slow. I'm positive that this is because soccer is running intensive, which not only burns very many calories, but puts me into an "anti-catabolic" stage. In other words, when anyone runs at all (mostly for training purposes), muscle is in the stage of breaking down at a molecular level. This may be surprising to some, but this even happens while you sleep. In any event, all of the running is putting my body in an anti-catabolic mode, which is limiting my weight gain. I'll get more into this later.
----------------
Lifting Stats (Beginning/Current)
----------------
Barbell Bench Press: 110/145 (0 pound increase)
Barbell Parallel Squat 135/230 (5 pound increase)
Barbell Deadlift 90/230 (5 pound increase)
While researching, I have found that it isn't good to follow any routine or rep amount for too long. Throughout most of my summer project, I've been using a 3x5 routine, which means 3 sets of 5 reps. If you follow a routine too long, your body will get used to it, and your muscles will adapt and cease to gain mass as fast as they should. So, I've switched to 3x8, or even 4x8 which gives me more hypertrophy (muscle tearing in order to build more muscle), which in turn will produce more gains. While using this method of training, my lifts won't climb as much, but there will be more muscle development instead of strength development.
---------------
Diet
---------------
My diet has remained the same. 100 ounces of water a day, a daily protein shake, 3000-3200 calories a day (I need extra because of those lost during soccer practice), and lots of carbs and proteins. I've had everything in check, so I'm doing good on this part. Luckily for me I can withhold from things that are bad for you; however, those Oreo's get me EVERY time!
-------------
Overall
-------------
This week I've learned that if I want to increase muscle size, more reps is key. If I want more strength, less reps is key. I've also learned that Anti-Catobolism is easily stopped by consuming Casein proteins before bed (slow-digesting proteins). This will allow my body to feed off the Casein protein while I sleep instead of muscle.
-----------------
Quick Facts
-----------------
Q. What is Catabolism?
A. Catabolism is the breaking down of something, and in most instances it is at the molecular level. Catabolism relating to muscles is the breaking down of muscle.
Q. What is Hypertrophy?
A. Hypertrophy is the tearing of muscle fibers. Proteins will repair torn muscle fibers, making them stronger, hence making them larger and stronger.
Q. What is Whey Protein?
A. Whey Protein is an extremely fast digesting protein. It enters the blood stream fast, and is most commonly used in a powder form used in protein shakes after a workout. Whey Protein will stop muscle catabolism after running, and will start repairing muscle tissues right after a workout. This can be used by pretty much any athlete, as it helps immensely with recovery as well.
Q. What is Casein Protein?
A. Casein Protein is basically the opposite of Whey Protein. Casein is a slow-digesting protein, and is found in high amounts in milk and cottage cheese. This fights off catabolism as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment