Muscle Building Techniques

I USED TO very much dislike the phrase: "It all depends." It seemed a cop-out for someone who didn’t want to take the time to answer the question thoroughly. I guess that could still be true, but the more I immerse myself in to health and wellness, the more I discover the validity of the phrase. Take timing; for example, when is the best time to do your cardio? It all depends — on your goals, your body make up and your lifestyle.

If you are looking to build muscle mass, you have a few things to consider. You might want to hold off on your cardio until your off-days, because the cortisol excreted during intense or prolonged cardio can inhibit hypertrophy (muscle growth). Cortisol is a catabolic hormone that can block the synthesis of protein. Protein synthesis is needed for muscle repair and growth.

And you surely don’t want to use up all your energy doing cardio before your weights; that would be silly. Save your steam to pump whatever iron you need for your muscle-building goals. But please, for the love of your muscles, please don’t neglect a cardio warm-up, which will prep the muscles to lift and move through a better range of motion.

A proper warm-up and saving your cardio until the end or another day can also save you from injury. Proper form is usually the first thing to go with tired muscles. But the same can be said for cardio. If you are looking to improve your cardiovascular levels or maybe your running time, you’re not likely going to if you’ve just beaten up your legs at the squat rack.

But because discussion wouldn’t be complete without another "but," if you are looking for weight loss, many people do cardio after weights. Rumour has it that by using up all your glycogen stores during your resistance training, your body will be a prime fat-burning machine during the cardio portion of your workout. So if your goal is general fitness, without looking for major gains in strength or cardiovascular ability, this might be your best option.

There is also conflicting information about time of day to do cardio. Ultimately, it comes down to your body — how you feel in the morning versus afternoon or evening. If you can’t get up early enough to get a breakfast, let it digest and then have a workout, but also can’t work out on an empty stomach, then common sense would say this isn’t your best time.

Some authorities say it is safe to run first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and a good way to burn a little extra fat, since the body has been detoxifying all night. This also means a low blood-sugar and this can spell disaster for your adrenal glands, which are responsible for your adrenalin and cortisol, also necessary components of a good workout.

It is misleading that you will burn more fat when the body is low on carbohydrates (in other words, glycogen stores). This statement is, in effect, true. But that does not mean an empty stomach. And, coincidentally, the body likes to use carbs when weight training.

Working out on an empty stomach can tax your energies and place too much stress on the immune system, so weigh your options carefully. Again, it comes down to the it-depends factor. Bottom line, you want to make sure that you have the needed energy for the workout. Only you know how well your body functions with lack of food.

Another argument in favour of cardio in the morning is that you will benefit more from the after-effect of your workout all day. There is a period of recovery time when the body is still burning fat and doing its business. It’s often referred to as EPOC, and some think that it’s best to get your workout done in the morning so you can reap the benefits of this heightened metabolism and burning period. Because your metabolism drops during sleep, you lose the oomph of the afterburn when doing your cardio later in the evening.

This heightened sensation is also another reason to do your cardio early in the day. You’ve heard of runner’s high, a result of endorphin release and hormonal balance that is found during exercise. People tend to feel more alert and enthusiastic post-workout. So why wouldn’t you want this to follow you through the day?

Furthermore, if you tend to drain yourself all day at work, chances are you’re either going to bail on your workout or do it half-heartedly. This isn’t very conducive to results.

There is one major rule, though, to be followed by everyone: You shouldn’t exercise too late in the evening. Exercise increases your adrenalin and endorphins, a wonderful payoff from exercise, but it also makes it difficult to wind down.

Even if you feel exhausted from your workout and go straight to bed, you might not fully enter the deep sleep that is so needed for restoration. A good night’s rest before and after your workout is as crucial as the workout itself.

So there you have it, the true meaning behind "it all depends." You need to test these theories out on yourself. There’s no better way to know than to track your results and how you are feeling. Take this stuff to heart as the rains let up and the potential to hit the beach makes you up the ante in your workouts.

Without a base, an article cannot be written. This is why we have chosen "Arginine To Build Muscle" as the base for this beautiful article of ours.

The amino acid L-arginine is most familiar today as the main active ingredient in popular food supplements designed to boost nitric oxide (NO) levels.

NO is a potent dilator of blood vessels, and dilation can produce a greater and more long-lasting muscular pump during training. Wider blood vessels also carry more blood to muscles and tissues, delivering increased amounts of protein, carbohydrate and the various anabolic hormones (such as growth hormone and testosterone) needed for muscle growth.

But before arginine became linked to nitric oxide boosting supplements, it was very popular with natural bodybuilders as a way to boost growth hormone (GH) levels. In fact, an infusion of 12-40 grams of arginine is often used to determine a GH deficiency, especially in children. An arginine infusion usually promotes a release of GH in about 20 minutes, except in people deficient in the hormone.

Arginine primes the pituitary gland to induce the hypothalamus to release GH.
It also suppresses the brain hormone somatostatin, which suppresses release of GH. Some scientists suggest that somatostatin release increases with age, explaining the drop in GH secretion that occurs in many older people.

Scientists used to think that GH was secreted only during childhood years of growth, and then ceased with adulthood. Today, we know that production peaks around puberty, and gradually declines with age

Growth hormone is released in "pulses,” which means levels rise and fall like the tides. They surge at certain times and drop at others. Growth hormone production also varies throughout the day, with your body releasing the greatest amount of growth hormone shortly after the onset of deep sleep.

What does growth hormone have to do with fat loss and muscle growth?
Firstly, growth hormone accelerates the rate at which stored fat is used for energy. A single surge in growth hormone increases both the number of fat calories your body burns for energy and your metabolic rate.

Arginine To Build Muscle is versatile as it is found in all parts and walks of life. It all depends on the way you take it

As the name suggests, growth hormone also plays a role in muscle growth. Adults with a growth hormone deficiency tend to have a harder time building muscle, even though they do get stronger after several months of resistance exercise.

Although a few recent studies concluded that oral arginine was ineffective for GH release, they did suffer from a number of important flaws. One, for example took only a single blood sample after an oral arginine dose, concluding that arginine showed no apparent GH release. Another was flawed because the researchers used a dose of arginine that was too small

A new study, however, overcame most of the flaws of previous research and found some results that should be of interest to anyone wanting to lose fat and build muscle.

Eight healthy men, aged 18 to 33, took different doses of arginine (5, 9 or 13 grams) or a placebo. Six drops of lemon juice disguised the taste of the arginine. The placebo had just the water and lemon juice.

The 5- and 9-gram doses resulted in greater GH release than the placebo, but the 13-gram dose didn't increase the release beyond that. In fact, the larger dose led to gastrointestinal distress. The GH rise occurred 30 minutes after the subjects took the arginine, and reached a peak after one hour.

Source: Collier SR, Casey DP, Kanaley JA. (2005). Growth hormone responses to varying doses of oral arginine. Growth Hormone & IGF Research,15, 136-139

We have been very thorough in providing as much information on Arginine To Build Muscle as possible in this article. Please use it to make our efforts fruitful.We have been very thorough in providing as much information on Arginine To Build Muscle as possible in this article. Please use it to make our efforts fruitful.