Time to drop some scientific knowledge regarding the biological process of hypertrophy, o legion of faithful reader. As you work a muscle, its cells consume glycogen. If you’re working it hard enough, you’re also tearing the muscle and breaking down the tissue. Your gains happen when you’re in recovery. This is why diet and sleep are important. (FN1) Your depleted muscles need glycogen, which must be replenished from carbohydrates. To rebuild the tissue, you need protein. (FN2) Whey protein is processed more directly, and is best taken within a half hour of the conclusion of your workout. Micellar casein processes more gradually. I’ve found it helpful to have access to both of those, both in terms of recovery and growth. Finally, free testosterone signals your muscles to start growing.
If all these compounds are present in recovering muscle tissue, the anabolic process will combine them into a chemical known as Awesome (AwSUM). AwSUM is a volatile and highly reactive compound, and high quantities of it can cause a burning feeling for a few days. That is why your muscles get sore. True story. As your muscle is pushed beyond its capacity to store AwSUM, it is forced to expand, causing the muscle to grow. At the same time, because it is now infused with AwSUM, the muscle is stronger.
Despite my claims that my goal was to become stronger, not bigger, it seems that some gains have taken place. Strength gains are accompanying it, but apparently my muscles are too infused with AwSUM to stay at their previous size. I plan to see this through for two more weeks, but after that, I should switch over to a program designed to develop my energy system and remove some fat. That’s the problem with growth stages; there is no way to avoid the fact that you will add some fat, as well. The key is to make sure that you’re putting on more lean mass, and then lose the fat later.
It’s not just the growth phase that caused me to put on a little around the middle, though; I also blame the fact that I have done little cardio lately, combined with the fact that it was the end of the semester recently, so I was not sleeping enough (which causes cravings!) and I was stress-eating.
Upper arm: 15 5/8 Forearm: 13 11/16Bust: 44 Waist: 34 1/4
Thigh: 23 3/4
Calf: 15 15/16
I don’t have a weight measurement (see previous complaints about reliable scales), but it seems clear that I’ve gained some. When I switch over to a weight-loss/energy system mode, it’s something that I should monitor regularly, though.
FN1. Also, if you don’t get enough sleep, you start whining about it being too hot and you say stupid shit about wrestling bears when you’re clearly not ready.
FN2. Some also suggest taking amino acid supplements. The theory is that the proteins are actually processed by your muscles in amino acid form anyway, and taking branched-chain amino acids directly is a more efficient way of building the muscle and aiding its recovery. I’m currently on board with this theory.
