PROTEIN 2.0

So first off, sorry for the two week break between my last post and this one. I have been pretty crazy busy the past couple weeks and have been gone or busy for three weekends in a row. So please forgive me and please come back and read this one! Here is a funny video, and shout out to Reston who reminded me of this fantastic movie, to help win you back!

SO WHERE WAS I?

I talked last time about the different types of protein, the certain amounts needed, and my opinion on protein shakes or bars. Protein is very important to the muscles for growth and regeneration. I also shared that each person only needs roughly .8-1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. This protein I showed you can be easily gotten throughout the day with natural food and easy to consume products such as peanut butter, lean meats, and dairy. Also as I stated last time there are very big negatives to consuming too much protein.

First, I will go through some of the negatives to ingesting excess protein particularly from animal meats. One main concern, if you get the majority of your protein from animal meats, is high cholesterol and increased risk of heart disease. Many high protein foods, such as red meat, are very high in cholesterol and saturated fats. The next problem with excess animal protein is certain cancers. Once again, if you are eating a lot of meat and cutting out other important foods such as fruits, vegetables, and beans than you can increase the risk of colorectal and stomach cancers. Fruits and vegetables are a good source of fiber which can help keep you regular and keep your intestines healthier. Another dangerous side effect of eating too much protein from animal meats are bone mineral loss. Most animal products have sulfur containing amino acids (building blocks of protein) which causes the blood to become more acidic. When the blood becomes more acidic, calcium is pulled from the bones to help buffer the acidity in the blood and return the pH to a normal level. This reduces the calcium in the bones and you can suffer bone loss. So if you eat red meat for protein, you need to keep it in moderation.


One last reason that excess protein can be harmful is an increase in kidney disease. This does not depend on how you get your protein and can be caused by an excess of protein even from eating vegetables and beans. Going back to last post, there is nitrogen in protein that allows the muscle to be regrown and repaired. This nitrogen is hard to get rid of however. The nitrogen has to be excreted with the waste product urea. Excess urea (caused by excess protein) can accelerate the onset of kidney disease. So one again, MODERATION IS KEY.

There are however some pretty awesome benefits to protein which I went over partly last week. The body needs protein to help rebuild, repair, and grow muscle. The body also uses some protein for energy. But more specifically, if you are trying to put on mass and gain muscle then you will need an excess of protein. As I said last post, you will need about 1.3-1.7 grams per kilogram of body weight if you are looking to increase your mass. This is an increase of about .4-.8 gram per kilogram. There is NO set amount of how much protein one person needs to help build muscle mass and everyone is different. But there is one for sure thing that you need to help increase muscle size...

For muscles to increase in size, two conditions must be met: the synthesis of new muscle proteins must increase and muscle protein synthesis must be greater than the breakdown so that the protein balance is positive. What this means in layman's terms is that you need to workout and you need to be eating protein. When you work out, you stimulate the muscle to grow (muscle synthesis) but after the workout is over there is a breakdown of the muscle fiber. The body naturally has a negative protein balance which means that your body will basically breakdown your muscle if you are not using it. SO in order to prevent that breakdown, you need to be working out and pumping your body with protein to keep the muscle synthesis higher than the breakdown.


WILL I BULK UP IF I WORK OUT?

To answer this common question I come across, I will direct you to the last paragraph. At rest, your body is naturally in a negative protein balance. That means in order for you to build muscle mass you need to be overcoming that natural process of your body. The main proponent of bulking up is your DIET! It is not spending 6 hours per day in the gym or chugging protein shakes. In the exact opposite fashion of losing weight, you need to be in a caloric excess in order to put on mass. We will use me for an example where I weigh 175 pounds. If I wanted to put on mass and bulk up then I would need to increase my daily caloric intake from about 2,500 to anywhere from 3,000-7,000 calories per day. Each person is different and you need to feel out what works for you. Some people naturally can eat only an extra 500 calories per day and put on a lot of mass, but others need an extra 3,000 calories. This is where you need to increase your diet slowly until you start to notice results.

Take a peek at this to see how much Dwayne Johnson Eats to bulk up.The Rock's Workout

The question then comes to what foods should I be eating to gain mass? Pure protein right? Nope. As stated before you need to increase the amount of protein to closer to 1.3.-1.7 grams per kilograms but you do not need to suddenly eat 80% protein. For me, my new diet would look like this.

Instead of eating the common 60% carbs, 15% protein, and 25% fat, I would need to change that to something closer  to 55% carbs, 15 % fat, and 30% protein. This would equal:

• Carbs: 4500 x .55= 2,475 calories.
• Fat: 4500 x .15= 675 calories
• Protein: 4500 x .30= 1,350 calories

As you can see, there is a pretty dramatic increase in diet in order to bulk up. This only accounts for the diet aspect as well. From there you need to be in the gym activating that muscle synthesis. Bulking up is not for the faint of heart or stomach. You need to be constantly pounding your body with calories every 2-3 hours and working out enough to burn off the excess calories as well as
stimulating muscle growth. 

SO in summary. If you are not looking to bulk up, THEN YOU WON'T! You need to be actively trying to bulk up to actually do it. So if you are a woman concerned about using weights because you don't want man arms, don't worry to pick up those dumbbells because you won't look like a man anytime soon. 

Protein is a very important component of our bodies daily function. We need a certain amount of protein to help give us energy, grow and repair our muscle, and keep the body functioning. But with everything in regards to our diet, we need moderation. I know eating two steaks sounds appealing but trust me it isn't worth the stomach ache. Trust me, I've been there and done that.

WORKOUT OF THE DAY:

100 jumping jack
30s wall sit
100 crunches
30s back bow hold (lay on stomach and arch back and legs off of the floor)
10 burpees
30s plank
100 mountain climbers

75 JJ
45s wall sit
75 crunches
45s back bow hold
7 burpees
45s plank
75 mountain climbers

50 JJ
60s wall sit
50 crunches
60s back bow hold
5 burpees
60s plank
50 mountain climbers

25 JJ
90s wall sit
25 crunches
90 back bow hold
5 burpees
90s plank
25 mountain climbers

NEXT WEEK: THE SCIENCE BEHIND CROSSFIT