Shaivy Choubey

HOW CARDIO HELPS BUILD MUSCLES

April 11, 2023 by Shaivy Choubey Leave a Comment

On the muscle building route, do you avoid cardio and focus only on weights? The approach has inherent flaws because the shortcut to shred lies in cardio.

Do you live to build your body? Does ‘one more rep’ define your life’s ideology? If your answer is yes, then the word ‘mass’ has a special place in your dictionary and you are passionate about your muscle gains. Not only are you willing to go to any length to sculpt those muscles, you’re extremely protective about them too, so much so that you’re willing to avoid cardio. However, there are times when you’re unsure of the decision you’ve made because cardio is an excellent workout for your heart and the lungs. In those hours of indecision, you look at the marathon runners and need no further explanation. MuscleBlaze delves in to seek answers to the query haunting every muscle seeker. Will cardio help or hurt, but the basics first.

Building muscles involves muscle breakdown and new muscle synthesis. To build muscles, your workouts should be intense enough to challenge and cause trauma to your existing muscles. In response, your body will repair the distressed muscle fibers and build stronger and bigger muscles through protein synthesis, and testosterone accelerates and amplifies the whole process. Now, you know why men have more muscle mass.

Concurrent Training

Doing aerobics and strength training at the same time is known as concurrent training. Scientists have researched concurrent training since the 1980s and found that when too much aerobic or cardio workout is done along with strength training, there can be an interference effect, which can hinder your muscle gains. Before you chuck cardio also known as aerobics, you need to know that it increases your oxygen intake and is an excellent way to stay in shape. It also benefits your metabolism and speeds up fat loss.

The win-win situation for the bodybuilder in you will be to reap the advantages of cardio and weight lifting at the same time. It’s possible, if you know the right balance and do not overdo.

At least four different studies on concurrent training came to one shared conclusion: If the cardio (i.e. aerobic or endurance training) does not go beyond 20 to 50 minutes (depending on the intensity) and doesn’t exceed three days a week, there is little or no interference effect. This means you can stop fretting and include cardio even on the day of your strength training, when you’re bulking up. Easily you can increase the frequency of cardio to more than three days, when you move to the cutting cycle to get leaner.

Cardio Acceleration: Shortcut to Shred

If you are stuck in the weight loss plateau and are looking for a shortcut to shred, cardio acceleration is for you. Employ cardio to punctuate your weight lifting sessions and you get the key to a ripped physique. Cardio acceleration encourages muscle maniacs to do cardio in the rest intervals of their training session. During cardio acceleration, suggests Jim Stoppani, the most trusted man in muscle kinesiology, you can perform exercises as simple as running in place next to the bench. You can also do jump rope, dumbbell cleans, step-ups, or any combination of full-body exercises. The only requirement is that you move for an entire minute and not stay still. Though it may seem strange, but those one-minute sessions of cardio will add up to 20-30 minutes of high-intensity intervals per workout. Twenty minutes of high-intensity training burns much more fat than 20-30 minutes spent walking on a treadmill.

Be sensible and recruit cardio to your advantage, the way competitive bodybuilders use it before competitions to get the amazingly ripped physiques.

Burn Belly Fat with BCAAs

April 11, 2023 by Shaivy Choubey Leave a Comment

Beyond building muscles and improving the performance of athletes, branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), the essential protein molecules help burn belly fat. Recruit the strength of BCAAs for a toned midriff. Know more about the benefits of BCAAs.

Accounting for 35% of muscle proteins and resembling a branched chain-like structure, BCAAs refers to three amino acids: Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine. Rigorous workouts injure muscle fibers. To expedite recovery, BCAA supplements become essential, as it promotes muscle protein synthesis and enables the body to build and regrow muscle fibers. Moreover, it speeds recovery, promotes endurance and delays fatigue in athletes.

So much for the obvious, now the lesser-known facts: few would know that benefits of BCAAs, a muscle-building enthusiast’s supplement staple can help a weight loss hopeful too in shedding the last of the stubborn kilos and in keeping those off. Listed below are the three ways in which a BCCA supplement enables weight loss.

1. Stabilizes Sugar Cravings

Sugar cravings can spell disaster to the diet plans of someone on a calorie and carb restricted diet. Extreme dieting coupled with intense exercise lowers serotonin levels which send hunger signal to the brain. Also, it raises stress hormone like cortisol. When cortisol level goes up, your body craves highly palatable foods, rich in calories.

BCAA supplement helps your brain make a neurotransmitter called serotonin that reduces food cravings. Moreover it lowers the cortisol elevation, often seen with intense and prolonged exercise. Taking BCAA supplements post-workout and between meals replenishes serotonin levels. The effect is visible in 15-20 minutes. This makes your diet plan sticky.

2. Preserves Muscle Mass to Keep BMR High

Anyone who has ever toyed with the idea of extreme calorie restriction for weight loss knows that dieting is a catabolic activity. When you cut down your calorie intake drastically, your body goes into a starvation mode. Though you’ll lose some fat in the process, along with glycogen and water, your body will lose muscle mass as well.

To halt the catabolic process triggered in the body, the journal Obesity in 2008 hinted at recruiting resistance training and BCAA supplementation to maintain the muscle mass. When you’re able to conserve the muscle mass, your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), which is your body’s energy expenditure in carrying out maintenance activities, remains up. It has been found that a slower BMR is a predictor of yo-yo weight gain. Loss of muscle impairs metabolism. Hence, the lost weight in such folks is four times more likely to find them back in the next 24 months

3. Workout Harder with BCAAs to Build Muscle and Lose Weight

The effect of a calorie and carb restricted diet spills over on the intensity of a workout, as glycogen, the longer chain version of glucose stored in the muscles is the primary fuel for workouts. A carb-controlled diet doesn’t leave room to refill the glycogen reserve. Naturally, less than intense workout will impair your weight loss goals.

However, supplementing with BCAA prior to a workout prevents muscle loss, reduces muscle fatigue and facilitates instant recovery for that fierce workout.

A January 1997 article on competitive wrestlers shows the impact of BCAA on weight loss and exercise performance. Twenty-five competitive wrestlers were randomized to 4 different low-calorie diets: Low calorie, low protein, low-calorie control, low-calorie high protein, and low calorie and BCAA supplementation. The BCAA group lost the greatest amount of weight (9 pounds), body fat (loss of 17 percent), and specifically lost weight from visceral adipose tissue, the most difficult fat to lose (a reduction of 34 percent).

Recruit the power of BCAAs, an integral partner for folks on anabolism trail to get rid of the stubborn kilos.

References

Ravussin et al. Reduced Rate of Energy Expenditure as a risk factor for body-weight gain. NEJM. Feb. 25th 1988;318(8):467-472

CHEAT MEAL: YES OR NO

April 11, 2023 by Shaivy Choubey Leave a Comment

Cheat meals, a dispensable temptation or a necessity? The dilemma ensues for anyone who is chasing muscle anabolism with utmost dedication.

For someone eating clean, pumping iron and counting reps and sets, day in and day out, cheat meals come as a trap. Something that they look forward to, as it breaks the boredom of pristine nutrition, albeit with a twinge of guilt. Get the guilt out of sight, because cheat meals are required for muscular folks on anabolism trail. There is a method to cheat, but first the basics.

DO YOU NEED A CHEAT MEAL

Before you sink your teeth in the luxury of a cheat meal, assess for yourself.

Feeling cold all the time
Stuck on a weight loss plateau
Trapped in less than average workouts
Lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time

If you’ve any or all of these symptoms, a cheat meal will help you reset your metabolism, refill glycogen reserve and regulate insulin.

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT WITH CHEAT MEAL

If you’re serious about carving an awesome physique, you can’t discount the role of diet. However, strict dieting can be callous and catabolic, and even upset the leptin-ghrelin duo. A cheat meal can offer a way out from the weight loss plateau.

1. OFFSET SLOW METABOLISM

Extreme diet required during the run-up to competitions and events can slow your metabolism. When you consistently eat fewer calories, your body slows metabolism in the last ditch effort to spare the calories it is gaining from the limited intake of food.

A weekly cheat meal of surplus calories ensures your body that the food is plentiful with the secretion of leptin hormone. When leptin kicks in your body begins to use fat for energy by improving metabolism, rather holding on to it.

2. MOVE TO AN ANABOLIC STATE

Moreover, as much as you dislike, the continuous limited intake of food in a strict diet is a starvation signal for your body and it responds by sparing the fat and burning your hard-earned muscle for fuel, a situation where you would not like to be in at all.

As your metabolism improves with a weekly cheat meal, your body switches to fat as a source of fuel, thereby moving you into an anabolic state.

Most importantly, strict dieting upsets your leptin-ghrelin balance. Leptin is the satiety hormone that your body releases after a satiating meal to signal your brain to work the energy it has acquired with the recent intake of the food. Leptin levels are naturally low in leaner folks. Ghrelin is the hunger hormone. A long-term low-calorie diet and chronic exercise has been shown to increase the ghrelin levels. This leads to increase in food intake and body weight.

Within 72 hours of calorie restricted diet, significant changes occur in the leptin-ghrelin levels. A once- a- week cheat meal assures your body that there is enough food it doesn’t need to hold on to the energy reserves. Consequently, leptin the satiety hormone kicks in and ghrelin goes down, thereby making metabolism amends.

3. REFILL GLYCOGEN STORES

Glycogen is the longer chain version of glucose. Stored in your muscles, it is the primary fuel used by the muscles for work-out. Extreme dieting and workout can dry your glycogen reserve. The carb content in the cheat meal is the shortcut to replenish the muscle glycogen, much needed for that bang in your workouts.

THE GOOD CHEAT MEAL

Wolfing down anything or everything in sight is not the idea of a cheat meal. Like discussed earlier there is a method to it.

1 Sugar-laden treats, foods with poor nutrients are best left untouched in a cheat meal because you do not want to spoil a week’s hard work by giving in to a temptation. A good cheat meal incorporates foods that are rich in protein and carbs with limited fats. The calorie content will, of course, exceed your normal intake. Two slices of pizza with meat and veggies as toppings, cheeseburger, a helping of pasta or noodles with meat for protein qualify as good cheat meals.

2 Equally important is the timing of a cheat meal. Dinner is a preferable time because it’s the last meal of the day; hence, there is no scope for limitless munching throughout the day.

3 Moreover, fasting on a cheat day is not such a good idea after all, because chances to over indulge increase on an empty stomach.

It’s equally important, to be honest with your coach about your cheat meals. Watch out for intense food cravings. They may signal macronutrient deficiency. Plan your cheat meals in advance and make the most of these much looked forward to meals.

Whey Concentrate vs Whey Isolate: Which is better?

April 11, 2023 by Shaivy Choubey Leave a Comment

Whey protein and its benefits are known to many. It is a popular supplement used by many fitness enthusiasts, bodybuilders, and athletes. For those who want to enhance muscle growth and muscle recovery, whey protein serves as the aptest solution. Whey protein is rich in amino acids and is quickly digested.

Protein makes for a very essential macronutrient that we must consume to help provide strength to our muscles and enhance muscle growth. Protein is helpful in building lean muscle mass and also helps with weight management. Whey protein out of various other proteins is considered the best protein.

Whey protein not only helps in building muscles, but it also helps in:

Enhancing muscle protein synthesis
Boosting fat burn
Enhancing the immune system
Reducing hunger
Improving insulin sensitivity

The sports and fitness market today is flooded with various whey protein powders available in a variety of flavors and forms. Whey protein can be broadly categorized into 3 categories:

Whey protein concentrate
Whey protein isolate
Whey protein hydrolysate

Out of these 3, the most popular ones are whey concentrate and whey isolate. In this article, we will be talking about whey protein concentrate and whey isolate and try to understand the differences and whether one is better than the other.

Fitness freaks are head over heels for both the versions of whey protein. Both of them serve the same purpose of building muscles, enhancing muscle size and speeding up muscle recovery. The reason people prefer one over the other is due to a few differences in their nutrition profile.

When we tell you that there is a difference in nutritional profile, that doesn’t mean that one is inferior in comparison to the other. Let’s understand the difference between the two:

Whey protein, as we know, is derived from milk sources. It is obtained while the separation of curd from milk and during the cheese-making process. The watery portion left behind is whey. This liquid whey is processed to be converted into powdered form, as we know it to be, and then sold in the market with various modifications.

Whey concentrate

Whey protein concentrate contains around 60-85% protein and the remaining ratio comprises fats, lactose, and carbs. Whey protein concentrate tastes good and provides all the benefits of whey protein and helps in muscle building. Along with it, whey protein concentrate is also known to increase the production of glutathione- the key antioxidant of our body.

Whey Isolate

Whey isolate is obtained from whey concentrate. The difference lies in the processing of these two. Whey isolate goes through a rigorous filtration process and this leaves it with a higher amount of protein and a lower amount of fats, carbs, and lactose. On the taste part, whey isolate tastes smoother than whey concentrate. It can contain up to 95% protein depending on the filtration process.

Whey isolate also provides all the benefits of whey protein.

Whey isolate has minimal lactose content thus it is a perfect choice for lactose-intolerant people. People who are looking forward to cutting down on their calorie intake and follow a low-calorie diet can also choose whey isolate as it contains very low fat and carbs percentage. Whey isolate is priced more than whey concentrate owing to the added cost of manufacturing.

Whey protein concentrate has higher lactose, fats and carbs content as compared to whey isolate. If you look that way, the amount of these elements present in whey concentrate is not much and these are also beneficial for your body. Apart from protein, your body needs other nutrients too, and whey protein concentrate offers you that. So if calorie intake is not your problem, you can go for whey protein concentrate.

Here, the point to be noted is that, when the protein is denatured, there are no changes made to its amino acid sequences and the muscle-building qualities of the protein stays unaffected.

Whey concentrate or Whey isolate: Which one should you choose?

You should choose your whey protein while considering your goals, budget, and any allergies. Whey protein concentrate can create troubles for those who have low tolerance towards lactose. Such people might suffer from digestive issues if consuming whey concentrate. For them, whey isolate is a wiser choice. The muscle-building process won’t experience any change whether consuming whey isolate or concentrate.

If budget is your constraint, you might find whey concentrate to be more budget-friendly. If you are calorie conscious and restricting your carb intake, whey isolate would suit your needs and goals.

Whey isolates get absorbed faster than whey concentrate and create a more thorough insulin response. Whether the changes in the rates of absorption have any effect on the anabolism, is yet a debatable issue.

If you want to limit insulin spikes, you can avoid whey isolates considering their effects on insulin release.

The Crux

Both forms of whey protein have similar benefits to offer you. Both help in muscle building and muscle recovery. So we cannot say that one is better than the other. Both have their unique properties and it depends on your situation and priority that which one will you choose.

If you don’t have milk allergies, whey protein concentrate is a good choice for you. Your body will get other important nutrients along with protein. If the budget is not your constraint and you also face lactose intolerance, whey isolate would be a better choice as it offers faster absorption and better digestion.

Bonus section

Still worried about the digestion part?

We have the ultimate solution for you- MuscleBlaze Biozyme Whey Isolate. A whey protein supplement made from the finest quality whey isolate, designed exclusively for Indian dietary habits. Indian diet often misses out on protein and thus we, Indians, face issues with protein digestion. MuscleBlaze has made a significant effort in reducing this problem by crafting a protein exclusively for Indian bodies.

It is enriched with EAF (Enhanced Absorption Formula) by MuscleBlaze, which gives you 50% higher absorption than other whey isolates. With MuscleBlaze Biozyme Whey Isolate, experience 60% lower stomach discomfort and 60% higher BCAA absorption.

Don’t worry about the cramps and any other issues and just focus on your goal with MuscleBlaze Biozyme Whey Isolate.

We have for you a solution to India’s Protein Problem.

10 Reasons Why Consuming Sugary Beverages is Like Poisoning Yourself

April 10, 2023 by Shaivy Choubey Leave a Comment

There is hardly anyone in this world who hasn’t grabbed a bottle of sugary carbonated beverages to drink. The market is flooded with these ‘refreshing drinks’ and consumers are head over heels for them. Well, they do have a great taste but have you ever thought if the taste is everything that your body needs?

A can of your favorite soda can contain as much as 15-20 teaspoons of sugar. We all need some sweetness in our lives but not this much. There is no denying the fact that excess sugar is bad for your health and these sugary sodas are selling nothing but sugar packed in fancy bottles and cans. This is why sugary beverages and sodas are bad news for your health.

We know it is hard to stay away from a bottle of coke during summers but it is not that difficult to replace it with a healthier option so that your health doesn’t suffer. People today are becoming more and more conscious regarding their health and fitness. The trend of gyms and a variety of weight-loss diets is what many people are keeping pace with. But still, the consumption of soda and sugary beverages remains a problem.

The teens and youth are the segments consuming most of these products. Soft drinks are the main reason for childhood obesity. We all have heard a lot about the health hazards of soft drinks and sodas, but still eliminating them from our lives has become a challenge. You might think that gulping down a single can of soda once in two days won’t make much difference. But, it does.

Let’s move ahead and understand what these soft drinks and sodas do to your body in the name of refreshment.

Get ready to balloon-up: Sodas and soft drinks are strongly linked to an increase in body weight, leading to the issue of obesity. Sodas and soft drinks contain a lot of sugar. Sucrose or table sugar is a supplier of simple sugar fructose in high quantity. Fructose is unable to reduce the hunger hormone ghrelin or give you a feeling of fullness like glucose, the sugar that is formed when you digest foods rich in starch (1, 2). So, when you consume sugar in the liquid state, you are basically adding more to your calories. There are various studies that show that people who consume sugary beverages are more prone to gaining weight. An increase in the waistline is the most common ill-effect of these sodas and soft drinks.
An invitation to diabetes: Sodas, soft drinks, and other sugary beverages are key products contributing to the development of Type 2 diabetes in adults (3). When you consume fructose in excess quantity, it leads to insulin resistance (4). The high amount of sugar present in sodas and other soft drinks exerts a lot of pressure on the pancreas, eventually leaving them unable to maintain the body’s need for insulin. If you consume one or two sugary drinks or sodas per day, you have a 26% more chance of developing Type 2 diabetes than those who do not consume these (5).
The dehydrating drink: Sodas or sugary beverages might give you a feeling of quenching your thirst, but in reality, they dehydrate you. Most sodas contain caffeine in high amounts. Caffeine is diuretic. Diuretics enhance urine production and thus you urinate frequently. This leads to dehydration and when cells are dehydrated their efficiency to absorb nutrients reduces. This also makes it challenging for your body to eliminate waste.
You might need dentures soon: Sodas and soft drinks decay tooth quality. Various lab studies have proven that the acid present in soda leads to depletion of tooth enamel. The carbonic and phosphoric acids in soda create an extremely acidic environment in your mouth and with lots of added sugar, it puts your teeth at risk of decaying (6). So you might lose that precious smile and would have to put on dentures if you keep consuming sodas and other sugary beverages.
You might be inviting cancer: Sodas makes you obese and obesity is connected to cancer and so are Type 2 diabetes and heart diseases. So it is implied that the sugary drinks and sodas are linked to the development of cancer. A study was conducted on around 60,000 adults to find the link between sugary drinks and cancer. Some of these adults were given 2 or more sugary beverages per week and these had 87% more risk of developing pancreatic cancer than those who didn’t consume artificially sweetened beverages. One more study found an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in women than men. Women who frequently consume sodas, post their menopause, have a greater risk of developing endometrial cancer (7, 8).
Increased risk of gout: Gout is a medical condition under which you develop pain and inflammation in your joints, especially your big toes. When the uric acid level is high in your blood and it becomes crystallized, the chances of developing gout occur. Fructose present in sugary drinks and sodas is responsible for spiking up the uric acid level (9).
Troubles for your heart: Sugar was and will never be a friend to your heart. Various studies have established this fact over time that sugary beverages are not good for your heart’s health and increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, inclusive of elevated blood sugar, blood triglycerides, and tiny and thick LDL particles (10,11). So, a bottle of your favorite soft drink might be the worst option for your heart.
Draining off of minerals: The phosphoric acids present in soda is responsible for reducing calcium from the bones. This makes bones brittle. Some studies have found that women who drank 3 or more sugary beverages or sodas every day had around 4% lower mineral density in bones, especially hips, even when their calcium and Vitamin D intake was taken care of.
Plays with metabolism: Sodas and sugary beverages when consumed frequently can adversely affect your metabolism. As a result, you gain weight and it becomes difficult for you to lose it. Your fat-burning capacity is decreased. The extreme sugar levels in soda cause insulin resistance which is a major factor leading to metabolic syndrome- a doorway to Type 2 diabetes (12). The Framingham study was conducted on around 9000 people, during a course of 4 years. The findings of researchers discovered that people consuming one or more sodas or sugary beverages in a day had a 48% higher chance of developing metabolic syndrome as compared to those drinking less than one such drink daily.

Aren’t these 10 reasons enough to quit soda or sugary beverages? If you want to keep yourself healthy and fit, even a single reason would do, we are presenting just 10. There are even more disadvantages to sugary drinks. But the bottom line is that you should refrain from consuming these as they are not at all a healthy option. They are like a slow poison for your body. Consuming them means you’re poisoning yourself.

Need a refreshment but worried about your health? Not anymore with MuscleBlaze Sparkling Protein Water.

Revitalize yourself with MuscleBlaze Sparkling Protein Water which offers you protein with its every sip without compromising with the taste. Available in two refreshing flavors- cola, and green apple, MuscleBlaze Sparkling Protein Water serves as an excellent replacement to the unhealthy sugary beverages.

Each 250ml serving of MuscleBlaze Protein Water gives you 10g protein. It is free from any added sugars, artificial preservatives, and flavors. The green apple flavor is free from carbs and fats and the cola flavour offers you as low as 3g carbs per serving of 250ml and is fat-free.

MuscleBlaze Sparkling Protein Water is loaded with the goodness of whey protein isolate and is keto-friendly. What else do you need when you are getting an absolutely rejuvenating refreshment with no compromise on health and taste.

At MuscleBlaze, we work to help you in staying fit and achieving your health goals. To be a better and healthier version of yourself, we recommend working hard and eating healthy. Stay fit, stay hit!

Top 6 Reasons Why Collagen is A Gift for Weight Training Individuals

March 9, 2023 by Shaivy Choubey Leave a Comment

Collagen is a popular supplement and for all good reasons. It is considered to be a wonder element for skin and hair and is used in various beauty products and regimes. But, what if we told you that collagen works wonder for your muscles? Get back the jaw you dropped just now and read the post to know more about this wonder supplement.

What is collagen?

It is a primary structural protein that is found in the tendons, ligaments, muscles, bones, vasculature, cartilage, skin and the GI system of the human body. This is the heaviest protein found in your body, which makes up 35% of the total protein content in your body.

The term ‘collagen’ is derived from a Greek word which means ‘glue’. Collagen, in fact, acts as an adhesive that binds your body together. Collagen is made up of conditionally essential amino acids which are proline, glycine, and arginine. Conditionally essential amino acids are those which your body produces, what you need to intake is the essential amino acids, as your body cannot produce the on its own. This is one of the reasons why collagen supplements are enjoying exploding popularity.

A total of 29 types of collagen are discovered to date. Out of these, type I, II and III are majorly found in the human body.

There are enough researches that state that collagen positively affects the quality of the skin and helps reduce wrinkles. It also improves the health of hair and nails. Collagen has also known to be helpful in reducing joint pain.

Nowadays you can find widespread use of collagen in various functional foods like protein bars, baked goods, etc. The fitness industry has been marketing collagen on the claim that it helps in muscle building. Is this claim true? Let’s understand.

The functioning of collagen supplements

Be it collagen, whey protein or any other form of protein, upon ingestion, they are digested and broken into individual amino acids by the enzymes of the GI tract. When these reach the small intestine, they are transferred to the bloodstream and move further to the liver.

Those amino acids that the liver is unable to use, are discharged again into the bloodstream where they are used by the body to perform a variety of functions such as:

Muscle growth and recovery
Repairing of cells
Improving appearance and health of skin, hair, and nails
Production of hormones
Enhance joint integrity
Neurotransmitter synthesis

The reason behind the stark popularity of collagen supplements is that when we age, our natural collagen production rate declines. Consuming collagen supplements can help in providing our body with the required amino acids to enhance collagen production.

Amino acids in collagen

Collagen is made up of various amino acids. Out of these various amino acids, 3 are main:

Glycine
Proline
Hydroxyproline

Hydroxyproline is not found in good quantity in a majority of foods that people normally consume. Collagen offers the human body this vital amino acid. Collagen’s unique composition of amino acids helps in muscle building.

To lose weight or form big muscles, weight training is very important. It gives your muscles strength and helps in burning body fat. Collagen is said to be helpful in building muscles and thus helping those who are undergoing weight training.

Let’s dig deeper to find out the actual deal.

Collagen for muscle building and weight training individuals

Collagen is the main component providing structural support to your body. It is present in 90% of the connective tissues. The high bioavailability and high amino acid profile of collagen labels it as great post-workout nutrition which is absorbed quickly and repairs and replenishes the proteins that break down while working out.

Collagen helps in muscle repairing and restoration: When you work out for longer durations, your muscles lose protein because of oxidation, muscle microlesions, and inflammatory reactions. There are various researches that show that while exercising, protein synthesis reduces and increases quickly post-workout for an extended time period. Consuming a high-protein diet after a workout helps to restore the lost proteins in muscles by increasing muscle anabolism. Collagen has a great amino acid content and thus it qualifies for muscle repairing and recovery.

Collagen might help in speeding up recovery time: Regeneration of muscle fibers along with the generation of connective scar tissue are the two main factors that lead to the healing of torn and ruptured muscles. For these two factors to happen, collagen formation is very important. A study was conducted to measure the rates of collagen production for 3 weeks after a muscle tear. The researchers found that collagen synthesis rates were raised in muscle cells during that time. During the first week of the healing of muscle tear, Type III collagen synthesis was at its highest. It is in connection with the development of flexibility of the connective tissue. As and when the healing process went further, Type I collagen started forming and was linked to enhanced strength of the newly formed muscle fibers and connective tissues.

Collagen can help in preventing injuries by providing strength to joints, bones, and ligaments: When you perform weighted movements, like lifting heavy weights, the pressure is generated on your joints. This might sometimes invite injuries. You need strong bones and joints to avoid injuries. A study conducted on three distinct category athletes showed that supplements when combined with collagen peptides, arginine, and BCAA over a course of 2 years, minimized tendon-ligament and joint injury rates. One more study to measure the effect of regular collagen peptides intake on the Achilles tendon structure was conducted. It was discovered that there was an evident rise in collagen fiber diameter, indicating enhanced tendon strength due to supplementing collagen. So, people doing weight training can experience a certain level of ease while lifting heavyweights.

Collagen can be helpful in reducing joint pains that are connected to sports-related injuries: Getting involved in weightlifting, doing heavy-duty weight exercises, etc. or being involved in various sports or intense workouts can lead to joint pain. Various studies have proven that collagen might be helpful in reducing joint pain arising due to exercises or other intense physical activities. Collagen supplements help in enhancing joint functions and improve flexibility while working out.

Collagen is helpful in enhancing natural creatine production: When you are doing heavy lifting in the gym, your muscles lookup to a fast and instantly available source of energy, which is available in the form of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). It is a chemical substance that requires creatine to be present in order to exist. To generate creatine you require glycine, methionine, and arginine. These three are amino acids out of which collagen contains arginine and glycine in a huge amount. That is why collagen can have a positive impact on creatine and eventually ATP production. Higher the ATP levels, more will be your muscle energy and you will see a difference in your workout capacity at the gym.

Collagen helps in enriching muscles with nutrients: Arginine present in collagen helps in enhancing blood flow in the body. It is known as a vasodilator, i.e., it aids in relaxing and broadening the blood vessels. When the blood vessels increase in size, your muscles get more amount of oxygen and other essential nutrients. This helps in muscle recovery. For weight training individuals, it is extremely helpful as it helps muscle recovery after an injury or overexertion. It also relaxes the tired muscles you get after heavy workouts.

Collagen has various benefits to offer to bodybuilders and people undergoing weight training. But if you are looking to entirely shift to collagen for all your protein needs, hold back. Collagen has a unique amino acid profile but misses out on one of the 9 essential amino acids. It can be taken in combination with protein supplements such as whey protein and a healthy and nutrient-rich diet.

Huge muscles are always a result of diet, exercise, and supplements combined. MuscleBlaze recommends that you should keep working out and don’t forget to eat healthy and workout along with consuming supplements like collagen.