Muscle repair

Can muscle repair throughout the day or only when asleep? I've read that some hormones needed for muscle repair aren't produced when awake. I was just wondering whether anyone can verify or disprove this.

You body is constantly trying to repair any "damage" (whether an actual injury or just micro trauma from playing hard) done to it from the moment it happens. This is part of the reason that BCAA and whey isolate protein shakes are recommended immediately after working out, however, yes you're correct in that the body does repair itself more quickly or better if you will at certain times as the hormone levels fluctuate w/ the body's normal waking and sleep cycles.

I believe that human growth hormone (the non-injected variety) activates during REM sleep. Therefore, a bit of protein is good before bed. Brent is right though, you can do a lot to speed recovery during the day.

Muscle repair starts immediately after you workout. For this reason it's advisable to consume protein within an hour of your workout.Shakes provide amino acids faster than solid food. Your body does recover mostly in sleep. This is not because lipids are turned into testosterone only when you sleep. It's because your body has more energy to appropriate to recovery. Daily functions like walking and climbing consume a lot of energy. Eat good carbs e.g. oatmeal, brown rice yams etc. in the morning and protein at night and after your workout. Make sure you consume all 20 amino acids. A way to ensure this is beans and rice, or protein shakes if you aren't vegetarian. I hold a current NASM-CPT cert... for whatever thats worth.

Growth hormone levels definitely peak while sleeping. It is important not to eat any refined foods or sweets up to 2-3 hours before going to bed. Your body processing sugars interferes with the growth hormone process.

Ty Harlacker wrote: Make sure you consume all 20 amino acids.

Do you have to eat all 20? Shouldn't you only need to eat the 10 or so Essential ones and let your body make the rest?

Though, perhaps you are easing the body's workload when you provide it with the non-essentials as well, but I'm not sure that it works that way.

Ty Harlacker wrote: For this reason it's advisable to consume protein within an hour of your workout.

I believe most studies show that consuming protein alone is not that effective, but rather its combination with carbohydrate consumption is far more effective. This is because the insulin release that occurs from eating carbs increases amino acid uptake.

DFrench wrote:Do you have to eat all 20? Shouldn't you only need to eat the 10 or so Essential ones and let your body make the rest?

I guess you can think of it more like this: make sure to eat all the precursors to the non-essential aminos. But if you eat a normal diet, I really don't think you need to worry about it.

Yes, the body creates the non-essentials throughout the day. The amount in the body varies on diet and peak after you eat. The levels are not consistent throughout the day; consuming all of them at once ensures you have them all at the critical time.

Carbohydrates are vital too, they often get a bad rap in health circles, (as do fats) but they should contain the most of our caloric intake for the day(Carbs not lipids). So, yes they are all important. Your lipids should account for app 20% of your intake, otherwise your body cannot make hormones. 50-60% should be complex carbs and, 20-30% protein, again everyone is different. I use this for an approximation of peoples diets when beginning training. Your will need to adjust this to your needs.

A rough estimate for athletes is .8gm per kilo of protein per day. So, if you weigh 180lbs = 180/2.2 =81kg*.8g = 64.8 gm/day. Some estimates say upward of 1.8gm, this is not beneficial for you because the excess protein doesn't help with muscle building, it get's stored as fat or burned for energy. Plus its bad for your liver and kidneys. Protein is harder for your body to break down than carbohydrate.

Water is also crucial for optimized performance. Also, alcohol stops protein synthesis dead. So, if you intend on getting the most from training...don't drink.

Ty Harlacker wrote: Carbohydrates are vital too, they often get a bad rap in fitness circles, (as do fats)

Fixed that for you.

For some odd reason, the cross section of health and fitness circles is a small one...or maybe that's only here in the bay area?

If a person is restricting carbohydrates in her/his eating plan, protein will be used for energy and will not be available for muscle repair
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