Strategic Mass Building

Strategic Mass Building


Harness the power of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and pack on muscle, naturally.
Let’s face it; many of us are motivated to punish ourselves day in and day out in the gym in order to feel great and to pack on as much muscle as humanly possible. This ideology fuels our desire to be healthy but, unfortunately, also lures many people to try illegal and life-threatening anabolic enhancers.

Recent research, however, shows natural ways we can alter a protein hormone in our bodies called insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which is responsible for growth and development of muscle mass and many other tissues. Not only is IGF-1 critical for the average gym junkie who wants to be stronger and look better, but it is also important for aging adults, as a decrease in muscle mass is a key contributor to our loss of mobility as we age.

Muscle mass is absolutely necessary for overall balance and coordination (not to mention metabolism) so without an effective way to increase IGF-1 and therefore muscle mass, we would all be in big trouble.

What is IGF-1?

The growth of skeletal muscle is linked to specific growth factors in your blood and tissues that regulate the anabolic or growth-promoting actions of growth hormone (GH).17 IGF-1 is one of these growth factors. Very high levels have been linked to various cancers and very low levels are linked with osteoporosis, heart disease, glucose intolerance and loss of muscle mass.

The goal then is to optimize your IGF-1 levels for optimal muscle and health with certain nutritional and exercise interventions. Both IGF-1 and regulatory proteins that bind to IGF-1 are important to the anabolic process and specifically to the development and formation of skeletal muscle.1,8 The good news is that the IGF axis (the interaction between GH, IGF-1 and the binding proteins) is highly influenced by both diet and exercise, so you can alter levels of IGF-1 in your body and potentially improve your muscle mass.

The mechanisms of IGF-1

IGF-I is released into your blood primarily from the liver in response to stimulation from GH, but it is also released locally from most cells throughout the body. Research suggests that IGF-I causes muscles to hypertrophy or grow in size by stimulating local satellite cells in your muscles to become active and move to your muscle fibers and eventually increase muscle fiber size. Therefore, IGF-I has an integral part in regulating muscle growth and this is influenced by both nutritional factors and exercise.

Make the most of your IGF-1

OK, so we know that IGF-1 works to increase muscle mass, but how do we go about changing it naturally and safely? Endurance and resistance exercise have shown varied affects on IGF-1. For instance, after cycling for 16 weeks or swimming for four months researchers reported roughly a 12 percent and 76 percent increase in IGF-1, respectively.11,14 Likewise, another study2 demonstrated that immediately and six hours after resistance training IGF-1 levels were elevated by 18 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively.

In addition, IGF-1 levels have been as much as 20 percent higher following 13 weeks of resistance training.3 So, its simple… work up a sweat and you’ll increase your IGF-1 levels and gain more muscle mass, right? Not so fast.

Numerous researchers have been unable to show an increase in IGF-1 with either endurance6,15,19 or resistance5,9,12,16 training. So what’s the deal? Does exercise increase IGF-I or not? Well, yes and no. But, these studies failed to control for nutrition, which can and does alter the IGF-I levels dramatically.18

Caloric intake and protein: The secret to optimizing IGF-1

A proper nutritional intake of calories and protein are necessary for the maintenance of normal IGF-1 levels.18 During fasting and very low-calorie diets, IGF-1 levels are drastically reduced by as much as 75 percent.4,9,18 This is why people who try to get “lean” by eating too little end up losing the hard-earned muscle mass.

On the other hand, overfeeding or an increase in caloric intake results in an increase in IGF-1.18 In fact, a 21 percent increase in IGF-1 concentration was observed following 21 days of overfeeding of 1,200 to 1,600 calories a day in healthy females.7 It has also been shown that following a purposeful depletion of IGF-1 levels, only a diet with enough total calories and enough protein was able to return IGF-I levels back toward normal.10

Unfortunately, very little research has actually combined both exercise and dietary interventions to see how IGF-I responds. However, from the research that has combined diet and exercise, there seems to be a threshold for caloric intake and protein intake that must be met in order for IGF-1 to change.

In a resistance-training study, researchers found that after resistance training for three days and nutritional supplementation (1,600 additional calories a day) for seven days, IGF-1 was higher (~18.5 percent) than the placebo groups’ baseline IGF-1.13 Recently, it has been shown that it takes more than a 500-calorie-a-day deficit or surplus when combined with exercise to produce any change in IGF-1, and it is also known that adequate protein must be available for IGF-I to induce skeletal muscle growth.

Training and eating for muscle growth: Putting it all together

As shown previously, IGF-1 is altered by both diet and exercise, so both factors need to be considered when training and eating to promote muscle growth. It is essential to not only eat more but to make sure that your nutrients are coming from the proper food choices in order to stay healthy… a Big Mac diet just isn’t going to cut it!

Good choices of carbohydrates and protein will help you to achieve your mass-building goals. Of note, although not ideal for packing on muscle, those of you on a low-calorie diet can still optimize your IGF-1 levels by continuing to eat high-quality protein. This may limit the decrease in IGF-1 and the loss of muscle mass associated with low-calorie diets. Follow the tips below for to maximize your mass building potential!

• Consume roughly 1,000 extra calories per day, spread out over six balanced meals (about 165 to 200 extra calories per meal).

• Eat approximately 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.

• Try EAS Myoplex meal-replacement shakes, as the high-quality protein will prime your body for muscle growth and the extra calories will help you reach your goal of ingesting an additional 1,000 calories a day.

o Use 2 servings per day (one immediately following your workout) for an additional 560 calories and 84 grams of protein. (This gets you over half of the extra calories that you need for muscle growth!)

• Shoot for roughly 55 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent to 35 percent protein and 10 percent to 15 percent fat in your daily diet. Quality carbs, proteins and fats at each meal will help to build your overall physique.

• Both resistance and cardiovascular exercise have varied effects on IGF-1. Weight training, however, is more consistently linked with muscle growth. Therefore, continue to bust a sweat with cardio, but be sure to focus your training regimen on heavy weight training at least two to three times per week, using compound movements (squats, bench presses and deadlifts).

These tips will help you to put on anywhere from one to four pounds of muscle per week if followed properly (many variables exist that affect the exact number). By combining an increased caloric intake with physical activity you may increase your ability to pack on muscle mass (and possibly help prevent cardiovascular disease, glucose intolerance and osteoporosis) by optimizing the levels of IGF-1 in your blood and tissues.

Ultimate Mass-Gaining Supplements

Eating right and lifting heavy are important facets of gaining lean muscle mass. But don’t forget about supplementation; the proper supplement regimen can help you reach your goals faster. The EAS Gain Stack takes the guesswork out of choosing the right combination of products and offers a focused approach to putting on muscle.To get the best results from this Gain Stack, here are some recommended use guidelines:

Muscle Armor™

• Take one to two servings daily
• Supports lean muscle mass growth with Juven Technology™
• Halts muscle tissue breakdown. Clinically shown to increase overall body strength

Phosphagen™ Elite

• Take one to two servings daily, making sure to have one of the servings immediately following your workout to enhance muscular strength and power

• Enhances muscular strength and power

• Boosts work capacity and buffers lactic acid

• Creatine plus beta-alanine improves power output over creatine alone

Myoplex® Deluxe Powder

• Take two to three servings daily, making sure to have one of the servings about a half hour following your workout in order to replenish energy stores and speed recovery

• 53 grams three-stage precision-release protein complex to support lean mass gains

References