I was online and I saw a really interesting study published back in 1996.
43 men who were experienced weight lifters took part in a study that involved exercise and weekly injections of testosterone enanthate for 10 weeks.
They were divided into 4 groups.
The first group performed no exercise and didn't get any steroids.
The second group performed exercise but didn't get steroids.
The third group didn't exercise but received the weekly injections
The fourth group exercised and received the injections.
As you can imagine after 10 weeks of lifting weights 3 times per week, the group that was receiving the steroid injections gained over 13 pounds of muscle.
The group who were just working out (no steroids) didn't do too bad either, packing on almost 4.5 pounds of muscle in only ten weeks.
The guys who sat around doing nothing for 10 weeks but received the steroid injections still had an increase in lean mass (almost 6 pounds), while the group who received no steroids and didn't workout did not see any change in their lean mass.
So what does a study on steroids have to do with nutrition? All four groups were on the same diet. They were all consuming about 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight and about 16 Calories per pound of body weight.
What this shows is that for a group taking steroids while exercising, 120 grams of protein per day was enough to supply the amount of protein needed to allow for a 13.5 pound gain in lean mass!
It was also the same amount of protein the the exercise only group ate to gain 4.5 pounds, and the other groups ate to see their gains, (or lack thereof).
So for the groups who saw less gains in lean mass then the steroid group, the amount of protein that they ate was not what determined how much muscle they gained. The workouts (and the steroids) did that.
Lastly, it should be noted that none of these guys took a post workout protein meal. In other words, guys on steroids put on over 13 pounds, while guys just working out put on almost 5 pounds, all without the supposed "essential" post workout meal.
Obviously, the steroids played a huge role in this muscle building effect. But the important point I want to get across to you is that the relatively normal protein intake of 120 grams per day did not hinder the steroids muscle building effects. 120 grams was enough protein to allow for gains in muscle.
In the end, protein is important, but as this study shows, 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight is enough daily protein to allow for a 13.5 pound increase in lean mass in 10 weeks. It's also enough to allow for a 4.5 pound increase in people not taking steroids, which is still very impressive muscle growth for a ten week period!
For those of us who are not 'pharmaceutically enhanced' this study helps support the idea that your workout is the most important part of your muscle building journey.
I was online and I saw a really interesting study published back in 1996.
ReplyDelete43 men who were experienced weight lifters took part in a study that involved exercise and weekly injections of testosterone enanthate for 10 weeks.
They were divided into 4 groups.
The first group performed no exercise and didn't get any steroids.
The second group performed exercise but didn't get steroids.
The third group didn't exercise but received the weekly injections
The fourth group exercised and received the injections.
As you can imagine after 10 weeks of lifting weights 3 times per week, the group that was receiving the steroid injections gained
over 13 pounds of muscle.
The group who were just working out (no steroids) didn't do too bad either, packing on almost 4.5 pounds of muscle in only ten weeks.
The guys who sat around doing nothing for 10 weeks but received the steroid injections still had an increase in lean mass (almost 6
pounds), while the group who received no steroids and didn't workout did not see any change in their lean mass.
So what does a study on steroids have to do with nutrition? All four groups were on the same diet. They were all consuming
about 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight and about 16 Calories per pound of body weight.
What this shows is that for a group taking steroids while exercising, 120 grams of protein per day was enough to supply the
amount of protein needed to allow for a 13.5 pound gain in lean mass!
It was also the same amount of protein the the exercise only group ate to gain 4.5 pounds, and the other groups ate to see their gains, (or lack thereof).
So for the groups who saw less gains in lean mass then the steroid group, the amount of protein that they ate was not what determined how much muscle they gained. The workouts (and the steroids) did that.
Lastly, it should be noted that none of these guys took a post workout protein meal. In other words, guys on steroids put on over
13 pounds, while guys just working out put on almost 5 pounds, all without the supposed "essential" post workout meal.
Obviously, the steroids played a huge role in this muscle building effect. But the important point I want to get across to you is that the relatively normal protein intake of 120 grams per day did
not hinder the steroids muscle building effects. 120 grams was enough protein to allow for gains in muscle.
In the end, protein is important, but as this study shows, 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight is enough daily protein to allow for a 13.5 pound increase in lean mass in 10 weeks. It's also enough to allow for a 4.5 pound increase in people not taking steroids, which is still very impressive muscle growth for a ten
week period!
For those of us who are not 'pharmaceutically enhanced' this study
helps support the idea that your workout is the most important part of your muscle building journey.