There are many factors that influence a person’s ability to recuperate from resistance exercise, including genetics, diet, supplement intake, and drug use. So, how often can you train and recuperate to make gains in muscle mass? Although Ronnie trained legs twice a week, the research suggests that your ability to recuperate is influenced by testosterone levels.
MUSCLE RECUPERATION AND IGF-1 LEVELS
Researchers wanting to examine the anabolic factors involved in muscle recuperation took resistance-trained men and had them perform a leg routine consisting of leg presses and squats. They examined testosterone and took muscle biopsies to find out what was going on inside the muscle (i.e., IGF-1 and MGF, growth factors related to tension overload inmuscle). They were interested in the recovery process of muscle and serum hormones (testosterone and free testosterone) after intense leg exercise, and what happens in the blood and in muscle seven days after the workout.
Contrary to what most bodybuilders would think, basal testosterone and free testosterone concentrations remained unaltered after the exercise protocol. There was also no change in androgen receptor protein or mRNA expression in the thighmuscle, butmuscle IGF-1 and MGF) mRNA expressions increased compared to pre-exercise levels.
Once again, we have another study suggesting that muscle growth factors are important during tension overload, but that the plasma levels of testosterone were not influenced. These findings also indicate that muscle IGF-I and MGF responses may be related to acute regenerative processes in muscle because of exercise, and may contribute to muscular adaptation to resistance exercise.
The most interesting part of the study may make you think twice about working legs twice a week! The researchers measured subjective estimates of muscle damage, which included subjective perception of physical fitness, and found that recovery over a pre-exercise level of the present type of heavy-resistance exercise can take approximately six days. So it may take longer for the nervous system to bounce back from an intense workout, especially with large muscle groups; however, smaller muscle groups such as the arms may recuperate faster.
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Now, there are some interesting points made in the study: 1) IGF-1 and MGF increased in muscle 48 hours after exercise, which suggests that these growth factors are actively involved in the adaptation and repair process in muscle; and, 2) Muscles grow when they’re resting: In the study, the well-trained men still didn’t feel physically recuperated until six days after intense exercise, which may mean that the nervous system hadn’t fully recovered after intense exercise. Your nervous system takes a pounding from vigorous training—in fact, once you start overtraining… you’re screwed!
If you’re going to train heavy and want to keep growing and making progress, it’s necessary to have ample testosterone levels. The anabolic hormone testosterone has been found to induce increases in protein synthesis in skeletal muscle and biochemical changes in the central nervous system. Testosterone demonstrates a unique efect on muscle tissue, which may enhance recuperation.
For example, testosterone usage has been shown to create lower markers of muscle damage after intense exercise. The cell membrane-stabilizing effect of testosterone is thought to diminish the rise in serum creatine kinase (CK) flux caused by muscle damage during intense resistance exercise. Creatine kinase is often used as a marker of muscle damage after intense resistance exercise. It’s often been reported that high levels of CK are implicated in decreased force production when there’s severe muscle soreness or damage. In fact, administration of testosterone diminishes serum CK rise following exhaustive weightlifting-induced muscle damage, suggesting testosterone has a protective effect on muscle.
Researchers from Japan wanted to find out if testosterone truly accelerates muscle recuperation, as suggested by bodybuilders and weightlifters. Rats were placed on tension or muscle overload, and one group received nothing while the other group received a dose of testosterone for 10 weeks. At the end of the study, the rats’ legs were examined for changes in the cell structure after muscle overload and testosterone administration. The rats using testosterone had lower markers of muscle damage, otherwise supporting the theory that steroids enhance muscle recuperation.
Nevertheless, significantly lower levels of 3H-thymidine (a marker of muscle damage) were observed in the testosterone group. Lower thymidine uptake indicates reduced cell proliferation—that is, lower levels of muscle damage. The same trend (lower uptake of 3H-thymidine) was also seen after a single bout of exhaustive weightlifting exercise, during which testosterone-loading apparently diminished CK leakage. This suggests that testosterone minimizes CK efflux through the muscle cell membrane— possibly reflecting the stabilizing effects of testosterone on cell muscle membrane.
In conclusion, testosterone really does accelerate muscle-cell recuperation and can lead to speedier workout recovery. – FLEX
