Do you want to boost muscle mass and strength? If so then you should consider muscle-building amino acids. The average muscle mass you can add in one month is 1 or 2 pounds. That might sound like much but it’s quite normal since it’s tougher to gain muscle than lose fat. It’s tougher to do both at the same time but that’s another story. Amino acids are important for building lean muscle mass since they’re the building blocks of protein. Without aminos, there would be no peptides, and thus no protein. If you want muscle/strength gains then you’ll have to boost your protein intake. However, it’s not as simple as that. You’ll also have to make sure you get enough of all 20 amino acids.
The process is tougher than it might seem. The body makes 11 “non-essential” amino acids. These are named as such because we don’t have to get them from food. That’s the case with essential amino acids, which we must get from foods, beverages, or supplements. So besides getting enough EAAs you also have to boost the intake of NEAAs in certain cases. That will help you achieve your fitness goals.
How Are Muscles Built?
It’s a very complex process. If you want to boost strength and muscle mass then you’ll have to take the right steps. One of the main ways to build muscles is to hit the gym. This is critical because you’ll want to push your muscles to the limit without going overboard.
When this happens it causes tiny tears in the muscle tissue. This might sound like a bad thing but it’s important. You’ll usually feel sore within one day of your tough workout. This means that there are tiny tears in the muscle tissues that need repairing.
You can repair the muscles by resting, eating/drinking certain items, and reducing stress levels. These types of steps can help to speed up the healing process. After you start getting sore muscles after a workout the healing process takes up to 3 days. Afterward, you can hit the gym, track, or mountain again.
It’s important to speed up the muscle recovery process if you want to maximize gains. That’s because the sooner you recover the sooner you can get back to your workout routine. This is a plus in terms of strength/muscle gains.
Another key factor for building muscle and increasing strength is diet. You need to get enough of all 20 aminos. In many cases, weightlifters/bodybuilders focus on branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). The problem with this approach is it’s just one-third of all EAAs.
Besides EAAs you can’t forget about NEAAs. Just because your body produces them doesn’t mean it’s making enough. Factors like normal aging, health conditions, and a bad diet can reduce how much your body is manufacturing.
In some cases, you’ll have to boost your NEAA levels through food or supplements. This will provide all the protein you need for building muscle. Other factors like carbs/fat and water also count.
What Are Muscle-Building Amino Acids?
Amino acids are closely related to building muscle. That’s because they can provide several benefits.
Muscle building and repairing
There’s the muscle building/repairing itself, which is critical for adding lean muscle mass. This is important because it’s directly related to achieving gains in muscles/strength. BCAAs are especially important but all aminos are important in the process.
Endurance
Studies show that some amino acids help boost endurance. This seems to be especially helpful when you need quick spurts of energy like needed by sprinters. However, it could certainly benefit weightlifters also for 1-rep max (1RM), for example. This will also help when you do cardio.
Fatigue
Muscle-building amino acids can help to delay fatigue, which can increase the length of your workouts. This is critical because you’ll get tired later and thus be able to do longer workouts. This can help you achieve your muscle/strength gains, which is critical.
If you’re not getting tired during workouts then something isn’t right. However, by making sure your brain’s signal-sending neurotransmitters are the fuel you can delay this process, which results in longer workouts.
Mood
This might seem to be directly related to workouts but it is. It’s important to have a laser-sharp focus when you hit the gym and staying motivated is also helpful. Certain amino acids are linked to neurotransmitters that are “feel-good” hormones. This can help you stay motivated during your workouts.
Soreness
This is related to recovery but is directly related to muscles. This explains why chocolate milk is a better post-workout drink than water. It includes protein and antioxidants that can help your muscles heal faster. This allows you to get back into the gym sooner so you can keep working on your gains.
Sore muscles are a part of doing workouts. However, the key is to heal up faster so you won’t have to wait 3 days for a full recovery.
Tips for Faster Muscle Gains
1. Get in enough cardio
Make sure not to overlook cardio as part of your workout routine. This should include both low and high-intensity cardio. There are benefits provided by both. On one hand, you won’t get great results by strolling on a treadmill all day. However. Slow and steady cardio can provide some benefits as well as high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Do some of both!
2. Weight Lift
There’s some debate about whether you should go low weight/high reps or high weight/low reps. if you want to get the best results, you should probably do some of both. Your one-rep max isn’t a sign of real sign of overall strength but you should still consider it.
Meanwhile, you shouldn’t overlook doing more reps/sets of lower weights. Make sure to use good form and a full range of motion for the best results. The gains will happen when you get in those extra reps after you reach failure.
3. Drink more water
It’s recommended you drink 3 liters of water per day. The “8 glasses” only works out to about 2 liters, which isn’t enough for best results. Consider that water makes up most of the body so things must work properly, including the muscles.
You should also hydrate during and after your workouts. This will keep you hydrated and avoid possible health issues caused by dehydration.
4. Get enough sleep
Make sure you’re getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. This is critical to make sure you’re allowing your body to recover process at night. This is one of the main steps for muscle gains that many people miss.
A gym workout might only be an hour or two. Even if you get in a great workout it won’t mean much if your body doesn’t recover properly. Make sure you get 7+ hours of sleep and learn about muscle-building amino acids.