Muscle Protein Synthesis: How To Maximize It To Build More Muscle With Less Effort
As I conduct my tri weekly self-myofascial release while watching the NBA playoffs my mind keeps reverting to: how can I enhance muscle protein synthesis. Whether you’re familiar with protein synthesis or not you’ve had these same thoughts if you’ve contemplated ways to build more muscle or maintain what you’ve already gained. Maybe I’m obsessed or maybe I’m a glutton for efficiency.. either way what you’ll find in this column is everything muscle protein synthesis and most importantly how to maximize it.
(If you want to know more about protein synthesis on a cellular process level this video isn’t a bad start.)
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What Is Muscle Protein Synthesis
Familiar or unfamiliar it’s always the right time to push protein synthesis optimization to the front of your mental lexicon.
Muscle protein synthesis is the process where your body builds cellular proteins from amino acids to repair, grow, and increase strength potential of muscle fibers in response to physiological needs and environmental stimulation.
You complete this feat by combining several amino acids. An amino acid is a molecular part of the construct of protein.
Protein is the building block of all muscle.
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.
Protein synthesis rates spike and drop during all times of the day based on many factors including physical activity, and protein consumption.
Protein synthesis is an anabolic procedure and anabolic meaning to create a more complex structure from a simple one; grow.
Unfortunately, your body isn’t always in an anabolic state. It spends a great deal of time in a catabolic state. Catabolic is the antonym of anabolic - it’s to break down.
When your body is breaking down amino acids it’s referred to as muscle protein breakdown.
In between meals, and to a smaller degree during protein synthesis spikes your body is simply breaking down a combination of muscle protein, dietary and stored fat, carbs and glycogen at various degrees for energy.
Your job is to create an anabolic environment potent enough to exceed the negative side of the ledger catabolism creates.. in order to build more muscle.
At worst create a stalemate to maintain hard-earned muscle tissue.
If your muscle protein breakdown rates exceed that of muscle protein synthesis you have a negative protein balance. With a negative protein balance muscle begins to waste.
That’s the battle: muscle protein synthesis VS muscle protein breakdown.
Who shall be the victor of this daily war?
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Why Do We Need Muscle Protein Synthesis
This eternal battle is why protein synthesis isn’t to be ignored, taken lightly, or cast aside.
If muscle protein breakdown outduels muscle protein synthesis you lose hard-earned muscle tissue.
You know what accompanies a loss of muscle:
Slowed metabolism
Decreased strength
Higher likelihood of storing body fat
Need I say more?
Vice versa is true as well. When muscle protein synthesis makes muscle protein breakdown say uncle, hypertrophy occurs.
Strive to create a long-term anabolic environment to build muscle despite the existence of muscle protein breakdown.
All of these physiological happenings are to be considered continuously. Like the stock market.
Your shares of a company may be positive over time, but day over day there are ups and downs. Muscle protein synthesis can be positive over the haul, but times during each day there will be valleys along with the peaks.
Muscle protein breakdown is occurring throughout the day, but an example of its catabolic spike occurring is the act of weight training.
Yes, the almighty lifting of weights elicits the breakdown of muscle protein.
This instance shows how necessary muscle protein breakdown is in the big picture, within reason. It’s possible to turn weight training from advantageous to disadvantageous if done incorrectly or longer than your anabolic responses last, IE lifting for longer than 75 minutes.
So you overload your muscles with external stimulus.. more than you handle in everyday life for survival.
This stimulus causes micro-tears in your muscle tissue. That’s catabolic.
You burn through various points of your energy systems, creatine phosphate is an energy system too by the way.. that’s catabolic.
Your body uses its resources to repair muscle tissue in order for it to be better equipped to handle a similar stimulus in the future.. that’s catabolic, that’s muscle protein breakdown.
Not to mention how catabolic simply staying alive is, you’re an energy intensive organism. So you want to maximize protein synthesis because you’re up against a formidable opponent.
Optimizing protein synthesis will help you:
Save money. Protein is expensive, especially when you get in as much as you truly need on a daily basis, so maximize synthesis to make every gram counts.
Build more muscle. Maybe not all, but a lot of us love the idea and realization of added muscle tissue. Greater protein synthesis = greater potential gains.
More added strength. More muscle leads to greater strength potential, as well. Of course technique and other facets like neurological adaptation come into play, but muscle and strength do come hand in hand for the most part.
Expedited fat loss. As mentioned earlier, when you lose muscle metabolism slows. This conundrum leads to many reverse diets, but the reverse is true too. More muscle welcomes more fat loss and if you’re good with protein synthesis you’ll retain more muscle while losing weight. Additionally you’ll put on less fat while gaining weight.
Note: the more seasoned you become the less pronounced of an impact protein synthesis has and the more stimulus it takes in and out of the gym to spike muscle protein synthesis. Advanced progressive overload is your key contributor more than ever the more experience you acquire.
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How To Maximize Muscle Protein Synthesis
Now the process. Protein synthesis maximization isn’t as strenuous a process as one may think. Like just about all things it’s really not difficult on its face. The application of these principles isn’t like developing the technology for sustainable life on another planet.
It’s about being consistent. Do these steps consistently and muscle protein synthesis shall be maximized.
Remember, we’re at war.
To win each battle AKA create a neutral or positive protein balance there are two aims:
Maximize protein synthesis
&
Minimize muscle protein breakdown
Some keys to keep at the forefront of your mind in the maximization process is your protein source, the amount of protein you consume, sufficient resistance training, and when you consume protein.
Protein synthesis spikes from protein consumption and the potential for even greater spikes occur after a lift.
A couple mental notes for minimizing catabolism is adequate calorie intake and apropos exercise recovery.
But let’s elaborate. These are the steps:
Lift weights: strength training increases protein balance for 24-48 hours [1]. It’s about the activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin, or mTOR for short.
mTOR is a strong stimulant for muscle protein synthesis and is activated by anabolic hormones, strength training, and amino acid consumption, namely leucine.
With resistance training you’ll stoke the fires of a higher protein balance in the 6-12 rep range, but all lifts influence this to a degree, particularly when under 15 reps per set.
Note: cardio causes protein synthesis too, but the resultant protein breakdown is so vast it cancels out. Plus the stimulus isn’t grand enough to tickle the fancy of your large, type 2 muscle fibers to elicit hypertrophy anyhow.
Eat protein: protein consumption sparks muscle protein synthesis. Your body breaks down those supplied amino acids and uses them to do the do. A PubMed study showed a controlled group was able to build muscle in the absence of resistance training by merely consuming protein [2]. But don’t bank on going too far without lifting.
Try getting protein in every 3 hours because that’s the time frame for the average muscle protein synthesis spike.
Carbs With Protein After Lifting: you want a combo of these two after a lift, this one’s a two-parter:
Carbs. They spark an insulin release. Insulin helps push amino acids into cells, this may assist protein synthesis, so it’s worth a go. More importantly insulin helps suppress muscle protein breakdown [3]. About 30-40 grams post workout is enough to stimulate an appropriate response [6].
Protein. As mentioned before it spikes muscle protein synthesis, but there are debates on whether or not you need a serving of protein right after hitting the weights. It’s about whether or not an anabolic window exists. We’ll get into that soon.
PubMed makes a strong case for consuming protein within 2 hours of a lift [1]. The longer you wait the more this potential potency of muscle protein synthesis lowers. Munch on 20-40 grams of protein after a resistance training session [6].
Protein type: there are many sources of protein under the sun, but a point of emphasis is to consume complete proteins. If you’re vegan you’ll have to do extra to create complete proteins, since plants are incomplete protein sources.. meaning they lack some essential amino acids. In addition to consuming all of your needed amino acids throughout every given day it’s wise to shovel some whey protein isolate into a shake after weight lifting.
Whey is a fast acting complete protein with this muscle protein synthesis stimulating essential amino acid in high concentration: leucine. Leucine is the most vital amino acid in relation to protein synthesis and directing skeletal muscle to translate protein [1]. Furthermore a metabolite of leucine is the anticatabolic agent HMB.
Total protein: so there’s high benefit potential with getting your whey protein and carbs down after a workout, but whether or not that occurs what is to occur is reaching your daily protein goals. At least 0.7-0.8 grams of protein per pound you weigh is minimum. I suggest 1-1.8 grams of protein per pound to ensure you have all of the amino acids you need to retain and/or build more muscle.
Insufficient protein = insufficient muscle; eat up. Your meal frequency will probably be 4-8 meals per day.. 20-40 grams of protein is good every sitting to help reach your daily rate.
Meal timing: carbs and whey after a workout is great, take advantage. Even if it’s carbs and another protein source.. or just protein. Take advantage, but post workout isn’t the only high reward time to consume protein.
Upon wake up. In the morning you’re coming off a nightly fast. Start the muscle protein synthesis day in proactive fashion with a serving of protein. This’ll take a chunk out of your daily needs too.
Pre workout. Another protein and carbs instance. Your pre workout and post workout meals can be identical to cut out some extra thinking, but a solid serving of each creates an environment for anabolism to occur heading into a lift [1].
Before bed. As you lay yourself down to sleep you get ready to experience your best growth hormone spike. Complement it with a protein synthesis inducing protein snack before you sleep, but avoid carbs with this one since an insulin jump would ensue. Insulin blunts the growth hormone release you want during sleep.
Get your sleep: snoozing lowers stress. Stress hormones are highly catabolic. A PubMed study found that in a calorie deficit a quality sleep group retained 60% more muscle than the group lacking in the Z department [7]. Get your 6-9 hours and when needed add a nap to supplement.
Total calories: if you already get your protein in, outstanding. Pat your back as you read now.. but what about total calories?
Track your calorie intake to ensure it’s sufficient enough, otherwise your muscles are still in jeopardy of taking a loss. You need an impasse or surplus of calories usually to build muscle. The stalemate would help you retain. If you’re on a fat loss stint you can strategically drop fat while retaining and maybe adding muscle dependent on your starting point. But strategically is the key word.
Otherwise protein up or not if you’re in a calorie deficit that isn’t channeled correctly your protein will be used for other purposes within the body than simply repairing and building muscle cells. Protein can be used for energy just like carbs and dietary fat can.
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What Is An Anabolic Window
Again, to be anabolic means in a state for growth, in this case a favorable environment to build muscle. An anabolic window refers to the time period after resistance training.. In which consuming proper nutrients will magnify protein synthesis.
There has been a long lasting dispute on whether or not an anabolic window exists or even matters.
Studies for an anabolic window often pertain to fasted participants or ones that hadn’t consumed a meal within hours prior to lifting. When training in a fasted state ASAP nutrition strongly enhances results, of course.
Studies against the anabolic window state overall nutrition matters more.
I agree here, but the studies are many times on unseasoned trainees. They don’t have years of lifting experience AKA “mature” muscles.
Solution?
I recommend leaning more on the “logical” side. If you can get some protein and carbs (recall carbs tend to replenish glycogen while further assisting muscle protein balance) in right after your workout and there’s even a slim possibility it’ll embolden growth; why not?? You already tore the muscles apart, start the repairs.
There’s no downside, but on the other hand if you don’t have the chance to chow or slurp something immediately post-workout that’s fine. You didn’t waste a lift, just ensure your entire protein day is on point, since overall nutrition has a greater impact.
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My Thoughts
It’s about applying methods that are as smart or smarter than the physical work you do to build muscle. Ensure your hard work is amply augmented. Build more muscle and/or lose less muscle. That’s the goal.
At least half of all fitness enthusiasts are in it to lose fat, at least initially, so muscle retention should be high on your priority list. Follow these guidelines and try calorie and/or carb cycling to help keep muscle on your body.
Can’t emphasize enough the importance of total protein intake.
Day
After
Day.
You’re playing the long game ‘shawty’.
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So, It’s About That Time
There you have it. Follow these tips and you too can be a great synthesizer of protein. Limit muscle breakdown and maximize the building of muscle, then your protein balance will be quite favorable. Muscle protein synthesis is the creation of muscle protein from amino acids and you can influence that with the consumption of amino acids and putting those muscles to use consistently. Be Great.
Sources:
[1] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2732256
[2] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11255140
[3] frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2019.00147/full