Gaining Weight: The Scientific Basis of Increasing Skeletal Muscle Mass

1999 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Houston
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Resistance Training ◽  
Resistance Exercise ◽  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Muscle Protein Synthesis ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Anabolic Hormone

Most athletes today tend to have a larger muscle mass than their predecessors. Better training and nutrition practices are responsible for much of this difference, but whatever the mechanism, the balance between muscle protein synthesis and breakdown must be in favor of increased muscle protein. Applying new techniques for measuring whole body and muscle protein synthesis to resistance exercise has led to some interesting results. In the recovery period following resistance exercise, both muscle protein synthesis and breakdown are accelerated in the fasted state. Ingestion of carbohydrate or carbohydrate and protein during recovery further increases muscle protein synthesis, due in part to an improved anabolic hormone environment. In addition, the anabolic effect of a resistance training bout may last well beyond 48 hours. Using information obtained from research studies, better training and dietary practices can optimize the benefits from resistance training, Key words: protein synthesis, protein breakdown, anabolic hormones, nutrition, resistance training

Effect of growth hormone and resistance exercise on muscle growth in young men

1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (3) ◽  
pp. E261-E267 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. E. Yarasheski ◽  
J. A. Campbell ◽  
K. Smith ◽  
M. J. Rennie ◽  
J. O. Holloszy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Resistance Training ◽  
Resistance Exercise ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Muscle Protein Synthesis ◽  
Treated Group ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Synthesis Rate ◽  
Protein Synthesis Rate ◽  
Body Protein

The purpose of this study was to determine whether growth hormone (GH) administration enhances the muscle anabolism associated with heavy-resistance exercise. Sixteen men (21-34 yr) were assigned randomly to a resistance training plus GH group (n = 7) or to a resistance training plus placebo group (n = 9). For 12 wk, both groups trained all major muscle groups in an identical fashion while receiving 40 micrograms recombinant human GH.kg-1.day-1 or placebo. Fat-free mass (FFM) and total body water increased (P less than 0.05) in both groups but more (P less than 0.01) in the GH recipients. Whole body protein synthesis rate increased more (P less than 0.03), and whole body protein balance was greater (P = 0.01) in the GH-treated group, but quadriceps muscle protein synthesis rate, torso and limb circumferences, and muscle strength did not increase more in the GH-treated group. In the young men studied, resistance exercise with or without GH resulted in similar increments in muscle size, strength, and muscle protein synthesis, indicating that 1) the larger increase in FFM with GH treatment was probably due to an increase in lean tissue other than skeletal muscle and 2) resistance training supplemented with GH did not further enhance muscle anabolism and function.

scholarly journals The response of muscle protein synthesis following whole-body resistance exercise is greater following 40 g than 20 g of ingested whey protein

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (15) ◽  
pp. e12893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay S. Macnaughton ◽  
Sophie L. Wardle ◽  
Oliver C. Witard ◽  
Chris McGlory ◽  
D. Lee Hamilton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Resistance Exercise ◽  
Whey Protein ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Muscle Protein Synthesis ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Body Resistance

scholarly journals Resistance exercise maintains skeletal muscle protein synthesis during bed rest

1997 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 807-810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arny A. Ferrando ◽  
Kevin D. Tipton ◽  
Marcas M. Bamman ◽  
Robert R. Wolfe
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Resistance Training ◽  
Resistance Exercise ◽  
Lean Body Mass ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Muscle Protein Synthesis ◽  
Bed Rest ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Protein ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Protein Synthesis

Ferrando, Arny A., Kevin D. Tipton, Marcas M. Bamman, and Robert R. Wolfe. Resistance exercise maintains skeletal muscle protein synthesis during bed rest. J. Appl. Physiol. 82(3): 807–810, 1997.—Spaceflight results in a loss of lean body mass and muscular strength. A ground-based model for microgravity, bed rest, results in a loss of lean body mass due to a decrease in muscle protein synthesis (MPS). Resistance training is suggested as a proposed countermeasure for spaceflight-induced atrophy because it is known to increase both MPS and skeletal muscle strength. We therefore hypothesized that scheduled resistance training throughout bed rest would ameliorate the decrease in MPS. Two groups of healthy volunteers were studied during 14 days of simulated microgravity. One group adhered to strict bed rest (BR; n = 5), whereas a second group engaged in leg resistance exercise every other day throughout bed rest (BREx; n = 6). MPS was determined directly by the incorporation of infusedl-[ ring-13C6]phenylalanine into vastus lateralis protein. After 14 days of bed rest, MPS in the BREx group did not change and was significantly greater than in the BR group. Thus moderate-resistance exercise can counteract the decrease in MPS during bed rest.

scholarly journals The anabolic role of plant-based proteins in response to chronic resistance exercise

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 14-23
Author(s):  
Carina Sousa Santos ◽  
Eudes Souza Oliveira Júnior ◽  
Marcus James Lopes de Sá ◽  
Elizabethe Adriana Esteves
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Resistance Exercise ◽  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Muscle Protein Synthesis ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Dietary Adequacy ◽  
The Face

Proper maintenance of skeletal muscle mass is essential to prevent sarcopenia and ensure health and quality of life as aging progress. The two determinants of muscle protein synthesis are the increased load on skeletal muscle through resistance exercise and protein intake. For an effective result of maintaining or increasing muscle mass, it is relevant to consider the quantitative and adequate intake of protein, and the dietary source of protein since the plant-based protein has differences in comparison to animals that limit its anabolic capacity. Given the increase in vegetarianism and the elderly population, which consumes fewer food sources of animal protein, the importance of understanding how protein of plant-based protein can sustain muscle protein synthesis in the long term when associated with resistance exercise is justified, as well as the possibilities of dietary adequacy in the face of this demand.

The mechanistic and ergogenic effects of phosphatidic acid in skeletal muscle

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (12) ◽  
pp. 1233-1241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon James Shad ◽  
Benoit Smeuninx ◽  
Philip James Atherton ◽  
Leigh Breen
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Phosphatidic Acid ◽  
Resistance Exercise ◽  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Mass ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Muscle Protein Synthesis ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Protein

Skeletal muscle mass plays a vital role in locomotion, whole-body metabolic health, and is a positive predictor of longevity. It is well established the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a central regulator of skeletal muscle protein turnover. The pursuit to find novel nutrient compounds or functional food sources that possess the ability to activate mTOR and promote skeletal muscle protein accretion has been on going. Over the last decade, a key role has been proposed for the phospholipid phosphatidic acid (PA) in mTOR activation. Mechanical load-induced (i.e., resistance exercise) intramuscular PA can directly bind to and activate mTOR. In addition, PA provided exogenously in cell culture heightens mTOR activity, albeit indirectly. Thus, endogenously generated PA and exogenous provision of PA appear to act through distinct mechanisms that converge on mTOR and, potentially, may amplify muscle protein synthesis. In support of this notion, limited evidence from humans suggests that resistance exercise training combined with oral supplemental PA enhances strength gains and muscle hypertrophy. However, the precise mechanisms underpinning the augmented muscle remodelling response with supplemental PA remain elusive. In this review, we will critically examine available evidence from cell cultures and animal and human experimental models to provide an overview of the mechanisms through which endogenous and exogenous PA may act to promote muscle anabolism, and discuss the potential for PA as a therapeutic tool to maintain or restore skeletal muscle mass in the context of ageing and disease.

Resistance exercise and nutrition to counteract muscle wasting

2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 817-828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. Little ◽  
Stuart M. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Resistance Exercise ◽  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Muscle Wasting ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Muscle Protein Synthesis ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Resistance Exercise Training ◽  
Highly Effective

Loss of muscle mass is an unfavourable consequence of aging and many chronic diseases. The debilitating effects of muscle loss include declines in physical function and quality of life and increases in morbidity and mortality. Loss of muscle mass is the result of a decrease in muscle protein synthesis, an increase in muscle protein degradation, or a combination of both. Much research on muscle wasting has tended to focus on preventing muscle protein breakdown, and less attention has been paid to providing adequate stimulation to increase muscle protein synthesis. In this review, we present evidence to suggest that interventions aimed at increasing muscle protein synthesis represent the most effective countermeasure for preventing, delaying, or reversing the loss of skeletal muscle mass experienced in various muscle wasting conditions. Based on results from acute and chronic studies in humans in a wide variety of wasting conditions, we propose that resistance exercise training combined with appropriately timed protein (likely leucine-rich) ingestion represents a highly effective means to promote muscle hypertrophy, and may represent a highly effective treatment strategy to counteract the muscle wasting tassociated with aging and chronic disease.

Muscle protein metabolism in female swimmers after a combination of resistance and endurance exercise

1996 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 2034-2038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin D. Tipton ◽  
Arny A. Ferrando ◽  
Bradley D. Williams ◽  
Robert R. Wolfe
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Resistance Training ◽  
Endurance Exercise ◽  
Protein Metabolism ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Muscle Protein Synthesis ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Protein Breakdown ◽  
Body Protein ◽  
Muscle Protein Metabolism

Tipton, Kevin D., Arny A. Ferrando, Bradley D. Williams, and Robert R. Wolfe. Muscle protein metabolism in female swimmers after a combination of resistance and endurance exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 81(5): 2034–2038, 1996.—There is little known about the responses of muscle protein metabolism in women to exercise. Furthermore, the effect of adding resistance training to an endurance training regimen on net protein anabolism has not been established in either men or women. The purpose of this study was to quantify the acute effects of combined swimming and resistance training on protein metabolism in female swimmers by the direct measurement of muscle protein synthesis and whole body protein degradation. Seven collegiate female swimmers were each studied on four separate occasions with a primed constant infusion of ring-[13C6]phenylalanine (Phe) to measure the fractional synthetic rate (FSR) of the posterior deltoid and whole body protein breakdown. Measurements were made over a 5-h period at rest and after each of three randomly ordered workouts: 1) 4,600 m of intense interval swimming (SW); 2) a whole body resistance-training workout with no swimming on that day (RW); and 3) swimming and resistance training combined (SR). Whole body protein breakdown was similar for all treatments (0.75 ± 0.04, 0.69 ± 0.03, 0.69 ± 0.02, and 0.71 ± 0.04 μmol ⋅ min−1 ⋅ kg−1for rest, RW, SW, and SR, respectively). The FSR of the posterior deltoid was significantly greater ( P< 0.05) after SR (0.082 ± 0.015%/h) than at rest (0.045 ± 0.006%/h). There was no significant difference in the FSR after RW (0.048 ± 0.004%/h) or SW (0.064 ± 0.008%/h) from rest or from SR. These data indicate that the combination of swimming and resistance exercise stimulates net muscle protein synthesis above resting levels in female swimmers.

Effect of testosterone on muscle mass and muscle protein synthesis

1989 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 498-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Griggs ◽  
W. Kingston ◽  
R. F. Jozefowicz ◽  
B. E. Herr ◽  
G. Forbes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Muscle Protein Synthesis ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Synthesis Rate ◽  
Protein Synthesis Rate ◽  
Total Body Potassium ◽  
Body Protein ◽  
Total Body

We have studied the effect of a pharmacological dose of testosterone enanthate (3 mg.kg-1.wk-1 for 12 wk) on muscle mass and total-body potassium and on whole-body and muscle protein synthesis in normal male subjects. Muscle mass estimated by creatinine excretion increased in all nine subjects (20% mean increase, P less than 0.02); total body potassium mass estimated by 40K counting increased in all subjects (12% mean increase, P less than 0.0001). In four subjects, a primed continuous infusion protocol with L-[1–13C]leucine was used to determine whole-body leucine flux and oxidation. Whole-body protein synthesis was estimated from nonoxidative flux. Muscle protein synthesis rate was determined by measuring [13C]leucine incorporation into muscle samples obtained by needle biopsy. Testosterone increased muscle protein synthesis in all subjects (27% mean increase, P less than 0.05). Leucine oxidation decreased slightly (17% mean decrease, P less than 0.01), but whole-body protein synthesis did not change significantly. Muscle morphometry showed no significant increase in muscle fiber diameter. These studies suggest that testosterone increases muscle mass by increasing muscle protein synthesis.

Insulin facilitation of muscle protein synthesis following resistance exercise in hindlimb-suspended rats is independent of a rapamycin-sensitive pathway

2004 ◽  
Vol 287 (6) ◽  
pp. E1070-E1075 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Fluckey ◽  
Esther E. Dupont-Versteegden ◽  
Micheal Knox ◽  
Dana Gaddy ◽  
Per A. Tesch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Resistance Exercise ◽  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Muscle Protein Synthesis ◽  
Mammalian Target Of Rapamycin ◽  
Exercise Bout ◽  
Hindlimb Suspension ◽  
Sprague Dawley

Hindlimb suspension (HS) results in rapid losses of muscle mass, which may in part be explained by attenuated rates of protein synthesis. Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) regulates protein synthesis and has been implicated as a potential mediator of the muscle mass decrement with HS. This study examined the effect of resistance exercise, a muscle hypertrophy stimulant, on rates of protein synthesis after 4 days of HS in mature male Sprague-Dawley rats. Flywheel resistance exercise (2 sets × 25 repetitions) was conducted on days 2 and 4 of HS (HSRE). Sixteen hours after the last exercise bout, soleus muscles were assessed for in vitro rates of protein synthesis, with and without insulin (signaling agonist) and/or rapamycin (mTOR inhibitor). Results demonstrated that soleus mass was reduced ( P < 0.05) with HS, but this loss of mass was not observed ( P > 0.05) with HSRE. Muscle protein synthesis was diminished ( P < 0.05) with HS, with or without insulin. HSRE also had reduced rates of synthesis without insulin; however, insulin administration yielded higher ( P < 0.05) rates in HSRE compared with HS or control. Rapamycin diminished protein synthesis in all groups ( P < 0.05), but insulin rescued synthesis rates in HS and HSRE to levels similar to insulin alone for each group, suggesting that alternate signaling pathways develop to increase protein synthesis with HS. These results demonstrate that the capacity for an augmented anabolic response to resistance exercise is maintained after 4 days of HS and is independent of a rapamycin-sensitive pathway.

Effect of prednisone on protein metabolism in Duchenne dystrophy

1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (1) ◽  
pp. E67-E74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Rifai ◽  
S. Welle ◽  
R. T. Moxley ◽  
M. Lorenson ◽  
R. C. Griggs
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Protein Metabolism ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Muscle Protein Synthesis ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Duchenne Dystrophy ◽  
Body Protein ◽  
Creatinine Excretion ◽  
Muscle Testing

Prednisone improves strength in Duchenne dystrophy and changes the natural history of the disease. We studied the in vivo effects of prednisone (0.75 mg.kg-1.day-1) on muscle and whole body protein metabolism in six patients with Duchenne dystrophy and three patients with Becker dystrophy. Patients were admitted to the Clinical Research Center for study and consumed a constant flesh-free diet. Strength was measured by manual and quantitative muscle testing. Fractional muscle protein breakdown was estimated by the ratio of 3-methylhistidine to creatinine excretion determined in three consecutive 24-h urine collections. Whole body protein kinetics were studied in the postabsorptive state using a primed continuous infusion of L-[1-13C]leucine. Fractional muscle protein synthesis was determined from tracer incorporation into noncollagen muscle protein obtained by needle biopsy. After 6-8 wk of prednisone treatment, average muscle strength increased by 15% (P < 0.04), and 24-h creatinine excretion (an index of muscle mass) increased by 21% (P = 0.002). 3-Methylhistidine excretion decreased by 10%, but the change was not statistically significant. The ratio of 3-methylhistidine to creatinine excretion decreased by 26% (P < 0.04). Fractional muscle protein synthesis and whole body protein synthesis and breakdown did not change significantly. We conclude that the beneficial effect of prednisone on strength in Duchenne dystrophy appears to be associated with an increase in muscle mass, which may be mediated by inhibition of muscle proteolysis rather than stimulation of muscle protein synthesis.

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