What’s the absolute best formula for gaining mass and/or strength? (these are two different things actually, especially in women who just can’t gain the mass that men do). There’s a ton of marketing hype out there combined with incorrectly information in magazine articles about how to gain muscle mass. And, even if we find something that works, my clients want to know the secret. They want to know about the next best legal, safe supplement that is going to make them huge. And, they’ll drop something that works in favor of the newest hot supplement, kind of like how men seemingly forget their girlfriend’s name when they see pictures of Megan Fox.
At the 6th Annual ISSN (www.theissn.org) conference in New Orleans last month, Colin Wilborn of the UMHB (www.umhb.edu) gave an awesome presentation about gaining muscle.
Dr. Wilborn (on the left in this picture and with his colleague Dr. Lem Taylor) emphasized the role of protein – and how we need more than the RDA (0.8 g/kg bodyweight; oh and the elderly definitely need more than this) and approximately 1.2 – 2.0 grams/kg body weight.
Dr. Wilborn also covered supplements and at the top of this list – creatine. Yes, there are a ton of supplements out there but why ditch what we know works and is safe (and does not cause dehydration or cramping as previous anecdotal reports claimed) for stuff that just isn’t as effective? Stick with creatine monohydrate at 3-5 grams per day. You don’t need to load and you may over saturate your stores and therefore waste some creatine doing this.
The next best supplement? Protein powder, if you consider that a supplement. Personally, I consider it a functional food. Whey protein (which has the highest amount of essential amino acids – which we need to build muscle) should be consumed immediately post workout. Sure you could eat a protein rich meal and see how this strategy works out for you ) but, you need to eat within 1/2 hour. I’m not opposed to food by any means but I am in favor of convenience and it takes time to get in your car, get home from the gym then fix a meal.
After protein, eating enough total calories (and eating at the right time pre-, during and post-workout) and creatine, EAAs and BCAAs play a role and beta alanine shows some promise. For more information (and so I can go out and play versus writing a book here), check out Dr. W’s presentation:
http://www.sportsnutritionsociety.org/events_conference_june.html