George - BODYBUILDING: Ultimate Guide To Getting Ripped In As Little As 30 Days

People who are interested in working out often ask this question -- is it possible to gain muscle strength without loading on the fat? Recent studies have shown that it is possible, but far from easy.

One study brought important new evidence around this seemingly unreachable goal. The study involved 40 youths who suffered through four weeks of grueling exercise while at the same time reducing the energy available to them by 40 percent. These young men were not in the best shape; the goal was to drop some of their weight while preserving their muscle and improving their strength. All the subjects were given a low-calorie diet, then divided into two groups. One group received a higher allowance of protein than the other. At the end of the study, the high protein group showed significant muscle increase, while the lower protein group showed no muscle gain; however, they did not lose any muscle. The high protein group also lost more weight than the other group.

What actually happened here? To understand what went on, lets look at the biology behind the process. Its known that the body breaks down muscle tissue when we diet, but why? If we reduce our intake of calories, our energy is reduced correspondingly. Somehow, the body must compensate for this loss. To do so, it turns to the fats we carry along with the proteins in our muscles, to synthesize sugars to create energy. It follows, then, that if there is enough protein in the blood, the body will not have to fetch it from the muscle tissue. The best way to ensure this process is clear: eat plenty of protein! By plenty, strive to get 1-1/2 grams for each pound of body weight per day.

Heres something else important: homeostasis. Homeostasis means the particular tendency of the body to stay where it is. The body resists change like losing or gaining weight and it has its own apparatus set up to block incoming change. By this means it maintains steady levels of temperature and other conditions such as sugar, salt, fat, protein, calcium and oxygen in the blood. Similar systems dynamically maintain the steady state conditions in the environment of the earth.

The human body uses several different processes to control its temperature to a steady norm of 98.6 F. If the body overheats, sweating occurs, making moisture on the skin ready to evaporate. Here again, balance operates. If an athlete is sweating heavily, that is a signal to slow down and cool off.

We see then, that the state your body is in is of critical importance. At any given time, your body is in either an anabolic or a catabolic state.

Anabolic is a state wherein complex structures are built from simpler structures. Catabolic means just the opposite: reducing complex structures to simpler ones. What this means is that with only a few exceptions, it will be very difficult for most people to gain muscle without larding on the fat.

What were talking about here is your metabolism: a set of systems within the human body that allows for the interchange of energy and matter with the environment.

As human beings, we rely on our metabolism to grow and function in everyday life. Some abiotic (without life) systems form externally, like iron rust. We grow internally through metabolism to maintain our structure and our organized molecules in a more-or-less stable state. Our metabolism comprises two types of dependent phases: one phase where the energy is expended and one in which the energy is assumed.

Catabolism is the phase where complex organic compounds are disintegrated to release energy; anabolism is the stage where complex organic compounds are formed from simpler compounds to store energy. In catabolism, cells absorb molecules of, for example, glucose from its environment and disintegrates it to release energy. As soon as this energy is released, it is taken up by the specialized molecule ATP. If the energy stored by the action of ATP is employed to create more complex compounds, the process is called anabolism.

In general, materials taken up during the catabolic phase will be used in the phase called anabolic.

Carbohydrates contribute the main source of energy we receive. Secondary are lipids, resorted to when carbs are depleted, or independently when called upon. The ultimate in organic compounds are those in protein -- the first resort when forming structures or regulating processes.