Blog_1111x779_PreWork_02

MUSCLE MEMORY - QUICKLY REBUILD LOST MUSCLE MASS

You were in shape, regularly in the gym and were able to gain some muscle mass - but then it came: the unwanted training break. Caused by injuries, lack of time, stress, the closure of the gym or simply because the inner pig won.
Your muscles have most likely lost weight during this time, as muscle loss starts as early as 10-14 days after your last workout. Finding new motivation is difficult, because you can literally watch your hard-earned muscles continuously recede. In fact, a rather thankless affair. After all the sweat, all the time invested and all the heavy training, a medium to long break from sports is probably enough and the muscles are gone.
Until you are back to the old level, the whole training has to be rebuilt from the beginning and completed again. At least theoretically. In practice, however, it looks different! Because your body or your muscles remember the peak of your muscle mass. Here we speak of the so-called muscle memory or the "muscle memory effect"! An effect from which you benefit when you return to strength training. The muscle memory ensures that you reach your old status quo much faster than you think. So your training was not in vain!

How the muscle memory effect works

The muscle memory effect ensures that you can rebuild your once trained muscle mass faster after a training break. Basically, you have taught your body, your muscles and therefore your muscle cells in your past training sessions, which status they once had. This status is stored in the muscle cells and therefore does not need to be relearned. But how does muscle memory work? The memory effect is generally composed of 3 modes of operation that complement each other:

Cell nuclei of the musculature - Increased stocks

The cell nucleus - also called the brain of the muscle cell - permanently stores past and learned information about the performance level and also the former volume of the muscle cell.

Through regular and constant training with weights, growth stimuli are set in the muscle. The muscle is signaled that the previous strength is no longer sufficient, whereupon small tears develop in the muscle tissue: the all-familiar muscle soreness. To "repair" or "fill" these tears, the muscle cell doubles in size during the regeneration phase, which in turn leads to more volume being built up. This is called muscle growth.

RECOMMENDATION

GEN-P-B07XZKPV8J-L-Glutamine
However, if the muscle is not exercised as usual for a longer period of time, a breakdown reaction sets in. Here, the body breaks down the unused muscle by metabolizing the proteins and water from the newly gained muscle cells. As a result, the volume of the muscle cells decreases - but the cell itself remains. A decisive advantage for the re-entry! Because when training is restarted after a long break, the cell nucleus quickly remembers the volume once gained and stimulates the muscle cells. Since the doubling has taken place and the cell nuclei are already present, the rebuilding of the volume is much faster.

Neurophysiology - the learned movement sequences

This could also be called the perfect interaction between brain, spinal cord and the musculature = motor function. The human body has about 650 different muscles, which in turn are divided into different muscle groups. To understand the whole thing better, one should imagine the different movement sequences in the body as a kind of closed system. For every movement we make, there is an agonist and an antagonist. The agonist is the muscle that performs the movement. The antagonist is the opposite muscle to it, the one that supports. For example, biceps and triceps are agonist and antagonist. If we tense the triceps, it contracts and the biceps is stretched. It is exactly the same the other way around. The better the agonist and antagonist work together (= are trained), the better targeted movement sequences can be routinely executed.
The more often and intensively such movement sequences are trained - such as clean execution in the bench press - the more reflexively they can be recalled. Movement sequences are constant learning processes that can always be optimized, but never forgotten. This can be seen not only in weight training, but also in other sports, such as cycling or swimming. It takes practice to learn the necessary movements. But once learned, they are never forgotten.

Epigenetic modification of the DNA

Sport can change our genes and our genetic makeup! This sounds a bit like science fiction, but it is reality. Scientists found that even a single workout can positively influence our DNA.
Our genetic code, the DNA, was considered the origin of our way of life for a very long time. We find our genetic material stored in every cell of our body. An unchangeable building block in our body - one would think. But according to the latest findings, it is actually possible to influence, change or even "overwrite" the genetic code. This influence on DNA is achieved by changing chemical processes. More precisely, it is possible to influence so-called switch molecules. These molecules are located on the DNA and determine whether a hereditary trait is stored or not. Researchers at the Swedish Karolinska Institute proved this in a study. In the study, tiny tissue samples were taken from the muscle to be trained. The muscle was then specifically trained over a longer period of time. At the end of the study period, muscle tissue samples were again taken from the trained muscle. The result: the test subjects had succeeded in removing the so-called "blockade molecules" from the genes through targeted muscle training. This is proof that the DNA in our cells can indeed adapt to different conditions. In other words, it was proven that our genes are programmed very quickly to new situations, in this case sports, and can also store this information.

How long does muscle memory last?

The duration of how long the muscle memory effect actually lasts has not yet been clearly proven. According to studies, however, muscle memory lasts for at least 7 weeks. Many experts assume that muscle memory lasts for years, if not forever, and thus for a lifetime.

How long does it take to rebuild lost muscle mass?

Of course, the speed of building muscle mass varies from person to person. Nevertheless, you can assume that you can reach your old status quo after about 3-7 months of training.

The prerequisite is, of course, a proper diet and regular training. Booster are especially suitable for the re-entry and give you the necessary push.

RECOMMENDATION

GEN-P-B07QDVGV11-PITTLBerry

RECOMMENDATION

GEN-P-4260601191064-BCAAPurePowder

How do I start strength training after a break from training?

After your fitness abstinence, it is very important not to start training at full throttle. Even if it's hard, you shouldn't give 100% right away, but slow down a bit to get back into the swing of things. For the first 2-4 weeks, we recommend a full-body workout with a little less weight and a little more repetitions. This makes it easier for you to get started, protects your joints and minimizes the risk of injury. Your body can then get used to the movement sequences and the load more easily and ultimately also regenerate better. Ideally you support your body right from the start with good fitness supplementslike Booster, Glutamine or EAA so that the re-entry is as effective as possible.

Should I train with sore muscles?

Probably after the first training sessions you will have quite a lot of muscle soreness and ask yourself if you can train with muscle soreness. The answer is clearly: No. At least you should not train the muscles that are affected by muscle soreness. Especially after a longer break, there is a risk that the already stressed muscles will be overstimulated. This can not infrequently lead to strains when the strain is renewed. Effective muscle building always requires a regeneration phase to be observed. Even though it is commendable that you do not want to let the training slide despite muscle soreness, you should always remember that muscle soreness is an indication that your muscle is working.

However, muscle soreness does not mean that you have to take a complete break from training. Muscles that are not affected by soreness can of course be trained. For example, if your arms are sore, you can still exercise your legs.

Conclusion

Getting back into strength training takes effort. But with the Muscle Memory Effect, high-quality nutritional supplements and discipline you will not only quickly regain your old form, but even improve it!

Source

  • https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-019-01070-4
  • https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpendo.00747.2007
  • https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-37895-8
creatine@2x

CREATINE MONOHYDRATE: EFFECT AND SIDE EFFECT

Around no other dietary supplement there is so much hype and myths, as around creatine monohydrate. Creatine monohydrate (often creatine monohydrate) is probably by far the most researched and used product in the sports sector and a true bedrock among the mass of supplements that exist on the market. How it really stands around the hype of creatine, which myths are actually true, what effects and side effects you can expect when taking creatine and how much creatine you should take best, you can find out here!

Creatine monohydrate is one of the few supplements whose effect is clearly proven. Accordingly, Creatine has also been created an entry in the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority). The Creatine Health Claim reads as follows:

"Creatine enhances physical performance during high-speed strength training in the context of short-term intense physical activity. The claim may only be used for foods whose consumption ensures a daily intake of 3g of creatine. For the claim to be permitted, consumers must be informed that the beneficial effect occurs with a daily intake of 3g of creatine."

What is creatine actually?

Creatine is a substance produced naturally in the body, mainly in the liver, but also in the building salivary gland and kidneys from the amino acids arginine, glycine and methionine. The main task of creatine is to ensure the provision of energy supply.

Brief explanation to better understand the exact task of creatine: Adenosine triphosphate (=ATP) is a molecule in our body that provides energy in every cell of our body. This ATP molecule consists of a total of 3 phosphate groups (hence the name adenosine triphosphate). As soon as the body needs energy, one of the 3 phosphate groups is split off and the required energy is thus released. After the cleavage of a phosphate group, the ATP is now missing one of the 3 original phosphate groups, turning it into ADP (andenosinediphosphate). In order to now be able to restore ATP, the body needs creatine. Creatine is produced by the body itself and is in the form of creatine phosphate. Creatine phosphate is a phosphate group that can bind to ADP (andenosinediphosphate). The binding of creatine phosphate to ADP creates the desired and necessary ATP.

The human body produces 1 to 2g of creatine daily, which is normally consumed again through the daily energy supply. Creatine can also be absorbed through various foods. For example, meat and fish also contain creatine (about 5g / 1kg). Here you can quickly see why an additional supplementation with creatine is also so useful to achieve more athletic success.

The more creatine is available to the body, the greater the energy supply! However, in order to reach the creatine content, which has a significant effect, a 100kg athlete, for example, would have to eat about 2kg of meat. Why this is so and how to calculate this, will be explained in the further text.

Proven effect of creatine!

Creatine has been shown to increase performance and therefore muscle growth. A wide variety of studies and meta-analyses have shown that subjects (*1) taking creatine were able to bench press 6.85 kg more and squat 9.76 kg more than subjects taking placebo creatine alone. This increase in strength corresponded to approximately 10-15% compared to the placebo group.

In another study (*2), creatine was shown to block myostatin by approximately 17%. Myostatin is a protein in the body that is considered a catabolic regulator of skeletal muscle and is responsible for breaking down or inhibiting the buildup of muscle.

RECOMMENDATION

GEN-P-B08RRSY5XN -Creatine Ultra Caps

Some other studies (*3/*4) suggest that creatine generally has anti-catabolic properties. Catabolic = degrading / anticatabolic = preventing degradation.

But other effects have also been noted. Such as an improvement in memory performance (*5) and especially better short-term memory performance (*6) and better cognitive function and reaction time (*7) - especially in vegetarians or vegans.

Creatine in the diet - is it useful?

There is a widespread myth that creatine should not be used in a diet or during a definition phase because it "pulls" water and makes you look bloated. This is absolutely not the case! Because our muscle consists of about 75% water anyway. Creatine only fulfills the function of storing additional water in the muscles - nowhere else! 

It would also be a contradiction in terms to say that creatine should never be used in a diet, but in the same breath advise (at the end of a diet) to reduce carbohydrates and greatly increase the amount of protein. Especially advanced athletes eat at the end of their diet (depending on body weight etc.) sometimes far more than 1kg of lean meat. Which in turn also contains more than 5g creatine. 

In practice, it actually makes sense to take creatine during a diet. Because especially in the phase in which less food is consumed, the body needs sufficient energy. This energy can be provided by the increase of creatine can. By the more energy, especially in the diet, you keep your performance more upright than without creatine, which in turn allows more calories to be burned. A meta-analysis (*8) proved that creatine can even promote fat burning - however, creatine itself does not burn fat! 

RECOMMENDATION

GEN-P-B01KDYM65E-CreatineHCL

How much creatine per day is useful? The rule of thumb of creatine dosage

There are also many myths about this and everyone does it a little differently. According to some studies, the ideal value is 1g creatine per 10kg body weight. This makes perfect sense, because why should a 50kg athlete take the same amount of creatine as a 100kg athlete.

Creatine powder or creatine capsules - which is better?

In principle, it does not matter whether it is capsules or powder. The only advantage of powder is that it is usually cheaper and you can visually assess the mesh factor. The mesh factor indicates how finely the creatine has been ground.

It is assumed that creatine can be better absorbed by the body if the mesh factor is as high as possible - i.e. ground as finely as possible. 

Tip: So when you buy a creatine product, always make sure that the mesh factor is specified. This should be "Mesh 200", which is also the highest mesh factor in which you can get creatine.

RECOMMENDATION

GEN-P-B0849KTWT3-PureCreatineMono

When should you take creatine?

The exact time of creatine intake is always somewhat related to your training, at least if you want to be 100% accurate. Important info in advance: If you need more than 5g creatine, you should generally divide the intake into 2 times.

On non-training days, you should take the creatine first thing in the morning after getting up, as the body is most receptive here. If you take more than 5g creatine, you should take the 2nd portion in the late afternoon. 

On training days, according to a study (*9), the best time is directly after training. However, you don't have to go crazy here, because the better muscle build-up shown here is only marginally lower. A few minutes earlier or later do not play a decisive role in the vast majority of cases.

How long should you take creatine?

The duration of how long the muscle memory effect actually lasts has not yet been clearly proven. According to studies, however, muscle memory lasts for at least 7 weeks. Many experts assume that muscle memory lasts for years, if not forever, and thus for a lifetime.

Creatine should be used in one piece, consistently and always.

Not so long ago, it was assumed that it makes no sense to take creatine for a long time, but to use it for a short time, otherwise the effect would flatten out. Today we know that this is not true and you get the best results if you use it continuously. So-called creatine cures with loading phase and everything that goes with it, are now outdated by the latest findings.

Creatine with caffeine?

It is controversial that creatine should not be taken together with caffeine, because it blocks the effect of creatine. However, there are no 100% clear findings on this yet. There are studies that speak for it, but also some that speak against it. If you want to be on the safe side, then you take it best without caffeine.

Creatine decomposes in water to creatinine and that in a very short time?

This is only conditionally true. Yes, creatine (*10) decomposes after a longer time (only after several days) in water to creatinine and becomes ineffective. However, this time is between 24 and 48 hours. In addition, the shelf life has a positive effect if the water, or generally the liquid, is cool and has a low pH.

Creatine side effects

Probably the most common side effect(s) are always problems with the kidneys and liver when taking creatine. In a healthy person, however, this is not the case; this could be proven in a meta-analysis (*11), in which even up to 30g creatine per day were administered. 

Hair loss is also considered a more serious side effect. However, there is only one study (*12) that states that when taking 25g daily for 7 days followed by 5g for 14 days, the DHT level (dihydrotestosterone) increased. This value refers to hereditary hair loss and states that the hair loss would have come sooner or later anyway, since the increase in DHT level is in most cases hereditary. However, 12 other studies proved that taking creatine usually has no negative effect on hair.

Creatinine and kidney damage

Creatinine is a waste product of creatine. In medicine, the creatinine value is used to determine or measure whether the kidneys are still functioning normally, as the filtering capacity of the kidneys can be measured by this value. If this value is too high, it is often assumed that something is wrong with the kidneys. Unfortunately, even today many doctors are still not well informed. For people who additionally consume creatine or have an above-average musculature, it can be completely normal that the creatinine value is increased in a blood count. This is not a reason to immediately assume a kidney disease, but completely normal if these factors are given. It is also important to keep in mind that these values are "normal values" and are based on an average physique.

Sources and study credits:

(*1) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12485548/

(*2) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20026378/

(*3) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11509496/

(*4) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23392621/

(*5) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17046034/

(*6) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29704637/

(*7) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21118604/

(*8) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33467377/

(*9) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23919405/

(*10) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12916907/

(*11) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11224803/

(*12) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19741313/