drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
I recommend a higher training frequency, both in the form of more weekly workouts as well as hitting each muscle (directly or indirectly) frequently during the week. That's best for both “enhanced" and natural lifters, but it's even more important for naturals. While steroid users can still get significant gains from hitting each muscle once per week, naturals need to stimulate each muscle at least twice a week, and ideally 3 or even 4 to get significant growth past the beginner stage.
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The key to building muscle is triggering protein synthesis, the process in which your body uses amino acids to build tissue. If you want more muscle, then protein synthesis has to be elevated to a higher degree and has to stay elevated longer. After a workout, protein synthesis remains elevated in the trained muscles for around 24 hours – slightly more or less depending on the workout. By training each muscle only once a week, you aren't keeping protein synthesis elevated for long in each muscle. Not only that, if you're training each muscle only once a week, you might actually lose the positive adaptation by not stimulating it soon enough. This is called "involution." The body doesn't want to carry extra muscle that's not useful. So by waiting too long before hitting a muscle hard again you might slowly lose some gains. Not all, but it can certainly diminish your rate of progress. A natural lifter needs the workouts since they're the only significant protein synthesis trigger he has. Eating also increases protein synthesis, but to a much lesser degree.
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Steroid Users and Protein Synthesis: Users are artificially increasing protein synthesis. The steroids keep protein synthesis elevated around the clock. Their workouts increase protein synthesis to an even higher degree, but hitting each muscle more often isn't needed because the overall rate of synthesis will stay elevated all the time. Enhanced lifters will also make more gains with higher frequency training, but it's not as necessary for them.
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The key to building muscle is triggering protein synthesis, the process in which your body uses amino acids to build tissue. If you want more muscle, then protein synthesis has to be elevated to a higher degree and has to stay elevated longer. After a workout, protein synthesis remains elevated in the trained muscles for around 24 hours – slightly more or less depending on the workout. By training each muscle only once a week, you aren't keeping protein synthesis elevated for long in each muscle. Not only that, if you're training each muscle only once a week, you might actually lose the positive adaptation by not stimulating it soon enough. This is called "involution." The body doesn't want to carry extra muscle that's not useful. So by waiting too long before hitting a muscle hard again you might slowly lose some gains. Not all, but it can certainly diminish your rate of progress. A natural lifter needs the workouts since they're the only significant protein synthesis trigger he has. Eating also increases protein synthesis, but to a much lesser degree.
•
Steroid Users and Protein Synthesis: Users are artificially increasing protein synthesis. The steroids keep protein synthesis elevated around the clock. Their workouts increase protein synthesis to an even higher degree, but hitting each muscle more often isn't needed because the overall rate of synthesis will stay elevated all the time. Enhanced lifters will also make more gains with higher frequency training, but it's not as necessary for them.
