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CrimsonKing
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Credit to Christian Finn for this artilce -
http://thefactsaboutfitness.com/
----------------------------------
1. RESEARCH UPDATE: Gaining Weight
----------------------------------
"The truth about how to gain weight..."
With the mass of conflicting opinions, weight gain supplements,
and "secret" Bulgarian training programs, it's no wonder many
people are confused about how to gain weight.
Unfortunately, when you're trying to figure out how to gain
weight, it's easy to ignore the most important limiting
factor — your genetics. Specifically, scientists have isolated
one particular gene that, through a protein called myostatin,
actually slows your rate of muscle growth.
Not only does myostatin affect how fast you gain weight, studies
on mice show that it can also slow the gain in fat that normally
occurs as you get older.
Myostatin is expressed in developing and mature muscle tissue.
A specific gene encodes for the transcription of the myostatin
protein, which is a "negative regulator" of muscle growth. In
simple terms, if you want to gain weight in the form of muscle,
the less myostatin the better.
Much of the early research on myostatin has been conducted in
animals. In mice where myostatin has been "knocked out",
individual muscles weigh twice as much as those of normal mice.
This increase in muscle size seems to be a combination of muscle
fiber hyperplasia (an increase in the number of muscle
fibers) and hypertrophy (an increase in the size of those
fibers).
More interesting still, researchers from the University of
Maryland have shown that myostatin affects muscle growth in
women too. The study tracked a group of men and women taking
part in a weight training program for nine weeks. Muscle growth
in the quadriceps (the set of muscles in the front of your
thigh) was measured at the end of the study.
Analyzing the results, the research team found that myostatin
genotype didn't appear to be responsible for the different rates
of muscle growth between men and women (the increase in muscle
volume in the thigh was twice as great in the men). However,
when only the women were analyzed, muscle growth in those with
the less common myostatin genotype was almost 70% greater.
Variations in myostatin genotype could explain why some people
gain weight in the form of muscle far more quickly than others.
Muscle fibers in elite bodybuilders, for example, are often no
bigger than someone who has never picked up a barbell in their
life. Their muscles are larger because they contain a greater
number of small to average sized fibers.
Hyperplasia (remember, hyperplasia describes an increase in the
number, rather than the size of muscle fibers) may be more
likely to occur in bodybuilders with a less common myostatin
genotype. This could be one of the reasons — apart from drugs —
they gain weight so quickly. Of course, we'll need more studies
with larger numbers in each genotype group to figure out whether
this is true. However, these results do show that genetic
variations between individuals do have a big influence on
muscle growth.
The bottom line is that many of the "extreme" physiques you see
in the magazines are far more likely to be the result of
favorable genetics than the particular training program or food
supplement they claim to be using.
Reference
Ivey, F.M., Roth, S.M., Ferrell, R.E., Tracy, B.L., Lemmer,
J.T., Hurlbut, D.E., Martel, G.F., Siegel, E.L., Fozard, J.L.,
Jeffrey Metter, E., Fleg, J.L., & Hurley, B.F. (2000). Effects
of age, gender, and myostatin genotype on the hypertrophic
response to heavy resistance strength training. Journals of
Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences,
55, M641-M648
Credit to Christian Finn for this artilce -
http://thefactsaboutfitness.com/
----------------------------------
1. RESEARCH UPDATE: Gaining Weight
----------------------------------
"The truth about how to gain weight..."
With the mass of conflicting opinions, weight gain supplements,
and "secret" Bulgarian training programs, it's no wonder many
people are confused about how to gain weight.
Unfortunately, when you're trying to figure out how to gain
weight, it's easy to ignore the most important limiting
factor — your genetics. Specifically, scientists have isolated
one particular gene that, through a protein called myostatin,
actually slows your rate of muscle growth.
Not only does myostatin affect how fast you gain weight, studies
on mice show that it can also slow the gain in fat that normally
occurs as you get older.
Myostatin is expressed in developing and mature muscle tissue.
A specific gene encodes for the transcription of the myostatin
protein, which is a "negative regulator" of muscle growth. In
simple terms, if you want to gain weight in the form of muscle,
the less myostatin the better.
Much of the early research on myostatin has been conducted in
animals. In mice where myostatin has been "knocked out",
individual muscles weigh twice as much as those of normal mice.
This increase in muscle size seems to be a combination of muscle
fiber hyperplasia (an increase in the number of muscle
fibers) and hypertrophy (an increase in the size of those
fibers).
More interesting still, researchers from the University of
Maryland have shown that myostatin affects muscle growth in
women too. The study tracked a group of men and women taking
part in a weight training program for nine weeks. Muscle growth
in the quadriceps (the set of muscles in the front of your
thigh) was measured at the end of the study.
Analyzing the results, the research team found that myostatin
genotype didn't appear to be responsible for the different rates
of muscle growth between men and women (the increase in muscle
volume in the thigh was twice as great in the men). However,
when only the women were analyzed, muscle growth in those with
the less common myostatin genotype was almost 70% greater.
Variations in myostatin genotype could explain why some people
gain weight in the form of muscle far more quickly than others.
Muscle fibers in elite bodybuilders, for example, are often no
bigger than someone who has never picked up a barbell in their
life. Their muscles are larger because they contain a greater
number of small to average sized fibers.
Hyperplasia (remember, hyperplasia describes an increase in the
number, rather than the size of muscle fibers) may be more
likely to occur in bodybuilders with a less common myostatin
genotype. This could be one of the reasons — apart from drugs —
they gain weight so quickly. Of course, we'll need more studies
with larger numbers in each genotype group to figure out whether
this is true. However, these results do show that genetic
variations between individuals do have a big influence on
muscle growth.
The bottom line is that many of the "extreme" physiques you see
in the magazines are far more likely to be the result of
favorable genetics than the particular training program or food
supplement they claim to be using.
Reference
Ivey, F.M., Roth, S.M., Ferrell, R.E., Tracy, B.L., Lemmer,
J.T., Hurlbut, D.E., Martel, G.F., Siegel, E.L., Fozard, J.L.,
Jeffrey Metter, E., Fleg, J.L., & Hurley, B.F. (2000). Effects
of age, gender, and myostatin genotype on the hypertrophic
response to heavy resistance strength training. Journals of
Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences,
55, M641-M648
