KNIFE, FORK, MUSCLE_ Book I_ DI - Brooks D. Kubik (1)

Q. Why is protein important for strength training and muscle building?
A. Your muscles may appear to be solid masses of tissue, but they actually are
made up of enormous numbers of tiny, rope-like fibers, all connected to one
another. When you train hard and heavy, you literally destroy your muscle
fibers. You tear them apart. Not all of them, of course, but many of them. The
harder, heavier and more demanding your workout, the more fibers you
destroy. That’s why your body goes into an almost panic-stricken “Feed me!”
mode after a hard workout. This happens to everyone, including the strongest
and best conditioned of trainees. In fact, the stronger and better conditioned
you are, the harder and heavier you can train, and thus, the more muscle fiber
damage you can inflict in any given workout.
Picture the effect of 5 reps in the squat with 100 pounds on your back. For a
beginner, it might tear down a significant number of muscle fibers. But the
damage done by 5 reps with 100 pounds (even if it’s a maximum effort for
our hypothetical rookie) does not begin to approach the fiber breakdown
experienced by an advanced trainee who works up to 5 reps with 400 pounds
in the squat. The degree of effort that a strong and determined trainee pours
into a workout is literally unimaginable to people who have not experienced
or witnessed it. And if you train hard and heavy, you know exactly what I’m
talking about.
Now consider what needs to happen to rebuild the muscle fibers torn down by
strenuous exercise. They need to be rebuilt. Pieced back together. Reattached.
Repaired. The cellular “glue” that holds them together needs to be
regenerated and reapplied in liberal amounts. How does that happen?
It happens like this. Amino acids are the building blocks of your body. When
you consume protein foods after a hard workout, you provide your body with
the material it needs to repair the muscle fiber damage that you inflicted
during your training session.
And if you’re hoping for muscular growth above and beyond muscle fiber
repair, you need even more protein for muscle growth. Without it, all of your
hard work will be wasted. In fact, it will be worse than wasted. If you train
hard and heavy and you fail to supply your body with the protein it needs to
rebuild the muscle fibers you’ve torn down in your workout, you’ll actually
start to go backwards. Instead of getting bigger and stronger, you’ll start to
grow smaller and weaker. You’ll also open the door to all sorts of nagging
sicknesses and health problems: colds, flu, headaches, muscle aches, fatigue,