Find out why you just need to include running in your training program during the muscle building phase? We reveal the secrets of anabolism. If we consider the concept of "steroids" on a large scale, then it can be any means that can enhance the anabolic background in the body. These include various medicinal synthetic or herbal preparations, sports nutrition, etc. But physiological stimulants of anabolism are of particular interest, since they do not have side effects.
Surely you know about some of them, here is a list of them:
- Exposure to high and low temperatures on the body.
- Run.
- Short-term fasting, the duration of which does not exceed a day.
- Hypoxic breathing training.
- Strictly dosed exposure.
Perhaps only running of all these techniques causes the most controversial opinions among bodybuilders. Someone is sure that running only destroys muscle mass, but there are many supporters of the use of running sessions in training programs. However, even running proponents cannot find common ground in terms of intensity in terms of maximum performance for a bodybuilder.
If we turn to the history of sports, then it is also impossible to find a definite answer. There are many well-known strength athletes who identify themselves as both supporters and opponents of running. Only Yuri Vlasov managed to clearly prove the effectiveness of running for strength training. He became the first weightlifter in the USSR to actively use long runs in his training program.
It is believed that with properly organized training and nutrition, a bodybuilder, on average, is able to gain about three and a half kilograms of mass. However, there is evidence that even without using a sports food, athletes managed to gain about 20 kilos for 12 months. However, in fairness, we note that all these athletes trained after a long pause.
However, there is one more fact that unites them all - they were previously engaged in athletics. Let's now consider running as a natural steroid in bodybuilding.
The effect of running on the physiology and biochemistry of the body
Bioenergy
You should be aware that it is energy that is often the main limitation of muscle growth. It is also known for certain that energy is produced by mitochondria. These organelles practically do not participate in the synthesis of proteins, but rather actively produce energy. Muscle fibers will not begin to grow until mitochondrial hypertrophy is achieved. It is the increase in the size and number of these organelles that is the first result of strength training. This helps to increase the energy capacity of the body, and only then the growth of muscle tissue cells is activated. Thus, the impact on the muscles of strength training can be divided into several stages:
- Exercise leads to depletion of energy reserves.
- Energy deficiency causes the body to synthesize neurotransmitters, which in turn trigger the process of protein synthesis.
- An increase in the rate of protein production causes the growth of mitochondria and increases their number.
- After increasing the energy potential of the body, the mechanisms for the growth of muscle fibers are triggered.
It is mitochondrial hypertrophy that is the harbinger of muscle growth. It is important to note here that running is the best way to accelerate mitochondrial hypertrophy. If you look at the lean bodies of runners, you can understand that their body is able to use all available energy sources as efficiently as possible, including fats. At the same time, their muscles contain a large number of mitochondria.
If now we imagine that a runner begins to engage in bodybuilding, then it becomes obvious that he has the most powerful energy potential for muscle growth. He no longer requires mitochondrial hypertrophy, since these organelles are already present in sufficient quantities in tissues.
Endocrine system
Under the influence of strength training, the body begins to actively produce catabolic hormones. As a result, all fats are broken down to glycerol and fatty acids, protein compounds to amines, and glycogen to glucose. This is done so that the body does not experience an energy deficit.
Anabolic hormones are also produced that prevent the strong breakdown of protein compounds. However, glycogen and fats continue to be broken down, and glycerol, along with fatty acids, begins to participate in energy metabolism.
After the completion of the training, the situation reverses and the production of catabolics decreases, while the concentration of anabolic hormones remains high. If at this moment the concentration of somatotropin is high, then insulin accelerates the synthesis of protein compounds. Otherwise, the formation of adipose tissue is accelerated.
The maximum changes in hormonal levels are observed during jogging, as a serious energy deficit is created. We also note that under the influence of physical activity, powerful changes in the work of the hormonal system are observed only at the beginning of the lesson. Then the body does not increase the amount of hormones, but increases the release of intracellular hormonal mediators.
Under the influence of any physical exertion, the adrenal glands gradually hypertrophy, which leads to a more powerful synthesis of catabolic hormones. But in runners, this organ is not hypertrophied to the same extent as in security officials. Elimination of the energy deficit in their bodies occurs due to an increase in the sensitivity of cellular structures to adrenaline and glucorticoid hormones. For this reason, the catabolic background in runners is not so high and in the post-exercise period the anabolic background rises faster.
Nervous system
Nerve signals propagate very quickly only along the nerve processes. Their transfer between cells can be quite long, since special substances are used for this - neurotransmitters, or more precisely catecholamines. Any physical activity activates the nerve cells responsible for the synthesis of catecholamines. But in this respect, running is superior to any other type of load.
With regular jogging, the nervous system hypertrophies, and the transfer of information between cells is much faster. Thus, based on all of the above, we can state the fact that running does not contribute to the recruitment or destruction of muscle mass. It only creates the prerequisites for increasing the effectiveness of strength training. Today, more and more strength athletes are starting to use running in their training programs.
You will learn more informative information about running in bodybuilding from this video:
