Is it possible to gain muscle on a low carb, >50 carbs/day, diet? Let’s say that you eat well in excess of your daily maintenance to create a calorie surplus of at least 500+ additional low carb calories a day and you gain weight. Will that weight be mostly muscle?
I really enjoy low carb eating and don’t like to ever really carb up. I am about 8-10% BF, 205 lbs and 6’tall. I workout mostly performing BB style workouts. I am wondering if someone has any experience with a this or knows where this may be documented?
Its possible, but not as effective as if you were to use carbs. You can achieve a similar effect to carbs using BCAAs, specifically leucine, and glutamine can help replenish muscle glycogen stores.
You can indeed… Fats… lots of them… oils… butter… nuts… etc… If you aren’t doing something like playing hockey 3 x a week… and live a fairly sedentary life… (aside from lifting of course)… then you should be fine to gain on low carb… just make sure you get in enough calories…
Logic would tell you that with a positive energy balance and enough nutrients to support muscle growth that yes even on a low carb diet you can gain muscle.
But it gets tricky, yes glycogen replenishment is an issue, and certain glucogenic amino acids can help support this process, but I think that the issue of anabolism goes beyond simply glycogen replenishment.
If we look at how low carbohydrate diets function for the most part, and especially when an individual wants to lose bodyfat, essentially by eliminating carbs we create an environment for the use of other available fuel sources as energy. By eliminating carbohydrates from the diet, metabolism shifts from one that favours storage (due to the absence of certain hormones and alterations in the presence of certain enzymes) to one that favours energy liberation.
Carbohydrates have some pretty useful functions and for the most part do not have to be removed from the diet to see favourable alterations in fat or muscle tissue. In the past carbohydrates have been wrongly promoted and demonized equally. As many authors have discussed, quality and appropriately timed carbohydrates probably wont lead to the myriad of health problems and loss of bodycomposition as has been suggested prior.
For the majority of people, and especially when trying to get bigger, carbohydrates shouldnt be feared.
It isnt neccessarily the carbohydrates that make you fat, but the mismanagement of the carbohydrates.
[quote]Joaquin wrote:
Will that weight be mostly muscle?
[/quote]
This is dependent on your activity level. Dr. John Berardi calls it “G Flux” for a lack of a better term. The more you eat and the more energy you expend the leaner and more muscular you will be, on average.
The largest and most powerful animals in the jungle only eat meat and expend huge amounts of energy trying to obtain it. (But they also eat the mineral rich organs and nutritious fat, too.)
Humans are opportunistic eaters but our bodies favor meat for its restorative properties and fat for energy. If you are of mostly European decent eating grains is acceptable and a great way to add weight but should be kept to a minimum as these were not available year round for 99% of human evolution. Our bodies still treat carbohydrates like they are very scarce which is why they quickly turn to fat for storage.
Cycling your bulk phase with the seasons is a good way to gain muscle and cut body fat naturally. Take advantage of fresh fruits and vegetables when they are in season and put on some lean mass with additional calories from whole grains in late summer and autumn.
No you cannot gain muscle on a low carb diet.you will gain weight,but not muscle.but thats just my opinion.You need complex carbohydrates to gain muscle.Muscle growth does not occur when glycogen levels are depleted,period.Low carb lowers testosterone and insulin.Both are key elements when wanting to gain muscle.To put it simply, Without insulin,the protein will not be delivered to the muscle efficiently. With low testosterone,protein synthesis will be at a minimum.
Dave Rogerson is right;it is not the intake of carbohydrates that makes you fat,but the mismanagement of carbohydrates.
[quote]steel_12 wrote:
No you cannot gain muscle on a low carb diet.you will gain weight,but not muscle.but thats just my opinion.You need complex carbohydrates to gain muscle.Muscle growth does not occur when glycogen levels are depleted,period.[/quote]
Certain amino acids can synthesize into glycogen via the gluconeogenesis pathway.
Also, you must consider, how do carnivores gain muscle mass if they do not eat carbohydrates?
[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
Professor X wrote:
There is just too much FAIL here to even jump in and attack it.
Feel free to leave and not comment.[/quote]
Dude, spending 4 pages arguing with you about why you think people from certain continents need to eat completely differently is not how I plan to spend my day.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
Professor X wrote:
There is just too much FAIL here to even jump in and attack it.
Feel free to leave and not comment.
Dude, spending 4 pages arguing with you about why you think people from certain continents need to eat completely differently is not how I plan to spend my day.
Have a great one!!![/quote]
I am not asking you to argue with me. In fact, quite the opposite.
[quote]Dave Rogerson wrote:
Logic would tell you that with a positive energy balance and enough nutrients to support muscle growth that yes even on a low carb diet you can gain muscle.
But it gets tricky, yes glycogen replenishment is an issue, and certain glucogenic amino acids can help support this process, but I think that the issue of anabolism goes beyond simply glycogen replenishment.
If we look at how low carbohydrate diets function for the most part, and especially when an individual wants to lose bodyfat, essentially by eliminating carbs we create an environment for the use of other available fuel sources as energy. By eliminating carbohydrates from the diet, metabolism shifts from one that favours storage (due to the absence of certain hormones and alterations in the presence of certain enzymes) to one that favours energy liberation.
Carbohydrates have some pretty useful functions and for the most part do not have to be removed from the diet to see favourable alterations in fat or muscle tissue. In the past carbohydrates have been wrongly promoted and demonized equally. As many authors have discussed, quality and appropriately timed carbohydrates probably wont lead to the myriad of health problems and loss of bodycomposition as has been suggested prior.
For the majority of people, and especially when trying to get bigger, carbohydrates shouldnt be feared.
It isnt neccessarily the carbohydrates that make you fat, but the mismanagement of the carbohydrates.
[quote]steel_12 wrote:
No you cannot gain muscle on a low carb diet.you will gain weight,but not muscle.but thats just my opinion.You need complex carbohydrates to gain muscle.Muscle growth does not occur when glycogen levels are depleted,period.Low carb lowers testosterone and insulin.Both are key elements when wanting to gain muscle.To put it simply, Without insulin,the protein will not be delivered to the muscle efficiently. With low testosterone,protein synthesis will be at a minimum.
Dave Rogerson is right;it is not the intake of carbohydrates that makes you fat,but the mismanagement of carbohydrates.[/quote]
Yea this guy knows his shit from experience, look how jacked and tan he is.
I’ve done low carb timed in the morning and pwo with ~200carbs and didn’t gain at all over 2-3 months despite eating 20-23 calories per lb bodyweight. Then I started making potato wedges with cheese and evoo drizzled on top and gained 8lbs in a few weeks.
