Thread: Biology and bodybuilding

Is there any insights or information that could be valuable advice to a bodybuilder; comming from a biologist instead of a nutrition or exercise expert?

Just wondering if someone here that has great knowledge of biology, might help me provide any tips and info that only a biologist could give/would know.

Especially interested in the use of creatine as a training supplement. People go from calling it a scam to one of the most effective supplements. Could someone give me a more technical explanation of how creatine works for example and provide some arguments for and against it?

Creatine is safe to use, and has barely any side effects when used in normal dosages, with as only danger not to use it when you have renal failure.

In muscles, especially in FT-glycolytic fibers, the creatine stores the energy used for the movement. Mainly consisting in skeletal muscles. It is suggested to be a source of high energy phosphate groups that has the ability to rapidly restore ATP depletion in the cells. Thus muscles become more efficient.

In trials, increased doses of creatine can increase total work done, in the early exercise. The percentage of this is set in maximum 8% improvement on the work done at first. After a while they muscles become "normal". Also the peak force, or the torque, will not increase.

What would be against it? You would not be able to handle the drop in performance of your muscles in a long exercise, or match. And also that i believe the supplements to be expensive, and not that effective.

- Greenhaff, P.L. Creatine and its application as an ergogenic aid. International Journal of Sport Nutrition(1995) 5:S100-S110
- Folin, Otto; Denis, W (1912). "Protein metabolism from the standpoint of blood and tissue analysis". Journal of Biological Chemistry 12 (1): 141–61.

I'm gonna tell you something yu don't want to hear. bbing is 90% genetics, and you probably have bad genetics. ALSO: creatine and other supplements do absolutely nothing. The supplement industry is a scam. Drugs are the only thing that are effective, and soon you will learn that every "natural" bodybuilder is far from it.

Originally Posted by sayso

creatine and other supplements do absolutely nothing.

citation needed NOW

Originally Posted by sayso

I'm gonna tell you something yu don't want to hear. bbing is 90% genetics, and you probably have bad genetics.

Winning contests may be 90% genetics. Aesthetics of muscle shape, body proportion, and ultimate size obtainable are genetic.
Nevertheless, muscle mass and strength can be greatly increased in almost everyone.

Nutrition plays a necessary role of course, but biology and physiology coupled with exercise strategy are used to circumvent the typical bodybuilders metabolic shortcomings. Humans, like most mammals, have evolved to be lean and active. Most young men fit this description and will stay that way unless their systems are stressed well outside of the normal range.

Your muscles naturally contain stores of phosphocreatine to provide primary energy to fast twitch muscle fibers.
The amount stored is controlled by physiological feedback mechanisms.
Creatine is ingested in the form of meat and cheese, the liver converts some other amino acids to creatine as necessary.
Creatine monohydrate ingested as a supplement is poorly absorbed and in most cases unnecessary. They are working on that problem but since the demand for creatine storage is a feedback, the individual's physiology is the controlling factor.

Arguments? There were many strongmen and bodybuilders around before creatine supplements.
Supplements are extra nutritional sources, only necessary if you are in a deficit.
Unless you are starving, a Vegan, or have specific metabolic dysfunction you are not in a creatine deficit

Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy describes the physiological system for increased glycogen and creatine storage along with an increased number of mitochondria to process these into ATP. This is the actual cause of significantly bigger muscles for a bodybuilder.
Myofibrillar hypertrophy describes the physiological system for increased myofibril size which increases a muscles strength.
Both of these are dependent upon insulin sensitivity and modulation along with a host of other hormonal systems.

Most aspiring bodybuilders want advice because of a general lack of gains. The lack of gains usually stems from insufficient stimulus to all of the necessary systems. Just like your departmental budget, increases will not be forthcoming unless you use everything you have and still need more. So called glycogen depletion training is a good place to start. The goal is to drain a muscles energy reserves quickly and create a demand for more to be stored for the future. Strength comes along for the ride but is not the driving factor.