The increase in muscle mass is nothing more than an adaptation of the body to a stimulus. When you stress the muscles, they adapt to the stimulus received by growing a little stronger and larger. This mechanism is a very simple process of physical adaptation.
However, it can only work when you have enough time to recover. The most common mistake among those who practice bodybuilding is that they work out too frequently, and don’t leave enough time for recovery. For this reason, even though they spend a lot of energy in training, their muscles do not begin the process of growth.
Also long workouts are counterproductive, because beyond a certain point the body begins to catabolize muscles (destroys them for energy), so you will have the opposite results. This will keep you in a constant state of overtraining, without making any progress, despite your enormous efforts and sacrifices. As you can see, it’s absolutely essential to take at least a 24-hour break between your workouts.
Another thing you should keep in mind is that if you don’t follow the right diet, your results will be rather disappointing.
Those who train with weights need a much higher protein intake compared to those who do not train. It is estimated that you need about 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, so a person weighing 80 kg should take about 160 grams of proteins. Most of these can be consumed in the form of red and white meats, fish, eggs and cheese. Even vegetables and grains can provide you with protein, but it will be of low biological value. If you can’t eat enough protein containing foods, then it would be a good idea to take protein supplements.
A mixture of whey protein and casein seems to bring the best results concerning the maintenance and augmentation of muscle mass even during sleep. In the first hours of sleep, the body secretes growth hormone, which helps preserve our muscles, but over the next hours our body enters the dangerous state of catabolism, which leads to the break down of muscles.
Taking this mixture just before bedtime, will prevent possible muscle breakdown, leaving you in a positive nitrogen balance during the hours of forced fasting. Casein will also produce an anti-catabolic effect for about 4 – 6 hours, after it enter into the bloodstream. That’s why many bodybuilders interrupt their sleep in order to eat a good amount of whey proteins, casein and egg proteins.