Bodybuilders often don’t plan days off properly. The balance between intense workouts and rest can dictate whether you gain or waste muscle mass. Muscle gain is a process that involves more protein synthesis than protein breakdown. Protein synthesis involves a cascade of cellular events, from the initial synthesis of mRNA protein sequence to the later stages in which new proteins are folded, bonded, configured and finally matured in certain cellular organelles to be mobilized to their target sites.

Some muscle proteins may be damaged or fail to reach maturation due to high oxidative stress. Immature or damaged proteins must be destroyed and recycled before any actual growth can occur. That mechanism is regulated by a family of enzymes called the ubiquitin system, which also regulates the destruction of old tissue and sick cells.

The problem with doing too many intense workouts per week is that it increases overall oxidative stress. That may overload the muscle with damaged proteins and rob the body of the crucial time needed for protein recycling, protein synthesis and overall growth. Threshold rest time between workouts could last from several hours to several days, and the right amount depends on variables such as nutritional state, exercise intensity, number of sets (volume) and genetics. In practical terms, you might try the following advice:

‘Monitor the number of rest days you take per week and how they affect your progress. For instance, if your weekly routine is two days on/one day off, three days on/one day off, try one day on/two days off, two days on/two days off.

‘Adjust your weekly program every couple of months.

‘Take a week off every 12 weeks.

‘Monitor the balance between intensity and volume in your workout. If you do too many intense sets or use split routines, you may require additional recuperation. You may also try increasing exercise intensity while decreasing the volume.

‘Be a weekend warrior for one or two weeks’do two superintense weekend-workout days followed by five rest days.

Editor’s note: Ori Hofmekler is the author of the books The Warrior Diet and Maximum Muscle & Minimum Fat, published by Dragon Door Publications (www.dragondoor.com). For more information or for a consultations, contact him at [email protected], www.warriordiet.com or by phone at 1-866-WAR-DIET.

Let me take a wild guess: You’re serious about building strength, power and muscle size, right? You also want full recovery and maximum muscle growth from every workout’and fast isn’t soon enough. Now, you’re probably saying to yourself, ‘Well, no kidding. Are you psychic, or do you just have a firm grasp of the painfully obvious?’ Arthur Jones, the creator of Nautilus and the originator of high-intensity-training principles, once said, ‘You can take a bicycle across the country or a jet. Both will get you there’it’s just that one is much more efficient than the other.’ That statement sums up the benefits you’ll get by following the steps presented here. This training tool is efficient and will rocket you to where you want to go much more quickly than what you’ll achieve if you don’t use it. Most bodybuilders and other athletes aren’t aware of it. Once you read about it, you’ll know how to jack up your progress, maximize your results and pump up your training motivation.

You’ll learn about three important benefits that will almost guarantee the results you’re after: increased muscle cell volume, regeneration of ATP and enhanced protein synthesis. By improving those three physiological processes, you can reap steady, uninterrupted gains in size and strength.

Most Bodybuilders Are Dead Wrong About How to Take Creatine and Ribose

The fact is, the proper use’and I want to place a strong emphasis on the words proper use’of creatine and ribose taken at precisely the right time is your combination to the safe where all your muscle growth is being held hostage. I almost have to keep myself from laughing when I hear people say, ‘You don’t need to take all those supplements. Just train.’ People who express such Stone Age thinking are almost right. You don’t need to take all those supplements’if you happen to be genetically gifted or you’re okay with making slow, average progress. As with Arthur Jones’ example about a riding a bike across the country, who wants to make just average progress? If your answer is, not me, keep reading and listen to the tumblers on the safe go click, click, click.

Pump Up the Muscle Cell Volume!

Creatine triggers the muscle cells to pull in water and swell. As the amount of intercellular water rises, it pushes against the cell membranes and expands the muscle cells’ volume. Yes, it’s a microscopic boost in mass, but it’s multiplied by millions of muscle cells. The swollen muscles look fuller and more rounded, making you bigger, more muscular and stronger.

Now, contrary to everything you’ve been told, if creatine isn’t dissolved in water, it can’t enter the muscle cell. And if it can’t enter the muscle cell, it’s totally worthless as a bodybuilding tool. Instead, it passes through your digestive tract, wreaking havoc all the way.

Undissolved Creatine Doesn’t Get the Job Done

Frankly, it doesn’t matter how many grams of creatine you pour into a glass or put in a serving size of any product. Whether it’s five grams or 10, very little’only about 1 1/2 to two grams’will dissolve in water. And undissolved creatine does nothing to build strength, power or muscle size. It also doesn’t matter how much dextrose you add because excessive insulin spiking still won’t drive undissolved creatine into your muscle cells. That’s all wasted unless you take steps to improve creatine’s water solubility.

What’s more, dextrose, which is a sugar, produces a tidal wave of glucose that disrupts nutrient partitioning, pushing you into perpetual fat storage. Sugar is your enemy. It’s responsible for a metabolic meltdown that destroys your physique and the physiques of bodybuilders everywhere. How to Get More Creatine Into Your Muscle Cells

Current technology has brought about a way to deliver creatine that provides a pH-balanced, 100 percent water-soluble creatine. The creatine’s pH has been manipulated to separate the creatine from its attached salt. That means more creatine in your muscle cells, more cell volume, more strength and more muscle. There’s no stomach discomfort, no diarrhea, no need to take huge quantities and no gritty taste. You end up with better results than you get with creatine monohydrate, smaller doses and fewer side effects. But that’s not the end of the story.

Maximum Training Intensity and Recovery Depend on the Creatine and Ribose You Have in Storage

The kind of muscle contraction that you generate when you train depends on adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP). ATP fuels everything you do in the gym. The stumbling block is that there’s only enough ATP stored in your muscle for it to contract for 10 seconds, so it has to be regenerated in a hurry. Creatine and ribose together supply two different halves of the ATP molecule. Creatine gives up part of its phosphate molecule to create more ATP, while ribose combines with adenine to form adenosine, the A in the ATP molecule, and doubles the performance benefit of creatine. So let me cut to the chase: Your ability to regenerate ATP depends on the creatine and ribose inventories in your muscle-building warehouse, or muscle cells. The more creatine and ribose in your muscle cells, the more ATP can be remade and the more capable your muscles are of training to their maximum and achieving their full potential. It’s a no-brainer.

That greater ATP regeneration saves your body from having to rely on producing energy through glycolysis, which produces lactic acid as a by-product. Lactic acid causes that nasty burning sensation you get when you train but really doesn’t do anything to enhance muscle growth.

So when you keep using ATP because of all the creatine and ribose you have stored, you can reach your maximum training potential by training harder and recovering completely faster. And that results in more strength, power and muscle size. It’s pretty simple when you think about it. Enhanced Protein Synthesis

Experts believe that creatine also enhances protein synthesis. Your muscles grow by a cyclical process of synthesizing protein, a.k.a. anabolism, and breaking down protein, or catabolism. Muscle growth occurs when the amount made exceeds the amount broken down. If you want to build bigger, stronger muscles, you’re going to have to enhance your protein synthesis’speed it up and/or slow down the rate of breakdown, which is known as anticatabolism. Since creatine enhances protein synthesis, you’re on your way.

Timing Is Everything

Immediately after the last set of your last exercise take in a serving of pH-adjusted, or buffered, creatine or effervescent creatine with three grams of D-ribose added. Your muscle cells will be low in ATP reserves, and that mix will provide the building blocks to replenish it. You’ll soak up those nutrients right at the time you need them the most.

So there you have it: the whole enchilada. Do it, and you’ll notice a difference pretty quickly. You’ll also be on your way to reaching your maximum training potential. You’ll train harder and reach complete recovery faster’which will put you on a jet, rocketing toward more strength, power and muscle size! IM