Exercise And Meal Plan For Maintaining Muscle Mass

Muscle mass may be lost through extreme dieting, extended bed rest or just from aging. Lost muscle mass is known as sarcopenia. Not getting enough nutrients can affect your body's ability to maintain muscle. Similarly, a lack of exercise sends the message to your body that muscle mass is not needed. Dietary intake and exercise are important aspects of muscle maintenance.

Macronutrients

Carbohydrates, fats and proteins all play an important role in nutrition for muscle mass. Dietary carbohydrates provide the means to train effectively, serving as stored glycogen inside your muscles and glucose inside your bloodstream. Glycogen is the first go-to source of energy by your muscles, because it is contained inside the muscle tissue. Larger stores of glycogen mean you can exercise longer without fatigue. As those sources run out, your working cells turn to blood glucose, which can be replenished by the liver throughout exercise. Fats are used by your muscles under sustained light activity. Protein is essential for increases in muscle mass and strength. Your muscles are primarily made up of proteins, so without adequate dietary protein, you may sacrifice any gains in muscle mass.

Meal Planning

Meal planning should take into consideration your pre- and post-workout nutrition. Before your workout, think about combining protein and carbohydrates to maximize your activity. Consuming carbohydrates before a workout can help spare muscle glycogen stores, resulting in greater time to fatigue. Protein before a hard workout allows your body to use amino acids during the activity and may also increase blood flow to working muscles. After a workout, anabolic hormones and enzymes that help your muscles adapt to exercise are elevated. Your best bet is to take in carbohydrates, protein and fat. Chocolate milk may be the perfect combination for recovery and pre-workout nutrition. A study published in the "International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism" in 2006 analyzed the effects of a chocolate milk drink on recovery and preparation before and after two bouts of exhaustive, depletive endurance exercise. Chocolate milk was tested against a carbohydrate replacement beverage. The athletes drinking the chocolate milk showed advantages in fatigue, overall work, heart rate and rating of perceived exertion.

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise is any kind of dynamic movement done for an extended period of time that stimulates increases in activity of the heart, lungs and blood vessels. Aerobic exercise is sustainable activity that uses oxygen and available blood glucose and muscle glycogen to produce energy for the activity. Chronic adaptations to aerobic training include more efficient metabolic properties of skeletal muscle, including increased mitochondrial activity. While aerobic exercise does not do much to add area or fibers to muscles, it does help maintain muscle mass. Using your muscles in this manner increases activity to the muscle and maintains it as lean body mass. Common aerobic exercises that may help you to maintain muscle mass include cross-country skiing, cycling, running and swimming, according to "Exercise Physiology."

Resistance Training

Resistance training is a conditioning exercise to increase the amount of force your muscles can exert. Also known as weight training, the idea behind this activity is to progressively increase the amount of force or weight you can move in order to elicit certain physiological responses from your muscles. Adaptations to resistance training include muscular hypertrophy, or an increase in the cross-sectional area of your muscles. Your program can be tailored to increase or maintain your muscle mass. Resistance training exercises are usually done using free weights or weight machines. Your goals will dictate the volume and frequency of your weight training. To maintain the muscle mass you have, be sure to pick eight to 10 exercises that will work all of your major muscle groups, including your legs, buttocks, back, abdominals, chest, shoulders and arms. Do up to three sets of 15 repetitions. Each repetition should feel like an effort, but the last repetition should feel fatiguing.