Benefit Limits in Bodybuilding
1. Introduction
Understanding benefit limits in bodybuilding is of vital importance to any athlete wanting to achieve their full potential in muscle size and/or strength. With the information in this article, athletes will be able to identify when and if they have reached a plateau and will also learn ways to increase training intensity to start making gains again. Failure to increase intensity levels when benefit limits are reached will be a waste of time and effort and can possibly be damaging to an athlete's psycho-emotional state. This is because a loss of self-motivation and possibly anger or depression may occur when an athlete sees no further gains despite hard training. Having reached a benefit limit previously unawares was what sparked my interest to write about this topic. I believe this is a situation where an athlete questions what they must do to make gains, and the information outlined here should clear up any doubts.
1.1. Definition of benefit limits
This concept of benefit limits is often brought up to new users with the 'muscle: side effects' ratio analogy, where muscle gained is compared to undesirable side effects as a numeric ratio. Usually, beginning AAS users are seeking an extremely high muscle: side effects ratio, reflecting a significant amount of muscle gain for far fewer adverse health effects. As described in another article by Stepnisky, this is the 'optimum' range where health effects are still minimal and gains are substantial. However, the ability of AAS to build muscle increases to a point where it becomes difficult to attain much further muscle gain without a proportional increase in side effects and entirely surpasses the limits of the user's patience to forgo quick gains in health for slow gains in appearance.
1.2. Importance of understanding benefit limits in bodybuilding
The bodybuilder who is aware of the rate at which muscle can be gained naturally, and the limit to how much muscle can be gained, is at a lower risk of becoming impatient and resorting to black market drugs such as anabolic steroids. With patience and realistic goals, many potential drug users can be discouraged from usage and they may be motivated to reach their genetic limit. A bodybuilder who is involved with any type of competitive athletics will also benefit from knowledge of benefit limits in bodybuilding, should the athlete have unrealistic ideas of gaining muscle for an improved performance while involved in strength or power-dependent sports. An understanding of realistic muscle gain can also prevent frustration or disillusion when the bodybuilder realizes the amount of time and effort that must be continuously dedicated to weight training in order to maintain the muscle mass that was so arduously acquired.
2. Factors Affecting Benefit Limits
2.1. Genetics and body type
Fast twitch fibers have a greater potential for growth compared to slow twitch fibers, and it is easier to increase the proportion of type II fibers with the right type of training. This is evident when looking at the muscle mass of sprinters and endurance athletes. Due to the fact that fiber type is determined by genetics, an endurance athlete with a high proportion of slow twitch fibers will struggle to make significant increases in muscle mass and strength as they are at a genetic disadvantage. This aspect of genetics and muscle fiber type is a limiting factor which cannot be changed, and therefore benefit limits are determined by the potential for different individuals.
2.2. Training intensity and volume
Gold suggests that if the volume of exercise is increased to raise training intensity, results are actually likely to be negative and no further benefits of training will be seen. This is a common belief among bodybuilders that the more you train, the better the results will be, but it has been observed that on many occasions, results of training are decreased. An example of this can be bodybuilders who have increased free time and have gone from training 3-4 days a week to 6-7 days a week, hoping to make faster progress by doubling volume. Many have seen no improvement or have even gotten smaller or weaker during the period of doubling exercise. An early study by Cureton et al (1958) supports the idea of a volume limit. They found that muscle size increased in a group compared to a control group performing strength exercise. When exercise was increased still further for the experimental group to compare further increase in muscle size, it was found that there was no further increase in muscle size. This indicates that the intensity increase in the control group was already enough to produce maximal muscle growth.
2.3. Nutrition and supplementation
The Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and the Thermic Effect of Feeding (TEF) are highly variable between individuals. The BMR is an expression for the energy cost of maintaining the body's essential physiological functions. This is the minimum amount of energy required to sustain life in an individual and it is often proportional to fat-free mass. Changes in BMR as a result of differences in FFM or due to other factors can strongly influence energy balance. The TEF is the increase in rate of energy expenditure above the BMR due to the cost of processing food for storage and use. This is very variable according to meal size and composition and it ranges from 5-10% of the energy content of a meal for mixed diets. High protein, high carbohydrate, and low-fat meals have a higher TEF compared to low protein, low carbohydrate, and high-fat meals, and TEF is proportional to energy intake.
3. Signs of Reaching Benefit Limits
3.1. Plateau in muscle growth
Plateau in muscle growth, one of the most problematic effects of reaching benefit limits, is caused by the reduction in muscle stimulating anabolic hormones, growth factors, and the responsiveness of muscle tissue to resistance training. According to research for a beginning bodybuilder, testosterone and growth hormone (GH) are very high, which helps them to build muscle at a very efficient pace. Anabolic hormones are a class of hormones that induce constructive metabolism (tissue building), which is especially reflected by an increase in muscle mass caused by an increase in muscle protein synthesis. The hormone insulin also has an anabolic effect in muscle; it increases the rate of transport of amino acids into muscle tissue. Combined with protein, this creates a very good environment for muscle growth.
3.2. Decreased strength gains
Acknowledge that there are individual differences in muscle potential, it is still difficult to argue against the idea of limiting effects. If one were to examine muscle growth rates in beginner and intermediate bodybuilders, it should be seen that for the majority of the time the beginner will gain muscle at a rate nearing his potential limit. The intermediate, however, can expect to spend varying lengths of time creeping closer towards that limit. With the same logic, the most experienced bodybuilder would find any new muscle much harder to come by. He must also consider that aging has detrimental effects on potential muscle and no, it is not easier to keep muscle as one ages.
4. Conclusion
The concept of benefit limits in bodybuilding is an important one for any athlete or fitness enthusiast to understand. By recognizing when they have reached a plateau and understanding the factors that contribute to benefit limits, individuals can make informed decisions about their training and nutrition strategies. While genetics play a significant role in determining benefit limits, factors such as training intensity, volume, nutrition, and supplementation also play important roles. By optimizing these factors and understanding their individual limits, athletes can maximize their muscle growth and performance potential.
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