The anabolic window for building muscle
It is well known that your body needs proteins in order to build up muscle mass and maintain it in the long term. Far less known, however, is that there are anabolic windows in which proteins are utilized particularly effectively.
What exactly are anabolic windows?
On the one hand, the anabolic window is the period immediately after training during which the body increasingly converts proteins into muscle mass due to training-related impulses. Exactly how long this anabolic period lasts is not yet fully understood, especially since the latest studies show that the body Proteins apparently continues to be used for muscle building 24 hours after training. However, it can be assumed that the best results can be achieved if the body is provided with proteins within the first 30 minutes after training. The only problem here is that it can take several hours before the proteins bound in regular food can be fully used by the body. As a result, you would have to consume protein-rich food long before training in order to create the optimal conditions for rapid and sustainable muscle building. But since it is impossible to say how long it really takes for the proteins to be released from the food, the chances are rather bad that they will be usable in the anabolic window with pinpoint accuracy.
The solution of the problem
To ensure that your muscles are optimally supplied with protein, while the anabolic window is definitely wide open, it is advisable to do one right after training Protein shake with proteins that work as quickly as possible to take. For example so-called whey protein, which is considered the protein that can be used the fastest of all proteins. It is also recommended that you take pure amino acids as sports nutrition in powder or liquid form in addition to whey protein, as these can be used to build muscle even faster than "whole" proteins. Special mention should be made of the very popular in sports circles BCAA (Branched-Chain Amino Acids = branched-chain amino acids) valine, leucine and isoleucine, which are counted among the essential amino acids and are said to contribute particularly well to muscle building.
So you can fully exploit the anabolic training effect
Even if the anabolic window itself only remains open for a few hours, the anabolic (muscle-building) effect of the training lasts much longer. It is consequently important that you also supply your muscles with proteins beyond the anabolic window, especially since otherwise it would not only lead to an early stagnation of muscle building, but even threaten unpleasant muscle building. Protein supplements that are used up by the body as slowly as possible are ideal for this. For example, preparations with so-called Caseinwhose effect does not start as quickly as that of the aforementioned whey protein, but it lasts much longer. In addition, you can of course still have different ones spread over the day Amino acid supplements take to ensure that the body receives all proteinogenic amino acids without exception, which it absolutely needs for building and maintaining impressive muscle mass and impressive strength.
Further nutritional recommendations
Even if protein supplements and sports nutrition are ideal for supplying your body with high-quality protein precisely within the anabolic window, they must of course not be the only protein source with which you cover your daily protein needs. You also have to consume regular proteins in the form of "normal" food, as this is the only way to guarantee a consistently optimal protein supply.
An interesting training theory
A so far unconfirmed theory regarding the anabolic window is that the individual workouts should be quite short. The basic idea behind this is that the window opens during the training session and is therefore left open for a longer period of time during long training sessions. However, due to the short duration of the training, you have to train as intensively as possible so that the anabolic window is really opened.
Final notes on the anabolic window
If one regards the first 30 minutes after the training only as "opening" the anabolic window, one can also say that the anabolic window extends over a period of up to 72 hours. What is meant then, however, is the entire period between the end of training, in which a catabolic process takes place, and the end of the regeneration phase. However, increased protein synthesis only takes place in the first 24 hours after training. A direct supply of urgently needed nutrients for the muscles directly after training is important in order to be able to switch from the catabolic process to the anabolic process. This is what we refer to as the anabolic window in this article.
Even if the phenomenon of the anabolic window has not yet been fully researched, there is probably no question that one Protein intake immediately after exercise can significantly contribute to muscle building. It should be emphasized once again that, of course, you will not build muscles within the first few minutes after training, as a regeneration phase begins first. Therefore, you should be careful to keep your body as good as possible in the following hours as well as on the following days with high quality proteins and amino acids to supply. Regardless of this, your body needs proteins not only to build up, but also to maintain hard-earned muscle mass!
