Strong muscles are required to build strong bones– and you need adequate protein to build strong muscles. However, protein isn't the only compound required to increase muscle mass. You also need glycogen.
Glycogen is a compound that your body uses to store energy, making it available to power the exercise that builds muscle. You get glycogen from a widely misunderstood macronutrient: carbohydrates.
In this article, you'll learn why carbohydrates and glycogen are essential for building muscles and protecting bones, and how to ensure your diet is adequately supporting your bone-building workouts.
All About Glycogen
Glycogen is a substance the body uses to store glucose, the simplest form of sugar. Glucose is the primary source of energy for the body and it makes every bodily function possible.
Glucose is derived from dietary carbohydrates found in vegetables, fruits, grains, and sugars added to processed foods. The body uses some glucose immediately, but it also stores glucose in the form of glycogen in the liver and muscles for later use.
The body maintains continuous blood glucose levels, and when there isn't glucose readily available from food in the digestive system, the glycogen in the liver is used to maintain proper blood glucose levels. Then, the body will replace that glycogen when more glucose is available.
The glycogen in skeletal muscle is mostly reserved to fuel exertion of the muscle in which it is stored.1
Synopsis
Glycogen is glucose the body has stored by the body for later use. Glycogen stored in the liver is used to maintain blood sugar levels. Glycogen stored in skeletal muscles is used by muscles to fuel exertion.
Exercise, Muscle Mass, And Glycogen
Exercise is essential to staying healthy and building strong bones. It accomplishes these benefits in part by building muscle mass and strength, which help you remain physically functional and independent. Muscle strength also helps to prevent injuries, including fractures caused by falls.
Glycogen is the primary fuel source for exercise. A ready supply of glycogen facilitates longer and more intense workouts. That's because glycogen is literally the fuel that your muscles use to move.
When your glycogen stores are depleted, you get tired and have to stop your workout. However, your body quickly starts working to replace it so that you can continue to exert force.
You can lengthen and intensify your workouts by increasing the availability of glucose, which is supplied by the carbohydrates in your diet.1
Synopsis
Exercise provides benefits in part by building muscle mass, increasing strength, and building bone. Exercise is fueled by glycogen, which is depleted during exertion then restored using glucose. Dietary carbohydrates provide the glucose your body needs to rapidly replace glycogen so your workouts can be longer and more intense.
How Carbohydrates Make Your Workouts More Effective
Athletes are well-known for loading up on carbohydrates before major events. They know that they will expend their glycogen stores rapidly during intense physical activity. For their bodies to recover glycogen, they need carbs in their system.
Readily available carbohydrates allow athletes' bodies to replenish glycogen stores so they can continue performing. But even if you're not an athlete, carbohydrates allow you to improve your physical performance.
You want to get the most out of your workouts — the maximum benefit, muscle growth, and bone strengthening. For that, you need to workout longer and more intensely. That could mean going an extra mile on the treadmill, using heavier weights, or adding reps to your lifting routine. Carbohydrates make it possible, by allowing your body to replenish glycogen so that you can exert yourself more than you otherwise could.
This benefit of carbohydrates is energetic. They give you the energy to exercise longer or more intensely.
A study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that consuming carbohydrates and protein before exercise increased muscle mass.2
The same is true of eating carbs and protein post-workout. That's because carbohydrates, and the energy they provide, protect your muscles from breaking down. Protein and carbohydrates work together to protect and build muscle, so they are most effective when you eat them together. Protein provides the building blocks for muscle growth, while carbohydrates provide the energy required for building muscle.
Try adding healthy carbs to your diet to increase the efficacy of your workouts. Many people think of carbohydrates and picture bread or pasta, but vegetables and fruits also contain carbohydrates. Whole grains like barley, oats, and buckwheat all provide complex carbohydrates that your body can use to restore glycogen. By adding healthy, antioxidant-rich carbohydrates to your diet, you can fuel your body without spiking your blood sugar or missing out on other important nutrients.
Synopsis
Carbohydrates provide energy that makes your workout more effective. When you eat protein and carbohydrates together before a workout they provide the building blocks of muscle and the energy to do the building. Eating protein and carbohydrates after your workout helps to protect muscles from breaking down and supports the creation of new muscle mass.
What This Means To You
Carbohydrates are an essential part of Saver's diet. Choose complex carbs like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables to ensure they're accompanied by other important nutrients and compounds like fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Then your body will use those carbohydrates to fuel bone-building exercise.
The Save Institute created a holistic guide to bone-targeted exercise to help you put all of the pieces together successfully. Densercise makes it easy to incorporate bone-building, at-home exercises into your daily routine. It also includes the Densercise Eating Guide, to ensure you're fueling your workouts effectively. The Densercise Eating Guide informs you about what to eat before and after your workouts to maximize muscle and bone growth– and with a 60-day money-back guarantee you have nothing to lose!
It is important to nourish your body before and after your workouts for gaining both muscle and bone strength. With Densercise, you’ll discover how great it feels to have the energy to do more, accomplish more, grow more, and live better!
References
1 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-022-04935-1
I currently do Densercise (and love it).
However, what is the difference between Savetrainer and Densercise?
The information I receive in the newsletters are incredibly helpful.
follower since 2016 age 92 now
We truly appreciate you as a Saver, Rita! Stay healthy and happy!