You know that protein is necessary for muscle growth, but carbohydrates play an important role in this process. In this article, we will tell you what else you should know.

Not too long ago, I was on the phone with good friend and fellow strength trainer Joe Dowdell (Certified Strength and Functional Trainer) at Peak Performance in New York. I told him that my deadlift personal record had reached an impressive 190kg, but I was determined to conquer the GM height of 225kg.

He remarked that the mission was “doable”.

Excellent. Then I threw a curvball (twisted ball) in his direction, which even Clayton Kershaw from the Dodgers would envy.

I’m going to add 36kg to my deadlift…on a ketogenic diet. Joe sighed. The ketogenic diet is so low in carbohydrates that once your glycogen stores are depleted, your body begins to draw energy from the processes united by the concept of “ketosis”. The carbohydrate waterline for maintaining a state of ketosis depends on the individual, but for most people it is below 50 grams of carbohydrates.

I was determined to eat less than 20 grams of carbs per day. How little is that? One medium-sized banana – and you have exceeded the daily limit!

But wait, don’t carbs stimulate muscle growth? Will this tactic work in the long run? And, most importantly, can I add 35 kg in the deadlift without eating carbohydrates in impressive portions? These and other questions awakened the scientist in me.

I decided to look for answers not only in a deep dive into the scientific literature, but also through real field research in the gym laboratory.

And before you run to the end of this article to see if I hit my target, I want to personally take you to the grand finale by explaining the anabolic potential of carbohydrates. Let me be your guide to the key circuits of anabolism in which carbohydrates and insulin play an important role.

Carbohydrates, protein and insulin
The anabolic effect of carbohydrates is realized mainly due to the activation of hormone-controlled processes. (For the sake of completeness, I should note that protein also stimulates the body’s insulin response.)

Chief among these processes is the synthesis of a pancreatic hormone called insulin. Many people know that insulin regulates blood glucose levels, but insulin is not a circus pony trained in one single trick.

This is an incredibly multifunctional hormone! Many experts believe that insulin, among other things, is inextricably linked with the processes of muscle synthesis. For example, one of the many roles of insulin is to boost amino acid uptake; in other words, it takes amino acids from the bloodstream and transports them to muscle tissue.

It turns out that carbohydrates and the subsequent insulin response have a significant impact on muscle growth.

Carbohydrates and protein synthesis

Carbohydrates are not needed directly for the formation of protein molecules. A key driver of muscle protein synthesis is leucine, an essential amino acid found in, for example, egg yolks. This means that protein synthesis can also occur in the absence of carbohydrates.

Back to the burning question: is insulin anabolic? Does it help build muscle?

First of all, let’s deal with the terminology. Anabolism is often used as a synonym for muscle protein synthesis, and this is incorrect. I encourage you to look at anabolism in a broader sense, and not as a simple combination of amino acids to create muscle tissue.

Anabolism covers all physiological processes that contribute to the recruitment of muscle mass. And from this point of view, insulin is absolutely anabolic!

Carbohydrates, insulin and recovery
Recovery of muscles after microdamages is one of the most underestimated gears of the muscle-building engine. After all, the faster you recover from training, the more often you can train, and training impact frequency is a key player on the hypertrophy team.

Carbohydrate-induced insulin secretion does not in itself lead to muscle protein synthesis, but it slows down the breakdown of muscle tissue. In fact, the anti-catabolic characteristics of carbohydrates turn them into anabolics. What-o-o? I remind you. You are working to break the misassociation of anabolism with protein synthesis.

In this light, carbohydrates are indeed anabolic and make an invaluable contribution to the construction of skeletal muscles, and the presence of insulin has a positive effect on that eternal opposition of protein synthesis and breakdown, which is called nitrogen balance.

In addition, carbohydrates increase the rate of recovery. During high-intensity training, your immune system is temporarily weakened, and carbohydrates reduce the degree of this immunosuppressive effect and replenish depleted glycogen stores. Do I need to fill my stomach with carbohydrates immediately after a workout? It depends on the form of the training process, the frequency of training and your strategic goals.

If you train only three times a week, there is no urgent need to feed the muscles with carbohydrates immediately after training; the standard intake of carbohydrate food during the day is enough to replenish glycogen reserves. If you’re trying to pack on a ton of muscle mass, you can’t hurt to gulp down a couple of bananas right after your workout, no matter when you’re taking your other nutrients.

Creatine transport
In my opinion, creatine is a must-have supplement! I recommend that you take it every day, both for its well-known strength gains and for its lesser-known ability to improve cognition and increase insulin sensitivity.

It is known that the intake of creatine along with carbohydrates raises the intramuscular content of the nutrient. This is explained by the fact that insulin promotes the transport of creatine and increases the ability of muscles to accumulate this metabolite.

In addition, insulin can increase the accumulation of electrolytes in muscle cells, which, along with the overflow of intramuscular storage with creatine, increases cellular volume. And the increase in cellular hydration and volume contributes to the rapid start of anabolic processes.

Anabolism without carbs?
After all this reasoning and arguments, it is already clear that carbohydrates are anabolic. It’s time to get back to conquering new heights in the deadlift. Is it possible to increase muscle mass and strength indicators on the background of a ketogenic diet? Despite Dowdell’s skeptical sighs, I got an affirmative answer to this question!

In three and a half months, I added 36kg in the deadlift and set a new personal best – 226kg in the first attempt. It turned out that even taking into account the anabolic effect of carbohydrates, I was able to achieve an anabolic response with almost no carbohydrates in the diet. The human body is an amazing machine having the ability to make rational adjustments and adapt to different situations.

In a chronically low-carb environment, our body deviates from its usual biochemical rules because it is forced to change. The body begins to use muscle glycogen more efficiently and increases the expression of genes responsible for the synthesis of certain enzyme systems necessary for maximum performance. As a result, he adapts to existence in conditions of low carbohydrate content and extremely low secretion of insulin.

Don’t get me wrong, sticking to a ketogenic diet amid grueling workouts is very difficult. To some extent, my journey into the land of low-carb anabolism was inspired by the desire to prove that you can perform at a high level with minimal carbohydrate intake – at least for a short distance. And without carbohydrates, you can flip the muscle protein synthesis switch, because there are alternative ways to increase the efficiency and productivity of the overall anabolic process.

Does this mean everyone should opt for a ketogenic diet? I don’t think it will suit everyone (and definitely not for a long time), but it’s still interesting to see what the body is capable of, forced to go through fire, water and copper pipes.