Low Carbs and Muscle Building ??

[CanadianNavy]

I eat about 10-25g of carbs a day.

I have two shake of low carbs protein a day, I eat three meal a day plus snacks.

I workout 6 times a week
Cardio 5 times a week (20mins)

How can the low carb affect my muscle gain and keep ?

thks so much.

[Robbyrh10]

Ummm i wouldnt recommend that at all. Especially if you are lifting. How about having carbs just pre and post workout?

[CanadianNavy]

What could be the issues with lack of carbs in a workout ?

[Robbyrh10]

-muscle loss
-no energy
-lack of nutrients
-etc.....

[bbjeff86]

If you want to gain muscle you have to eat, and have high or at least moderate carbs. Minumum of 200g of carbs per day to gain any type of serious muscle, along with 1g of protien/lb of bodyweight. You need to decide if you want to get lean, or get big.

[banichols]

Originally Posted by CanadianNavy

What could be the issues with lack of carbs in a workout ?

Not getting enough muscle glycogen restored post work out. Your body really needs carbs after you work out, simple ones are the best (complex at other times of the day). From what I understand, a good low-carb diet would be 100-125g carbs/day, most of which come right after you work out.

However, if you're looking to gain muscle mass, you may want to avoid a low-carb diet. They're typically used for cutting.

[Max Omega]

10-25 grams of carbs per day? I consider that suicide when lifting.

I load up on at least 200 grams of carbs pre-workout and 100 grams post-workout. You can still stay lean and gain muscle but at a slower rate.

[jando]

you need glycogen stores when lifting my friend. I would at the very least get carbs in the morning, pre and post workout.

[Madevilz]

Are you on Atkins or what? Atkins for bodybuilding is crap. You need carbs to build muscle.

At least go high carbs on workout days, and low carbs on resting day.

[seminoles]

Not as long as you are getting enough calories from other sources (protein/fat)

[jked4life]

Originally Posted by CanadianNavy

I eat about 10-25g of carbs a day.

I have two shake of low carbs protein a day, I eat three meal a day plus snacks.

I workout 6 times a week
Cardio 5 times a week (20mins)

How can the low carb affect my muscle gain and keep ?

thks so much.

I would suggest reading the article that I posted in this thread.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=748534

Low carbs, with better gym performance. Worked well for me.

[Rachel_n_SD]

Originally Posted by Robbyrh10

-muscle loss
-no energy
-lack of nutrients
-etc.....

exactly. i much better option would be to carb cycle or use TKD. you can have all the added fat loss benefits of low-carbing, but pre and post workout, you would consume carbs to fuel your workout and recovery. it works quite well, i have been doing it about 1.5 months, i have tons of energy in the gym and have still added strength and muscle while in caloric deficit. a straight low-carb plan was intended more for sedentary people, you arent sedentary, and carbs are required post-workout or you will have some big problems growing.

[Brandon3333]

I can't believe anybody can survive off of 25 carbs per day!! Especially when you are active. About 150 man at least

[King Crush]

I did Atkins, for 3 months, I lost 40 lbs. I did induction for a month straight, which is 15 carbs a day or less. It was HELL! I lost a lot of muscle with it, I would not go on a low carb diet if you want to gain muscle. The atkins diet is for obese people, who need to lose a lot of weight quickly, and can't exercise! Yes, you will lose a lot of weight quick on a low carb diet, but you will lose both muscle, and fat. Eat good carbs like vegitables, and oatmeal, eat a lot of protien 1 gram/per lb of bw, and stay away from bad carbs like sugar, and starches! That's what I'm doing now, and I'm putting on muscle while losing fat.

[Big Boi 1906]

Take it from me dude, I've been there and done that - Atkins thing.

I lifted alot while on Atkins for about a year. Yeah, I lost alot of weight and fat but alot of muscle too. And yeah, I was ignorant as hell about human physiology and what the body relies on for energy during weight training, and that is mainly glucose if you are lifting short and intensely. Can you believe I even did high intensity running on atkins too. I guess I was trying to look like a pencil with no eraser. Now if your in the gym lifting to lose weight, well I personally don't think that is good at all. I know some guys use supersets and whatnot for cardiovascular health when cutting. However, from personal experience, I think without the carbs, your hormones are out of wack and muscles won't grow with you being out of wack. Another point is, without enough carbs in your system around the workout, cortisol will run wild and your body will eat your hard earned muscles for glucose and any protein or amino acids you take in. Yeah, I know all of this sounds cliche' but its true.

If you are doing the low carb thing, carbs can definently be used b4 and during the workout, at least to counter cortisol. And maybe get a bit in for breakfast as well because cortisol is high then as well. Trust me, doing that low in carbs is counterproductive to not just muscle gain but even maintaining any muscle at all if youre not on the juice.

[ironstrife]

wow... with that much carb expect no growth at all... even muscle loss and fatigue.. you need all protein, carb, and fat in balance for growth!

[johnnyironboard]

I've done a CKD since the late 90's and I'm plenty big (and lean).

[mark prater 123]

well i have a question... do carbs work with protein directly to build muscle. meaning, if i eat a bunch of protein before bed and no carbs, will my muscles still be able to build?

[mark prater 123]

anyone?

[Rachel_n_SD]

Originally Posted by mark prater 123

anyone?

no, you wont be able to really build much, thats the point, you have to consume both carbs and protein post WO to get proper muscle recovery.
ill say again, TKD and CKD (TKD in particular) would help you acheive this, and allow you to keep your carbs low the rest of the time, and not sacrifice any(or much) gains.

[mark prater 123]

im talkin like before bed not pwo. i was planning on getting up at like 4 and getting a quick snack too. should i get carbs then?

[johnnyironboard]

Originally Posted by mark prater 123

if i eat a bunch of protein before bed and no carbs, will my muscles still be able to build?

yes. Protein is anabolic- carbs are not.

[mark prater 123]

Originally Posted by johnnyironboard

yes. Protein is anabolic- carbs are not.

u serious? but you do need carbs though.

[Big Boi 1906]

Originally Posted by mark prater 123

u serious? but you do need carbs though.

YES!
I know I read something saying carbs were not anabolic, and this may or may not be true. But in terms of muscle maintenance and protein utilization for muscle building, carbs are necessary. All things must be in balance to some extent and carbs are apart of that equation. Your body does want carbs as its first choice for energy and if it lacks them, the only other place to get them is from ingested protein and aminos. And keep in mind this is a caloric costly process, which means burning of additional calories. This will happen if you dont have a reliable amount of glucose in the blood stream or glycogen stored. Thus, if your protein is being turned to glucose, its not being used for muscle building. Also, low carbs usually means higher cortisol levels and that usually means lower testosterone levels, which is bad for even muscle maintenance.

[johnnyironboard]

Originally Posted by mark prater 123

but you do need carbs though.

That is were all the controversy comes from. The truth is so many people make so many things work you have to find out for yourself. I do best with low carbs others swear by high carbs. I will say this- If staying lean is a problem thinking low carb will get you to an answer faster than thinking high carbs.