This is a topic you rarely see someone go into detail about so I want to shed some light on what to expect after the diet is over. A lot of people believe in the “post show rebound” and the ability to put on muscle. You have some that say it’s Bro-science (that’s partly true but more on that in a minute), some say that the ability to gain muscle is extremely fast after the diet, and some that just don’t know for sure. Here’s the truth of it all and why there is a period of faster muscle gain after a diet is over.
For almost everyone out there reading, when you diet you are going to lose muscle. Just part of the process. When you come off the diet, it’s way easier to put that lost muscle back on. It’s not “new” muscle, it’s muscle that has been built prior to losing it, so the nuclei are already there and “muscle memory” happens making it appear that there is a post show muscle rebound. Just remember, it’s not NEW muscle, it’s regaining lost muscle at a very fast rate.
After the lost muscle is put back on, that’s when new nuclei have to be added and new muscle starts to be put on. This process takes much longer, esp as you get older. So after the short muscle re-gain period is over it’s back to normal time frames for muscle gain.
A lot of people that compete end up going apeshit after their show for a few weeks and pounding food left and right and they fill out their muscle glycogen stores and for a short period really look crazy. It looks like muscle gain is happening at an alarming rate. It doesn’t last long, and fat gain is happening as well. It’s just an achieved look and not tied to experiencing any sort of magical post diet muscle gain period.
If you look at hormones in the body after dieting, they are set up for FAT gain not muscle gain. Testosterone is low, thyroid hormone is low, leptin is low, ghrelin is high.
Take home point-
If anything this is the time to strive to maximize regaining lost muscle without a ton of fat gain. Even though lost muscle is going to come on faster after the diet there is only so much that will come on at once. Fat on the other hand, that will come on fast as hell and there is no set amount it’s limited to like muscle gain.
Article provided by John Gorman Fitness and Weight loss Coach
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