Resistance training isn’t just for the body builder. For everyone, proper skeletal muscle maintenance, which is benefitted by resistance training, provides freedom of movement, posture and structural support for a lifetime. A training regimen that increases muscle fitness is essential to everyone from golfers, to runners, to walkers, and even body builders.

According to a report from the Baylor University Exercise and Sport Nutrition Laboratory, proteins and essential amino acids will gives every training regimen a boost.

As is widely known, there are several factors that impact the condition of skeletal muscle; exercise, nutrition, hormonal levels, and disease, to name but a few. The Baylor study reports that muscular strength and size are enhanced when protein synthesis is greater than protein breakdown. Further, resistance training causes an increase in protein synthesis, but it also causes an increase in protein breakdown. Therein lies the problem. Both amino acids and protein ingestion are the answer.

The addition to the diet of free amino acids, specifically essential amino acids such as lysine, tryptophan, and others, before and after exercise causes a rapid increase in protein synthesis and overall protein balance. Likewise, the ingestion of protein powders and meal-replacements has been shown to improve protein balance after resistance training.

Although the Baylor study and others have shown that protein and amino acid supplementation is of benefit, the optimal dosage remains unknown. As well, the exact cellular mechanisms that cause protein synthesis remain largely unknown. There is no indication that significant supplementation does harm to the body, but knowledge of just how much supplemental dosage is needed would be nothing short of a true benefit. Everyone from the body builder to the person simply seeking to maintain optimal health will gain from such knowledge. With a focus on answering these questions, scientists and researchers should soon find the answers.

The entire report, entitled “Nutrient Administration and Resistance Training,” can be found in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, Vol. 2(1), 2005.