Can you build muscle without high carbs

Secondhalf35

Only asking as high carbs and low fat is hard for me. My body loves healthy fats

richardgavel

You generally won't build muscle unless you eat above maintenance, irrespective of macros. Protein most important, many suggest reasonable carbs to have enough energy to effectively perform the workouts that will trigger the muscle repair and growth in the first place.

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Secondhalf35

Thank you. I only want to build a bum and tone up everywhere else

TeddyK4975

If you're doing a body recomposition it is possible, but generally speaking you need to be in a surplus

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sardelsa

Secondhalf35 wrote: »

Thank you. I only want to build a bum and tone up everywhere else

Are you recomping? Then you can. But it can take a lot of time to see significant progress especially in the booty department. If you are at a surplus then you will gain muscle and fat and you will not be toning up.

Also you don't need super high carbs, but a decent amount are more optimal for muscle building and energy for gym performance as mentioned.

Secondhalf35

Thank you

DresdenSinn

Secondhalf35 wrote: »

I only want to build a bum..

LOL..that so sounds like something a woman would say.

ldwatene

You sure can so long as you can keep your energy levels up during your workout. Eating at a surplus is more important. Protein is also a must. Followed by rest.

trigden1991

Carbohydrates are the most anabolic macronutrient so I'm not sure why you would avoid them when trying to gain muscle.

Alvinhno

I was initially eating one chicken a day with less carbs and noticed I had lost strength. A week ago I changed my diet I'm now eating 60% carbs and 30% protein. I have noticed I have so much strength

Ironandwine69

Secondhalf35 wrote: »

Thank you. I only want to build a bum and tone up everywhere else

99% of nice bums you see out there is fat and genetics. If you truly want a nice lean bum, you going to have to work really hard and I'm not sure if you're still be alive by the time recomping will show any results.
Again, it depends on what you consider a "bum"

Gallowmere1984

Alvinhno wrote: »

I was initially eating one chicken a day with less carbs and noticed I had lost strength. A week ago I changed my diet I'm now eating 60% carbs and 30% protein. I have noticed I have so much strength

This is the thing, and has been my experience as well. It isn't that carbs are anabolic (though they are anti-catabolic), it's that you are going to be able to train harder with them in the mix. Given that training stimulus is the most important factor that's actually within your control (can't change genetics, etc.), why would you follow a diet that tends to limit training potential, if development and performance are goals?

sgt1372

Carbs are for energy. Protein is for muscles. Excess protein can be used for energy but excess carbs cannot be used for muscles. An excess of both beyond your muscular and energy needs is stored as fat.

Secondhalf35

Thank you

Chieflrg

Sure, it's just not the most efficient way to generally speaking for most people.

psuLemon

Secondhalf35 wrote: »

Thank you. I only want to build a bum and tone up everywhere else

These are opposing actions. Building a butt would require a surplus and toning would required a deficit. Now you could see improvements with a recomp but that just takes more time. The most important things overall is your training program. You should probably look into StrongCurves since you want something glute focused.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

And like others said, carbs are beneficial to training. Not only do they support muscle building, they also support recovery. But out of curiosity, how low are we talking when it comes to your total carbs? Are we talking ketogenic levels, low carbs, or do you not track macros?

Secondhalf35

I need to start tracking again. I always seem to go over on my fat. My macro percentage has always been around 40 carb 30 protein 30 fat. I weigh around 53kg and I'm 5ft 2, 35 years old. I've had my cals set at 1800 but not sure if that's about right as loads different results on net

Secondhalf35

Thank you for link and thank you to all

macchiatto

FWIW, I eat LCHF (formerly keto) and recently started a recomp. I know progress will probably be slow but I'm OK with that. My body (with my particular medical conditions) does best with lower carb levels as well so I'm hoping this will work. I did bump up my carb levels a bit. For me, keto/LCHF was awesome for running stamina but we'll see how things go for strength training. I did consult with @psuLemon for advice as I shifted to maintenance/recomp to make sure I was on the right track.

Secondhalf35

Cool. Yeah I felt it was too much and not enough healthy fat allowance. I'll get round it some way. Thank you for input

Rusty740

Hey there,

Carbs are not just for workout energy, carbs do something else that's powerful, they increase insulin. Insulin is a 'building' hormone. It tells the body to build muscle and fat for energy storage. Without carbs, and a calorie surplus, gaining muscle is far less than an ideal, effective way to do it.

The other reason to eat carbs for strength training is because they replenish your glycogen reserves. Your glycogen is the energy that's used for strength training type workouts and over time, they get depleted and need to be refilled. Carbs are the best at this. It will take much longer to recover your reserves if you try another method. It's just not as efficient.

You don't need such a high amount of protein to build muscle anything slightly less than 1g/lb bodyweight is plenty. Your body just can't put all that to use growing muscle so you might as well have carbs or fat.

Don't be afraid of fats, to build muscle you need to be in a surplus anyway. You may find fats are ok for endurance exercises because since they take a longer time to turn into usable energy. When you need energy 'right now' fats just can't be used fast enough. That's where glycogen created by carbs are ideal. Very fast source of energy for bursts that you need for strength training.

Although not really a 'proven' thing, you might be able to get by eating less carbs if you ate all your carbs around your workout window.

Secondhalf35

Thank you

i6Shot

Secondhalf35 wrote: »

Only asking as high carbs and low fat is hard for me. My body loves healthy fats

Absolutely. Look at Luis VIllasenor from Ketogains he is ripped and eats keto.

Secondhalf35

Thank you