What Does Anabolic Mean?

The term anabolic is thrown around a lot, but what does it mean?

Anabolic means related to building muscle

The short answer, with respect to weight lifting and body building, is anabolic means related to building up muscle. The opposite is catabolic, which is breaking down muscle.

For example, lifting weights appropriately and eating properly are anabolic as they help build muscle. Over training is an example of something which is catabolic – it will lead to muscle breakdown and decline.

Now, the longer answer: “Anabolic” is the adjective form of the noun “anabolism,” which is “constructive metabolism,” or building more complex substances from simpler ones in living organisms, such as building muscle from proteins and nutrients. The term was first used in the late 1800s and was created by combining “ana” and “metabolism.” Now if my grammar details are not 100% correct, well, English isn’t my first language, but the meaning is obvious.

In practice we use the term anabolic for anything that promotes muscle growth.

For example, Anabolic Cooking is simply making food that is good for building muscle. Anabolic steroids are steroids that promote muscle growth (there are also corticosteroids which are anti-inflammatory medications).

I had a great leg workout tonight. 4 sets of front squats, 3 sets of leg extensions, and 3 sets of leg curls. It was an anabolic workout. For dinner I had a big spinach salad with and a lean steak. An anabolic meal.

Besides bodybuilding, I like to bike and sometimes even run. I’m considering doing a 100 mile bike ride this fall, something I’ve done before and that I enjoy. Both training for this event (a “century” in cycling parlance) and doing the actual 100 mile ride are not anabolic. In fact they are downright catabolic!

As I mentioned, sometimes I run. When running, I usually go about 5K two or three times a week, to help me control my body fat. Now running is not anabolic, but that mild amount of running is not catabolic either. If I were training for a 50 mile running race, as one of my friends is, the training would be catabolic. In fact if I took up serious long distance running, I’d no doubt drop 20-30 pounds of muscle whether I wanted to or not.

Three Anabolic Concerns: Training, Nutrition, and Rest

There are at least three anabolic things we should be concerned with.

The first is our weight training. We want a lot, but not enough to overtrain which is catabolic.

The second is nutrition. We want an anabolic, or muscle promoting, diet.

And the third is rest or recovery. It’s not during weight lifting that our muscles grow, but actually during recovery. And with my heavy squats today you can bet I’ll try to squeak in an extra bit of sleep. I usually sleep more when I can on deadlift and squat days, and I’m going to call that extra sleep “anabolic” because it promotes muscle growth.

The term anabolic is thrown around a lot, but what does it mean?

The short answer, with respect to weight lifting and body building, is anabolic means related to building  up muscle. The opposite is catabolic, which is breaking down muscle.

For example, lifting weights appropriately and eating properly are anabolic as they help build muscle. Overtraining is an example of something which is catabolic – it will lead to muscle breakdown and decline.

Now, the longer answer: “Anabolic” is the adjective form of the noun “anabolism,” which is “constructive metabolism,” or building more complex substances like bone and muscle from simpler substances in living organisms. The term was first used in the late 1800s and was created by combining “ana” and “metabolism.” Now if my grammar details are not 100% correct, well, English isn’t my first language, but the meaning is obvious.

In practice we use the term anabolic for anything that promotes muscle growth. For example, Anabolic Cooking is simply making food that is good for building muscle. Anabolic steroids are steroids that promote muscle growth (there are also corticosteroids which are anti-inflammatory medications).

I had a great leg workout tonight. 4 sets of front squats, 3 sets of leg extensions, and 3 sets of leg curls. It was an anabolic workout. For dinner I had a big spinach salad with and a lean steak. An anabolic meal.

Besides bodybuilding, I like to bike and sometimes even run. I’m considering doing a 100 mile bike ride this fall, something I’ve done before and that I enjoy. Both training for this event (a “century” in cycling parlance) and doing the actual 100 mile ride are not anabolic. In fact they are downright catabolic!

As I mentioned, sometimes I run. When running, I usually go about 5K two or three times a week, to help me control my body fat. Now running is not anabolic, but that mild amount of running is not catabolic either. If I were training for a 50 mile running race, as one of my friends is, the training would be catabolic. In fact if I took up serious long distance running, I’d no doubt drop 20-30 pounds of muscle whether I wanted to or not.

Three Anabolic Concerns: Training, Nutrition, and Rest.

There are at least three anabolic things we should be concerned with.

The first is our weight training. We want a lot, but not enough to overtrain which is catabolic.

The second is nutrition. We want an anabolic, or muscle promoting, diet.

And the third is rest or recovery. It’s not during weight lifting that our muscles grow, but actually during recovery. And with my heavy squats today you can bet I’ll try to squeak in an extra bit of sleep. I usually sleep more when I can on deadlift and squat days, and I’m going to call that extra sleep “anabolic” because it promotes muscle growth.