Muscle Building Diet for building mass quickly!
There are some rules to keep in mind when doing a muscle building diet. Technically, if most of these rules were applied by the average American there would be no overweight/obese epidemic going on. We want to give you the basics but we will also get into some detail. The more you understand how your body works the better off you will be when it comes to gaining size and staying lean.
When someone wants to gain mass, there are 2 questions they want to ask themselves. These questions should depend on an individual’s tendency to gain fat. There are two ways to gain size. There is a so called “clean bulk”. This consist of a diet where the amounts of carbohydrates and fats are monitored and restricted. Then there is what is called the dirty bulk. This is the hard gainers diet. This diet allows and requires the individual to take in extra carbs and fats therefore making the body very anabolic. On a clean bulk diet, your gains will be slower but also leaner. On a dirty bulk diet you will gain muscle much faster however you will also put on fat to some degree. That is why people who have a tendency to gain fat should stay away from this type of diet.
Understanding what you put into your body, what it does and how it affects your metabolism is very important. A key element to the diet that will be discussed here is protein. You should never eat any meal without protein. Processing protein causes the body to burn more calories, but more importantly it supplies your body with essential building blocks for muscle growth. Imagine for a second, you just left the gym after a strenuous workout. Your muscles have been taxed to the point where thousands of micro tears within the muscle fiber have occurred. Think of a brick wall that has been stretched. There will be newly formed open spaces for you to fill. By filling those spaces you have in essence kept the wall from retracting back to its original size. This is how muscle growth happens. Now consider this, you go without taking any protein sources after this work out and simply go to bed. Your muscles are demanding those amino acids and if you don’t give it to them then they will pull it from within the body. And where is the best place to pull protein from? Muscle. This is why PWO (Post Workout) nutrition is the most important meals that you can have, especially when taken immediately after a workout. It is this very reason why you see so many of the same individuals in the gym year after year, rarely ever gaining size or strength. Eating right is 75% of what it takes to gain muscle.
A muscle building diet for the whole body.
Unfortunately it is not only after you work out that your body needs protein. Your body uses proteins in other places than muscle. From your brain to your cartilage, your heart to your lungs, all of these organs require protein. You should have at least 40 grams of protein with every meal. The general rule of thumbs is 1 to 1 ½ grams of protein per pound of body fat per day. Preferably foods with high protein bio-availability, such as Chicken breast, fish, lean steak, lean pork and egg whites. There are several others but these are the staples. When you truly understand this you will realize that you should constantly be giving yourself proteins from external sources. If your body runs out of external sources then it will pull protein from within. And this means the very muscle you worked so hard to achieve. Watch any professional power lifter, athlete or body builder and they will consume meals throughout the day. Most of these professionals will eat five to eight times per day.. The reason being is under thae standard two to three meal per day your body runs out of protein within those intervals. Multiple, smaller, cleaner meals keep a constant source of external protein flowing into the body. This also dramatically speeds up your metabolic rate, thus helping stave off craving and burn calories quicker.
The muscle building diet breakdown
Carbs and Fats are the other major component in the equation. Although these do not act as building blocks, they are essential to metabolic efficiency and energy production. You should stick with low glycemic carbs such as yams, oatmeal and brown rice. Fibrous veggies are also very important because of their limited effects on blood sugar levels. On a multiple (5 to 7) meal plan you should only add carbs every other meal. The first meal should consist of carbs and then every other meal after. Your last meal of the night should not have any carbs. Most of your carb intake should be done during PWO (Post Workout). With this meal you want double the amount of carbs to protein. In a strict cutting diet you also do not want to take fats during the carb intervals. Eating fats along with carbs causes fat gain. Your body cannot process these two elements efficiently and the fats will be stored at fat on your body. On a dirty bulk diet this is not the case. If you want lean gains, stay within these guide lines and an you will see great results.
Fats are something that most people are taught to fear. Fats actually help you to lose weight. But it is the right fats that you take that are important. These are the good fats or EFA’s (Essential Fatty Acids)..The best sources are Olive oil, Flax oil, fish oil, Salmon and nuts. When you take in good fats, not only do they stave off cravings but they help displace the bad fast from your system. Make sure that the good fats are only taken during your protein only meals, otherwise you will have the chance for some or all to be stored as fat.
If you’re not one for preparing multiple meals you can consider replacing some but not many with meal replacement shakes. Both protein and carbohydrate shakes are convenient and can assure you are getting the essentials you need. As far as protein shakes are concerned, your major ones are whey and casein. Whey is an immediate response protein while casein is a slower digesting protein. Typically you would take whey protein shakes during the day and taking casein shakes prior to bed time. The slower release of casein helps stave off needs your body requires for protein while you are asleep. There are many companies today that make quality protein shakes, so it really comes down to taste. Carbohydrate shakes come in the form of dextrose and maltdextrin. There are less options for carbohydrate shakes. Some of our favorites include, Glygoload, Ultrafuel and Carbohit.
As far as supplement go. There are many we would recommend. In order of importance we would suggest;
1) Creative Monohydrate – Increases muscle cellular volume, energy production and recuperation, all of which promotes muscle growth.
2) Glutamine – to be uses while doing cardiovascular exercise. Helps keep muscle from becoming catabolic while burning off fat.
3) ALA/R-ALA – Works by lowering insulin levels when high glycemic carbs are introduced.
Staying with these guidelines and you should see great success from your workouts.
Below are some great nutritional video’s from the legend Milos Sarcev.
It is important that you are careful when taking health supplements, especially supplements that are designed to help you to lose weight or build muscle. Unless you know that the supplement is reliable and real, you could end up taking a supplement that is made with potentially damaging or harmful ingredients. It is essential that you do research into each supplement before taking it, as that is the only way that you will be informed about what you are adding to your muscle building diet.
Disclaimer: This page deals specifically with nutrients that will help you to build muscle, but it is important that you continue to follow a balanced diet containing all of the food groups in order to remain healthy. Protein and fat can both cause serious health problems if too much of either food group is consumed, and a lack of vitamins and minerals that are obtained from fruits and vegetables can lead to health issues. Eat sufficient quantities of all foods in order to stay healthy.