A systematic approach to adding muscle size and strength are outlined, along with the most common pitfalls highlighted to avoid.
Gaining muscle in the arena of male fitness is the most often asked question I hear. Before we start uncovering the “secrets” I want to make one thing clear. Whenever someone sets off to achieve a goal they need to be specific. Do you want big biceps, a big chest, or possibly a lot of fat around the midsection? The first key to putting together any routine is to be as specific as possible.
Being specific with your goals is often not easy at first, but it really helps because it allows you to make quantifiable goals. Lets start by saying I want to gain lean body mass; now you know that your goal is to gain muscle and minimize the amount of fat you gain.
Now that we have a more specific idea of where to go all we need to do is connect the lines in a logical fashion. To start we need to get some data on where you are now (you cannot go anywhere if you do not know where you are now).
First we need a bodyweight which should be easy enough to obtain at your local gym. Next we need a body fat percentage (I would recommend under 12% if you are looking to gain lean body mass, if you are over this you may want to consider losing body fat first).
Finally I would recommend body part measurements (any qualified trainer should include taking body part measurements along with a body fat test).
Now you know where you are and you know you want to gain lean body mass, but how much lean body mass do you want to gain?
The general rule is one pound per week.
This does not mean one pound of muscle per week, but using the information I outline below your muscle gains should outpace your fat gain (resulting in the famed quote “I gained muscle but lost fat”).
The rest of the article will deal with what I call “lean mass building nutrition” as it outlines the best possible macronutrient breakdown for maximizing gains in lean body mass and minimizing fat mass.
Nutrition is the number one place people looking to gain lean body mass fail. It is where I did for a long time. I simply was first eating the wrong foods, and then not eating enough calories.
To learn the right foods to eat check out the “Clean Eating” list of approved foods. The foods listed there should stay constant no matter what you are doing to your body. They are clean, muscle building, fat burning, and life sustaining foods.
We will however make a few adjustments by adding some new foods and concepts as well as change up the macronutrient split to maximize your muscle building capabilities.
First off you need to eat more than you are right now to gain any size. No new lifting routine will put size on you if you do not supply those hard working muscles with calories. How much more you eat a day depends on how fast you intend on gaining lean body mass.
There is a direct relationship between how fast you want to gain lean body mass and how much fat you will gain along with it. Only you can make that choice, and I am sorry but there is no way to gain a significant amount of lean body mass and not gain any, or actually lose fat (in total pounds) if you have been training for more than 6 months without the use of an anabolic aid.
The general rule is to shoot for 500 extra calories a day which over seven days a week equals 3,500 calories surplus, the same as one pound. Now this amount can be changed to more calories or less. I would caution against going higher, building a natural body takes time. If you apply the basic principles, it WILL happen.
So how many calories do you need then? The absolute best way to figure this out would be to keep a food log of everything you eat for one week. Do not change anything and just figure out how much you are eating now per day. If you need to figure out how to count your calories check out nutrient calculations calculators that can be found on a number of websites.
Then take that number and add on 500 extra calories per day. If you watch your weight over the next week you should gain up to one pound over that week, if not you need to up it another 250 calories per day. It may take a couple of weeks to get to that number simply because as you increase your consumption of GOOD FOODS, your body will up-regulate your metabolism as well, so you may need to end up eating up to 1,000 calories extra per day to actually start gaining weight (for a young kid this can actually be the case).
If that does not sound like something you want to do then run over to a calorie calculator on the web. If you choose this method it is important to realize that the number you get may be to high or to low, and only you can watch that by weighing yourself throughout the following weeks.
So now you have the amount of calories you need to eat per day and that number may seem really high but that is how much you really do need (and maybe more) to gain actual lasting new muscle tissue.
So now we are going to talk about how much of each macronutrient to maximize your muscle building capability. The macronutrient split I will outline below should be looked at with the idea in mind that this is for a normal healthy person and is not intended to treat any specific condition. And if you are on a special macronutrient split for any specific health concern please ask us or your doctor first before following the recommendations below.
First we are going to talk about fat. Why start with fat? Because everyone else starts with protein. Fat is a great thing when on a lean body mass gaining phase for several reasons. First it is usually in liquid form and therefore is easy to eat. Second fat will lower the glycemic response of any natural food meal. Third and perhaps greatest, fat intake of the right kinds has shown to increase growth hormone and maximize testosterone output!
So to maximize your muscle building capabilities we want to follow the data on this one. The most recent data today supports 30% of your daily calories coming from fat to maximize lean body mass gains.
Now we need to get this fat from the right places. If you have read Clean Eating you know about getting your poly and monounsaturated fats, but to gain lean body mass we are also going to add in one third of your fats from saturated fats!
Yes saturated fats will help you gain lean body mass. We will get these mostly in the form of lean red meats, whole eggs, and possibly some whole dairy products like milk because each of these foods also provides good amounts of muscle building protein.
Now on to protein.
Protein as everyone knows is important to both maintain and gain lean body mass. There are many different ideas out there about how much, but the majority of studies keep protein requirements at around one gram per pound of lean body mass for an active muscle building enthusiast. This means that if you weigh 200 pounds at 10% body fat you have 180 pounds of lean body mass and should eat 180 grams of protein per day.
I will add though that if you do not have enough protein flowing through the body it will slow your growth. So to make it simple I will recommend up to one gram per pound of body weight.
These proteins should come from those listed in Clean Eating as well as some red meats, whole eggs, and possibly whole milk products if you can handle them.
So now we have carbohydrates left to deal with. Carbohydrates are your workhorses, they will supply you with both your workout energy (great pumps) and anabolic hormones that will set you into muscle building mode.
Carbohydrates should make up the remaining amount of calories in your daily diet. Most likely, this will be anywhere from 40 percent to 60 percent. For the most part, these carbohydrates should come from those listed in Clean Eating and low in the glycemic index.
The one exception will be post workout where it is essential that we get your body out of a catabolic (muscle breakdown) state and into an anabolic (muscle sparing and growth) phase. To do this we will use a high glycemic index carbohydrate and a fast acting whey protein to both cause a dramatic rise in insulin levels causing your body to stop wasting protein and shuttle both the carbohydrate and whey protein into your cells to start the rebuilding process.
So now you have it, a recipe for GROWTH. I cannot stress enough that if you are not gaining weight it is your diet to blame first (or some strange metabolic disorder of which are rare and you should see a doctor). Even if you are using a horrible lifting routine and you are not at least gaining fat weight then you are not eating enough!!
How much at each meal?
For this one I recommend a basic and useful principle of “use it or wear it.” This means simply that you should eat a larger percentage of your carbohydrates (your energy food) in the morning and in a five hour period around your workout (starting two hours before and three hours after). This is because you can use those extra calories before a workout to ensure your body does not need to dip into reserves to complete your routine, and then afterward that your body has all it needs to maximize your muscle building capabilities. There are no exact percentages to follow for doing this because if you are eating foods listed in Clean Eating, you should not have to worry about it.
So let’s put this all together. I will use a mid morning workout because that is my preferred time to exercise since it sets my day in motion.
Meal 1:
Oatmeal
Fresh fruit
Poached eggs
Workout
Meal 2: (immediately post workout)
Post Workout Drink 50-100 grams
Any supplements like beta-creatine
Meal 3:
Lean Chicken Breast
Brown Rice
Salad
Flax oil
Meal 4: (home-made meal replacement)
Quick oats
Fruit
Protein Powder
Flax oil
Meal 5:
Lean Beef or fish
Sweet potato
Mixed vegetables
Olive oil
Meal 6:
Cottage Cheese or protein powder
Fruit
Peanut Butter
So there you have it, remember if you are not gaining weigh ADD FOOD! It may seem like a lot but I can assure you that this is the limiting factor for most so called “hard-gainers.”
Now head over to the Training Section to get your lifting in order.
Clean Eating Food List
Fruit
Apples
Avocados
Bananas
Cantaloupe
Pears
Plums
Grapes
Kiwi
Apricots
Nectarines
Oranges
Berries
Grapefruit
Vegetables
Asparagus
Artichokes
Bell peppers
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Brussels sprouts
Carrots
Celery
Corn
Eggplant
Peas
Green beans
Lettuce
Cabbage
Collard greens
Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Cucumbers
Onions
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Spinach
Zucchini
Squash
Garlic
Condiments
Honey
Horseradish
Low fat salad dressing
Mustard (try spicy)
No fat mayo
Salsa
Balsamic vinegar
Dairy and Eggs
Cheese (low fat or no fat)
Ricotta cheese
Cottage cheese
Eggs (use whites)
Egg substitutes
Light margarine
Milk
Tofu
Yogurt
Breads (always whole wheat, rye, or “living”)
Bagels
English muffins
Low fat tortillas
Corn tortillas
Whole wheat bread
Whole wheat pita
Manna or Ezekiel
Staples
Oatmeal
Almond butter
Almonds
Walnuts
Brown rice
Couscous
Lentils
Garlic powder
Cajun spices
Vanilla extract
Peppermint extract
Canola oil
Olive oil
Pam/cooking spray
Raisins
Flaxseeds
Canned Food
Tuna
Salmon
Black beans
Refried beans
Green beans peas
Tomatoes
Soup (low fat and sodium)
Broth
Pineapples
Peaches
Pears
Applesauce (unsweet)
Tomato/spaghetti sauce
Meat/fish/poultry
Chicken breast
Precooked chicken strips
Lean ground beef
Fresh fish
Scallops
Canned tuna
Salmon
Other fish
Frozen Food
Strawberries
Blueberries
Peaches
Orange juice
Fruit juice bars
Assorted vegetables
Spinach
Matthew Johnson – Is a nutritionist and exercise physiologist with a degree in nutritional sciences and toxicology and a certificate in dietetics. He is currently finishing his Doctorate at UC Berkeley in exercise physiology. Matthew consults with companies and athletes from local to international caliber. Matt can be reached at matthewjohnson@mklaboratory.com