What is the best nutrition plan for muscle growth?
Similar to what I said in my fat loss nutrition plan article, a lot of muscle growth happens in the kitchen (and in bed). While many believe that bulking up is much easier than cutting, bulking up the right way is quite a challenge. You need to follow the proper nutrition plan for muscle growth.
I remember when I was doing my first volume during the last winter months. Everyone always joked, “You can have my extra pounds.” This ties into the biggest bulking challenge: gaining muscle and not just gaining weight. It is easy to gain weight. It’s not that easy to gain muscle. This article will talk about how to maximize your muscle growth while limiting your body fat.
The Scoop on Muscle Growth
I’d like to quickly talk about what really needs to happen in order for muscles to grow. Muscle growth occurs when muscle fibers are damaged from intense exercise, leading to satellite cells reaching the damaged area, fusing with each other and with the fibers, which then results in an increase in muscle area. muscle cross section.
Contrary to what most people believe, men and women generally build muscle the same way. The difference between men and women lies in their hormones. Men have significantly more testosterone than women, which is the main reason why men can increase so much more. Another major difference is the way our muscles grow and our fat is stored. Again, thanks to hormones, men and women will naturally develop the shape of their muscles differently. This is why women who take anabolic steroids develop a more masculine shape than women who lift weights but do not supplement with steroids. If you are a woman who is interested in weightlifting or if you are nervous that you will look like a man if you lift weights, read my article on weightlifting for women.
The Nutrition Plan for Muscle Growth
Nutrition for muscle growth should be just as precise as your nutrition plan for fat loss. In fact, bulking can be even more challenging than fat loss because you’re trying to build muscle WHILE maintaining/losing body fat. Like the body fat nutrition plan, this is a great place to start, but it will probably take some tweaking to make it right for you.
During my bulking phase, I used a ratio of macronutrients as follows. I always ate 1.2g of protein per pound of body weight, 20% from fat and the rest from carbohydrates. At the start of my bulk, I was around 170 pounds, and after three months, I ended up at 193 pounds at the same body fat percentage. While it is possible to bulk up much faster, you will end up gaining more body fat. I focused on keeping my body fat the same so I wouldn’t have to reduce more body fat later (I HATE CARDIO).
It is also important to control calories during the bulking phase. If you’re not eating enough, you just won’t grow as big, even if your ratio is good. When Bradley Cooper was preparing for American Sniper, he ate about 9,000 calories a day! While that’s probably overkill for most of you, he was able to raise a TON. However, if you’ve seen the movie, you’ve probably noticed that his body fat increased as well.
To calculate your total calories, multiply your body weight by 17 to start (you could go as high as 20). You can also use IIFYM.com to calculate your totals. I’ve tried both and I don’t have much of a preference. I found myself making small adjustments with both methods. Once you have your total calories, divide them using the macronutrient ratios above to get your daily grams of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. For example, when I started at 170 pounds, I was eating 204g of protein, 65g of fat, and 373g of carbs. If you’re sticking to your macros and eating your calories but still not seeing gains after 14 days, eat more! Always reassess as you would on the fat loss nutrition plan.
Protein can basically be any type of protein that your body can tolerate. Whey protein is my preferred option. For some people, whey concentrate can be harder on the stomach, so whey isolate should be substituted. If you’re trying to avoid dairy, egg or pea protein is a great option. I would highly recommend investing in protein powder, as getting that much protein strictly through food is going to be a challenge (plus it’s expensive!). Protein powder is cheap, effective, and makes it easy to reach your protein goals.
When it comes to 20% fat, I make sure to incorporate plenty of mono and saturated fats because they have been found to increase testosterone. I also include polyunsaturated fats. If you’re a woman, testosterone is obviously less important to you, so you can stick to leaner meats with less saturated fat. Trans fats should be avoided at all costs.
Carbs were hard for me. I felt like I was eating brown rice and pasta all day, every day, but you have to ingest them somehow. It’s very important to get plenty of high-glycemic carbohydrates before and directly after your workout. Dextrose is a great post-workout carbohydrate to supplement during a bulking phase. You will want to avoid many low calorie foods like vegetables. If you’re wondering why a personal trainer tells you to avoid vegetables, try eating 350g of carbs from broccoli and cauliflower. These foods are great for losing or maintaining weight, but they just don’t have enough calories. Once you’ve had your high-glycemic carbs post-workout, you’ll still want to stick to the healthier, low-glycemic carbs for the rest of the day. Some great options are quinoa, sweet potatoes, brown rice, and whole wheat pasta.
What to do if this relationship does not work?
If this ratio doesn’t work right away, you’ll want to increase your calories before altering the ratio. Start at 17 times your body weight, then work your way up to 20 times your body weight if you don’t see growth. As I said, everyone is different and you will probably have to make adjustments. Make small adjustments until you find success, but this is a good place to start.