Eating To Build Muscle MassA muscle building diet must be balanced and intelligently plannedEating to build muscle mass has probably done more to increase male belly fat than eating a bucket of wings. A muscle building diet must be balanced, nutritious, and intelligently planned. Contrary to what you hear in the gym it DOES NOT include smoothies, jumbo protein shakes, or force feeding. Guys like us are always looking for the best muscle building program, and sometimes, that leads to taking shortcuts because solid gains in lean muscle mass come exceedingly slow. There is all kinds of hype on TV and the Internet about how to build muscle mass...and ridiculous claims of slapping on 30 lbs. of defined, dense, muscle mass in 6 short weeks...but it just doesn't work that way. The sooner you can wrap your head around the idea that eating to build muscle is slow and progressive, the sooner you can start making significant gains. Eating to build muscle mass means making good food choices
All of us want to see results...and in most instances, the faster, the better. Except when it comes to gaining solid, muscular weight. I understand this runs contrary to what you are hoping to hear and what the "hype" promises, but there has been many scientific studies documenting that the most muscle hard-training athletes can gain in a year is just about 15 lbs. (Eight to eleven pounds of hard, dense muscle is more likely.) * In order to gain quality muscle mass, you want to shoot for a little over 1 lb. each month. Putting an inch on your waist every couple of months IS NOT what you want. * You must establish a small average calorie surplus, each month, meaning you will take in a little more than you are burning up. This will come from increasing your protein intake. * You will need to increase your intake of solid protein sources like chicken breasts, fish, turkey, lean red meat, and some soy products. * It is said to eat 1g of protein for eat 1 lb of body weight...but that can be a bit hard to do. It would take four 8 oz. chicken breasts for a 180 lbs. man. I just do my best to get close. It seems to workout okay. * Your increased protein intake needs to be spread across the entire day. * BE CAREFUL with gorging on protein shakes. They will make you fat because liquids do not satiate your hunger and the calorie content ratchets-up real quickly. * Drink only ONE protein shake each day, and sip it all through the day...not all at once. (Don't blend up a jumbo portion thinking "More is better." More shake means more fat.) * STAY AWAY FROM sugar, high-carbs, and processed foods. Make sure you get good carbs that are complex and low-glycemic. Eating to build muscle means eating to burn belly fat
The myth about professional bodybuilders gorging themselves on protein shakes to "bulk up", then training intensely to "lean down" leaves out one critical element: They are taking high-grade steroids, with the dosage being tracked by a personal physician.* You want to go slow in your quest to build lean muscle mass. It is much harder to get defined, than it is to stay defined. * The old adage that you need to put on some fat to put on some muscle is nonsense. Go slow, and in a year you will be happy with your results. * Stay away from bread and pasta as much as you can. Learn what foods sabotage your goals to gain muscle mass. * Stay away from sugary fruit juices and sports drinks. If you are using creatine monohydrate, mix it with water and squeeze some lemon juice into it. * Eating to build muscle means understanding your BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate)...the rate at which you burn calories. Here's the formula to find your BMR: Your body weight X 10 + Your body weight. * If you weigh 170 lbs, here is how it will compute (170x10 = 1700 + 170 = 1870 calories per day.) Adding calories through protein sources each day will help you gain weight. * When it is all said and done, your muscle building diet will include solid, lean protein (not shakes), low-glycemic carbs, and Omega-3 fats. Eating to build muscle NEVER involves heavy supplementation, mindless gorging, or pharmacological assistance. * Remember, the best way to gain muscle is with an intelligent diet that focuses on making good food choices, multi-joint weight training mass building workouts, and interval training for your cardio sessions. (Train like an NFL skill position player.)
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