You workout frequently and put in the time and effort into your body to achieve your goal, but you still can’t seem to build the muscle you want.
What’s going on?
If you’re struggling to grow muscle despite your dedication to your workout, your problem most likely isn’t your workout, but your diet and lifestyle. Building muscle is a complex science. It’s a coalescence of your workouts, your nutrition, your hormones, and your rest. So, let’s assume you’re doing everything right, working out —following an excellent program and pushing yourself hard. Keep it up.
But now, let’s focus on the other stuff. Are you getting enough protein and calories? Are you supporting your endocrine system properly? Are you getting quality sleep? Tweaking these crucial variables will result in the kind of result you want.
Nutrition is the cornerstone of building lean muscle. If the protein isn’t there, it’s not going to help your muscle growth. If the carbs aren’t there, you’re going to feel sluggish. If the fat isn’t there, it’s going to affect energy levels and overall health.
In short, it’s time to master the soft art of building muscle—meal time. Your diet needs to be strategically choreographed to accelerate the repair-and-growth process that follows that strenuous workout session you’re so proud of.
I used to be the former skinny athlete who was a self-described “hard gainer,” frustrated by my inability to grow muscle, strength, and run faster. Then I took a hard look at his crappy diet: I ate like a bird. Rarely touched fruits and vegetables. I gravitated toward sugary processed junk.
My nutrition training opened my eyes to my problem, and I changed my body and my life. I started eating six meals a day, increasing his daily calories to 3,500, and began experimenting with different percentages of macronutrients until he found the sweet spot. Suddenly, my energy skyrocketed, making time in the gym more productive. I added 90 pounds of lean muscle and saw substantial strength gains. The guy who struggled to bench 65lbs can now press 365lbs.
One of my favorite protein sources - Salmon
Eat More Protein
When cells rush in to rebuild your torn-down muscle fibers, the actual process of growing muscle happens not in your workout but after your workout, when you rest. And the composition of what you eat before and after you stress that muscle can mean the difference between building up the muscle or destroying it.
Making sure you’re eating enough protein is of paramount importance for two reasons:
1. Proteins deliver the amino acids that form the building blocks of muscle. When intense weightlifting breaks down, muscle protein synthesis provides the proteins needed to repair that muscle and spur it to grow bigger.
2. Your body also looks to proteins to supply amino acids for producing hormones like insulin and human growth hormone, which can further drain protein reserves. A higher protein diet ensures you have more than enough to go around and shift your body into an anabolic mode that builds tissues rather than breaking them down.
“While the recommended daily allowance for protein is less than half a gram per pound of body weight, you should double that to a gram per pound of body weight to build muscle. ”
While the recommended daily allowance for protein is less than half a gram per pound of body weight, you should double that to a gram per pound of body weight to build muscle. According to a landmark study in the Journal of Applied Physiology, that’s the maximum amount your body can use in a day.
For example, a 160-pound man should try to consume 160 grams of protein a day to fuel muscle growth. One hundred sixty grams of protein looks like this: 8 ounces of chicken breast, 1 cup of cottage cheese, a roast beef sandwich, two eggs, a glass of milk, and 2 ounces of peanuts.
Consume More Calories
If you’re weight training to build muscle, don’t eat like someone trying to lose weight. Growing a pound of muscle requires about 2,800 calories. That means you may have to overeat to consume enough calories to build size.
In some studies, researchers found that lifters with the most significant gains in muscle were the men and women who were the biggest eaters. White’s plan calls for boosting your calories to 3,000 a day. That’s a lot of food to consume in three squares, so I recommend you. . .
Eat Every 3 Hours (roughly)
By spreading your calories out over, say, six meals spaced about three hours apart, you’ll avoid that full-stomach feeling that can make you sluggish, and you’ll ensure your muscles get consistently stoked with protein and carbs. Your body needs a constant supply of macronutrients and micronutrients to operate correctly, especially when it is being taxed by intense exercise. Shoot for about 30 grams of protein per meal. That’ll get most people into the proper range for muscle growth.
Get the Right Mix of Macros
Protein is critical, but it shouldn’t be a soloist when you’re orchestrating a plan for building muscle—the other macronutrients, namely carbohydrates and healthy fats, influence muscle growth. By getting your macro ratio right, you can expect to see your gains skyrocket and avoid adding body fat even with the increase in calories. Best Meals for Muscle makes hitting that holy grail ratio of 50 percent carbs, 25 percent protein, and 25 percent fat easy by translating it into ideal meal examples (and recipes) you can use to fuel your day.
Hydrate for More T
Exercise-induced dehydration slows your motor neurons. You will feel fatigued sooner during a workout than you otherwise would, but your performance slips as well.
A study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that dehydrated weightlifters produced more of the stress hormone cortisol while reducing the release of testosterone, the body’s best muscle builder.
Find Your Whey
Right after your workout, drink a whey protein shake that delivers about 25 grams of protein per serving. Whey digests more quickly than other types of protein, so it hits your muscles faster. Whey protein also has the highest concentration of the branched-chain amino acid leucine required for protein synthesis.
Have a Banana Before a Workout
Or some Greek yogurt. Or a low-sugar sports drink. All are rich in electrolytes, which help your muscles contract. Exercise depletes electrolytes fast. Be sure you don’t run short and cramp up.
Time Your Meals
If you’re serious about putting on muscle, get serious about being more disciplined about eating. You can start by creating a meal plan and sticking to strict meal times. Begin refueling shortly after you wake up and stop eating three hours before going to bed. Remember, your body repairs and builds muscles as you sleep. Eating just before bed can disrupt your sleep and throw a monkey wrench into that crucial repair process.