In the last 3 parts, we talked about the strength training and work capacity aspects of hardgainer bodybuilding.  Now here, lets conclude with a basic primer of mass building nutrition for a hardgainer.  You can also refer to the muscle building 101 nutrition guide for a more comprehensive mass eating primer.

A bowl of seafood soup noodles provides plenty of calories

As a skinny hardgainer, you’ll have to know what and how to eat to maximize your gains to avoid wasted efforts in the gym.  Bodybuilding nutrition is really very simple and easy to implement once you get the basics down.

First, the difficulty lies not in what you eat or what types of food, but rather in getting in the required and necessary amount of calories each day.  The biggest problem ever for most hardgainers on nutrition is that, they’re usually not eating nearly enough to promote an anabolic response for building muscle.  As you probably know, you need a calories surplus with the right macronutrient ratios to gain quality weight…lean muscle tissue while minimizing fat gain.

Calories Excess Equation

Take a look at the equation below for calories surplus,

• Total Calories= Calories Intake (calories eaten) – Calories Expenditure (calories used)

Calories, in this respect, is the measured heat energy derived from food (food is the body’s fuel for function and exercise).  If calories intake is greater than the amount of calories you expend, you’ll end up with a positive total calories.  If you expend more than you take in, then you’ll be in deficit mode.  The end of the equation will be a negative.  You’ll lose weight.

Calories is energy.  Total energy balance at the end of the day must be positive.  You must eat more than you burn.  There must be calories excess. Thats it!  No way around this one.  This is simple energy balance.  Calories surplus/excess is the first key for quality weight gain.  So whenever you’re not building muscle or gaining weight, it’s probably because your diet sucks.  Eat more and build more muscle.

The amount of calories you eat to achieve surplus also needs to be over your maintenance calories requirement or the amount of food you eat to maintain your current weight.  Eat more than you’re used to or normally eat.

To find surplus calories, normally my rule is to add 16 X body weight and add 500 calories to the figure.  But for hardgainers with ultra fast metabolism, I recommend 18 X body weight + 500.  So a 135 lbs hardgainer would need,

• 18 X 135 lbs + 500 = 2,930 calories

This is the recommended starting figure to work with.  There’s no exact formula that will give you an exact and 100% accurate figure.  What you can do is take this basic formula and adjust accordingly to your results.  If you’re still not gaining muscle weight, then you simply bump up the calories, add about 200-300 more calories until you gain.

Aim for 1-2 lbs of weight gain a week for the first 3 months. If you don’t gain at least half a pound every week for the first 6 months of training, add 250 calories until you gain.  I would do this biweekly. Monitor your weight on the scale for 2 weeks.  If there’s no weight gain, bump up the calories by 250 and you’ll start to gain.

Eventually muscular weight gain will slow as you reach towards your potential, otherwise if you kept going 1-2 lbs, you’re either going to be 500 lbs of pure muscle or really fast.  Not going to happen.

Expect some quick gains in the first 6 months of your lifting career if you’re eating the required amounts of food and pounding those weights intensely day and out.  Don’t be surprised to gain 20, 30, or even 40 pounds of lean muscle weight for the first 4 months of intense training.  The gains will then slow down.

Aim for 1-2 pounds of lean muscle weight every month afterwards.  Factor those gains for five years and you’re looking at 50-60 pounds of additional muscle gains on top of your newbie gains.  You’ll be bigger, stronger, and more muscular than 95% of the population by then.  Keep this perspective in mind.

Record weight and monitor body fat % using Accumeasure body fat caliper scale (available at accumeasurefitness.com).  If you dont gain at least 1/2 lb per week in the first few weeks, then add an extra 200 calories per day.  Keep adding calories until you see weight gain.

An apple a day provides the essential vitamins and minerals you need

Macronutrient Balance with the 4 Rules of Hardgainer Nutrition

Macronutrient  balance is the next important factor next to calories surplus.  You not only have to know how much to eat, you have to know what to eat as well.  To keep this brief without getting all scientific on the many different diets out there, I have only 4 rules for you to follow,

• 1) Eat a 40/40/20 or 50/30/20 carbohydrate, protein, fats distribution of calories from different food types.  This is your c/p/f balance and the distribution of these macronutrients should make up your diet.  50/30/20 means that 50% of your calories should come from carbohydrates, 30% from protein, and 20% for mainly good healthy essential fats.

• 2) Eat 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.  If you’re 140 pounds, eat at least 140 grams of protein.  Protein are the building blocks of muscles derived from the essential and nonessential amino acids.  Provide plenty of building blocks for your muscle and you’re set.

• 3)  Drink a post-workout drink within 45 minutes after a workout.  Drink or eat a light meal after a workout consisting of some carbs and protein for recovery purposes since a hardgainer generally has poor recovery abilities.  After a tough strength workout,  insulin sensitivity is high at its peak.  Your muscles needs fuel after a tough workout so give it what it wants.  This initiates anabolic activity for immediate repair and growth of muscle cells.   As a base, use ice, skim milk, yogurt, and whey and/or casein protein powder to make your shake.  Add in fruits like bananas, peaches, berries, applies as preferred and poor into blender. Blend all the ingredients well, pour the  contents into a shake bottle  and drink.  Each shake you make easily adds 500-600 calories.

• 4) Eat 5-6 smaller meals every day rather than 3 large meals.  This increase in meal frequency makes it easier to eat all those calories especially if you’re not used to eating a lot.  Most hardgainers do not have big appetities. Break down  the 6 meals into 3 larger meals and 3 smaller meals/snacks.  Break it down any way you want as long as you get the required number of calories and meal frequency.  Better yet, eat something every 3-4 hours of your waking hours.  Don’t let you stomach go empty for more than 4 hours (with the exception of sleep).  Eat a little bit of carbs, protein, fats for each meal.  It’s also a good idea to eat a light meal/snack before bedtime.

Don't forget to eat your veggies!

This ensures you have something in your stomach every 3-4 hours during the day to prevent catabolism (breakdown of muscle tissue which is detrimental to muscle growth). The body is always in shifting states, either anabolic (where body repairs and grows) or catabolism( body burns off fat and lean muscle tissue).  This is the nature of your metabolism throughout the day.  The trick is to minimize catabolic activity and shift towards the anabolic state by the end of the day so you can build muscle and strength.

The bottom line:  more frequent meals will keep you in a positive anabolic state with a positive energy balance to lean mass growth, provided you eat a lot and have caloric excess.  Below is a list of my recommended food choices.

Food Choices

Carbohydrates

Complex carbs are the number one source of energy for all bodily functions and muscular exertion.

• all kinds of fruits and vegetables; (green beans, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, lettuce, onions, cucumber, berries, tomato, beet, string breans, asparagus, green peas, pears, apples, oranges, pears, mangos, etc.) you’ll also get your fiber with veggies and fruits

• whole grain breads and cereals

• whole wheat pastas

• oatmeal

• brown rice, wild rice

• beans

• yam, pumpkin, squash

• sweet potato

• corn

• raw nuts, lentils

• papaya

• plain, non-fat yogurt ( I like Dannon and Yoplait)

• kashi

• wheat pasta

• dry barley

• honey

• baked potato

• black beans

• red kidney beans

Protein

Protein are the building blocks of muscles.  Your muscle fibers are made up of actin and myosin protein filaments so it only makes sense to feed your muscle with more protein.

• lean cuts of red meat and poultry (chicken, turkey, ham)

• all types of fish, especially tuna, cod, salmon, halibut, and swordfish

• seafood and shellfish

• diary products; low fat skim milk, cottage  cheese, yogurt, eggs, powdered eggs

• plain or low-fat yogurt

• egg whites, egg beaters, egg yolk

• low fat cheese 2%/cottage cheese

• whey, soy, and casein protein

Fats

Fats help regulate metabolism, bolsters the immune system, recovers your muscles, cushions the vital organs, and keeps you in tip top shape for the gym.  They also reduce the risk of heart disease while lowering bad cholesterol and raising good cholesterol levels.  Stick mainly with the essential good fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats) and reduce saturated and trans fats intake (the fats you find in overly-processed, junk, friend, and fast foods).

• flax seeds, flax oil

• fish oil

• all types of fish

• egg yolk

• avocado

• dry roasted almonds

• low fat mayo

• peanuts

• sunflower seeds

• fat free margarine

• enova oil

So take these food choices and use either 50/30/20 or 40/40/20 macro ratio as discussed above to come up with a diet.  As a hardgainer, you don’t have to eat 100% clean with all healthy foods.  A big mac or two a week can help add calories if you have trouble eating a lot even though the nutritional value of that junk is low. Though it might not be too healthy over the long term but one or two meals won’t be too bad.

The farmer's market is the bodybuilder's best hangout place

If you veer off for a few days, don’t worry.  As long as you stick to eating correctly 90% of the time, you’ll see great results.  In addition, drink plenty of water. I recommend at least half a gallon a day.  Keep your muscles well hydrated.  It’ll improve your performance in the gym with better concentration and alertness.

A lot of people walk around half dehydrated and they don’t even know it.  You don’t have to feel thirsty to be dehydrated. When thirst comes, you’ve already been in the dehydrated state for an hour or more.  So drink up.

I want to re-emphasize eating as very important. You can have the best training program, but if you don’t eat properly or enough to grow, you’re not going to gain an ounce of muscle.  All the training you’ve done will be waste.  You will recover poorly without the necessary nutrients.

Supplements

Finally, we have supplements.  For newbies and starters, I don’t recommend you use a lot of supplements from day one.  Rather, eat whole foods.  Real foods.  Supplements are there to “supplement” a good muscle building diet.  They shouldn’t replace it.  Here’s a short list of supplements that I do recommend,

• whey protein powder

• casein protein powder

• egg protein powder

• creatine

• multivitamin; any will do, I use centrum

For a more detailed guide on supplementation and nutrition, check out Will Brink’s “Bodybuilding Revealed” ebook.

And this concludes the hardgainer primer.  As a hardgainer struggling to build muscle, it all comes down to training with heavy weights using progressive overload (constantly adding weight, reps, sets to the bar and making the workouts more challenging and intense through the training cycles), eating a ton, and getting adequate rest and sleep. Don’t make things more complicate than it is.  It takes consistent training and eating to see results.

Train Hard.  Train Safely.  Train Smart.

• The Hardgainer’s Guide to Building Muscle and Strength- part 1
• The Hardgainer’s Guide to Building Muscle and Strength- part 2
• The Hardgainer’s Guide to Building Muscle and Strength- part 3
• The Hardgainer’s Guide to Building Muscle and Strength- part 4

Feel free to send me an email at ZQH245@gmail.com or leave a comment below if you have any questions.

photo credits:
ssour
zawezome
Mauricio Pellegrinetti
Pink Sherbet Photography

Related posts:

1. The Hardgainer’s Guide to Building Muscle and Strength: A Hardgainer’s Dilemma- Part 1
2. The Hardgainer’s Guide to Building Muscle and Strength: A Strength Foundation- Part 2
3. The Hardgainer’s Guide to Building Muscle and Strength: Building Work Capacity- Part 3
4. Muscle Building Nutrition
5. Muscle Building 101: How to Build Muscle with Bodybuilding Nutrition- Part 2

An article by nutritional expert Will Brink, author of the best-selling “Bodybuilding Revealed” program at BodybuildingRevealed.com

Most people are aware that nutrient timing is as important as nutrient composition. In other words, it’s not just what you eat, but when you eat it that gives optimal results. As the man says, “Timing is everything.” Consuming the right foods at the right time can have positive effects on body composition: which means more muscle and less body fat.

Health-conscious people are told to avoid simple carbohydrates, and for good reasons. It’s not true all the time and in every situation, however. Following a heavy workout, there is a metabolic “window” – so to speak – where the body preferentially shuttles glucose into the liver and muscles to replace lost glycogen via both insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent transport mechanisms.

Translated, this means your body will shuttle carbs and protein into the tissues you want (muscle) instead of storing them as fat after a workout.

The Metabolic Window

To carry the analogy further, the metabolic window doesn’t stay open indefinitely, so you need to take advantage of the opportunity while it lasts.

A number of studies have found that a post-workout drink containing simple, high-GI carbs and protein increases protein synthesis dramatically. The two work synergistically to create an anabolic environment that’s superior to either nutrient alone. In addition, some recent work suggests that a pre-workout drink may be superior to a post-workout drink, and consuming both may be best of all!

Research looking at the issue has gotten a great deal of attention in the sports nutrition world. One particularly interesting study, “Timing of amino acid-carbohydrate ingestion alters anabolic response of muscle to resistance exercise.” (Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2001 Aug;281(2):E197-206), compared the anabolic responses to a carbohydrate and amino acid supplement taken either before or after resistance exercise. It’s counterintuitive to think taking in these nutrients before the workout is superior to post-workout, but according to this small study:

“…results indicate that the response of net muscle protein synthesis to consumption of an EAC solution [carb/amino acid drink] immediately before resistance exercise is greater than that when the solution is consumed after exercise, primarily because of an increase in muscle protein synthesis…”

Since this study was published, several researchers have proposed that providing amino acids/protein and carbs both before and after a resistance workout represents the best of both worlds. This is the premise of the book “Nutrient Timing” by John Ivy and Robert Portman.

They present compelling evidence that the right mixture of nutrients, taken at key points in the muscle growth cycle, will optimize improvements in muscle growth, strength, and power, as well as enhance recovery from exercise.

Overall, there’s a solid body of scientific evidence to support using a blend of fast-acting carbs and amino acids/protein for both pre- and post-workout nutrition. It’s definitely a “hot” topic among sports researchers. It’s also a topic that seems to create endless speculation and conversation with non-scientists looking to get the most of their time in the gym. Everyone wants to hear the latest word, it seems.

So what’s the latest word?

The place to discover cutting edge research on a topic is to attend conferences where researchers present their most recent findings. This is a much faster way of getting current info than reading scientific journals, as it can take many months (even years!) to publish the work researchers submit for review and publication.

Each year, I attend various scientific conferences that apply to my interests, research, and business. This year I attended the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) conference in Las Vegas. The ISSN is a relatively new organization and this was their third conference to date.*

A session on the role of nutrition in exercise and recovery was particularly interesting. One standout study**, “Effects of protein and carbohydrate on anabolic responses to resistance training” looked at the effects of carbs, creatine, and whey – taken alone and in different combinations – on LBM and/or strength. The conclusion was that the combination of all three (whey, carbs, and creatine) was the most effective and that there appeared to be a true synergism between these nutrients.

This study also confirmed that these nutrients, taken both before and after training, have a greater effect on lean mass and strength than when taken at other times of the day. I don’t think that comes as a big surprise to most people “in the know” about such things, but it’s good to see it confirmed under controlled conditions.

The take home lesson is this: if you want to optimize your nutrition to gain muscle mass and strength, it’s vital to consume a combination of fast-acting carbs and protein during the workout “window.”

Here’s what I recommend:

Mix 30-50g of high quality whey with 75-100g of high GI carbs (such as glucose, maltodextrin, etc.,) and 3-5g of creatine monohydrate and drink half immediately before you hit the gym, and the other half immediately following your workout.

To make it extra simple, I use a pre-made carb drinks (e.g., TwinLab Ultra Fuel, etc.) and add the whey and creatine to that and mix it up. You can “roll your own” of course by buying various carb powders in bulk. I just like the convenience of the pre-made carb mixtures myself.

As you can see, I don’t use a complicated formula for the amounts of protein, carbs, and creatine to take pre- and post-workout. Why? Because – while focusing on such minutiae would make me look smart – it probably won’t have any effects on you.

Following the K.I.S.S. (“Keep It Simple, Stupid”) system works best here. The above formula is more then sufficient to supply the nutrients required to take advantage of the metabolic window. Some people take it a step further by dividing the formula into three parts, to be consumed before, during and after the workout, but I don’t see the need for that either. I doubt there are any real benefits to it, but more research is needed there.

This isn’t a miracle mixture, of course. If your training and/or nutrition over the rest of the day aren’t up to snuff, this pre- and post-workout drink won’t make up for those shortcomings. In conjunction with a good training program and diet however, combining pre- and post-workout nutrition will clearly add to your success. And remember, it’s not rocket science, so don’t make it any more complicated then it needs to be.

*I recommend that anyone interested in the topic of sports nutrition – lay person or scientist – should join the ISSN.* Visit their web site at http://www.sportsnutritionsociety.org for more information.

**Presented by Dr. Paul Cribb

Click Here for the Bodybuilding Revealed Muscle Building program

About the Author – William D. Brink

Will Brink has over 15 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published.Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.

His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.

Will was a former high level trainer with a rep for getting Olympic athletes, bodybuilders and fitness stars into shape and has gained a reputation for being a no “BS” industry insider who’s not afraid to reveal the lies and hype found in the fat loss , muscle building & supplement industry.

He has been co author of several studies relating to sports nutrition and health found in peer reviewed academic journals, as well as having commentary published in JAMA. William has been invited to lecture on the benefits of weight training and nutrition at conventions and symposiums around the U.S. and Canada, and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs and now runs seminars for tactical law enforcement (SWAT).

He is the author, of Bodybuilding Revealed which teaches you how to gain solid muscle mass drug free and Fat Loss Revealed. which reveals exactly how to get lean , ripped and healthy completely naturally. Both e-books come with access to his private forums and numerous tools to aid you in either endevour.

Find out more at Bodybuilding Revealed or Fat Loss Revealed.

photo credits:
PunkJr
gordasm

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5. Fundamentals of Bodybuilding Nutrition

An article by nutritional expert Will Brink, author of the best-selling “Bodybuilding Revealed” program at BodybuildingRevealed.com

Pre- and post-workout nutrition is all the rage these days, and for good reason. For some, however, it’s become more than a science—it’s become their religion, or perhaps just a place to focus their OCD-like tendencies. Regardless, people have taken the topic of pre- and post-workout nutrition to a level that is not justified by the research, or at least not confirmed by the research that currently exists.

Readers should realize I may have my membership card to the Bodybuilding Nutrition Guru Society torn up and thrown at me for what I am about to share in this article…

As expected, supplement companies—and self–proclaimed ‘net guru types—have used what does exist for research to convince everyone that that if they don’t take in exactly 98.7 grams of carbohydrates and 37.2 grams of protein within 28 seconds after they leave the gym, their muscles will be attacked by every muscle-hating hormone they possess in their body by second 29; with the prior year of hard work in the gym totally wasted by second 30!

People are fixated on this particular topic like nothing else, and when you throw in the other possible ingredients that can be added to the post-workout drink, such as creatine, glutamine, and many others, it’s taken to the level of psychosis!

Of course supplement companies have come out with their own “techno-functional ultra-repartitioning multi-dimensional”* post-workout drink formulas that are claimed to be the latest breakthrough. Besides the carbs and protein in these formulas, many of the additional compounds are either under dosed (ergo the ‘label decoration’ syndrome), have no particular justification for being in the formula in the first place, or both (ergo, the ‘shot gun’ approach)…but I digress.

Now I have to take at least some blame—or credit—for this predicament, depending on how you want to view it. I have written extensively about the importance of post-workout nutrition in all manner of articles, and give the topic extensive focus in my Bodybuilding Revealed e-book.

Unlike many of the supplement companies and ‘net experts’ out there, however, I never claimed you would shrivel up into Pee Wee Herman in a matter of minutes if you didn’t get your ultra high-tech post-workout drink 29 seconds after your last set of squats. I have always taken a balanced view on the topic, by pointing out that food is still more important in the overall equation of muscle growth.

Thus, what I can say is that research—and common sense—tells us it’s advantageous to get some fast-acting carbs and protein after a hard workout to optimize the time we put in the gym. From there, however, people have relied more on wishful thinking than science for their pre- and post-workout nutrition. People who have poor diets and poorly thought-out training routines, but focus on the latest magic pre- and post-workout elixirs are missing the point. Their approach is like trying to hold up a three-legged stool with one support leg and the other two missing.

General Considerations of Research vs. the “Real World”

As we all know, a great deal of research is performed that—although interesting—has very little “real world” application to bodybuilders and other athletes.

This is because scientists do everything in their power to study their chosen topic in isolation. In other words, they go to great lengths and trouble to control variables that will impact the outcomes of their studies. For example, in a study looking at the effects of a drug or supplement, a placebo group is matched to the “active” group.

The scientists want to make sure the effect they get—or don’t get—is due to the drug/supplement and not the placebo effect. Making the study double-blind is another way of attempting to prevent the bias of the scientists from influencing the study.

The point is that, when they attempt to isolate an effect of something being tested, scientists often end up with results that may not always be directly applicable to the “real world” of Joe Schmoe gym goer.

When study designs don’t reflect “real world” conditions, they need to be taken with a grain of salt. Were the study participants fasted? What type of exercise did they perform? What effects did the researchers actually look at and how does that apply to the “real world” or athlete in question? Were the study participants new to the form of exercise being utilized in the study or were they experienced athletes? How many people were in the study?

Who do the results apply to: endurance or strength athletes? Both? Neither?!

Those are just a few of the essential questions that have to be asked and answered before you can even begin to draw any useful “real world” conclusions from the studies that come out. Yet this doesn’t stop people and supplement companies from jumping on the latest studies as the last word in nutrition and start making recommendations from them. They also tend to ignore the studies that contradict or fail to replicate the advice they are giving out. Let’s look at some examples…

The Fast vs. Slow Protein Craze..

The use of fasted subjects in nutrition studies illustrates how researchers can end up with results that may not apply well to the real world. As the name implies, the study subjects are a group of people who have not eaten for an extended period of time. In many cases, they haven’t eaten for 8 – 10 hours or more, which of course does not reflect how the average person eats, at let alone how the average athlete eats—especially bodybuilders looking to add muscle mass.

Enter stage right, the “fast vs. slow” protein craze. The study that got this craze rolling was called “Slow and fast dietary proteins differently modulate postprandial protein accretion” and was responsible for causing a resurgence of interest in casein.

The basic premise of this much-touted study was that the speed of absorption of dietary amino acids (from ingested proteins) varies according to the type of dietary protein a person eats.

The researchers wanted to see if the type of protein eaten would affect postprandial (e.g., after a meal) protein synthesis, breakdown, and deposition. To test the hypothesis, they fed casein (CAS) and whey protein (WP) to a group of healthy adults, a single meal of casein (CAS) or whey WP following an overnight fast (10 h).

Using this specific study design, they found:

• WP induced a dramatic but short increase of plasma amino acids.

• CAS induced a prolonged plateau of a moderate increase in amino acids (hyperaminoacidemia)

• Whole body protein breakdown was inhibited by 34% after CAS ingestion but not after WP ingestion.

• Postprandial protein synthesis was stimulated by 68% with the WP meal and to a lesser extent (+31%) with the CAS meal.

The basic non-science summary is: the study found that CAS was good at preventing protein breakdown (proteolysis), but was not so good for increasing protein synthesis. WP had basically the opposite effects: it increased protein synthesis but didn’t prevent protein breakdown. The problem is that they were using fasted subjects for a single meal.

Keep that in mind as we move along here…

So far so good right?

So what can we conclude from this study and how useful are the results? Like so many studies, the results were interesting—and of little use to people in the real world. Do these results hold up under more “real world” conditions where people are eating every few hours and/or mixing the proteins with other macronutrients (i.e., carbs and fats)?

The answer is probably not, which is exactly what the researchers found when they attempted to mimic a more realistic eating pattern of multiple meals and or the addition of other macronutrients. The follow up study was called “The digestion rate of protein is an independent regulating factor of postprandial protein retention.”

Four groups of five to six healthy young men received:

• a single meal of slowly digested casein (CAS).

• a single meal of free amino acids mimicking the composition of casein (AA).

• a single meal of rapidly digested whey proteins (WP).

• repeated meals of whey proteins (RPT-WP) mimicking slow digestion rate of casein (i.e., reflecting how people really eat).

So what did they find? In a nut shell, giving people multiple doses of whey—which more closely mimics how people really eat-—had basically the same effects as a single dose of casein, and mixing either with fats and proteins pretty much nullified any big differences between the two proteins.

Even that’s not the end of the story, however, as multiple follow up studies done by the same group and others found these effects could also be different in older versus younger people and male versus female! How messed up is that?! So how much press did these follow up studies get? Little or none, as I recall.

Now, a later study did attempt to examine the actual net amino acid uptake after resistance training with whey vs. casein, and found both proteins had essentially the same effects on net muscle protein synthesis after exercise despite different patterns of blood amino acid responses.

Does that put to rest the issue or debate of one protein vs. the other post-workout? No, as there are yet more conflicting studies out there and my bet is still on whey as the superior post-workout protein, but it’s important to realize the answer is far from established at this time.

Got Milk?

Milk: nature’s original MRP. Despite all the fancy proteins out there all claiming to be the next step in the evolution of proteins that “will blast you past your plateaus in the gym,” good old milk seems to be competing—and winning—against some “high tech” products on the market. We have various studies finding increased protein synthesis and other positive effects when a purified protein supplement (e.g., whey, soy, casein, etc.) ingested right after or before a workout—usually in conjunction with carbohydrates—but what about good old milk, a “real” food?

One recent study found good old milk to be an effective post-workout drink that increased net muscle protein synthesis after resistance training. Yet another recent study compared 2 cups of skim milk as a post workout drink compared to a soy drink and a “sports drink.”

In this study, the milk and soy drinks were matched for basic macronutrient ratios and calories and all three were matched for total calories. 56 male volunteers were split into three groups, with all put on a resistance training program for 12 weeks. The volunteers were then randomly assigned one of the three drinks to consume as a post workout drink and again one hour after the workouts.

Although no major differences were found in strength between the 3 groups, the group getting the milk had the greatest increase in muscle mass (via increases in Type I and II fibers) with researchers concluding

“…chronic postexercise consumption of milk promotes greater hypertrophy during the early stages of resistance training in novice weightlifters when compared with isoenergetic soy or carbohydrate consumption.”

But it gets better: how about our favorite childhood drink, chocolate milk? How about chocolate milk vs. two commercial energy/fluid replacement drinks, such as Gatorade and Endurox R4?

One recent study—albeit a small one—found chocolate milk as effective as Gatorade, and more effective than Endurox, as a recovery drink for trained cyclists between exhaustive bouts of endurance exercise.

Now is this a condemnation of sports drinks and an endorsement for milk/chocolate milk as the last word on post-workout drinks? Not at all: remember those essential questions I mentioned above? You have to look at such a study in context—in other words, at the experimental design and how that applies to the “real world.” The subjects fasted for 10 – 12 h prior to the chocolate milk experiment, and these drinks were the only food these guys had for 14 – 16 hours. The results may have been quite different had they been following their normal eating patterns.

They also measured effects on endurance vs.—say—strength or increased protein synthesis, etc.

So, in the context of this particular study design, look at it this way: chocolate milk has casein (a “slow” protein), and whey (a “fast” protein) as well as calcium, some vitamins and a bunch of carbohydrates—so it makes a pretty good, cheap MRP, if that’s all you are going to get all day long. It’s not a half-bad post-workout drink either. It’s not the best MRP—or post workout drink—I could design, but it’s cheap and easy to find. The reality is that there are some inexpensive foods out there can be used, and most of your old school bodybuilders and strong men used milk as the original post workout drink/MRP.

The study that looked at milk vs. soy and sports drink, was done in novice weight lifters, so that too needs to be taken into consideration. Regardless, milk, in particular chocolate milk, should make a perfectly acceptable and inexpensive post workout drink and people who think it’s too “old school” or not “high tech” enough to be if any use are clearly misinformed and the victim of marketing.

Now the study we need to see that does not exist, of course, is milk or chocolate milk vs. a well thought out post-workout drink of—say—whey and maltodextrin (high GI carb source), in experienced weight lifters who are not fasted—but don’t hold your breath on that one. Studies like that get expensive quickly and also pose practical issues. For example, if you wanted to match the protein content of—say—2 scoops of whey isolate to chocolate milk (so the groups were getting an equivalent amount of protein), the subjects would need to drink a large volume of milk (remember, milk is mostly water).

My hunch is that a correctly designed post-workout drink would be superior to chocolate milk, but it would be nice to see the two compared, no?

The Pre-Workout Drink

The pre-workout drink craze followed the post-workout craze after a study found pre-workout nutrition may be more effective than post-workout nutrition.

The study that got this craze going was called “Timing of amino acid-carbohydrate ingestion alters anabolic response of muscle to resistance exercise” which found that drinking a mixture of essential amino acids and carbohydrates induced a greater anabolic response (i.e., a net increase in muscle protein balance) when taken right before weight training vs. right after. ****

This study had everyone taking in a pre-workout drink as well as a post-workout drink in an attempt to cover all the bases. It should be noted, however, that—once again—they were using fasted subjects. Think of it like this: you have not eaten in 8-10 or more hours, then you are made to work out on a (very) empty stomach.

Under those particular circumstances, does it not make sense getting something to eat before the workout would be superior to after the workout? We all know hitting the weights on an empty stomach is not an optimal method to preserve—or build—muscle mass. Nor is it reflective of real world eating patterns where the vast majority of people have eaten a full meal at least a few hours before they hit the gym.

After this study, everyone started drinking a protein drink before they hit the gym. Interestingly, however, a recent study done by the same group who did the pre-drink study mentioned above, found whey taken before hitting the gym did not result in an improved net protein balance vs. taking it after the gym.

“Well wait a dang minute Will, now I am really confused!” you are saying angrily to your comp screen! Does this new study show pre-workout nutrition is no more effective than post workout nutrition?

No, and here’s why. It’s an apples vs. oranges study. The first study used free amino acids plus carbohydrates, and the follow up study used whey alone without carbohydrates—which is very odd if they were truly trying to see if free aminos were superior to a whole protein such as whey.

Unfortunately this latter study really didn’t do much to confirm or deny the first study’s findings. And, don’t forget my comments regarding using fasted subjects, which adds yet another wrinkle to all this.

So does that essentially disprove the pre-workout drink vs. the post-workout drink studies? Nope. One recent study did look specifically at the issue of timing and does support the idea that the pre- and post-workout window is the most effective period for ingesting some fast-acting protein and carbs.

This study, titled “Effects of supplement timing and resistance exercise on skeletal muscle hypertrophy,” has gotten a fair amount of attention in the bodybuilding/sports nutrition oriented publications. The researchers examined the effects of a drink of whey, glucose and creatine given to two groups of experienced weight lifters, either morning and evening (M/E) or pre- and post-workout (PP), to see if the actual timing of the drink had an effect on muscle hypertrophy or strength development.

The study found that the group getting the drink PP had an increase in lean body mass and 1RM strength in two of three assessments that were tested. The group getting the drink PP also experienced greater creatine retention and glycogen resynthesis, which means timing of specific nutrients is an important strategy for optimizing the adaptations desired (e.g., increased muscle mass and strength) from your hard work in the gym.

So does this study finally put to rest the issue of pre- vs. post-workout nutrition? No, it did not compare one strategy to the other per se, but did confirm that nutrient timing is an important aspect.

One obvious issue is that this study used a drink that contained creatine throughout, so technically it’s not a pro + carb study, but a pro + carb + creatine study. On the plus side, it was done in experienced weight lifters and they were not fasted, so it does at least represent the metabolic realties of “real world” people looking to get the most of their nutrition.

Either way, it supports the idea of taking in the right nutrients both pre- and post-workout, but people should not be under the impression that this issue of timing has been “put to bed,” so to speak, and realize there are still plenty of unanswered questions yet to be explored.

Of course, there are more studies than just the ones mentioned above, so there are plenty of measurements on indicators of recovery from exercise, such as effects on glycogen resynthesis, alterations in hormones, and hormone levels. Nonetheless, I prefer to look at the actual endpoint that really matters at the end of the day: did this person gain muscle mass, strength, or performance by using this product? Without that, everything else—though potentially interesting—is mental masturbation.

Conclusions, and Real World Recommendations

Now I didn’t write this article to confuse you, but to demonstrate that the optimal strategy for increasing strength and LBM in response to resistance training is not as cut and dried as you are often led to believe. However, it’s also probably simpler than you are led to believe, as the human body is far more adaptable to the types of protein it receives as well as the amounts it receives.

Thus, the people who stress over whether they got 35g of protein and 60g of carbs in their post workout drinks vs. 32g of protein and 70s of carbs in the drink are probably wasting their time, and causing what is known as “paralysis by analysis.” Put more practically, the amount of cortisol you produce from worrying about such minutia probably offsets any gains you might make from one drink vs. another!

I also wanted to dispel some of the hype over one protein vs. another, and the fact that expensive pre-made high tech drinks that are all the rage right now are just that: expensive and over hyped.

In the real world, people have used variations of the idea that fast acting proteins and a good dose of simple carbs can improve the effects of resistance training for many years. My good friend, the late Dan Duchaine, used to give people whey mixed in water and Corn Flakes with skim milk as their post workout meal.

One bodybuilder I knew who went onto be a well known IFBB pro, used to have a drink of whey after his workouts and several slices of apple pie at the local Friday’s restaurant next to the gym for his post-workout meal.

Most of your old time strong men and bodybuilders drank quite a lot of milk, and as we have seen from the research, it’s not a half bad post workout drink either.

If people want to buy pre-made carb/protein mixtures with other nutrients added (e.g., creatine, glutamine, various vitamins, etc) out of convenience and don’t care that they can “roll their own” for less money, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Just don’t think there’s anything magical about the pre-made post-workout drinks, no matter what the marketing material or web site says to entice you to purchase it.

Click Here for the Bodybuilding Revealed Muscle Building program

About the Author – William D. Brink

Will Brink has over 15 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published.Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.

His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.

Will was a former high level trainer with a rep for getting Olympic athletes, bodybuilders and fitness stars into shape and has gained a reputation for being a no “BS” industry insider who’s not afraid to reveal the lies and hype found in the fat loss , muscle building & supplement industry.

He has been co author of several studies relating to sports nutrition and health found in peer reviewed academic journals, as well as having commentary published in JAMA. William has been invited to lecture on the benefits of weight training and nutrition at conventions and symposiums around the U.S. and Canada, and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs and now runs seminars for tactical law enforcement (SWAT).

He is the author, of Bodybuilding Revealed which teaches you how to gain solid muscle mass drug free and Fat Loss Revealed. which reveals exactly how to get lean , ripped and healthy completely naturally. Both e-books come with access to his private forums and numerous tools to aid you in either endeavor.

Find out more at Bodybuilding Revealed or Fat Loss Revealed.

References

Boirie Y, et al. Slow and fast dietary proteins differently modulate postprandial protein accretion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997 Dec 23;94(26):14930

Dangin M, et al. The digestion rate of protein is an independent regulating factor of postprandial protein retention. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Feb;280(2):E340-8.

Dangin M, Boirie Y, Guillet C, Beaufrere B. Influence of the protein digestion rate on protein turnover in young and elderly subjects. J Nutr. 2002 Oct;132(10):3228S-33S.

Dangin M, et al. The rate of protein digestion affects protein gain differently during aging in humans. J Physiol. 2003 Jun 1;549(Pt 2):635-44. Epub 2003 Mar 28.

Demling RH, DeSanti L .Effect of a hypocaloric diet, increased protein intake and resistance training on lean mass gains and fat mass loss in overweight police officers. Ann Nutr Metab 2000;44(1):21-9

Tipton KD, et al. Ingestion of casein and whey proteins result in muscle anabolism after resistance exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004 Dec;36(12):2073-81.

Elliot TA, et al.Milk ingestion stimulates net muscle protein synthesis following resistance exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006 Apr;38(4):667-74.

Hartman JW, et al. Consumption of fat-free fluid milk after resistance exercise promotes greater lean mass accretion than does consumption of soy or carbohydrate in young, novice, male weightlifters. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Aug;86(2):373-81.

Karp JR, et al. Chocolate milk as a post-exercise recovery aid.
Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2006 Feb;16(1):78-91.

Tipton KD, et al. Timing of amino acid-carbohydrate ingestion alters anabolic response of muscle to resistance exercise Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Aug;281(2):E197-206.

Tipton KD, et al Stimulation of net muscle protein synthesis by whey protein ingestion before and after exercise. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Jan;292(1):E71-6.

Cribb PJ, Hayes A. Effects of supplement timing and resistance exercise on skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006 Nov;38(11):1918-25.

Additional citations of interest:

Rankin JW, et al. Effect of post-exercise supplement consumption on adaptations to resistance training. J Am Coll Nutr. 2004 Aug;23(4):322-30.

Børsheim E, et al. Effect of carbohydrate intake on net muscle protein synthesis during recovery from resistance exercise. J Appl Physiol. 2004 Feb;96(2):674-8. Epub 2003 Oct 31.

Bird SP, Tarpenning KM, Marino FE. Liquid carbohydrate/essential amino acid ingestion during a short-term bout of resistance exercise suppresses myofibrillar protein degradation. Metabolism. 2006 May;55(5):570-7.

Baty JJ, et al. The effect of a carbohydrate and protein supplement on resistance exercise performance, hormonal response, and muscle damage. J Strength Cond Res. 2007 May;21(2):321-9.

photo credits:
Adam Pieniazek
scottfeldstein
Evan S. Photography
kiwanja
Evil Erin

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3. What is Whey Protein?
4. The Benefits of Taking Whey Protein Supplements After a Workout
5. Fundamentals of Bodybuilding Nutrition

If your goal is to build muscle, what is the number one thing you will immediately think of and plan for?  Think about this for a moment.  Most likely, 9 out of 10 people wanting to gain muscle mass will try to research all the top strength training workouts and the most popular bodybuilding programs in style.  They’d want to know what the best and most effective exercises are for building big biceps, chest, back, and legs.  They’d want to know how many sets they should do and on what days to train for maximizing gains.

Now, weight lifting exercise is just one aspect of a comprehensive muscle building program.  Gaining muscle is all about doing the correct things the right way.  The most important factors can be summed up into a brief formula below:

• Muscle = Strength Training/Weight Lifting + Nutrition + Rest and Recovery

Building muscle is a summation of those three factors.  Do those three things consistently, habitually, day in and day out and you will build muscle, and plenty of it.  Free weight compound lifting and rest/recovery are easily taken care of and obvious for many bodybuilding enthusiasts.  But an overlooked part of building muscle is proper mass eating and nutrition.  Many lifters train intensely with great dedication and get plenty of sleep but they don’t eat properly to induce hypertrophy and muscle growth. And then they wonder why they’re not gaining, growing, or seeing any results.

Eat a lot

The answer to bodybuilding nutrition is simple.  Just eat a lot.  You must eat a calorie surplus, preferably at least 300-500 calories above your maintenance calorie requirement to build muscle.  There are many ways to calculate maintenance calorie requirement but a basic formula is to just take your current total body weight and multiply it by 15.  Then add in an extra 500 calories to find your surplus intake.  There’s no way around to eating more.  The body thrives on food as fuel for function and muscle growth.  It needs to be at a positive energy balance by the end of the day to replenish depleted glycogen stores and drive the muscles to supercompensate while you sleep.

Eat a lot and grow.  Don’t make this any more complicated.  Use a ratio distribution of 40/40/20 for carbs, protein, and fats intake.  This means that 40% of your calories should come from protein, 40% from carboyhydrates, and 20% from healthy fats/essential fatty acids (omega-3s in flax and fish oil).  You can do the math there after you find out how many calories you need to build muscle.  Stick with muscle building foods like lean red meats, lean steak, lean pork/ham, chicken breasts, nuts, yogurt, green leafy vegetables, fruits, yellow/red/green vegatations, potatoes, flax and fish oil, brown rice, tuna, salmon, fish.

Take in at least 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body weight.  Protein builds muscle and are the building blocks of muscle tissue.  It only makes sense to eat more protein on a bodybuilding program.

Eat 4-6 meals per day rather than the usual 2-3 meals that most people eat today.  Divide the big meals throughout the day or take in 2-3 snacks if your schedule does not allow for time to eat so many meals.  This speeds up metabolism and increases nutrient partitioning into your muscles for effective hypertrophy and muscle growth.

Post Workout Recovery

After an intense workout, drink a post workout shake or eat a meal 20-30 minutes afterwards.  The post workout drink does not have to be fancy.  Just throw in 20-25 grams of simple sugars like maltodextrin or dextrose sugars and mix with 2 servings (approximately 40 grams) of protein powder.  Optimum Nutrition is a good brand.  Mix with yogurt or a blend of fruits if you like.  The post workout phase is the most crucial for proper recovery, along with adequate sleep, because the body is depleted of energy glycogen stores with heightened insulin sensitivity.  The body knows it wants to build muscle so it screams for fuel.  Feed the body after a workout to kickstart the recovery and building phase so you can build muscle.

Remember not to overlook proper nutrition for gaining muscle mass.  It is crucial that you eat a lot to allow the body to recover and refuel those muscles for growth.  For more information on mass eating, pick up a copy of Will Brink’s “Bodybuilding Revealed” at bodybuildingrevealed.com .  Also check out bodybuilding.com’s nutrition database for sample diets.  Search “diet” in the nutrition section.

Remember the above equation for hypertrophy; combine a calorie surplus with plenty of sleep (6-8 hours at least) and strength training and you will definitely build muscle.

Train Hard.  Train Safely.  Train Smart.

If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or email me at ZQH245@gmail.com or ZQH250@gmail.com

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1. Gain Muscle Mass with 10 X-Factors: Top Tips to Build Muscle Fast
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3. Muscle Mass Diet
4. Gain Muscle Mass with Principle-Based Training
5. Muscle Building Nutrition

Recall the bodybuilding equation derived from the universal training principles of bodybuilding article.

Muscle Growth = Progressive strength training (Exercise) + Mass Eating Plan (muscle building nutrition) + Sleep and Recovery

In this article, we’re going to focus on the mass eating plan factor of building muscle mass. Now, nutrition and eating properly to gain muscle is often the most neglected part of a bodybuilding program for many beginning lifters. Muscle building nutrition is a simple concept to understand with a simple premise. We can talk about macronutrient ratios, meal timing and partitioning, micronutrients, and supplements all we want but what matters most important is calorie surplus.

Calories Surplus

By calorie surplus, we mean that you must eat more to build muscle. It’s that simple. Just eat more to gain mass. Nutrition for bodybuilding is often very overlooked. Most people looking to build some lean muscle are simply not eating enough. They may think they are, but they’re not, because they’re not seeing the results they want. Or results are minimal to date. Take note of this energy equation, as it pertains to calorie requirement.

Calorie Intake – Energy Expenditure = Total Calories (+)

This equation states the basic fundamental truth about energy balance. Calories in and calories out. Calorie intake is the daily amount of calories you eat and energy expenditure is the total amount of calories used, in energy units, daily. When we subtract the amount of energy expended from amount of calories eaten per day, we get an amount of calories left over. That number has to be positive to produce a surplus for building muscle mass. This isn’t anything fancy.

Let’s substitute some numbers to get you a better idea of what we’re talking about here. For example, let’s say you eat 3,200 calories per day, split into 5 meals. You also maintain an active lifestyle going to school in the daytime and working as as a busboy at night requiring you to walk and travel a decent amount. You strength train with moderate volume 3 times per week and run 5 miles every weekend. On average you’ll end up burning 2,800 calories per day.

• 3,200 – 2,800 = 400 calorie surplus

The calorie intake daily would be 3,200 calories. You burn, on average, 2,800 calories in each of the 7 days. This represents the energy expenditure part of the equation. So we’ll subtract this 2,800 figure from the total 3,200 calories figure. The result is 400 calories left over. So the calorie surplus is 400. There must be a calorie surplus for you to gain muscle.

As a general rule and rough guideline, total calories from the equation’s answer must be positive, by at least 300-500 calories over maintenance calorie requirement. Maintenance calorie requirement is the amount of calories you need to eat just to maintain your current weight. Hardgainers or those with very fast metabolism probably need more, around 500-800 calories over maintenance. We’ve seen guys, particularly those in their late teens, who need at least 1,000 calories over maintenance just to gain a pound of muscle a month. So calorie surplus is no joke. Eat lots and grow.

Food is the catalyst for muscle growth

Food is fuel for your muscles. Bodybuilding nutrition is important. Muscles are very expensive to maintain and also energy intensive. Food provides the drive for growth. The first thing to look at in your nutrition plan, if you’re not seeing any gains, results, or growing, is the amount of calories you’re eating. Even with the best workout ever, you’re not going to gain muscle with a crappy, low calorie diet.

Very often, you may think you’re eating a lot, especially if you’re not used to eating an extra meal or two. Adding an extra snack or two of 300 calories might not be enough. 300 calories is the bare minimum to start adding to a mass eating plan.

Next, we have to pay attention to the amount of carbohydrates, protein, and fats for our muscle building nutrition plan. Bodybuilding nutrition is also about getting in the right nutrients into your system to drive muscle growth. This is called macronutrient balance or macronutrient ratio.

Macronutrient Balance

1) Low GI complex carbs: whole wheat breads, grains, and rice, barley

2) whole and complete protein: whey and casein protein concentrate and isolate, lean white and red meats; chicken, steak, pork chops, ham, turkey, lean dairy meats, whole skim milk, eggs (both egg white and egg yolks), yogurt, cottage cheese, whole cheese, tuna, fish, salmon

3) Essential Fatty Acids or “good” unsaturated fats: omega 3s and 6s from fish oil and flax oil/seeds

Popular macronutrient ratios include 40/40/20, 30/50/20, 35/35/30, 50/30/20. For example, with 50/30/20 carbohydrates, protein, fats ratio, this means that 50% of calories should come from carbs, 30% of calories should come from protein, and 20% should come from mostly good fats. You can do the math.

Micronutrients

1) vitamins

2) minerals

Buy a multivitamin supplement, nothing fancy or expensive if you’re on a budget and take one every other day. A common brand like centrum multivitamin tablet will do.

Now going back to the calorie surplus, once you figure out how much calories you need to eat per day to achieve a comfortable surplus, you’ll need to divide that number between 4-6 meals per day. Eating more frequent, smaller meals will increase nutrient uptake and partitioning, and increase metabolism.

Sample Mass Gaining Meal Plan

Taking all of the above into account, here’s an example of a muscle building meal plan, a simple bodybuilding nutrition and muscle building nutrition schedule.

This plan includes 4 meals, 2 snacks, and 1 post workout drink:

• meal 1: breakast: 3 servings of oatmeal, 1 glass of milk, 5 egg whites, 1 bananna

• meal 2: lunch: 2 chicken sandwiches; 4 pieces of wheat bread, 4 slices of cheese, 2 grilled chicken breasts, 4 slices of ham or turkey, one apple

• mid-afternoon snack: 2 servings of nuts, 1 protein bar

• post-workout drink: 2 scoops or 2 servings of whey protein concentrate, 2 servings of 2 scoops of high GI dextrose carb, 2 cups of plain yogurt

• meal 3: dinner: 3 servings of macaroni noodle soup with chicken strips, 1 glass of orange juice

• meal 4: pre-bedtime: one glass milk, 2 pieces of wheat crackers

Total diet is around 3,500 calories with over 220 grams of protein. This diet suitable for anyone around 180 lbs. to gain mass.

Supplements

Supplements are called supplements for a reason. They “supplement” a good muscle building nutrition diet, not replace one. All the best supplements in the world will do little if you don’t have a proper bulking plan in place. Here are 4 top supplements we recommend, once you have your diet dialed in for building muscle.

1) whey protein concentrate or isolate

2) creatine

3) muscle gainers and protein bars

4) Essential Fats: flax oil, fish oil, flax seeds, fish seeds

As a summary, follow this 7 step method for coming up with a muscle building nutrition plan,

Your 7-Step Plan

1) Determine calorie surplus requirement by figuring out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight; maintenance calorie requirement.

2) Add 300-500 calories, preferably 500 to start if you’re a hardgainer.

3) Break down total calories into 4-6 meals per day and select any of the following ratios recommended above. I recommend 40/40/20.

4) Create meal plan based on steps 1,2, and 3.

5) Follow through with the meal plan and make adjustments if necessary.

6) Monitor weight gain and body fat % every week. If you’re not gaining pounds, add more calories. If you’re gaining more than 2 pounds per week, reduce calories by 200. You’re shooting for muscle gain, not fat.

7) Continue adjusting and/or increasing calories if gains stop. The heavier you are in muscular weight, the more calories you will need.

This process is fool-proof and will lead to long lasting success for building muscle with bodybuilding nutrition. Evaluate your diet today and start eating more, if you haven’t and experience the results that will come from your efforts.

Train Hard.  Train Safely.  Train Smart.

If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or email me at ZQH245@gmail.com or ZQH250@gmail.com

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2. Fat Loss Fundamentals
3. Build Muscle Mass with Mass Gain Nutrition Diets
4. Muscle Mass Diet
5. Muscle Building 101: How to Build Muscle with Bodybuilding Nutrition- Part 2

If you’re struggling to build muscle, the first thing you should look at is your muscle mass diet. More than likely, you’re not eating enough calories to build muscle. You’re not on a muscle mass diet at all. Remember that calorie surplus is extremely important. The surplus should be at least 500 calories above what you’re currently eating. And more for those with ultra-fast metabolisms and hardgainers. A calorie surplus supplies the body with the necessary “fuel” for growth. It puts the body in a positive energy balance state.

If you’re finding it hard to eat a lot of calories, try to be creative at how you make your meals. Eat the typical bodybuilding foods like lean red meats, chicken breasts, lean ham/turkey slices, yogurt, whole milk, cottage cheese, regular whole cheese, whole eggs, whole wheat bread and grains, fish. Eat foods high in complex carbs, complete proteins, and healthy good fats. Make sandwhiches rich in protein and high in calories by combining several of these foods together.

Here’s an example of a high calorie meal,

2 chicken sandwhiches

4 pieces of whole wheat bread
2 lean chicken breasts
4 slices of melted cheese
6 scrambled egg whites
4 ham slices

a glass of fruit juice or milk

This entire meal contains about 150 grams of protein, 55 grams of fats, and 270 grams of carbs. It totals 1,600 calories and can be split into 2 or 3 smaller meals for consumption. 1,600 calories is roughly half of the entire calorie requirement for a person needing 3,200 to gain muscle weight. And that’s only one meal.

This meal uses basic natural foods. No fancy expensive high tech supplements. Getting in the required number of calories is easy if you eat foods rich in calories and nutrients. It takes time, patience, and consistency to stick to a bodybuilding muscle mass diet for a prolonged period of time but the work will pay off with more gains in muscle and strength.

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If you’ve been bodybuilding and lifting weights to build muscle for a while, then you know how important a calorie surplus diet is to your entire program.  Muscle building nutrition is important.  You have to put your body into a positive energy balance every single day to gain muscular weight.

photo credit: yummyporky

There’s no way around it.  Simple chemistry and physics at work.

Eat Big to Get Big!

That’s the motto.  That’s what every no-name serious lifter would tell you.  Straight fact.  No nonsense here.  You have to eat a lot to gain even an ounce of muscle.  Eat more to build muscle.  That’s the rule.  Going around in circles with this rule is like chasing yourself around to find a tail.

So high calorie meals will help you tremendously to build muscle.   Meals rich with nutrients, protein,  carbs, and fats are essential for building muscle. Simple muscle building nutrition demands eating whole foods.   Now you probably know that making meals all the time to meet the demands of your bodybuilding regimen can be a hassle but I’ve found a simple way to make high calories meal…

Sandwiches

Just sandwiches.  You can put a lot of stuff in sandwiches:  meats, veggies, cheese,whatever you want in sandwiches.  And it’s quick and easy to carry around with. You don’t need to whip out the pots and pans or turn on the baking oven at 500 degrees for hours on end.

One of my favorite ways to make a sandwich is to just combine a lot of protein sources (meats)  with cheese on whole wheat bread.  I use luncheon meats, the fresh cuts of meats.  Ham.  Turkey. All lean meat.  Tasty.  Common foods.  I only use regular foods, nothing fancy at all.  Stuff that you could easily get from your local grocer or supermarket.  Simple.

Here’s my sandwich recipe,

- one whole wheat bread

- 6 slices of ham and/or turkey, or chicken breasts

- one whole fried egg or scrambled egg, 3 egg whites

- one slice of whole cheese

- 2 strips of bacon

- 1 tsp of sugar or a serving of butter

- a handful of lettuce

I’ll shove the entire sandwich into the toaster or microwave oven for a few minutes to let it get hot and a  bit crunchy.

It’s not much of a recipe.  Just a regular high calorie sandwich full of the essential protein and carbs needed to build a lot of muscle.  The sandwich comes out to around 750 calories and I’d gulp it down with a glass of OJ or fruit juice which adds another 100 calories.  That’s a total of around 50 grams of protein. If I use chicken breasts, the total protein can be over 70 grams.

Sometimes I would even throw in a small pinch of grounded flax seeds to get those omega 3 and 6 essential fats.  Perfect as a post workout meal or high calorie meal.  It can also serve as an in-between meal snack if you choose.  The sandwich is quick to make.  Not messy.  Convenient and tasty.  Just wrap it up in aluminum or throw it into a sandwich bag and you’re good to go.

And above all, it’s a lot healthier than McDonald’s or fast food burgers and fries since we’re using lean meats here without all the greasy trans fats and saturated fats loaded up.  Your goal is to build muscle, not build fat.  A burger once every other week is good but you don’t want to load up your body with grease and saturated fats on empty calories.

And for added taste, you can use butter or a spoonful of sugar melted onto the cheese.  I add those on occasion for extra calories when I need it.

Making high calorie meals for building muscle doesn’t have to take a lot of effort or creativity.  If you’re stuck on coming up with high calorie muscle building meals or don’t have the time to make and prepare each meal, go with sandwiches.

Sandwiches.  Convenient.  Tasty.  Good for building muscle.

Eat a lot.  Eat sandwiches. And build muscle.

Train Hard.  Train Safely.  Train Smart.

If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or email me at ZQH245@gmail.com or ZQH250@gmail.com

Related posts:

1. Muscle Mass Diet
2. A Simple Bodybuilding Program to Help You Build Muscle
3. Build Muscle Mass with Mass Gain Nutrition Diets
4. Muscle Building Nutrition
5. Fundamentals of Bodybuilding Nutrition

Recall the bodybuilding equation derived from the universal training principles of bodybuilding.

Muscle Growth = Progressive Strength Training (Exercise) + Mass Eating Plan (nutrition) + Sleep and Recovery

In this article, we’re going to focus on the mass eating plan factor of building muscle mass.  Now nutrition and eating properly to gain muscle is often the most neglected part of a bodybuilding program for many beginning lifters.

photo credit: Stevendepolo

Mass building nutrition is a simple concept to understand with a simple premise.  We can talk about macronutrient ratios, meal timing and partitioning, micronutrients, and supplements all we want but what matters most important is calorie surplus.

You must eat more to build muscle.

Calorie Intake – Energy Expenditure = Total Calories (+)

Calorie intake is the daily amount of calories you eat and energy expenditure is the total amount of calories used, in energy units, daily.  When we subtract the amount of energy expended from amount of calories eaten per day, we get an amount of calories left over.  That number has to be positive to produce a surplus for building muscle mass.

For example, let’s say you eat 3,200 calories per day, split into 5 meals.  You also maintain an active lifestyle going to school in the daytime and working as as a busboy at night requiring you to walk and travel a decent amount.  You strength train with moderate volume 3 times per week and run 5 miles every weekend.  On average you’ll end up burning 2,800 calories per day.

Calories Surplus

3,200 – 2,800 = 400 calorie surplus

The calorie surplus is 400.  There must be a calorie surplus for you to gain muscle.

As a general rule and rough guideline, total calories from the equation’s answer must be positive, by at least 300-500 calories over maintenance calorie requirement.  Maintenance calorie requirement is the amount of calories you need to eat just to maintain your current weight.

Hardgainers or those with very fast metabolism probably need more, around 500-800 calories over maintenance.

Food

Food is fuel for your muscles.  Muscles are very expensive to maintain and also energy intensive.  Food provides the drive for growth.  The first thing to look at in your nutrition plan, if you’re not seeing any gains, results, or growing, is the amount of calories you’re eating.

Even with the best workout ever, you’re not going to gain muscle with a crappy, low calorie diet.

Very often, you may think you’re eating a lot, especially if you’re not used to eating an extra meal or two.  Adding an extra snack or two of 300 calories might not be enough.  300 calories is the bare minimum to start adding to a mass eating plan.

Here’s a simple formula for figuring out calories surplus and maintenance calorie requirement (MCR),

16 X body weight = MRC

MCR + 300 to 500 calories, preferably start with 400 calories, if you’re a hardgainer and know you have a very fast metabolism, increase to 800 calories above MCR.

Macronutrient Balance

Popular macronutrient ratios include 40/40/20, 30/50/20, 35/35/30, 50/30/20.  For example, with 50/30/20 carbohydrates, protein, fats ratio, this means that 50% of calories should come from carbs, 30% of calories should come from protein, and 20% should come from mostly good fats.  You can do the math.  ex. of c/p/f distribution.

The majority of your carb sources should come from low GI complex carbs. Your post workout drink should consist mainly of simple carbs.   Take in essential fatty acids, the omega 3s and omega 6s from flax seed and flax oil.  And most importantly, eat complete protein sources from milk, eggs, lean red meats, poultry, fish, and tuna.

photo credit: thebittenworld.com

Micronutrients

Buy a multivitamin supplement, nothing fancy or expensive if you’re on a budget and take one every other day.

Meal Frequency

Now going back to the calorie surplus, once you figure out how much calories you need to eat per day to achieve a comfortable surplus, you’ll need to divide that number between 4-6 meals per day.  Eating more frequent, smaller meals will increase nutrient uptake and partitioning, and increase metabolism.

Here’s an example of a typical muscle building meal plan with 4 meals, 2 snacks, 1 post workout drink:

meal 1 breakast: oatmeal, glass of milk, 5 egg whites, bananna

meal 2 lunch: 2 chicken sandwiches; 4 pieces of wheat bread, 4 slices of cheese, 2 grilled chicken breasts, 4 slices of ham or turkey, one apple

mid-afternoon snack: nuts, protein bar

post workout drink: whey protein, high GI dextrose carb, 2 yogurt

meal 3 dinner: macaroni noodle soup with chicken strips, 1 glass of orange juice

meal 4 pre-bedtime: one glass milk

Total diet is around 3,400 calories with over 220 grams of protein.  This diet suitable for anyone around 180 lbs. to gain mass.

Supplements

1) whey protein

2) creatine

3) muscle gainers and protein bars

4) Essential Fats: flax oil, fish oil

5) misc: glutamine, ZMA, amino acids, NO Boosters

The above 5 supplement types are the only supplements you need.  In fact, you don’t even need any of them if you’re just starting out.  Don’t waste hundreds of dollars on supplements if you haven’t touched a weight in the gym or planned out a muscle building meal plan.

Eat whole foods first.  And plenty of it.  Then use supplements to “supplement,” not “replace” real food.

Summary: Follow this 7 step method  for coming up with a muscle building nutrition plan,

1) Determine calorie surplus requirement by figuring out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight; maintenance calorie requirement (MCR)

2) add 300-500, preferably 500-800 calories above MCR  to start if you’re a hardgainer with a very fast metabolism

3) break down total calories into 4-6 meals per day and select any of the following ratio.  I recommend 40/40/20.

4) create meal plan based on steps 1,2, and 3.

5) Follow through with the meal plan and eat what you outlined.  Follow your plan every single day.

6) Monitor weight gain and body fat % every week

7) Adjust and increase calories by 200 calories every 2 weeks if gains stop.  As you gain muscular weight, you’ll have to eat more to fuel that increase in muscle mass and weight gain.  Muscle mass is energy intensive and expensive to maintain.  You’ll have to more as you build muscle.

And that’s it.

Eat a lot.  Eat frequently.  And grow.

If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or email me at ZQH245@gmail.com or ZQH250@gmail.com

Related posts:

1. Fundamentals of Bodybuilding Nutrition
2. The Hardgainer’s Guide to Building Muscle and Strength: Hardgainer Nutrition- Part 4
3. Muscle Building 101: How to Build Muscle with Bodybuilding Nutrition- Part 2
4. Build Muscle Mass with Mass Gain Nutrition Diets
5. Muscle Mass Diet