As a sports performance specialist and personal trainer, I have to help some clients gain muscles to perform or look better.
This is where we see the typical "bulking" and "cutting" diets.
That means maybe 12 weeks of reckless eating, then 12 weeks of a super low calorie diet to lose the fat that you gained.
You know what this is? This is a Yo-Yo diet that "healthy lifestyle" people condemn.
What an irony! The best analogy I have heard is that muscle gain is like building a house.
You need workers, bricks, and money to pay the workers.
* Bricks are protein * Workers are your muscle building processes * Money for the workers are your energy nutrients like fat and carbs Too much protein, it gets left around and wasted (stored as fat) No money for workers and they are not motivated and don't perform much work.
The problem with bulking diets is they have too much "money" and too many "bricks".
Even the most motivated workers can only build at a certain maximum speed.
So there is no point "overpaying" them or giving them too many bricks.
If you do, you will just be tubby! When we talk about the bricks (protein) you need at least 4g/kg of body weight.
Yeah yeah, there are the so called people with "Dr.
" before their names that say you don't need that much.
But that is not what I have seen in real life.
When people eat large amounts of high quality protein (sausages and spam do not count!) Muscle growth is improved.
I have seen pretty impressive things just by upping protein intake.
Clients gain muscle even when on restricted calorie diets, they burn more fat, they feel better.
Yes there are certain metabolic types that don't need as much protein but you are likely to do a lot better with more protein.
For actual workers, you need to have good hormonal levels this is done with hard exercise and solid nutrition as well as good lifestyle habits (no smokin, drinkin and sleeping 3 hour nights).
When it comes to paying workers, here is where people make the biggest mistake.
They eat too much during bulking periods.
Here is what I recommend to maximize muscle gain and avoid gaining too much fat in the process.
I don't have a fixed number for anybody because we are all different and DON'T DO THIS IS YOU ARE FAT ALREADY! Note: these recommendations are for a fairly large guy of about 80kg weight and fairly lean.
Reduce the amounts accordingly for yourself.
* Step 1: Add carbs post-workout.
Start with 50g.
Check you fat levels for 2 weeks and see if they increase.
If so, stop here.
* Step 2: If not, add 25g to breakfast.
Check you fat levels for 2 weeks and see if they increase.
If so, stop here.
* Step 3: Add 25g more to the post-workout shake.
Check you fat levels for 2 weeks and see if they increase.
If so, stop here.
* Step 4: Add 25g more to your breakfast.
Check you fat levels for 2 weeks and see if they increase.
If so, stop here.
* Step 5: Add 25g more to the post-workout meal.
Check you fat levels for 2 weeks and see if they increase.
If so, stop here.
* Step 6: Add 25g to the meal 60-90 minutes after your post workout shake.
Check you fat levels for 2 weeks and see if they increase.
If so, stop here.
* From here on, add 25g to meals early in the day (before evening) till you reach the 50g max.
Do not go over 100g for post workout carbs and not more than 50g per meal for other meals.
I myself do not handle carbs that well so for most of the year, I have carbs only post workout.
If I do try to gain muscle, I go only till about step 2 or 3...
or else I get tubby real quick!