Expanded muscles are the dream of more than one athlete. How to quickly build muscle mass? The correct muscle mass is not only exercises in the gym, but above all a well-chosen diet. And did you know that not only protein affects the building of muscles? See what to eat to show off your muscles. How to gain healthy weight?
How to build muscle – where to start?
Mass first, then sculpture! Although this statement can make you smile, it is a golden rule of building muscle. You won’t achieve your goal without it. For your body to start to increase its mass, you need to bring about caloric excess in the body. What does it mean? That it’s time to start eating more than your body needs! If you don’t build mass, you won’t have anything to carve.
Therefore, determine how many kilocalories you should take in your diet to bring about an energy surplus. My article can help you with this: The basis of every diet: how to calculate energy demand?
The next step is to determine the proper distribution of macronutrients in the diet, i.e. protein, fats and carbohydrates. Depending on your current weight, height and activity, each of us should provide your body with a different amount of energy.
Protein for muscle mass? How much protein do you need?
Protein performs a number of functions in the body, and one of them is building muscle mass. In addition, the protein is responsible for the transport of various substances, such as oxygen or iron, and performs immunological and building functions. It is also responsible for the movement and transmission of nerve impulses.
Contrary to popular belief, more protein doesn’t mean more muscle. According to ISSN (International Society of Sports Nutrition), the recommended amount of protein for building muscle mass should be between 1.4 and 2g per kilogram of body weight per day. This means that with a weight of 70 kg you need to consume from 98 to 140 g of protein each day. You will need more protein when you switch to reduction. During weight reduction, muscle protein breaks down. You can prevent this and provide a slightly larger portion of protein in your diet.
What if you consume a larger daily portion of protein than the recommended amount? Can it hurt you? Absolutely not! It just doesn’t make sense, because more protein doesn’t mean more muscle.
What for muscle mass will help the most?
And what about the rest of the macronutrients? How to gain healthy weight with specified macros? You already know that protein should be between 1.4 – 2g / kg body weight per day. In turn, adapt fat to your health and well-being. The easiest way is to take a value of 1 gram for every kilogram of body weight, and after a while, possibly increase it.
Absorb the rest of kilocalories from carbohydrates. And a lot of it! Carbohydrates are the basic source of energy, and when building muscle mass, they can easily “conquer calories.” If you want to lose a few pounds, then a better idea would be to eat complex carbohydrates that make you feel fuller for longer.
However, if you want to gain a little weight, easily digestible carbohydrates will be useful. Especially when you have a problem eating large amounts. After a meal rich in simple carbohydrates, you will feel hunger sooner, thanks to which you will be able to eat more.
How can I eat more?
When you build mass, you can often have a problem with eating such large meals. What to do in this case? In addition to carbohydrates, it is worth introducing cocktails to the diet. You can add fruit, protein supplement, milk or yogurt, as well as a little olive oil to them, thanks to which you can easily provide an additional portion of food and calories.
The regularity and quantity of meals consumed is also important. Remember to adapt your diet to your lifestyle, well-being and your abilities. It can be 6 smaller meals a day or 4 larger with additional high energy snacks such as power balls, nuts or, from time to time, sweets.
Healthy building muscle mass is a long-term process. However, the muscles built in this way look very aesthetic and remain with age. Therefore, you should not be afraid that during a long break in training all muscles will lose and lose their shine.