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Posts Tagged ‘Muscle building nutrition’

Maybe you have experienced this before whereby you have decided to improve your health and fitness and in the first instance you feel really motivated. Maybe you sat and watched an inspiring film that prompted you to do something, perhaps a friend of yours you hadn’t seen for a while turned up having lost a lot of weight or having gained a good deal of muscle mass or perhaps you were simply fed up of feeling unhealthy. Whatever the reason you started exercising and continued to do so for a few weeks.

However after a while your motivation decreased, you got busy at work, you got tired of making the effort or the results weren’t as good as you’d hoped for and you unconsciously quit your healthy exercise lifestyle. If that all sounds familiar then here are a few easy ways to help regain and sustain your motivation for a healthier lifestyle: 

Try setting an enjoyable goal. For example, consider planning out a mountain biking/kayaking/hiking trip in an amazing area of the earth like the the Canadian Rockies, The Andes or The Alps. Immediately then you have an exciting rewarding and motivating goal to target. You should try to be in the best physical shape possible so that you may enjoy your trip as much as possible. If your trip is in 5 montsh time then you can plan a realistic schedule with your fitness goals in mind.

Optin to take part in a local area event. Is there a local fun run, half marathon or something else similar, I’ll bet there is, gte online and find out. Work towards one of these events as a goal to aim for. consider telling a friend of yours so they can come and support you on the actual day and support you in the mean time. 

Take up a sport or hobby, this doesn’t have to be an ultra serious thing just a light hearted game of soccer or hockey at the weekends but it gives you an easy and enjoyable way to monitor your fitness levels. Of course the initial couple of sessions may be very taxing but you will soon notice an improvement and start to look and feel better.

Visualise. Ok this might sound a bit odd at first but try and find a bit of time each day to sit and visualise in your minds eye exactly how you wish to feel and look. Doing this sends a powerful mesage to your sub conscious about what decisions you should be making during your day. Keep doing this and your behaviour will automatically alter to reflect your goals and lead you towards your visualised goals. This works by the way, nearly all top sportsmen use this in some form or other.

Involve family, friends and even your pet dog. Getting more people involved makes it less likely for you to get bored and lose motivation. You are a great deal less likely to be lazy and be inactive at home if your mates are phoning and texting you to get you to go to join them.

Educate yourself. Be curious find out about how to build muscle up, find out how to get a 6 pack, find out how to shed pounds, find out what muscle building nutrition you need for no nonsense muscle building and so on. By growing your knowledge you are quite probably going to improve the rate that your fitness levels will increase which will then serve to increase your motivation more.

Don’t compare yourself to others. No matter who you are there is always going to be someone bigger stronger fitter, leaner sexier or whatever. Acknowledge this fact and realise that we all travel through this life process each from our own different perspectives. Pay more attention to how you feel than to anything else, if you feel good then you are likely getting healthier.

So, with those tips in mind go hit the gym and do whatever it is that you enjoy doing to keep fit, build lean muscle mass or whatever else you want to do, you can do it, just keep it fun. The following is highly recommended for lean muslc growth burn the fat build the muscle book.

Muscle building nutrition is actually very simple and is a major factor in your bodybuilding success. However many people seem to get confused when they are putting together a muscle building diet. For that reason here is a simple and easy to understand and implement set of guidelines that anyone can use to build muscle up. Here they are:

1) Eat 5-7 small meals each day. This give your muscle a constant supply of energy and lowers tha chances of your body retaining food a fat. Steer away from the 3 square meals a day mentality. This is definitly one of the most important weight gain tips going.

2) Every meal needs to contain at least 30 grams of protein and also a lot of quality carbohydrate. carbs are easily found in rice, potatoes and bread. Red meats, egg whites, tuna and milk are superb sources of protein.

3) Supplement your diet. The most basic supplement required is a protein supplement that ought to be consumed immediately after training and before sleeping.

4) Simple carbohydrates (sugars) need to be avoided. although they provide an immediate boost of energy this will drop off very soon leaving you flat. It can upset your insulin metabolism and also increase that chances of fat storage.

5) Veer away from foods high in salt and fats. Good fats from olive oil, peanut butter and fish are good for you and should be in your diet but bad fast from vegetable oil butter and animal fats need to be avoided like the plague, that rules out junk food too!

6) Consume a pre-workout meal. This should take the form of a good size portion of carbohydrates, protein and a hydrating liquid about an hour before your session. this will provide ample energy for your workout and also ensure that protein is there instantly for your muscle growth and repair.

7) Take an after workout supplement or meal. At this time your muscle needs both the energy from carbs and the protein the most as the have just been broken down. A whey protein shake is ideal for this. Target at least 40 grams of protein to be consumed at this time.

Take on board lots of water. This is by far the most important nutrient in the body. The chemical reactions in the body are all dependent upon this and so is the quality of your muscle tissue.

And lastly ensure that you are eating more than enough calories. To build muscle you have to take in an excess amount of calories than you burn off. You are not going to add a shred of muscle if you do not consume enough calories. So now you know how to get bigger muscles know excuses go do it!

Ok great, so you have decided now is the time in your life that you would like to pack on some muscle mass. Whether it is because you want to look good at the beach or you have just watched another ‘Rocky’ movie or you want to perform better in your chosen sport. So obviously you are aware that you are going to have to life weights. However you may not be aware of what to eat to build muscle and of the correct muscle building nutrition. This short guide will show you precisely what to consume but intially we’ll walk through a few of the basic ground rules for a sensible muscle building diet.

Firstly to build muscle, eat more often. Try to consume 5-7 mini meals each day. This is due to the fact that excess calories are required in order for your body to support muscle gains. You will not be able to build any muscle mass if your body is running short on calories. 5-7 meals per day will allow you to take on more food comfortabley without eating too much at anyone sitting.

Secondly, you will need to cut out a lot of the junk food that you are probably eating at the moment. Go hands up, we are all guilty of having the odd meal of junk food and it is these which need to be replaced with quailty muscle building nutrition.

Thirdly, you are going to have to consume more water than you did before. Ensure that you have a bottle of water near you throughout the day to sip from. nearly all of the bodies reactions need H2O to some extent and of course it is required for muscle building reactions too.

Fourthly, divide your meals up so that they contain roughly the following portions of protein, carbohydrate and fat. Try to make them equal to 50% carbohydrate, 30% protein and 20% fat.

Fifthly, you need to learn what foods you should be eating for muscle growth. Here is a start to illustrate what some of the best muscle building foods are:

For protein: turkey, chicken, fish and shellfish, eggs, red meats, dairy products. These are terrific sources of quality protein so include them in your daily meals as often as possible. However caution is advised as these foods are high in saturated fat so it would be sensible to mix them with the following foods that supply protein but with a great deal less fat: egg whites, lean meats like poultry and fish, non-fat or low-fat milk and dairy products, lean cuts of red meat, turkey breast,and skinless chicken breast.

For carbohydrates and long term release energy: bread, brown rice, oatmeal, bagel, pasta cereals and potatoes. For instant hits of energy take on board: fruits such as grapes, bananas, apple, raisins, orange and sports drinks.

The fat portion of your meals will come naturally from the above foods. Also make sure you include plentiful lefy green vegetables which are packed full of vital vitmains and minerals. If you have spare cash for supplements then shoot for a decent multi-vitamin, whey protein, essential fatty acids and possibly creatine.

Lastly a few words of advice as regards when to eat your meals. To build muscle eat within one hour of finishing your workout, before bed and immediately on rising. If you wish to pack on muscle mass then these are very important times. With the above muscle building diet guidelines in place then you are in an excellent position to start building muscle mass fast.

Is it your parents fault your fat or is there other contributing factors…

With age comes a schedule that tends to slow down your day to day activities and in turn can and will contribute to weight gain and early aging. Hereditary means still has some role to play in how your body response to weight loss, muscle building and the jelly belly you may be gaining without an adequate diet and exercise routine. You can fight the masses and losing belly fatwith a little extra effort by eating more healthy and increasing your exercise. Begin a healthy muscle building routine and muscle building nutrition program to offset the natural aging and hereditary weight gain issues. A sure way to build character is through persistence and strength!                                                      

But the scale says you aren’t really overweight…

Even though you may be a slim woman with a decent exercise and nutrition regimen you may notice a widening in your waist as your body weight begins to shift. Your abdomen will begin to get contributions of fat shifting from your hips, legs, arms and basically all over your body. So don’t let a thinner body fool you as any fat increasing in your belly will over time cause the same health issues.

Losing Belly Fat Makes A Big Difference

In scientific research they have found that fat in your stomach isn’t just sitting there it is actually active cells. These active fat cells produce hormones and a various of other substances that can severely effect your health. A fat cell produces hormones and then those hormones promote an environment of resistance to insulin which then brings you to potential type II diabetes. If it produces estrogen which is very common after you reach your menopause cycle, it will begin to increase your risk of breast cancer. The belly fat is visceral and an increase in its entirety can and will begin to disturb your natural hormone levels and cause chaos on your body’s health system opening the door for disease.

Too much belly fat will increase your risk of:

·         Gallbladder issues 

·         Heart disease 

·         Stroke 

·         Colo-rectal cancer symptoms 

·         Breast cancer 

·         Metabolic syndrome 

·         High blood pressure 

·         Diabetes 

 Do you know what too much belly fat is?

You will want to measure as you are losing belly fat. A myotape is recommended but you can use any tape measure to measure your waist if it is over 33 inches you are definitely increasing your risk for health issues no matter what your BMI is. Your BMI can be deceiving as it reads your overall body fat mass not specific to your belly range. You must pay attention to where the weight is hanging. If your fat is coming off all your other body parts and accumulating around your waist you might as well be the fat guy next door because you are at risk too and you need to correct the problem immediately. This rings especially true if you have been through menopause.

Get rid of the belly bulge and all the unwanted fat throughout your body by starting a muscle building routine that is meant just for you today! By eating the right nutritional balanced diet you will begin to look and feel good!

Get more detailed workout routine tips and techniques click here to visit http://musclebuildingsupport.com/
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A typical dilemma for any active sportsmen who lifts weights and wants to gain muscle mass is that they know there goal to build muscle up conflicts with the fact that they do a lot of cardio-vascular work. How can someone like this doing a muscle building routine build muscle fastest whilst still doing cardio, indeed is it even possible?

Well often you will read that in order to build muscles fastest you should keep cardio workouts to a minimum. This is said because cardio training session do two major things that could possible restrict muscle building, namely: 1) burn heaps of calories 2) increase the rate of your metabolism. These two things both add weight to the problem of consuming enough calories. This takes us to the question of exactly what amount of calories should I therefore be taking on?

Well, to maintain weight each day you must eat enough calories to cover the energy expenditures of your body as if it were at rest (this is known as the basal metabolic rate), then consume enough extra calories to cover the exercise that you will do. Each day you need to eat a further 500 calories if you wish to build muscle mass.

Is it possible to work this number out?

Yes, one way to do this is using the Katch-McArdle formula (BMR based on lean body weight). Here it is:

Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 X wt in kg) + (5 X ht in cm) – (6.8 X age in years)

Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wght in kgs) + (1.8 X hght in cm) – (4.7 X age in years)

Once you have gotten this figure you should then multiply it by one of the following to allow for your daily activity levels:

Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (desk job, little or no exercise)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (sports/light exercise 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active equals BMR X 1.725 (sports 6-7 days/hard exercise/wk)
Extr. active = BMR X 1.{9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i}.e marathon, contest etc

So, should you be doing cardio and weights frequently then you should multiply this by at least 1.725. Your daily energy needs will be safely covered by this amount. This total then needs to changed according to your specific goals. A further 500 calories a day need to be added if your goal is indeed to gain muscle mass.

So, if the number you reach is for example 3000 calories then that would equate to 6 meals a day of 500 calories. Each meal would then be made up of 62 grams of carbohydrate, 37 grams of protein and 11 grams of fat. This is calculated as so because one gram of fat equals 9 calories as opposed to one gram of protein or carbohydrate which is worth 4 grams.

Correct muscle building nutrition and working out your calorie needs like this is what is going to ensure you build muscles fastest, not any miracle new exercise!

 It is a well known fact nowadays that to build muscle diet is a key component that will determine whether you are successful or not. Regardless of how hard you train you won’t grow muscles unless you have good muscle building nutrition. So just briefly we’ll go over a few simple rules to follow for a superb ‘build muscle diet’ and then we’ll uncover some of the best foods for building muscle mass.

Ok, quick guidelines for a diet to build muscle:

1) Eat 5-7 meals per day. This will enable you to easily consume the amount of calories you need in order to grow. {It will mean that your body has high energy levels throughout the entire day}. 

2) Divide your meals up in to approximate portions of 50% carbohydrate, 30% protein and the remainder can come from fats.

3) Eat about an hour half to two hours prior to your workout and eat immediately or at least within an hour after your workout. Your post workout meal may indeed be a meal replacement powder but it must be high in protein. taking a energy drink or eating a snack before retiring to bed is a good idea also as this means your body will have enough calories to support growth throughout the night. After waking eat as soon as possible as your muscles will be low on energy at this time.

4) If you can afford it take supplements. You may wish to experiment with: essential fatty acids, creatine, whey protein and multi-vitamin pills. Supplements can be added to your diet if you wish to build muscle even more easily.

5) Drink water, little and often. water is critical to many reactions in the body. They occur much more easily in the presence of ample supplies of water. Muscle growth won’t happen without water. You will be left feeling bloated and full if you drink massive amounts of water at once.

Alright, so we have go the basic covered. Now then for muscle building purposes what food is good. Here are some great foods for your to try:

Protein is needed for growth and repair of muscles. Naturally this is very important for those wishing to pack on mass.Fantastic sources of protein include: Cheese, Egg Whites, Turkey Breast, Salmon, Lean Beef, Chicken Breast, Tuna Cottage Whey Protein.

Carbohydrate helps support the bodies muscle growth and is the bodies supply of energy for day to day activities and workouts.In your diet to aid muscle growth and provide energy try to include the following foods: Brown Rice, Baked Potatoes, Whole Wheat Pasta, Sweet Potatoes, Bagels, Oatmeal, Fat Free Yogurt and Beans.

Build muscle diets often neglect to mention that fats are important too. Certain metabolic functions need to be sustained by different types of fat. For fats that build muscle try to include in your diet: Avocado, Olive Oil, Nuts, Flax Seed Oil, Natural Peanut Butter and Fish Oil

Vitamins and minerals play a wide variety of roles in all of the important reactions in the body including muscle growth. Great source of vitamins and minerals are: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Asparagus, Green Beans, Peas, Carrots and Spinach.

With those guidelines in mind you ought to be able to build some serious muscle mass. Remember that lots of calories are required by the body for both energy and to support the growth of enlarged muscle tissue and growth. You will not grow if you do not consume excess calories. OK now you know what to eat to gain muscle you should have no problems building muscle.

Just before I tackle the main purpose of this article which is to show how to build muscle vegetarian style I will briefly outline the different types of vegetarians. Vegans do not eat dairy products or any other animal by products,  pesco-vegetarians will eat fish and dairy products and lacto-ovo vegetarians will drink milk and eat eggs but won’t eat meat. There are a few more sub categories but that is enough detail for the purposes of this article.

Why consider being vegetarian?

Due to the nature of the food that vegetarians avoid they are at a significantly reduced risk of the following: hypertension, cancers, coronary artery disease, and diabetes mellitus. As you may agree the reasons for changing to be vegetarian are compelling indeed and that is before we even begin to discuss the idealistic side of things such as being less cruel to animals, saving food for starving others, conserving the rainforest, becoming more friendly to the enviroment and such like.

Alright then, as regards protein where am I going to get sufficient muscle building supplies from?

Well, suprisingly the answer is extremely simple. Soy actually has more protein in it than beef and it is a complete protein which contains all of the eight essential amino acids. Soy is easy to get you hands on in forms such as: seitan, miso, tempeh, textured soy protein, soy milk and of course tofu. These can all be included in a variety of tasty recipes and dishes. Decent amounts of amino acids and proteins can also be found in rice, beans, seeds, legumes, nuts and even in vegetables.

Alright so that is protein deficiency crossed off the myth list now how about vitamins and minerals like: zinc, vitamin D, calcium, iron and vitamin B12?

Well, supplements should be taken by vegans for this. Vitamin B 12 is found easily in dairy products making this no cause for concern for other types of vegetarians. A good meal replacement powder will see that you get adequate amounts of the other. Of course however many minerals and vitamins are easily available in the form of leafy green vegetables and fruit that you should not overlook if you wish to build muscle up vegetarian style. 

So, overall there are many health benefits to being a vegetarian and being a vegetarian need not prevent you from achieving your bodybuilding goals. As ever planning is the key and this is just as important for meat eating bodybuilders too. With the above guidelines in mind go ahead and build muscle vegetarian style!! 

As we are all aware a good muscle building diet is critical to build muscle up. What is also important is the timing of your meals. Two hours before your workout is when I advise you to eat your meal.This should provide plentyof time to so that you don’t start your workout when you are bloated or still feeling full and sluggish.

Ideally this preworkout meal should be something that you are used to and that you know won’t make you feel heavy and bloated as you want to be at your best to give your all in the gym. Make sure it includes slow burning energy such as from rice or oatmeal and that you eat the protein part first. If you don’t eat protein first then you are putting yourself at risk of becoming tired. This happens because both the protein and carbohydrate cause the body to release certain chemicals that affect the brain. Protein stimulates the release of tyrosine which signals your brain to be alert and energetic as opposed to the carbohydrate which stimulates the release of tryptophan and instructs the brain to make you feel tired. Therefore always eat the protein first.

If you really want to know how to build muscles quickly then great advice is to drink a protein and carbohydrate shake about half an hour before you workout. This will give you a good boost of ebergy for your session. Ingredients should include whey protein, maltodextrin, wxymaize or dextrose. The total drink should have around 25 grams of protein and about forty grams of carbs. Doing this will increase your bodies insulin levels which is one of the bodies strongest muscle building hormones. Furthermore it will also cut down the amount of cortisol that is produced by your body which has a negative impact on muscle building.

Remember that spending time in the gym when you start your session already hungry and lethargic is not likely to make it a productive session. Always try to have fruit or meal replacement powders or bars handy should you not have time for a proper pre-workout meal.

As regards caffeine why not try get your hit from a nice antioxidant loaded green tea it provides less caffeine but is also a good deal better for you in many ways. Finally, don’t forget to keep taking on board the water, this is critical too. Ok bear those things in mind and you’ll be hitting the gym in peak mode for an awesome muscle stimulating workout which you will be able to grow from because you will have had the correct muscle building nutrition.

Bodybuilders are typically always searching around for new ways to bust through training plateaus, to provide variety for your routines and to find new ways to trigger muscle growth and improve strength levels. Finding and using new and different exercise techniques is essential for muscle building success as your muscles soon adjust to the demands of new exercises and will not be able to grow until new different stress is placed upon them.

There are many methods in which to trigger growth including the regular progressive overload principle of using certain amounts of sets and reps and doing as many reps as possible until your muscles won’t allow you to do anymore. Other possible variations are: compound sets, supersets, 21s, drop sets, partials and so on. However today we are going to look at negatives as a way to stimulate muscle growth.

So, just exactly what precisely are negatives? And how can you build muscle fast using negatives and are they the answer to how to build muscle quickly?

Well, negatives go like this. Lets use the bench-press as an example and imagine that you usually do 8 repetitions at 110kg. You have become stuck at this weight and finding it difficult to progress so here is what you do. Add to the bar an extra 20 kilos and get your friends to spot you and help you to press this weight up with their assistance. Now once the weight is at the top let the spotters take away their hands allowing you to gradually lower it under full control. Then once more let your friends assist you to press the weight back up. Do this again and again until you are able to no longer do the exercise with correct technique.

Why should I make use of these negatives? And will I build muscle fast using negatives?

Well it happens to be that your muscles are actually in the lowering phase stronger than what they are in the lifting phase. So, by doing negatives you can get your muscles used to handling a heavier weight. Do a few workouts such as this and you can trigger muscle mass growth and therefore improve your training sessions efforts for your normal workout routine and increase your overall musculature.

Are there any downsides to this?

As your muscles are likely to not be used to doing this and for physiological reasons your muscles are more than likely going to be sore on the following days. Certainly do not workout again until you have totally recuperated and keep high your protein intake and be completely sure to take a quality protein shake straight after your weight session.

Negatives can be made use of for just about any exercise but work best for the classic mass builders such as the major compound multi-joint exercises like: squats, deadlifts, pull ups, shoulder presses, and such like. To trigger muscle growth and break training plateaus then use these workouts on an infrequent and occasional basis.

With those points in mind keep taking on good solid muscle building nutrition, rest plenty and workout vigorously and regularly and you will likely have no problems stacking on muscle mass. Now go ahead and combine your weight gain programs guidelines with negatives.

‘Why am I not getting bigger?’ is one of the most frequently asked questions around the world by bodybuilders. After all you are training hard, with good muscle building nutrition in your diet, yet your gains are still minimal. Your motivation can be dramatically reduced by the sense of frustration after months of effort. So, what precisely is the answer? Well, there are a few likely causes, see if any of these ring a bell with you, together they show you how to build muscle up:

1) Are you eating lots? Under eaters could be the real name for many hardgainers. As this is a major reason for poor muscle growth. In bodybuilding the key to weight gain is eating, lots and often! Consuming food every two hours is a very useful guideline that will help you intake the required amount of calories. Make sure you snack lots on food such as: dried fruit and nuts, yoghurt, cottage cheese,  cereal and milk, protein bars, fresh fruit, and protein shakes, etc

2) Are you getting enough protein? To build muscle mass fast you should aim for 1.Each day you should get per pound of body weight 5 grams of protein. Awesome sources of protein are: chicken, fish, turkey as well as dairy products. As you want to bulk up do not by the low fat variety for every product you need the excess calories. of course you need quality calories but you can do a cutting stage at a later date to remove excess fat. A great way to take on board quality protein is to purchase the large tubs of whey protein.

3) Have your routines gone stale? If you can reel off your routine from the top of your head then that probably means you have been doing the same for thing for quite a while now. If you are not provoking your body to grow in new and different ways then it simply is not going to grow. What about really mixing things up with aided lifts, negatives, partials, super sets and so on. You could try 10 sets of 10 reps for any major exercise like squats, simply reverse your workout order, do more supersets (get ready to be sore!) or even allow yourself a week off from working out and let your body totally recover. Make use of the endless amount of variations that are possible.

4) Are getting enough rest? Did you ever see anyone walk into a fitness centre workout and then come out having put on half a stone of muscle? Never. Clearly then you build muscle mass when you are at home and not when you are lifting barbells. If you are not resting lots then you are limiting the amount of time available for the muscle to grow. If anything you want to give yourself extra time to grow not less. Try limiting your workouts to one muscle group per week. Also reducing the number of sets per body part, how about a maximum of 3-5 really intense sets per body part per workout. Why not try them yourself, you might be pleasantly suprised by your progress!

5) Are you consuming enough water? You will limit your progress if you don’t get an adequate supply of water. In order to grow, your muscles need copious amounts of water. Always keep a water bottle to hand and make use of it.

So the question we began with: “Why am I not growing quicker?’ as you can tell has many answers. Answer with extreme honesty the above questions and if you need to make a few changes then do so. If you are not satisfying just one of the above criteria then you have found the reason why you are not growing. Change is required if more than one of these points is not being addressed by your bodybuilding lifestyle. Of course there may well be other reasons why you might aren’t growing but they are are the usual suspects. Now go pump some iron and start growing!