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For many people attempting to build
muscle mass, conventional wisdom says that they'll need to consume
additional calories (above their normal intake) in a weight gain
diet to fuel that muscle growth. However, a careful balance needs to
be struck here, because it's easy to add weight (i.e., fat) instead of
muscle due to packing in those extra calories. While you do need
additional calories for muscle growth, your muscles can only use so
much of them at a time. Any calories left unused have a tendency to
accumulate around your middle if you're a man, or in your hips and
thighs if you're a woman. That's not what we want.
Muscle tissue needs carbohydrates immediately following a workout to
fuel their growth (twice as much!). On weight lifting days, many
strength trainers add between 500 - 1000 extra carbohydrate calories
to their diets, setting themselves up for an average weight gain of
about a pound per week. These extra calories should be consumed before
and after your workout, with a good pre-workout meal that includes an
ounce or two of protein (28 grams = 1 ounce) and a solid dose of both
simple and complex carbohydrates. An appropriate post-workout meal
would consist of pretty much the same amounts and types of calories.
During this time you should strive to avoid consuming any kinds of fat
calories.
You also have to remember that your body, always trying to be helpful,
will adjust its metabolic rate to how many calories you are consuming.
However, by shocking your metabolism periodically with different
intakes of calories than what it's used to, you can force it to run
faster at all times. This can have a beneficial effect on helping you
avoid fat gain. By eating more calories on workout days and fewer
calories on non-workout days, you can hope for some success in keeping
that fat gain to a minimum. However, most people can't build muscle
while simultaneously losing fat.
Therein lies the challenge in keeping your diet appropriate balanced.
On non-lifting days, doing just a little cardio (no more than 30
minutes or so) will help create a slight calorie deficit that you need
for fat loss. It will also help with your recovery from the previous
workout day as it increases blood flow to your muscles.
So, remember this formula to help you strike that appropriate balance
- on lifting days, try to consume an extra 500 - 1000 calories of
proteins and carbohydrates, and on in-between days, reduce your
overall food intake by 100 - 200 calories. Most people can safely
choose between reducing fat and carbohydrate calories on those lower
intake days, but protein intake, as a rule, should never be reduced.
Follow this general weight gaining diet and you should find success in
achieving your desired goal of lean muscle mass growth!
- - -
If you're interested in building muscle mass and strength without
bulking up,
check out my review of Jon Benson's new '7 Minute
Muscle' training program -
it only takes 7 minutes a day!
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