Our blog is about training and we want to answer the question “how to gain muscle mass” very simply: training, but unfortunately or fortunately, nutrition represents 70% of the result. You can do your best in the gym, add weights and train with the best trainer, but if you don’t work the diet and start treating food as fuel for your body and not just for fun, the result will be very slow. for you.
Build muscle mass with the right diet
If you’ve been going to the gym for a long time, you’ve probably realized that exercise alone can’t help you build muscle mass. Muscles need good nutrition to increase their volume. Based on the well-known claim that protein is the main building block of muscle cells, many people buy protein shakes and sports nutrition.
However, this method of weight gain has several drawbacks. First of all, with the cessation of its use, the volume of muscle mass begins to decrease significantly. Secondly, these products have many side effects that negatively affect health.
But the right diet lacks all of these shortcomings. In addition, not only a healthy habit of eating in a timely and balanced manner, but also allows you to gain the desired weight. There are no health risks (except in special cases where there are certain contraindications). True, a set of muscle mass is produced more slowly than when using protein, but the result is not lost.
Protein
If you are “in bulk”, you need to understand that your body needs protein first of all, or rather, more products that contain it. To understand exactly how much protein your body specifically needs, you need to consider not only your level of physical activity, but also your weight and body type. The amount of protein needed is usually calculated based on ideal body weight. The ideal weight can be determined by a special study – bioimpedancemetry or by Brock’s formula. The formula differs according to size and skin color and is as follows:
- With growth up to 155 cm ideal weight = (height – 95) * coefficient;
- With a height of 155-175 cm ideal weight = (height – 100) * coefficient;
- With a height greater than 175 cm ideal weight = (height – 110) * coefficient.
The physical coefficient is equal to:
- 0.9 cm if your wrist circumference is less than 15 cm;
- 1 – if this value is 15-17 cm;
- 1.1 cm – more than 17 cm.
When developing a diet, you also need to consider your body type and metabolic rate. These factors can have a significant impact on the rate of mass gain and the effectiveness of training.
Protein
Protein requirements do not exceed 2.5 g per 1 kg of ideal body weight. There is no point in increasing the “dose”, because the abuse of protein products can lead to kidney problems, even in the context of a proper diet.
It should also be noted that more than half of the protein in the daily norm should be of animal origin, since it has the highest value due to its complete amino acid content. This protein is found in meat, fish, cottage cheese, eggs, poultry and fish dishes. Vegetable proteins are not very useful for building muscle, but they are also necessary for the body. It is found in legumes (especially chickpeas), soybeans and some cereals.
Protein should be included in every main meal. It is not forbidden to include foods with a large amount of protein in snacks, but not in such large quantities.
Ideal mass growth rate
It all depends on your body type, but a normal, reasonable gain is 600-700 grams per week, or about 2.5 pounds per month. Here it is very important not to step on the scale every day, because at first, depending on the diet, you can simply spill or drain water from the body and create the illusion of some bad deeds. Monitor the result no more than once a week.
You can also gain quality dry matter or gain weight, like doing the first and not the second, we’ll discuss that later. We consider the rules of nutrition for weight gain, the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates (PFC) and an example diet.
How to calculate the PFC yourself
PFC is simply the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, it is also referred to as PFC, which implies the calorie content of food.
The ideal calorie content of PFC for you can be calculated using the formula:
655.1 + (9.6 x body weight in kg) + (1.85 x height) – (age x 4.68)
As you can see, the number varies with age and weight.
PFC for mass gain
Speaking purely in numbers, the ideal amount of PFCs per 1 pound of body weight would be:
- 2 grams of protein;
- 1 gram of fat;
- 4 grams of carbohydrates.
That means for an 80-pound athlete, that’s about 160 grams of protein, 70-80 grams of fat, and 300-320 grams of carbs.
PFC for mass gain
As for the caloric content of food, in order to gain weight, the caloric content of food should be 10-15% higher than the value calculated by the formula.
About the quality of food consumed
Many people, when they see numbers, they only think of themselves, but it is important to understand that the body is not a notebook in which results and formulas are written and everything must work, the body is a living organism. And 500 calories from a piece of cake is not the same as 500 calories from grilled vegetables with salmon.
Carbohydrates are also different. Noodles are not the same as quinoa or buckwheat. Think big and consider the micro and macro nutrients in food. Vitamins, minerals and general benefits for the body.
About the quality of food consumed
I also want to address fat myths separately. High quality fats from avocados, salmon, good quality fish or nuts should be present in the diet. Many modern studies show that a low-fat diet reduces testosterone levels. If you don’t know how to get your nutrients from food, add sports nutrition and supplements. A good omega-3 (not 6 or 9, just omega-3!) will help you lose fat.
It is also important to pay attention to the quality of the meat. We’re so used to everyone in the sports world talking about brisket and buckwheat that we forget about the quality of the products themselves. If you have the opportunity to buy quality homemade meat at the market rather than on the supermarket shelves, I would definitely do it.