The good news is eating correctly is not difficult and only involves two factors which are ensuring you get enough calories and protein from your muscle building diet to ensure muscle growth.
So how many calories are needed to build muscle? To build muscle correctly your goal should be to increase your bodyweight by no more than 1 pound per week.
Any more than this will result in a high percentage of fat being stored and it is true to say that the slower your bodyweight increases the higher the percentage of weight gained will consist of muscle.
Therefore, keep in mind that your body has a maximum speed at which it can build muscle and any weight gain above this will only be fat.
The best advice is to take your time and monitor your results so that if your fat levels become unacceptable you can slow the process down.
The exact amount of calories needed to achieve this varies from person to person depending on metabolism, build, genetics, age and how active the person is but as you have to start somewhere a good guide is to multiply how many pounds you weigh by 18.
So for example, using this formula a 150 pound man would need (18x150) = 2,700 calories to gain weight and build muscle but please keep in mind that this is only a guide.
If you start at this level make sure you weigh yourself regularly and if after a few weeks you are not gaining the weight you want or gaining it to fast you simply need to increase or decrease the calories until you find the right balance.
The right foods For muscle building your diet should consist of lean meats, fish and low fat dairy products for protein, lots of fruits and vegetables are essential, include whole grains such as brown rice and get your fats from natural sources such as olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, sunflower oil and oily fish such as sardines.
There is nothing new or radical about this and that is because it works and as the saying goes, if it isn't broke don't fix it.
The best thing you can do is keep to the standard advice and you won't go wrong.
Protein The amount of protein you need is not cast in stone and the experts disagree to some extent as to how much is required.
Having said that, 1 gram of protein for each pound that you weigh is what most bodybuilders would recommend.
The food equation The exact percentage of your calories that come from protein, carbohydrates and fats is also up for grabs to a certain extent and some people find that they do better if they increase or decrease one of the 3 elements having said that a diet consisting of 40% protein 30 percent carbohydrates and 30% fats is a good starting point which can be adapted to what you think best with a bit of trial and error.
When to eat A diet of 4 to 5 small meals each day is the best way to put on weight and build muscle and as strange as it seems this is exactly the same as the diet to lose weight the only difference is the amount you eat.
So spread your calories out over the entire day making sure you eat at least every 3 hours and each meal has protein.
Training For your muscle building diet to work you must also exercise the muscles to simulate new growth and the very best exercises are the classical compound movements.
If you use bodyweight exercises you can not go wrong with press ups, pull ups, free squats, dips and all the different versions of them.
If you do weight training stick to the old favourites such as dead lifts, squats, bench press and military press.
Most beginners find that they do well training 3 times per week with a routine that consists of 8 to 12 compound exercises of 2 to 3 sets and 6 to 10 repetitions of each exercise.
Remember, if you consume enough calories and protein from healthy foods and follow a good training routine you can not fail to build muscle.
If on the other hand your diet lacks enough calories or does not have the right balance of protein, carbohydrates and fats then all the training in the world will not help you gain muscle.
Therefore, the key to success is what, when and how much you eat, it pays to take the time and trouble to work out what the right diet for you is, stick to it and reach your full potential.
So how many calories are needed to build muscle? To build muscle correctly your goal should be to increase your bodyweight by no more than 1 pound per week.
Any more than this will result in a high percentage of fat being stored and it is true to say that the slower your bodyweight increases the higher the percentage of weight gained will consist of muscle.
Therefore, keep in mind that your body has a maximum speed at which it can build muscle and any weight gain above this will only be fat.
The best advice is to take your time and monitor your results so that if your fat levels become unacceptable you can slow the process down.
The exact amount of calories needed to achieve this varies from person to person depending on metabolism, build, genetics, age and how active the person is but as you have to start somewhere a good guide is to multiply how many pounds you weigh by 18.
So for example, using this formula a 150 pound man would need (18x150) = 2,700 calories to gain weight and build muscle but please keep in mind that this is only a guide.
If you start at this level make sure you weigh yourself regularly and if after a few weeks you are not gaining the weight you want or gaining it to fast you simply need to increase or decrease the calories until you find the right balance.
The right foods For muscle building your diet should consist of lean meats, fish and low fat dairy products for protein, lots of fruits and vegetables are essential, include whole grains such as brown rice and get your fats from natural sources such as olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, sunflower oil and oily fish such as sardines.
There is nothing new or radical about this and that is because it works and as the saying goes, if it isn't broke don't fix it.
The best thing you can do is keep to the standard advice and you won't go wrong.
Protein The amount of protein you need is not cast in stone and the experts disagree to some extent as to how much is required.
Having said that, 1 gram of protein for each pound that you weigh is what most bodybuilders would recommend.
The food equation The exact percentage of your calories that come from protein, carbohydrates and fats is also up for grabs to a certain extent and some people find that they do better if they increase or decrease one of the 3 elements having said that a diet consisting of 40% protein 30 percent carbohydrates and 30% fats is a good starting point which can be adapted to what you think best with a bit of trial and error.
When to eat A diet of 4 to 5 small meals each day is the best way to put on weight and build muscle and as strange as it seems this is exactly the same as the diet to lose weight the only difference is the amount you eat.
So spread your calories out over the entire day making sure you eat at least every 3 hours and each meal has protein.
Training For your muscle building diet to work you must also exercise the muscles to simulate new growth and the very best exercises are the classical compound movements.
If you use bodyweight exercises you can not go wrong with press ups, pull ups, free squats, dips and all the different versions of them.
If you do weight training stick to the old favourites such as dead lifts, squats, bench press and military press.
Most beginners find that they do well training 3 times per week with a routine that consists of 8 to 12 compound exercises of 2 to 3 sets and 6 to 10 repetitions of each exercise.
Remember, if you consume enough calories and protein from healthy foods and follow a good training routine you can not fail to build muscle.
If on the other hand your diet lacks enough calories or does not have the right balance of protein, carbohydrates and fats then all the training in the world will not help you gain muscle.
Therefore, the key to success is what, when and how much you eat, it pays to take the time and trouble to work out what the right diet for you is, stick to it and reach your full potential.
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