If you are already reading this article, it means you have your head on right. For most people, building muscle is a real struggle because they simple don't know how to eat properly. In this article, I'm going to outline the basics of a proper diet plan for those looking to build muscle mass. It's not rocket science, but if you don't have it right from the beginning, you are fighting an uphill battle.
The first thing you need to worry about is how much you eat. If you do not eat enough, you will not gain any weight and that is not what you're after, is it If you are the type of person who has always been skinny, you can get away with eating as much as you like. If you are one of these people and you do put on a little bit of weight, then you will lose the fat a lot quicker than you gained it.
On the other hand, if you are a person who gains weight easy, but finds it hard to make lean gains, you have to be a lot more careful with how you go about your diet. I fit into this category and when I first began weight training, I weighed around 77kg and was eating around 2200 calories a day. This allowed me to gain lean muscle, without putting on loads of lard too.
The second thing you need to worry about and this is just as important as how much you eat, is what you actually eat. Eating lots of hamburgers will make you put on weight, but not the kind of weight you want. So you need to be smart. Of course, if you are one of those people who finds it really hard to gain any sort of weight at all, then you don't have to worry quite so much. You can eat just about anything and not worry about getting really fat and bloated.
But if you're not one of those people, listen up. You want to restrict yourself to eating only quality foods. I've written an entire article on this topic, but I'm just going to list the main foods you should be eating down below.
As far as proteins go, you want to be eating lots of chicken breast, turkey breast, lean cuts of steak, tuna is also fantastic, just about any fish is also good and protein shakes can be helpful if you are low on time.
Carbohydrates. You obviously want to be eating lots of good, healthy vegetables. Stay clear of sugary, processed carbs like white bread and white rice. Instead, stick to wholesome foods like wholemeal bread, pita bread, oats, brown rice, etc etc.
And fats, well, I love eating peanut butter because it tastes great and is also good for you too. Other nuts are also great, like walnuts, almonds and good old peanuts. Just be careful about the amount of nuts you're actually eating. Fat is very calorie dense, so it's easy to over indulge.
Wait enough time between sets so that you are rested enough to perform as well as you did your first heavy set. Your second set needs to be as intense as the first so that the overload to the muscle is at least the same that it was the previous set.
You need to rest enough to be able to do what you just did, preferably more. If you do a set of six reps and then right after, without enough rest, can only do a set for three reps, you have not gained anything.
The overload to the muscle has been diminished. If, after doing a set for six reps, you rest two minutes, add 5 more pounds, and proceed to do another set of six reps, the overload has been increased, and so has the likelihood new muscle will be recruited.
So it is vital that you give yourself enough rest in between sets so that way you feel as though you can handle the next set as well as you just did the previous. This could mean a different rest period for different people.
Whether it is a minute or two, you need to be recovered before starting your next set. If this were the case, why would you ever want to superset (doing exercises back to back with no rest) two exercises? Even though you may be working two opposing muscle groups such as biceps and triceps, the lack of rest between the two exercises will have a negative effect on the second exercise.
The second muscle group will be worked less intensely than the first because your muscle energy stores have been utilized during the first. This reduces the effectiveness of the exercise.
Remember that more is not necessarily better. If you work a muscle group more than once in a five to seven-day span, you are running the risk of over training, or overdoing, that muscle.
A muscle must recover fully from its previous stress before it can handle additional stress. Training with sore, tired, overworked muscles is taking one step forwards, two steps back. It's going to take you a while to get where you want to be, if you even get there at all.
Training a muscle group, such as chest, biceps, or back, only once a week will allow that muscle enough time to fully recuperate and recover to handle the next workout. Since progressive overload is the key to progress, wouldn't we want our muscles well rested so that they may handle more overload next workout?
If you do chest on a Monday, you will not want to do it again until the following Monday. Allow a full seven days of rest in between training chest again.
Many exercises that you perform during the week also incorporate the muscles you are trying to rest. For example, when you do the bench press, your deltoids (shoulders) and triceps both come into play.
They are getting subjected to work even though you are not specifically targeting them. Therefore, some muscles get worked more than once a week anyways.
After two solid months of training, take at least five days off (in a row) and don't do anything "real physical" in or out of the gym
This is very important in the recovery phase of weight training. Proper weight training puts a lot of stress on the muscles and the body. You are damaging muscle fibers that need to be rebuilt and reinforced.
The weight training is just the stimulus for muscle growth. The real growth and repair of the muscle comes when you are out of the gym resting. The rest is what causes them to grow and get stronger.
Much like a battery needs to be recharged once in a while so does our bodies. We need to take a few days off after about every two months of intense training. This should be at least five days, preferably seven days.
Do absolutely nothing involving weights, aerobics, or cardio. Nothing. Zilch. Don't even go to a gym unless it is to tan, relax in the Jacuzzi, or shower. Do not do cardio.
You need this time to let your body recover and recuperate from the time you've spent training. After three days of not doing anything real physical, you will feel more energized.
Don't worry about becoming unmotivated and fearful you might stop going to the gym. The opposite is true. After five or so days of straight rest, you will be so full of energy that you will want to bust down the door to the gym to get inside. It happens. When you rest your body often, you can expect it to recover from these intense workouts better.
If you have been working out for quite some time, such as two to three months, and you don't feel the least bit fatigued on some days, I may have to question if you are working out with the utmost intensity. Intense and demanding workouts will, sooner or later, start to wear you out.
If you don't get enough rest, your body's immune system will force you to take some time off (by becoming sick) Think about what stress does to your body. Stress can make you sick. In lab research, scientists subject rats to electric shocks at various times of the day so that the rat has no idea when the next shock is coming. Talk about stress.
Guess what happens. The rat develops ulcers and dies. Although not on the same level, weight training is still a form of stress to the body. You must allow your body to recuperate fully or the residual effects of long-term weight training will shut it down.
As you can tell, the need to rest when building muscle is an important, but often overlooked part.
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Sean M. has sinced written about articles on various topics from Build Muscle, Body Language and Build Muscle. Sean Martin writes articles. If you are looking to buy a self study. Sean M.'s top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.
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