How to gain muscle weight. How to gain muscle mass. Nutrition for gaining muscle mass at home

Not many people dream of increasing their weight. There are many more who seek to get rid of it. However, excessive thinness is sometimes more ugly and unattractive than excessive fullness. Angular and bony guys and girls would give a lot for the opportunity to have a rounded dense body and not be known as herrings and dryness. And, of course, they are concerned about the question, how to gain weight to get rid of ridicule and feelings of inferiority. Nutritionists believe that it is more difficult for thin people to increase body weight than their counterparts to lose the same amount. In both cases, weight change occurs under the influence of two factors: nutrition and physical activity.

Thin and slender people, as a rule, eat a lot, but do not gain body weight. The absorbed food goes into them, as into a black hole - muscles do not grow, subcutaneous fat does not appear. You can eat them at McDonald's at least every day - but the desired kilograms will be gained. If all attempts by a person to increase the size of his body were unsuccessful, it's time to turn to.

Perhaps thinness is a consequence of the disease:

  • First of all, it is necessary to check the work of the hormonal system, the function of the thyroid gland. With its hyperfunction, the metabolism becomes energy-consuming, their lion's share is spent by the body on internal problems. A situation arises: the more a person eats, the more energy is spent on its digestion. In such a situation, it will not be possible to quickly gain weight.
  • Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract almost always cause increased thinness: these are worms, which get most of our diet; gastritis, colitis, in which food is poorly digested and absorbed.
  • Under stress and strong feelings, the body functions in a mode of increased readiness to fight troubles. Maintaining such a state requires large energy costs, gaining additional body weight becomes an impossible problem.
  • Thinness in adolescence is a consequence of the rapid development of the body, when the increase in muscle mass lags behind the growth of bones and internal organs. The teenager does not get better, does not mature and begins to complete on this occasion.

The first rule of all who want to increase weight is to establish the cause of the negative changes in the figure, to find out what prevents you from gaining (or losing) the notorious kilograms.

Expert opinion

Egorova Natalya Sergeevna
Nutritionist, Nizhny Novgorod

The author wrote very correctly about diseases that can lead to excessive thinness. The cause of low body weight is very often helminthic invasions and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, in which the process of digestion and absorption of nutrients is disturbed. As a result, the body receives less vital nutrients, vitamins and minerals. This leads to weight loss.

I also want to add that in old age, a sharp weight loss can be caused by oncological pathology (cancer).

But even if you are young, be vigilant. Especially if you have always had a normal body weight, and then you suddenly lost weight. Such weight loss can indicate serious health problems. Therefore, in such cases, it is necessary to undergo a full examination.

But if you have always been thin / thin, there is no need to panic and run to the hospital in horror. Most likely, you just have such a constitution. In this case, the tips in the article will be very useful to you. And you can gain the cherished kilograms if you follow them. But before that, still consult a nutritionist. Professional advice will definitely not be superfluous.

Ways to increase body weight

For thin people who are completely healthy, who just want to add weight and become more attractive, there are some useful tips on how to gain weight at home, without the help of doctors and medications.

These methods include:

  • balanced, and nutrition focused on getting fat;
  • preparations and vitamin supplements for weight gain;
  • elements of high-calorie sports nutrition.

Proper nutrition

Proper nutrition is based on a healthy lifestyle, when bad habits do not disrupt metabolism, and physical activity, on the contrary, speeds it up.

Practical advice: Breakfast is the main moment of nutrition, the daily metabolism of the body starts. Ectomorphs and asthenics (people prone to thinness) can eat sweet foods, high-calorie rolls, chocolates and sweets for breakfast.

But the ideal breakfast menu for those who want to gain weight would be something like this:

  • Porridge - oatmeal, buckwheat, barley, rice.
  • Tea with honey or coffee with cream.
  • Sweet pastries.

After a couple of hours, you need to make a 2nd breakfast: have a snack with kefir or yogurt with a sandwich.

Lunch, as a rule, consists of 3 courses, mainly, this is the time of the predominant use of protein foods with side dishes of potatoes, vegetables or cereals.

Note. Gaining weight, it is useful ... to starve. Yes Yes. Arrange a unloading mono-diet for one day several times a month (apple, cucumber, kefir or buckwheat). The diet will serve as stress for the body, it will begin to save reserves for a rainy day, which will help to round the figure.

For dinner, even for thin people, sweets and high-calorie foods are prohibited. You can not tease the body, which is preparing for rest, carbohydrate food. It instantly turns into unnecessary energy at night. For some people, this energy becomes fat, for others it brings insomnia. In any case, the metabolism is upset. Eggs, cottage cheese, a glass of kefir - a worthy completion of the daily diet.

What foods help you gain weight

Weight gain requires more than just high-calorie foods. We must not forget about vitamins and minerals - without them, metabolism is impossible. Sweets and muffins can be deposited with a couple of kilograms of fat on the stomach or waist, but the lean muscle mass that all guys dream of will not be created by sweet foods.

This requires protein foods and foods with slow carbohydrates:

  • Eggs - contain protein, optimal for absorption, vitamins A, folic acid.
  • Milk porridge is the best energy drink for the first half of the day.
  • Meat (chicken, turkey, beef) - supply the body with amino acids for muscle growth. Meat is a source of iron and vitamin B12, without them, hemoglobin in the blood decreases, anemia develops. A person loses energy, weight, melts before our eyes.
  • Pasta has a high carbohydrate content, their use is very useful for asthenics and ectomorphs, in which energy quickly disappears. Naval pasta is doubly useful: as a source of protein and energy.

Diet for weight gain

To get better in a short time, you need to have a properly composed diet in which foods are balanced in energy value, vitamins, minerals, BJU.

Sample menu for 1 day

How to gain weight for an ectomorph man

Many guys and young men of asthenic constitution (tall, thin with long limbs, with poorly developed muscles) have hopes for bodybuilding. And they are absolutely right: power loads, combined with proper nutrition, can transform the frail figure of an ectomorph. Relief muscles appear on the arms, the muscles of the back and chest grow, the coveted cubes appear on the stomach. No one will call the owner of such a figure a jerk.

Successful classes in the gym should be supported by proper sports nutrition and regimen:

  • High calorie food; frequent appointments;
  • Regular consumption of proteins and gainers;
  • Abundant drinking regimen, especially during training;
  • Sleep should take up 1/3 of the daily time

The effect of brewer's yeast on weight gain

Brewer's yeast is a source of B vitamins, which together participate in various metabolic processes. By themselves, they do not have calories, they lack proteins, fats, carbohydrates.

Please note: Yeast contributes to the fat burning process. In their presence, proteins are digested and absorbed into the blood faster, therefore, the construction of muscle tissue and weight gain faster.

Brewer's yeast can be bought in different forms: in tablets, powder, flakes, they can be simply added to food, mixed into protein shakes, into gainers. But don't mix brewer's yeast and beer. Alcoholic beer will provide negative weight gain: a beer belly and female-type obesity.

Types of protein

A protein supplement - pure protein - should definitely be used by people who experience increased stress on the body, spend a lot of energy, do physical work - and at the same time want to gain weight or at least maintain the same. Combining protein with strength training is a way to gain muscle mass. Athletes use it daily, and those who want to improve their figure should definitely include this supplement in their diet. The best way to consume protein is in shakes. In this form, it is absorbed almost without loss, it is convenient to take it in any situation. You can buy different types of protein, but which one is best for a particular case, you will have to find out with a nutritionist.

There are such types of sports cocktails:

  • Whey protein.
  • Casein.
  • Soy protein.
  • Protein from egg whites.
  • protein isolates, etc.

Women's weight problem during pregnancy

Usually, women do not have problems with weight gain during the period of bearing a child. During this time, her body is rebuilt to feed the fetus, and body weight increases normally by a couple of tens of kilograms. But if the expectant mother is not gaining weight well, the child risks being born premature and weak. So, having become pregnant, a woman is simply obliged to eat well in order to ensure the health and normal body of her child. The diet should contain all the necessary nutrients for a healthy diet, and if they are not enough, a doctor's consultation is necessary.

Nutrition rules for expectant mothers:

  • Complete food rich in vitamins and minerals.
  • Sufficient supply of oxygen - frequent walks in the fresh air.
  • Introducing infant formula into the diet.

During lactation

Sometimes, after giving birth to a child, a woman begins to rapidly lose weight. Health problems during pregnancy and childbirth, breastfeeding, overstrain, fatigue and stress affect. First of all, we must try to establish a diet and rest, attract relatives to help and care for the baby in order to be able to fully relax. Anxiety should be caused by the absence of menstruation, which provokes insufficient weight.

To find out what is the reason, you will have to be examined:

  • Check stomach;
  • Pass tests for intestinal pathologies;
  • Eliminate the influence of endocrine diseases.

Video on how to eat better to have a normal weight:

How to gain weight after childbirth

Firstly, you should not strive for a super-fast change in your figure. You need to get back into shape gradually, as sudden jumps and changes in diet and physical activity can lead to a long-term metabolic failure. And then instead of an ideal figure, you will get a bunch of intractable problems.

Important! It is physiologically impossible to quickly increase muscle tissue, so rapid weight gain will only lead to an increase in fat.

In the long term, such experiments can trigger the mechanism of obesity, which is very difficult to reverse. Therefore, the main rule for those who want to quickly increase weight is a balanced moderate diet. Harmonious physical activity, patience and good mood. And the timing will be determined by the body itself, gradually restoring health and habitual weight.

Insufficient body weight worries more and more people, because gaining the missing kilograms is just as difficult as losing weight. Wrong food tactics and the choice of foods rich in fats will lead to the fact that the body will become flabby, and the internal organs will fail in the body. How to quickly gain muscle mass at home and make the figure slim, toned, proportional without compromising health?

Principles of proper nutrition for muscle building

There are simple rules that everyone who is interested in how to quickly build muscle should follow. They are as follows:

  1. Eat quality food. Only natural products will provide the body with the nutrients necessary for the muscles. Antioxidants, contained only in high-quality food, also fight cancer, skin and other dangerous diseases.
  2. Don't skip breakfast. The real problem of modern city dwellers is the absolute lack of time in the morning, so they neglect their morning meals. This is wrong: it is not recommended to leave the house without having breakfast.
  3. Count calories. To track results, you can start a food journal that records all the calories consumed and the proportions of the elements.
  4. Supplement your diet with carbohydrates. The norm is 4-5 grams per 1 kilogram of current weight. They contribute to muscle growth and the development of endurance during intense physical exertion.
  5. Prepare healthy foods ahead of time. There should always be a supply of protein food in the refrigerator so that when you come home, you can have a full dinner, and not pounce on chips or convenience foods bought at the nearest supermarket.
  6. Eat at night. An ideal product that can be eaten 20-40 minutes before bedtime is fat-free cottage cheese with nuts or seeds. Casein, which is part of it, coagulates in the intestines and guarantees a continuous supply of amino acids to the body, which have the ability to slow down catabolism.
  7. Plan your snacks between main meals.
  8. Eat enough calories. The optimal one is calculated based on the current weight: 40-50 kilocalories should fall on one kilogram of the body.
  9. Include in the diet foods rich in healthy fats. They are involved in the construction of muscles, protect the joints, increase the production of testosterone. For one kilogram of body weight, you need to consume 0.5 grams of fat.

Mode

How to eat right to gain muscle mass? Of course, to speed up the flow of nutrients into the blood, you should eat 5-6 times a day in small portions. For an average man weighing 80 kg, a portion of food for 500-600 kcal is considered the norm of consumption. By increasing the portion, you can make sure that excess calories turn into fat, and this is highly undesirable.

The last meal must be before bedtime, it guarantees muscle growth and recovery during the rest period. A complete "night" serving contains slow protein and healthy fats.

Top 10 Muscle Growth Foods

From what you need to eat in order to, we note those foods that increase the body's endurance and nourish it with useful substances:

  1. Beef meat. It contains iron, B vitamins, zinc, proteins and amino acids that stimulate weight gain.
  2. Chicken fillet. Prefer boiling, stewing, baking or steaming to maximize the preservation of micronutrients that contribute to building mass and improving bone strength.
  3. Cottage cheese. Rich in calcium, vitamin B12, maintains muscle tone.
  4. Chicken eggs. Contain vitamin D, fats, amino acids, high-quality proteins, proteins, other vitamins. They are very useful, but you should not get carried away with them: it is undesirable for men to eat more than 6 eggs a day, and for women - more than 3.
  5. Oily fish. Saturates the body with protein, omega-3 acid, helps maintain optimal weight.
  6. Oat flour. It contains carbohydrates and an impressive amount of coarse fibers. Products prepared from it saturate the body for a long time.
  7. Whole grains (brown rice, wheat). They give strength, vigor, endurance, nourish the body with useful substances, normalize the work of the stomach.
  8. Nuts. Needed for normal functioning of the cardiovascular system, elasticity of ligaments and muscle growth. It contains many beneficial fatty acids.
  9. Milk products. Whey, milk and kefir strengthen and contribute to the normal delivery of anabolic acids to the muscles.
  10. Buckwheat. A nutritious product containing carbohydrates, amino acids, and other trace elements for muscle growth and the normal functioning of the digestive tract.

diet

So, what should you eat to gain muscle mass? An example diet looks like this:

  • egg omelet;
  • black bread;
  • 70 grams of canned corn;
  • bunch of grapes or pear;
  • black tea with raspberry jam.
  • sandwiches with cheese;
  • a glass of kefir or juice;
  • a handful of dried fruits: raisins, dried apricots, prunes or nuts.
  • potatoes with meat or fish;
  • vegetable salad;
  • compote or juice.
  • bananas;
  • oatmeal;
  • tea with a small piece of dark chocolate.
  • boiled rice or buckwheat porridge;
  • 70 grams of canned green peas;
  • tuna;
  • apple or berries;
  • green tea.

What to eat to quickly gain mass

Every athlete should know what foods can quickly gain weight, and give preference to those that contribute to the growth of muscle mass, rather than body fat. When consuming pasta, peas, smoothies, peanuts and other products useful for this purpose, one should not forget about some of the nuances.

Expenditure and income of calories

Muscle building can only occur when a person burns fewer calories than they consume. If, eating right, we still do not notice an increase on the scales, then we should gradually increase the number of calories consumed until the long-awaited changes occur.

Slow carbs before workouts, fast carbs after

Before pumping up muscle mass in the gym or before starting other vigorous physical activity, it is recommended to eat slow carbohydrates: potatoes, pasta, cereals. They will saturate the body and provide energy for a long time.

Fast carbohydrates - jam, sweets, cakes "burn out" quickly, therefore, after a short period of time, the processes of consumption of the "emergency" glycogen reserve are already taking place in the body and the person will feel tired. They can be consumed after training.

Drinking regime

We learned what you need to eat to gain muscle mass, but the success of the enterprise depends largely on the amount of fluid consumed. The human body is 75% water, and lack of fluid intake, according to research, leads to dehydration and destruction of muscle tissue. A person who is actively involved in sports should drink 3.5 liters of water per day.

Safe Use of Food Supplements

Squirrels

Whey and soy proteins are consumed in order to gain weight and build muscle. Dry wheys are easy to use, can be made into cocktails, and are now available everywhere. A coach will help you choose the right formula. But you should also carefully read the instructions.

Creatine

Creatine is one of the essential supplements to use after intense workouts. It energizes, guarantees rapid muscle recovery. Along with glutamine, it prevents the action of the hormone cortisol and ensures excellent well-being. When using these supplements, you need to drink plenty of water.

vitamins

How to increase muscle mass safely and quickly depends largely on the choice of vitamin supplements used by athletes. Vitamins C and E will help to cope with free radicals and prevent the development of serious diseases.

Brewer's yeast

Every novice athlete should know how to eat right in order to gain weight. However, not everyone knows the fact that brewer's yeast, sold in a pharmacy, is an auxiliary supplement that guarantees a quick result. They make up for the lack of protein, vitamin D, enzymes, nucleic acids, amino acids. Therefore, their reasonable consumption will have a beneficial effect on the body.

Often, the fair sex is interested in what you need to eat in order to gain weight for a girl, while remaining beautiful and fit. For the growth of body weight and muscles, brewer's yeast is useful for all categories of people, they significantly improve the condition of nails, skin and hair. However, they are not recommended for people suffering from osteoporosis.

Rehabilitation specialists, nutritionists and experienced trainers will tell you how and what to eat to gain muscle mass. Great importance is given to the organization of training.

  1. Keep a balance between the number of calories consumed and the intensity of physical activity. By increasing aerobic activity, you should consume more protein. Otherwise, muscle mass will quickly disappear.
  2. Eat small meals, but often.
  3. Stop using steroids.
  4. The duration of the workout should not exceed 90 minutes, after it is over, you must definitely have a snack.

Scales and a diary will help to fix positive changes in weight, and, armed with our recommendations, you can safely step towards your cherished goal!

Video

Useful information about proper nutrition for gaining muscle mass you will learn from this video.

Want to get big and strong? So that other men are respected, and girls are more willing to give a phone number? Vladimir Turchinsky once spoke about this: “When a man wants to be strong, this is normal. It's not normal for a man to want to be handsome." Bold expression. However, not everyone can set aside time and money for a gym. How to be in such a situation? How to gain muscle mass at home? About everything in order.

How to quickly gain muscle mass?

First, let's dispel the illusions of those who ask how to quickly gain weight. Building muscle is a long process that takes years of hard work. And not only in training, but also in the kitchen, since 40% of success in any sport depends on nutrition.

For dramatic changes in the physique that others will notice, you need to train for at least 1.5–2 years. Therefore, leave the thought of pumping up for the beach season in a couple of months. It's impossible.

Here's another inconvenient truth. Building muscle at home is much more difficult, because most people do not have their own sports equipment. The maximum that you can count on is a horizontal bar, bars, weights and small dumbbells. As additional weight, bottles with water or sand are used.

Note: If you want to progress faster in strength and muscle volume, find time for the gym. The results of home workouts are unlikely to suit, especially if a person is not predisposed to weight gain.

Principles of mass gain:

  1. Choice of exercises. To build muscle, the training program should be dominated by heavy basic exercises. These are movements where more than one joint is involved. The big three are popular in the gym: bench press, classic deadlift, squat with a barbell on the shoulders.

Since there are no necessary simulators at home, you will have to be content with little. To train your chest, use various variations of push-ups from the floor and on the uneven bars. The back muscles are pumped with pull-ups on the horizontal bar with different grips. Loading the legs is more difficult. As an option - squats on one leg or with kettlebells at a slow pace, jumping out of a deep squat and sprinting for short distances.

  1. Time under load. Almost all mass training programs indicate a rep range of 6 to 12 times. This is true, but the numbers do not matter, since the body does not know such a concept. The main thing is the time spent under load.

The optimal range is 20–30 seconds. Just during this interval, a person, depending on fitness, will do 6-12 repetitions. If you load the muscles less in time, strength indicators increase, if more - endurance.

  1. How much to rest? Between sets, it is recommended to rest 45-90 seconds. This is true for training the chest, back and arms. When exercising your legs, take up to two minutes to rest.

Important point: with a short rest between sets, their number should not exceed three. Also, don't do more than two exercises per muscle group in one workout, otherwise it's easy to fall into a state of overtraining.

Overtraining occurs when for a long time the load exceeds the recovery capabilities of the body. In this state, power indicators fall, appetite and desire to train disappear. Irritability grows, sleep problems appear.

  1. load progression. How to gain weight for a man if his training does not change? No way, because the muscles will not grow if you do the same number of repetitions from year to year without changing the working weight. There is no reason for the body to create new muscle structures if what is already there is enough to perform the usual work.

Therefore, to increase the mass, gradually increase the training stress. In practice, it looks like this. A man presses a barbell weighing 80 kg for 6 reps in 4 sets. At each training session, he tries to do one more time. Having reached 10 repetitions in each of 4 sets, the athlete increases the weight by 2 kg and repeats this path again.

It is impossible to keep all the training information in your head. Therefore, for convenience, keep a diary. This is a powerful tool that has helped build muscle and increase strength for more than one professional athlete.

  1. Weight ratio. Remember the rule that will help you gain and lose weight. Muscles grow with an excess of calories, that is, you need to consume more than you spend during the day. To lose weight, either reduce food intake or increase energy expenditure.

Nutrition for gaining muscle mass should consist of quality products. As a source of carbohydrates, use cereals, cereals, durum wheat pasta. In the sports environment, buckwheat, rice, and lentils are popular. Provide up to 60% of calories per day with carbohydrates.

Proteins are a building material. Use animal protein more effectively: white and red meat, fish, eggs, dairy products. The need for protein is calculated in proportion - 2 g of protein per 1 kg of body weight. Avoid feeling hungry. It is advisable to eat every three hours. There are 5-6 meals per day.

Important: within an hour after training, you need to eat to provide the body with energy and suppress destructive processes. Before going to bed, it is advisable to eat a pack of low-fat cottage cheese.

  1. Recovery. We grow not in training, but in sleep. It is in the power of Morpheus that growth hormone is released in the body and a surge of testosterone occurs. So try to sleep at least 8 hours a day.

Avoid any stress other than training, because when a person is nervous, the concentration of cortisol, a hormone that literally devours muscle tissue, increases.

Mass training: how to build muscle mass

As already mentioned, building muscle mass at home is not easy. And this is mainly due to the impossibility of a competent progression of the load, since most of the work is done with its own weight. If you gradually increase the number of repetitions and approaches, then this will positively affect endurance, and the mass will not grow. How to be?

Perform exercises at a slow pace. On the example of pull-ups, this is 2 seconds for lifting and 3 for lowering. For half a minute, you can do 5-6 repetitions. Exercises on the crossbar and push-ups on the uneven bars do with additional weight. To do this, tie a dumbbell, kettlebell or water bottle to your belt.

Weight program at home

Since the total load is relatively low, pump the entire body in one workout. Start with the hardest exercise and end with the easiest:

  • Squats with weights - 3 x 6-12 times.
  • Jumping out of a deep squat - 3 x 8-10 times.
  • Pull-ups on the horizontal bar with a wide grip - 2 x 6-10 times.
  • Pull-ups with a lower wide grip - 2 x 6-10 times.
  • Push-ups on uneven bars - 3 x 6-12 times.
  • Push-ups from the floor - 3 x 6-12 times.
  • Pull-ups with a lower narrow grip - 3 x 6-12 times.

Rest between sets for no more than a minute, between exercises - 2-3 minutes. This workout can be done 2-3 times a week. Muscles are considered ready for re-loading 1-2 days after the disappearance of the krepatura.

Whether home workouts will be effective depends on the person's predisposition to gain muscle mass, adherence to the diet and training principles. There are many examples on the Web when an impressive body was built on horizontal bars and uneven bars. If it worked for one, it will work for you. The main thing is to systematically move towards the goal.

Hello everyone, ladies and gentlemen! With this article, the project opens a series of notes on the question - how to gain muscle mass? This topic really excites the inquisitive minds of almost anyone who has ever crossed the threshold of the gym. It requires the most careful study, and therefore we will devote much more time than usual to its study.

So, we will gradually master the three pillars on which the construction of any muscle mass is built. These are nutrition, rest and training. We will talk about the first component today, so everyone clung to the blue screens of monitors - we are starting.

Gaining muscle mass: a growing guide.

I don't know almost a single athlete who would not like to become bigger, and this does not depend on your training experience. You can be a frail hardgainer or a professional bodybuilder, but the feeling that somewhere is missing and it would be nice to add a couple of centimeters in girth will never leave you.

It's like an obsession, like a record in a gramophone. Have you ever seen a huge mountain of muscles on the cover of a magazine (or live) and were maniacally set on fire with the goal of achieving something similar, i.e. gain impressive muscle mass. I'll tell you a secret, my dear readers, in the world of men, volumes decide. This young lady needs to be as slim and graceful as possible, for men everything is different. Who is higher, more voluminous, stronger - he is right, this is an unspoken rule.

So it was and so it will always be. Of course, the intellect also decides, but if you are a frail drisch, no one will even let you open your mouth to show how smart you are :). There is such an expression: “by clothes - they meet”. With regard to bodybuilding, it can be rephrased as follows: on the muscles - they meet and see off!

Well, okay, it was a small introduction, for a general understanding of the issue. Now let's get to the point.

To answer the question how to gain muscle mass? you need to know that this is a multicomponent process that includes many factors, each of which has its own degree of significance. Those. you can not throw out some component or vice versa - choose the most convenient for you. Only in the aggregate, all the elements of the mosaic will give a full-fledged canvas in the form of an increase in muscle volume.

It refers to the fundamental elements.

The very first (nutrition) we will pay close attention today.

Note:

Look when one of the big guys enters the hall. If the guy is massive, everyone immediately imperceptibly pays attention to him and draws their own conclusions. (they say not bad, good, etc.). If a guy of ordinary or thin build comes in, then no one will even look in his direction. His appearance in the world goes unnoticed, as if a small mouse has slipped by. Don't believe? Then watch the front door and the reaction of your iron brethren.

So, in a nutshell, the basic concept of gaining muscle mass fits into a simple pie chart and consists of 3 stages:

  • Training - launches and subsequently each time stimulates a chain of biochemical processes that lead to an increase in muscle volumes of a bodybuilder;
  • - provides high-quality "feeding" of all depleted body systems and the construction of new contractile-muscular structures;
  • Recovery - performs compensatory and supercompensatory functions through rest.

Nutrition and growth are practically synonyms. Muscle mass is not taken from the air, it is taken from a properly organized nutrition process, and a mass pyramid helps to organize it, which many bodybuilders have forgotten about.

Let's find out what kind of pyramid this is and what it is eaten with :).

It looks like this and is a clear set of hierarchically subordinate (top) rules and factors.

The pyramid of mass consists of 4 floors, the top of which is the most important. They go under the cap (in order of decreasing importance) all other factors. Each factor has its own specific recommendation. The closer the edge of the pyramid is to the top, the more expensive it is to violate the recommendations.

calories

The main equation you need to remember is [calories consumed] > [calories burned], i.e. maintain a positive caloric balance. No need to rely on any snacks or sports nutrition. The basis of your diet is full meals. Lots of food - that's the main incentive. On the 1 kg of body weight must be consumed before 40 calories. Those. if you weigh 80 kg, it is necessary to consume a diet with a total energy value 3200 calories. Compare how much you are now "hamstering". This is a necessary threshold from which any “shifts” in the growth of muscle volumes begin.

Conclusion: plan your diet in advance (for a week) and calculate its calorie content based on 40 calories per 1 kg of body weight.

Proteins (proteins)

Protein molecules are made up of amino acids, the basic building blocks of muscles. The more intensive the construction is, the more material needs to be transported. It turns out that the more the athlete eats, the more amino acids will get into the muscles.

Conclusion: take the minimum 2 gr. protein per 1 kg of body weight. Use predominantly (up to 80% ) natural sources of protein (from food), add to them.

General conclusion on 2 factors: If you are taking calories and protein as prescribed, but still not growing, increase your protein intake to 2,5 g/kg.

Read more about protein in this article.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are broken down in the intestines into their simplest components, in particular, glucose molecules. Then they are translated into all cells of the body, including the brain. Muscle contraction is, in principle, impossible without the main energy source, glucose. The storage of glucose is the blood, but it (blood glucose) is only enough for 5-7 minutes of hard training, then glycogen depots are used, the reserves of which are in the liver and muscles.

These reserves last much longer, but the depot (storage) itself is created rather slowly, which dictates the timing of the body's recovery. You can not train until stocks are replenished. The glycogen depot has its own limited size reserves. Those. You won’t be able to eat all the carbohydrates, the excess will definitely go to fat.

Conclusion: 5 g per kg of body weight - this is the necessary and sufficient level of carbohydrate intake. If you consider yourself to be quite mobile and stressed people, then consume 6 g/kg.

Read more about carbohydrates in this article.

Nutrition before training

Hard training is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it gives a stimulus to the growth of muscle mass, on the other hand, it destroys it. In the course of training, a stress hormone is released in the body of an athlete, literally exploding the shell of muscle cells in order to extract BCAA and glutamine amino acids from them. All this is subsequently used by the body as a source of biological fuel. To slow down this dangerous process, the body needs nourishment in the form of special pre-workout nutrition.

Conclusion: for 40 minutes before training, take 40 g of whey protein and eat something sweet. This will help delay the body's triggering the emergency muscle-burning mechanism. The level of the hormone cortisol in this case will be minimal.

Nutrition after training

After a heavy “plowing in” in the hall, the glycogen depot is depleted to almost zero. In this period ( 35-40 minutes) the body sharply increases the sensitivity of cellular receptors to glucose and the rate of their laying. It is called - the most successful period for taking fast-digesting carbohydrates, coupled with protein.

Conclusion: during 35-40 minutes after class in the hall, take 70-90 gr. fast carbohydrates and 30-40 gr. whey protein. Dishes can be: a bun with honey, sweet corn flakes with milk, rice with dried apricots and raisins.

Diet

We all know that the correct diet involves dividing your diet into meals, more 3 , Ideally 5-6 . However, few people know why this should be done. It's very simple, the consumption of large amounts of carbohydrates provokes an increased secretion of the hormone insulin. The hormone, as it were, dilutes your blood, makes it less thick, freeing it from excess glucose. By doing its job with diligence, it creates a deficiency of glucose in the blood. (thus causing drowsiness and lowering blood pressure). In addition, insulin converts blood sugar into subcutaneous fat, so increased secretion of the hormone is always a danger of excess body fat. To reduce the secretion of the hormone to a minimum, it is necessary to divide the daily diet into 5-6 meals.

Conclusion: make your own meal plan with 5-6 complete refills. If you are too lazy to cook yourself so many times and take containers to work, then use liquid meal replacements - the same protein shakes. But remember, the basis of nutrition should still be solid techniques, for example 3-4 times a day.

The Right Fats

Many people think that fat makes you fat. From the wrong ones - yes, but the right ones - an indispensable battery. The latter include omega-3 and omega-6. Their number in the body must be in a strict mutual ratio. Our diet is quite rich in omega-6 fats, but omega-3 is constantly in short supply.

Their lack causes a lack of prostaglandins, which control muscle growth and glycogen stores. You can read more about fats here.

Conclusion: Include healthy fats in your diet, and omega-3s in large quantities, for this, take flaxseed oil, fish / bear oil and various types of nuts (almond, walnut). 2-3 teaspoons is the required daily allowance of omega-3 fats.

Water

Man is a walking hydrostructure, consisting of 75-80% out of the water. Liquid (particularly pure water) plays a very important role in the processes of muscle growth. Lack of water causes a decrease in the total volume of blood in the human body - this, in turn, leads to the impossibility of the maximum pumping of the muscle (filling her with blood to the point of failure). Water deficiency also leads to poor absorption of proteins and carbohydrates. You can read more about the role of water in bodybuilding here.

Conclusion: in general, in water consumption, follow the rule 25-30 ml per 1 kg of body weight. In other words, a person weighing 70 kg must drink up to 2 liters of water per day. Under the condition of hard training and in case of personal needs of the body, the amount of clean water per day can be more 2 liters.

Creatine

Do not confuse the words creatine and nerd :). The first is a natural nutritional component isolated from animal tissue, the second is the human condition. By taking creatine, you increase the level of creatine phosphate in the muscles, and this is the main element of muscle contraction. Creatine retains water in the muscles, as a result of which you become stronger for a while. This process is called muscle hydration. and it allows you to dial up to 5 kg weight.

Conclusion: take 5-7 gr. creatine every time after training, drinking it with sugar water (increases absorption).

Glutamine

Let it be known to you that in the process of training, our body completely depletes the reserves of the amino acid - glutamine. very often occurs precisely because of a deficiency of glutamine in the body.

Conclusion: take before and after training for 7-10 gr. glutamine.

Strictly follow all 10 commandments, and your muscle volumes will not keep you waiting long. If you ever want to break (or fail) one of the postulates, remember, the higher it is to the top, the more “material” the retribution will be.

Note:

Help in gaining muscle mass You can provide a service for the delivery of proper balanced nutrition Grow Food

Afterword

This article is only a small fraction (not a person) in studying the answer to the question - how to gain muscle mass? Very soon, we are waiting for its continuation, in which we will talk about a specific mass-gaining diet, some practical tricks and subtleties in increasing muscle volume.

If you do not want to miss all this, then subscribe to updates and follow the announcements. On this major note, I say goodbye to you, all the best and “production” success in the hall!

PS. Comments are always waiting for your feasible participation - ask answers, write questions (oh, on the contrary).

If you are involved in strength sports, you need to reconsider your nutrition principles. help you find the right diet. This is very important, as nutrition plays a huge role in the recovery process after many hours of training. Without a balanced diet, it is impossible to build muscle mass, no matter how much you sweat in the gym. A simple example: for steady muscle building to occur, you need to consume 1.5-2 g of protein daily for every kilogram of body weight.

You need a “building material” that will help you gain strength and build muscle. Hard exhausting workouts (especially for a working person) require a serious expenditure of energy, and in fact it is also needed in order to successfully restore the muscles and body systems. All this expense should be compensated by food. Otherwise, you will quickly lose weight and lose strength. This is true - you can follow all the rules of training, while using special programs for gaining muscle mass, but you will not get anything but weight loss.

Without proper nutrition, muscle mass growth is impossible. We will reveal to you the secrets of proper nutrition that will help you become strong and build muscle in a short time.

Rule 1: Don't Starve Before or After Your Workout

A hungry body during exercise depletes its own resources. After all, he somehow needs to replenish the reserves of expended energy - so he burns proteins. Remember how you start a trip by car? That's right, from refueling. The body also needs “refueling” in order to have strength. We recommend eating carbohydrate food about an hour before the start of the workout. Carbohydrates are easily and quickly digested, energize the entire body. Of course, you shouldn't overeat. If you prefer protein foods, then at least one and a half hours should pass from the moment you eat it to your workout.

You need to eat well after your workout. Indeed, if you do not replenish the spent energy, muscle synthesis will not begin, - on the contrary, the body will be depleted. 15 minutes after a workout, you should refresh yourself with carbohydrate food, as well as minerals and vitamins. We believe apples and bananas are the ideal post-workout food, along with a homemade energy drink. Making it is very simple: squeeze a lemon into half a liter of water, add 2 tablespoons of honey, two tablespoons of cane sugar, a few tablets of vitamin C, rosehip syrup to taste. You can put a little raspberry jam and add green or black tea. Keep this drink handy at all times.

Rule 2: Eat every day a lot and fully!

Many athletes are mistaken in believing that training builds muscle. No, powerful workouts, on the contrary, destroy muscles! The mechanisms of supercompensation, restoring and building muscles, are launched after training. This means that your muscles grow in between workouts, and this process requires constant reinforcement with the right foods. Muscles will not grow out of the void - they need material. Proteins and carbohydrates are the best material, and biochemical processes in the body are provided with vitamins and minerals.

Rule 3: Nutrition depends on the physique and metabolic characteristics

If you have a tendency to lose weight, if you are gaining weight with difficulty, then your metabolism is fast. This means that the diet should be plentiful and varied. It needs to include a large amount of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. It is good for you to eat 4 times a day, maybe even 6 times, and at the same time eat a variety of foods. Tune in to 3 meals a day "big meal", the rest of the meals will serve as "refueling". This is absolutely essential, as you can't build muscle out of air! And besides, you still need energy for training, and just for life - walking, working, etc. At the same time, you should not get carried away with sugar and sweets - there are many products that contain "useful" carbohydrates.

If you gain weight easily and quickly, then your metabolism is rather slow. In this case, it is recommended to provide the body with calories mainly due to low-fat and protein foods. Part of the carbohydrate foods can be replaced with dietary protein, focus on foods rich in vitamins and minerals. Try not to eat before bed, but in general eat not too large portions, but often enough. If you already have excess fat reserves, get rid of them first.

Some more tips

You may be surprised, but the most useful and effective muscle building product is recognized buckwheat! True, from the point of view of the British, oatmeal is better, but this only means that they have not tried buckwheat. This amazing cereal has a record high content of energy-giving carbohydrates and 12% of easily digestible protein, which is necessary for building muscles. In addition, buckwheat contains B vitamins and minerals. But there are very few fats, and even those are beneficial.

A valuable protein for athletes is also found in eggs, Try to eat 3-5 egg whites every day. By the way, it is better to limit the yolks, they can be consumed no more than 1-3 per day.

It is better to exclude pork from the diet,- this meat contains a large amount of saturated fat, which will later be difficult to get rid of. Remember that too fatty food clogs the body without benefiting it.

Heavy loads require constant replenishment of the body with vitamins and minerals. For this it is worth buying vitamin and mineral complexes and take them regularly. Particular attention is paid to vitamins of group B and vitamin C.

Forget chips and sausage! Eat natural foods: cereals and vegetables, salads with olive oil, seafood, fish, dairy products. Highly desirable in full refuse food containing preservatives, dyes, flavors and other chemical additives.

Products useful for strength athletes

As sources carbohydrates buckwheat porridge is suitable, as well as rice and other cereals, bread, pasta, bananas, honey.

To saturate the body proteins, eat cottage cheese, egg whites, white chicken meat, fish, beef and nuts, drink milk.

Vitamins and minerals found in vegetables and fruits, berries, herbs and dried fruits.

Approximate daily diet for those who are prone to rapid weight loss


8.00 – Breakfast

1. Omelette, fried from three eggs, supplemented with black bread.

2.1/3 cans of corn.

3. Pear, bunch of grapes or melon slice.

4. Black tea with raspberry jam.