Building tight, lean, strong muscle means perfecting your nutrition so that your body has enough nutrients to build muscle, but not so much that it readily stores fat. Many people find it easy to gain muscle mass by overeating and training intensely. However, as you cut calories to stay lean, your energy and muscle gains typically decrease. Nutrient-timing allows you to take in the right foods at the right time to maximize muscle-building and minimize fat storage.
Step 1
Work out five days a week to burn as many calories as possible. "Optimum Anabolics" recommends this five-day training split: shoulders on Monday, arms on Tuesday, legs on Wednesday, back on Thursday and chest on Friday. Focus on doing one to three sets of a compound movement for each muscle group, in the six to 12, or hypertrophy (muscle growth), repetition range. Compound movements include squats and deadlifts for legs, pull-ups for back, bench presses for chest, military presses for shoulders, barbell curls for biceps and weighted dips for triceps (see Resources).
Step 2
Perform one "negative-accentuated" set with each exercise. Accentuating the negative means you lower the weight with a controlled six-second count on every repetition. Then lift to a one- to two-second cadence, or whatever feels comfortable. This technique causes mirco-tears in muscle tissue that encourage leanness by forcing the body to burn extra calories for up to 72 hours after your workout, according to "Xtreme Lean" by Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman.
Step 3
Perform at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise immediately after your resistance-training workout. Timing your cardio in this fashion forces the body to burn fat directly, according to "Combat the Fat" author Jeff Anderson. Examples of cardio include walking on the treadmill, riding the exercise bike, using the elliptical machine or stair-stepper, jogging or swimming. If you have a lot of fat to lose, add an extra session of cardio at a different time of day.
Step 4
Drink a protein shake immediately after your workout. "Optimum Anabolics" recommends 30 to 50 g of whey protein, 60 g of carbohydrates and 30 g of healthy fats (flaxseed oil or medium-chain triglycerides from coconut milk). These nutrients will provide the tools for muscle-building without overdoing it and causing body fat storage.
Step 5
Consume your carbohydrates at the right times to prevent body fat storage and encourage lean muscle gain. Carbohydrates make up the majority of the body's fuel for energy production. However, they also store readily as body fat. Limiting carb intake during times of inactivity will force the body to use its own fat stores for energy. Eat the majority of your carbohydrates immediately before and after your workout. The rest of the day, eat lean proteins (fish, chicken and turkey) and healthy fats (olive oil, peanut butter, and nuts and seeds).
Step 6
Eat six small meals every day, spaced two or three hours apart. Eating more frequent meals suppresses appetite, stabilizes blood sugar, inhibits cortisol production and elevates your metabolic rate to burn more fat. Structure your meal plan around breakfast, lunch and dinner, with three snacks between these meals. If this meal plan seems too daunting, try having a protein shake pre-workout, a shake post-workout and another before bedtime, along with your normal three daily meals.
Things You'll Need
- Whey protein
- Flaxseed oil
- Coconut milk
References
- "Optimum Anabolics"; Jeff Anderson; 2004
- "Xtreme Lean"; Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; 2006
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson, 2009
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