Gaining solid mass requires creating a muscle growth stimulus through resistance training, then supplying your body with enough of the right nutrients to rebuild damaged muscle tissue stronger. Hypertrophy or muscle enlargement is the technical term for the goal of gaining mass. Avoiding excess body fat storage by tailoring your diet to your individual metabolic specifications is your ticket to gaining solid muscle mass.
Step 1
Increase your total daily caloric intake by 250 to 500 calories over your maintenance level, or the calories required to maintain your body as is (see Resources). If you are a "hard-gainer" and find it difficult to gain muscular weight, you will need to increase your calories by 500 or more per day. If you have a slower metabolism, you'll need fewer calories to pack on solid mass.
Step 2
Eat more frequent, but smaller meals. Five to eight meals a day, two to three hours apart, should do the trick. Make sure to get 20 to 30g of protein at each meal, to supply needed amino acids to recovering muscles. In addition, eat "clean," low-glycemic carbohydrates such as oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole wheat bread and/or pasta. Include healthy fats, such as olive oil, flax seed oil, avocado, egg yolks and nuts and seeds at each meal.
Step 3
Perform three to five resistance training workouts a week, focusing on the multi-joint, compound exercises, which target the most muscle fibers, according to "X-reppers" Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson. Examples of compound exercises are the bench press for the chest muscles or the squat for the legs. Take each set to positive failure, meaning the point where you can no longer perform a controlled repetition.
Step 4
Consume a post-workout shake to use nutrient timing to achieve faster recovery and muscle growth. The "Muscle Nerd" Jeff Anderson recommends 30 to 50g of whey protein, 100g of carbohydrates and 30g of healthy fats immediately following your workout. What would normally be considered over-eating is exactly what your body needs after intense training to optimize your hormonal environment and supply the needed nutrients for repair.
Step 5
Take another protein shake immediately before going to bed. Whey protein, milk and 1 tbsp. of flax seed oil works well. You can also use casein protein, which is known for its slow digestion, creating a trickle effect of amino acids to your muscles while you sleep.
Step 6
Get seven or eight hours of restful sleep every night. Improper sleep patterns decrease your energy during the day and upset your natural hormonal balance, which is essential to gaining solid muscle mass.
References
- "Optimum Anabolics"; Jeff Anderson; CQC LLC; 2006
- "3-D Muscle Building"; Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; 2007
- "Natural Anabolics"; Jerry Brainum; 2009
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