How muscles are made is one lesson that we wished we would have listened to more carefully back in high school. We've spent an incredible amount of time trying to make muscles grow by training and eating correctly.
Let us break it down, in three important components of muscle growth: Diet, Workout and Time
1. Proper Diet for Muscle Growth
There are numerous diets out there, some offered by big-name celebrities or preached about by television doctors, but common sense says you do not need these. Keep it simple by getting rid of processed foods in your diet. They have very little nutritional value to them so you won’t be getting new muscle growth by snacking on potato chips and french fries.
So what foods should you be consuming daily during your fitness journey to create muscle growth?
There is an old saying about not seeing the forest for the trees, and it basically means that someone gets all wrapped up in the little details and does not look at the big picture. When constructing the proper diet for muscle growth, you have to look at the total picture.
Protein is a macronutrient, with the other two macronutrients being fats and carbohydrates. Protein is commonly found in meat, and it has a high amount of it.
On average, three ounces of meat has about 22 grams of protein. But all meats are not equal. There are certain ones like chicken, turkey, and pork that offer more protein than others.
Meat isn’t the only place you can find protein. Other sources would be nuts, dairy products, and beans. Each of these can contain a good amount of protein if you choose the right ones. After a while, reading the nutritional labels in the supermarket will come naturally to you.
And before you kick your protein intake into high gear, begin a food journal and determine how much protein you are getting currently. This gives you a good base to work off and improve from.
Not everyone will need to consume the same amount of protein for muscle growth. Much of it depends on your current weight.
Protein fills you up quicker than fats or carbs, so you stop eating sooner. This is a good thing for most of us.
Substitute something with a high amount of protein in it and you will be better off. Some celery with peanut butter or a couple slices of turkey will provide you protein and leave you feeling satisfied without having to consume any heavily processed foods.
Finding a quality protein shake that you can take twice a day will be of great help. There are many that have 30 grams of protein in them or more so they can be of assistance in meeting your objective. Having one for breakfast and one after your workout will provide you with a high amount of protein and stop you from eating unhealthy food.
2. Workouts
You need strength training and a good diet to produce muscle growth.
Here is how it all works. As you lift heavy objects repeatedly, it tears your muscle fibers in whatever part of the body you are working on. This is a good thing because the muscle fibers repair themselves by forming new muscle fibers. The new muscle fibers are just a little bit bigger than the old ones. This translates to new muscle growth and bigger muscles.
Strength training will have you tearing these muscle fibers much more often than if you lived a sedentary lifestyle or one where you just do cardio. If your goal is muscle growth, then strength training is just as important as your new protein-packed diet.
3. Make the Long-Term Commitment
Your fitness journey is just that, a long journey. There has to be a commitment to it to receive the best results possible.
Set realistic goals for yourself in the quest to get healthier and create muscle growth. Getting into the gym every other day for an hour at a time is very doable. Four hours a week is not a huge time commitment, but it will yield amazing results.
Plus, you are then able to split up your workouts into muscle groups if you would like. The key is to not skip many days during this process. Training in March and then taking the entire month of April off will hurt your progression into becoming a muscular beast. Treat it a bit like a new job. You need to work hard and put in the time and you will receive benefits back that you can’t put a price on. Think of how nice it will feel when people start commenting that you are looking more muscular.
