Welcome to the third and final article in this 3 part series of "Muscle Growth For The Beginner". In this final piece, we tackle how one's nutrition plays a role in his or her beginner muscle gains. Nutrition in my opinion is the most important piece for gaining quality muscle as a beginner. Hence why I saved it for last. Let's jump into the key principles you should be adhering to as a beginner looking to grow optimal, high-quality muscle:
1. Energy In MUST BE GREATER THAN Energy Out
First of all, I am not going to make the argument that all calories are created equal in quality when trying to gain muscle. Caloric amounts being equal, the quality of 300 calories you get from a grass-fed steak will help you much more in gaining muscle versus 300 calories from a hostess twinkie. This is due to the fact that the grass-fed steak is loaded with much more micronutrients your body needs to build muscle versus the twinkie (which I'm not sure if a twinkie has any micronutrients). More on micronutrients later though.
What you must understand is that if you are consistently expending/burning more calories than you are eating/taking in, your body will not have the energy to build muscle. As a beginner lifter, you may continue to increase in strength even if you are not eating enough calories (although this will eventually end once your neural adaptations are no longer sufficient to increase your strength without an increase in muscle size). However, you will not be gaining new muscle. The body is not magic. Muscle is energetically/calorically expensive, and the body needs the extra energy (in the form of surplus calories) to build muscle. So eat up if you are trying to gain muscle!
2. Understand Your Macronutrients:
There are four macronutrients: Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats, and Alcohol. Proteins and carbohydrates each carry 4 calories per gram. Alcohol equates to 7 calories per gram. Fat is the most calorically dense with an energy equivalence of 9 calories per gram.
3. Choose a Macronutrient Split That Works For You:
I am absolutely not a "one size fits all" advocate when it comes to dieting principles. Some people prefer keto; others, carnivore. still others, veganism. The list goes on and on. I personally prefer a mixture of all the macronutrients in a 30/40/30 percentage split of Protein/Fats/Carbohydrates. I feel best when I follow this type of macronutrient split. You need to find what works best for you.
This all being said, science truly pushes towards the fact that Protein is essential for building muscle. An individual looking to increase their muscle growth should be eating around 0.8 to 1.2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. Once you have met this protein requirement, find out what your body responds better to in terms of using fats or carbohydrates for building muscle. In another article in the future, I will look to breakdown the macronutrients further, discussing how they affect the body and metabolism. you can make a more educated decision from that article if you so wish in the future.
4. Understand Your Micronutrients:
Micronutrients are the vitamins and minerals in the foods you eat. Your body needs these essential vitamins and minerals in order to function properly. By ensuring you are getting adequate amounts of all your micronutrients on a daily basis, you will only be helping your journey to gain muscle.
I want you to step away from the labels we give food. "This food is healthy and this food is unhealthy. This food is bad and this food is good". Look at foods for their micronutrient values and assess from there. Some foods have a high amount of micronutrients. Other foods are lower in micronutrients. Aim to eat foods that are NATURALLY high in micronutrients. These foods happen to be whole, unprocessed foods like vegetables, grass and grain-fed animal products, and whole, unprocessed grains, etc.
5. Meal Frequency:
If you are serious about putting on muscle, you should be aiming to eat at least 3 square meals a day, with 4-6 meals a day being optimal. This is not because "if you don't eat every three hours your muscles will be starving themselves and become catabolic and eat themselves." None of that nonsense. The increased meal frequency maximizes protein absorption capabilities in your muscles. Your muscle cells can only absorb around 20-30 grams of protein every 3-4 hours. More frequent, spaced-out meals maximizes your protein absorption capabilities in your muscles. Trying to cram 150 grams of protein into two meals a day is not smart if you are looking to OPTIMIZE your muscle growth as a beginner.
6. Consistency:
Consistency is everything. If you are not consistently eating in a surplus in the kitchen, all of your hard work in the gym will be for naught. Take ownership of your fitness journey and commit to gaining muscle! When going into a caloric surplus, you will absolutely get a bit fluffier. But the increase in the muscle you are gaining will help to distribute that fluff. And, when you decide to cut down and lose some body-fat, all that hard-earned muscle will be there for you to show off! So be consistent, stay the course, and reap the rewards in the future. Invest in yourself, trust the process and play the long game.
Don't forget! Looking to build a home gym so you can start maximizing your muscle growth without having to deal with annoying traffic to get to the gym? Check out my favorite fitness manufacturers, Rogue Fitness and Kettlebell King's. If you are looking for suggestions on what pieces of equipment I believe are most important for your home gym, do not hesitate to ask in the comments section below!
Comments
Post a Comment