If you are one of those guys who has trouble gaining weight and adding muscle to your body, I recommend that you read this article in its entirety and find out how exactly you can add muscle quickly. This article covers the three aspects necessary for muscle growth and they are exercise, diet and nutrition, and rest and recovery. All three are necessary for growth, so if all you’ve been doing is hitting the gym, now you know why you haven’t been growing. Read on and discover what you can do to start growing.
Most people know that working out in the gym or working out with weights is necessary for growth, but what they don’t know is that there is no growth in the gym. That’s right, there is no growth inside the gym unless you sleep there. All you do when you’re in the gym pumping that iron is breaking down muscle tissue. You are stretching your muscles to the point of exhaustion and the result is broken down muscle tissue. The more you exercise and the more weight you lift, the bigger your muscles will be. That’s just your body trying to adjust to its new environment and the new stress you are putting it through. But again, you don’t grow in the gym, you grow out of it, so what you do outside of the gym will actually determine your size and how much muscle you add.
The most important part to remember about this article is that your muscles need protein to grow. They will grow without it, but it will only grow about 10-15% of its potential. You need about 1 gram of protein for every pound you weigh. So if you weigh 200 pounds, you should be consuming 200 grams of protein per day to maintain that muscle. If you want to grow, you should consume between 1.5 and 2 grams of protein for every pound you weigh. So if you weigh 200 lbs. and you want to bulk up to say 225, you should be consuming between 300-400 grams of protein, and that is if you are looking to add lean muscle. You can easily bulk up by consuming a ton of carbohydrates, but most of the weight you will add is fat. This article is for people who want to add muscle, not for people who want to gain weight.
So 1 gram of protein for every pound you weigh is a lot of protein. It really is a lot of food and I’ll be honest with you, it will be difficult to do it without using protein supplements and protein shakes. If you are really adamant about adding muscle, I recommend that you buy some type of protein / carbohydrate supplement. The one I use is NLarge from ProLabs. It costs about $ 30 for a 2.5 pound container and if you use it the way I describe below you will add a lot of muscle and quickly.
The best time to consume your protein and carbohydrate shake is right after your workout. I mean no later than 30 minutes after your workout because right after your workout your muscles are crying out for protein. You just stretched and broken them and now they need protein to start rebuilding themselves. Give it to him and be sure to include carbs with your shake so your body has something to burn for fuel and all the protein goes directly to your muscles. You also want to have a protein / carbohydrate shake first thing in the morning. This time of day is important because you basically fast overnight for about 6-8 hours and your body is looking for something to burn for fuel if it isn’t already burning your hard-earned muscle and fat for fuel. You don’t want that, so eat some protein first thing in the morning with some carbs to avoid further muscle loss.
The last part of the equation for muscle growth is rest and recovery. In fact, your muscles do most of their growth in the middle of the night when you sleep. For muscles to grow, you need to sleep at least 8 hours a night. Anything less and you are simply not giving your muscles enough time to recover from the workouts you are putting them through. If you are really serious about muscle growth, you should also make sure you don’t push yourself too hard during the day.
When looking to add muscle to your body, always remember that exercising is only part of the equation. In order for your muscles to grow to their full potential, you also need to consume enough protein and get 8 hours of sleep a night.