A Muscle Building Diet that Complements your Workout

For muscle growth, a good diet is just as important as working out. You can spend four hours working out, increasing all the reps and weights you want. However, if you don’t have a proper diet in place, you can only get so far when attempting to gain muscle. Whether you’re looking to beef up your arms or quads, the nutrition you get will help you sculpt and grow your muscles – there’s no other way around it. So if you’re looking for general Muscle building diet tips, keep on reading.

(Bodybuilder bench pressing with mighty gyms' barbell)

1. Put Your Mind on Protein

Muscles need protein and amino acids to grow. As such the more protein you consume, the more muscle mass you’ll stack on. The micro-tears that naturally happen to your muscles during an intensive workout repair themselves. With increased intake of protein, this helps them grow stronger and bigger.

Ideally, experts recommend consuming around 0.5-0.8 grams of protein/ per pound  a day to build muscle. For example if you weigh 150 pounds, you should consume 105 grams of protein. More doesn’t necessarily mean better results in this case.

According to some research studies, the body can only digest 30g of protein in one sitting. So If you're consuming 40g in a meal, the rest of the 10 grams will just leave your body. As a general outline, here are some high protein bodybuilding foods to incorporate in your diet.

• Eggs

• Lean beef

• Chicken breast

• Legumes

2. Don’t forget your veggies 

While proteins get the spotlight for muscle growth, carbs are almost as essential. People believe that proteins are the key element to a bulking diet, what they don’t realize is that carbohydrates are your immediate source of energy when working out. So when you’re at home weightlifting with your Mighty Gyms' dumbbells, your body is using carbs instead of breaking down your muscle tissue to get energy. Although vegetables may seem unpopular as bodybuilding foods, they offer a number of benefits such as better cardiovascular health, higher number of carbs and better weight control, and this is the reason they are rapidly gaining popularity among bodybuilders.

Here are a few suggestions :

• Brown Rice

• Sweet Potatoes

• Quinoa

• Whole grain breads

3. Overall Calories and Timing

The goal in general is to up your daily calorie intake. For quality bodybuilding, you need to consume more calories than you burn. As such, it’s recommended to eat every 2-3 hours. It’s always a good idea to journal the food you’ve consumed throughout a day to track your calorie intake as well.

You might’ve heard that the timing of when you eat is important. While some experts say eating right after your workout is important for muscle growth, there still isn’t enough research to fully back that up. What we do know is that the total daily calorie intake is very important.

 

(High protein foods including chicken, beef, fish, eggs and peanuts)

4. Enjoy a Cheat Meal

The word diet always gets a bad rep. When people think of diet they think of a restrictive, and a bland way to get their dream body, which can be true. A muscle building diet plan requires you distancing yourself from foods a lot us have cravings for. However, it never hurts to get a cheat meal in once a week.

Whether it’s a slice of pizza or indulging in a decadent chocolate cake, one cheat meal won’t reverse everything you’ve worked towards. This ensures that you’re still on track with your diet goals while satisfying your cravings as well.

5. Meal Prep

It’s very easy to come home after a long day, reach for that packet of chips or frozen foods and munch away. That’s why meal prepping can be great for you. Like we said before consuming more calories is ideal, but you want to eat the right food to maximize your muscle mass.

Preparing a nutritious meal beforehand will ensure that you always have a healthy option available in your fridge. Whenever you have the time, dedicate a few hours to prepping meals a few days in advance.

6. Get some Shake!

Some of us have the appetite to chug down 2 slabs of steak while others can’t even imagine that happening. If you’re finding it difficult to reach your target calorie or protein goal through food, consider drinking a protein shake.

There are many protein powders in the market- from dairy to vegan, chocolate to vanilla flavored. Many people find it as the quickest and easiest alternative to reach their target protein intake for the day. It’s easy to consume, simple to make, what more can you ask for? Just ensure that you check with your doctor that it’s safe for you. Additionally, purchase a protein powder that is from a reputable brand.

At Mighty Gyms we wholeheartedly believe in this – there is no sustainable quick solution that can get you that dream body. At the end of the day, you need the proper diet coupled with intensive workout routines to gain more muscle.

Finding and maintaining a proper muscle building diet that works for you will take time. But when you have the perfect diet in place, you can lift and drop those weights knowing that your hard work is going to pay off.