Think You Have To Gain Mass Before You Can Add Lean Muscle? Think Again!
Click HERE to read a great nutrition article on EliteFTS by a good friend of mine Pete, my go-to-guy when it comes to anything to do with nutrition. Also click here if you missed his earlier article The Whole Foods Diet.
Pete Stables is a REPS accredited strength and conditioning coach from the United Kingdom, specializing in constructing nutrition plans for clients who want to lose weight, gain muscle, or excel in any given sport. For consultation inquiries, contact Pete at www.maximumuscle.com
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Reasons You’re Not Building Muscle #1
You’re not eating enough.
It really is as simple as it sounds! If you are not eating enough how can you hope to get stronger or build muscle? Without the necessary calories and macronutrients your body simply doesn’t have the energy or the materials to repair and grow after training. Do you even know how many calories your eating each day? Do you know how many grams of protein/carbohydrate/fat your eating? I’m not saying you need to be as meticulous as a competing bodybuilder and weigh and measure every single thing that passes your lips, but a basic idea for a day would at least be a start!
Firstly you need to try and calculate your BMR – basic metabolic rate. This will then give you an idea of your maintenance calories, how much you need to consume just to maintain your current muscle mass. Then simply you need to increase it to create a calorie surplus. This excess in calories, as long as your diet includes good quality protein will be used as raw materials to build new muscle.
There are various BMR calculators available online, but for ease I’m going to use a simple formula (well simpler than most) called the Harris Benedict Principle, should you want a more accurate version try here.
Step 1: Calculate the appropriate formula for your sex (Please note that this formula applies only to adults): MEN: 66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years). For WOMEN: 655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)
Step 2: Incorporate your activity level by adding a number from below to your BMR.
If you are sedentary: BMR + 20%, If you are lightly active: BMR + 30%, If you are moderately active (You exercise most days a week): BMR + 40%, If you are very active (You exercise intensely on a daily basis or for prolonged periods): BMR + 50%, If you are extra active (You do hard labor or are in athletic training): BMR + 60%
So for a 34 year old, 190lb, 68″ male (me!), with a moderate to high activity level (so I will go with 45%), maintenance calories would be 66 + (6.3 x 190) + (12.9 x 68) – (6.8 x 34) = 1909, increase this by 45% and you get 2769 calories. However this is just maintenance so to build muscle increase by maybe 200 calories for a few weeks and see how it progresses. If there was no weight gain after this time, increase by another 200 – You get the idea.
If you want to gain mass quickly then obviously increase by even more calories, however you may then accumulate some bodyfat alongside this weight gain. A lot of people want to get big without fat and although I believe this is possible, it is a slow process. You ask any accomplished bodybuilder and they will talk about bulking and cutting. That is because it is well known that building muscle is difficult, whereas leaning out is easier to accomplish – So they smash as many calories down their face as possible for a space of time whilst training hard, then go through a phase of ‘clean’ eating and cardio etc to strip fat and leave the muscle that was gained during bulking. Although this is not a perfect way to do it as it’s quite harmful to the body, it works and has been working for many years!
You want to ask yourself this – Are you a competing bodybuilder? Is a sub 10% bodyfat level necessary? How often do you strut around with your top off flexing, by comparison to how often you walk around clothed? Do you want to look skinny in your clothes but have that six-pack on the rare occassion you’re topless? or do you want to walk around looking ‘Hench’ all the time, top on or off?
Getting big is about getting strong, once you have a good amount of muscle it is even easier to strip the fat, plus if you’re really that concerned about a bit of bodyfat, you’re probably not that committed to gaining muscle anyway.
Jay Cutler in ‘Bulk Mode’ – That’s commitment!
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Supplements, are they worth it? .. The rest day ranting continues!
‘What supplements should I take?’ is a common question in gyms worldwide, our dependence on them is shocking! How many people do you know taking supplements? what percentage of gym goers would you say is hitting them regularly? I don’t know either, but I know it’s a lot. Why is this..? Clever marketing!
The definition of a supplement is: Something that completes or enhances something else when added to it.
Supplements are just that, they are supposed to go with good training and nutrition, not replace them. Too many people (young guys especially) put supplements first and training second. They are never going to succeed with that attitude. No supplement takes the place of hard work in the gym and good nutrition, not one.
If there really was a good supplement that worked really well on the market, don’t you think we’d all know about it? And don’t you think the top-level bodybuilder’s would be using it instead of pumping full of dangerous and illegal steroids?
Again, to supplement means ‘in addition to’, but that’s just the point, most people think they can stack a load of horrendously overpriced supplements and they’ll pack on muscle. Unfortunately they forget that food is the number one most anabolic substance out there, and hard work in the gym second. Get those two absolutely spot on first, then ask yourself – Are you getting enough rest and hydration? – Then and only then could you start to think about supplements, and if you are, do some proper research! don’t follow what some forum guy advises or because some top-level pro advertises it. They didn’t get that way from the supplement, I can guarantee it!
Do I supplement? Yes, I do. However, I like to think I have the above points covered, and I also know that they are just a tool to aid my progress and may get me there a little quicker. The training I do is and always should be the number one priority. I only take a few time proven supplements that have been used for many years by all levels – currently protein and creatine. That’s it! – All the other ones are unnecessary if you stick to a balanced healthy diet, which also means you’re not taking unknown quantities of whatever might be included, even if the dosage is high enough to warrant taking it. (do you really know what half of the ingredients even are, never mind what the long-term effects might be?) Half of the supplements out there have such a low amount of the active ingredient you may as well not bother. The rest of the hype is marketing and advertising. Don’t fall for it!
Do you think supplements got this guy in this shape? I very much doubt it!!
In summary, get your training right, eat properly, drink plenty of water, get enough sleep and rest adequately between workouts. If you’re doing all this, then you could consider taking supplements, but don’t expect miracles!
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A couple of nutritional articles worth a read..
This was the first article my friend posted onto his website. It’s a little outdated now, however the information is still sound so I thought it’s at least worth reading – Most crucially the last sentence!
http://www.maximumuscle.com/6.html
Another more up to date article from Pete published on EliteFTS
http://articles.elitefts.com/nutrition/the-whole-foods-diet/
BE HENCH 