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How to Gain Weight and Build Muscle
For some people, gaining weight in the form of muscle rather than fat can be a frustrating task. However, if you follow our top 10 tips, you'll pack on lean muscle and size far more easily and be well on your way to achieving your physique goals.
1 Eat enough calories
Most people who struggle to gain weight misunderstand the most basic principle - 'the body will only grow if you overfeed it'. In other words, you need to consume more calories than you burn each day! Many people eat two or three meals a day and a protein drink now and again (when they remember), and then wonder why they're not putting on any weight. You'll only build new muscle tissue and put on weight if you have an abundant amount of protein and calories in your system, fueled with regular small meals throughout the day. Most people have no idea how many calories they need. You may find that eating until you're full is not enough, especially if you're eating the wrong sort of calories (i.e. all carbs and no protein!).
Most people require around 20 calories per pound of bodyweight to gain muscle mass. Using a 180-pound male as an example, we end up with a daily calorie requirement of 3600 calories (20 x 180 = 3600 calories).
Click here to use our step-by-step calculator to work out your precise calorie requirements and take the hassle out of wondering whether you're eating enough.
2 Eat plenty of high-quality protein
Consuming sufficient high quality protein is essential for building muscle. Protein expert Dr. Peter Lemon says that you need around 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight to build muscle as fast as possible. So if you weigh 180 pounds (82 kilograms), you'll need to consume at least 180 grams of protein each day.
However, not all proteins are created equal in the muscle building stakes. So, if you want to benefit from the full anabolic properties of protein, always remember the better the quality of protein consumed, the more of it will be used for muscle building. Eat poor quality protein, like casein, soya, rice or pea protein, and you'll need to eat far more protein to compensate.
If you want faster muscle growth, stick to high quality proteins, such as whey, milk, eggs, fish or lean meats. Unfortunately, many people are intolerant to milk, due to the casein (one of the proteins in dairy) and have trouble digesting the sugar in milk, called lactose. If this is the case, stick to whey-only protein shakes. Maximuscle uses Biomax™ a unique blend of whey protein isolates and hydrolysates, which is virtually lactose free and contains no casein, soya or rice protein, in most of its products (Promax, Cyclone, and Progain. Why not add Promax Natural to your meals, for example, to increase their protein content. And for a complete meal, you'll find that Progain is a convenient, nutritious and great tasting way to satisfy your protein needs.
3 Don't let the 'low fat' myth ruin your goals
Fat is one of the most important nutrients in your diet, especially if you want to gain size. Studies show a strong link between dietary fat and testosterone, a hormone that plays an important role in promoting muscle growth. Eating adequate amounts of fat is one of the best ways to keep your testosterone levels at the high end of normal. The trick is to eat the right fats and avoid the wrong ones. Healthy sources of fat include cold water oily fish (such as salmon, mackerel, sardines), extra-virgin olive oil, peanuts, avocado, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts or flaxseed. Nuts are a great food to snack on if you're having trouble gaining weight, as they're high in calories but are also very healthy. You may also want to consider adding a high quality blend of essential fatty acids to you diet. Maxi-EFA is one of the strongest and purest EFA blends on the market, and it's a great way to make sure you're getting a good supply of the right fats to help fuel growth. Fat should supply approximately 30% of your daily calorie intake.
4 Fuel your workouts with carbohydrate and creatine
Eating the right carbs is important too. Carbohydrate is stored in your body in the form of glycogen (pronounced gly-ka-jun). Glycogen in the muscles is an important source of energy during intense physical exercise, and topping up glycogen stores with carbohydrate will help you push your muscles hard during each workout. Stay away from junk carbohydrates such as sweets, cakes, and cereal bars, and stick to foods like porridge, pasta, rice, bread, and cereals. Cyclone and Progain contain an easily digested source of carbohydrate, and are very popular with people wanting to gain weight and build muscle. These will provide much needed calories and vital energy to train and lift heavy weights. Numerous research studies show that creatine is an excellent nutrient for increasing strength, building muscle size and training intensity. Maximuscle adds creatine to many of its core products such as Creatamax Extreme and Cyclone. Both contain high amounts of creatine and carbs, along with many other unique nutrients to support your muscle and strength goals.
5 Don't let stress ruin your muscle-building goals!
You may not know it, but stress kills muscle gains dead. Catabolic hormones such as cortisol, which are released during times of stress, can quickly put the brakes on muscle growth. In fact, stress can be the number one progress killer. Arguments at home, long stressful hours at work, missed meals, lack of sleep, and general chaos all contribute to stress and cortisol release. So, if you want to get results from your nutrition and exercise programme, it's vital that you sort out your stress levels and ensure that you stay as calm as possible. If you hate your job, get a new one. If you aren't sleeping 7-8 hours, go to bed earlier or see a doctor. Have a massage or sit in the spa after your workout. Do anything to help you relax.
6 Limit your alcohol intake
An odd glass of wine is relaxing, but drinking pints of beer with your mates every evening ,or binge drinking at the weekend will not help you put on muscle. Excess alcohol lowers testosterone and increases estrogen (the 'female hormone'), and too much alcohol is likely to put the brakes on muscle growth, impair recovery and promote fat storage.
7 Be smart and choose the most effective muscle builders
Choosing the right muscle building exercises can make the difference between endless frustration and achieving the physique of your dreams. Build your routine around basic compound exercises such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, lat pull downs and shoulder presses. Performed correctly, these core exercises will stimulate muscle growth and strength like no others, due to the stress they place on your muscles, and the nervous and hormonal responses they produce. Avoid endless isolation exercises (such as tricep kickbacks and leg extensions) which are poor muscle and strength builders. For best results combine a sensible and progressive training routine (2-3 times weekly) with the nutritional advice mentioned.
8 Don't burn away your muscle gains with too much cardio
Cardio has some great health benefits. However it can become too much of a good thing if you're looking to gain weight. If you're burning too many calories during your cardio sessions, then you risk doing so at the expense of muscle and strength gains. If you're 100% focused on gaining weight, then consider cutting down your cardio to a couple of light session per week (note: some people choose to do little or no cardio when gaining muscle mass). Consuming an easily-digested high-quality protein drink prior to cardio (such as Maximuscle's Promax) can help prevent muscle loss.
9 Take advantage of the vital post-workout muscle-building period
Fueling your body correctly after training is critical in your quest for more muscle - so be sure to consume a suitable recovery drink as soon as possible following your workout. A combination of high-glycemic carbs and fast digesting proteins is the ideal post workout nutrition. This nutritional strategy will take you into the desired anabolic state (intense training creates a catabolic state) for muscle growth. Maximuscle's RecoverMax, Creatamax Extreme, Progain and Cyclone are all suitable to help you take advantage of this post-training period. Many experts also recommend consuming a meal of complex carbohydrates and protein about 90 minutes post training.
10 Use additional support nutrients to aid results
Once you've adopted a consistent training and nutrition programme, you can enhance your results by using any one of a range of safe, cutting-edge products. To build muscle, the rate at which proteins are being synthesised, or created, has to be greater than the rate at which they're being broken down. Maximuscle provides a range of products designed to support protein synthesis and muscle growth, including ZMA, Tribulus, GH-Kick, Glutamax-AKG, Pump Up, NO2, HMB1000, Methoxy-Max, Maxi-Gakic, Citrumax and more. Since these nutrients promote muscle growth through different pathways, try stacking them together for even greater effect.
