- Bump Up Your ProteinMost
bodybuilding experts advocate consuming at least one gram (g) of
protein per pound of bodyweight daily. To accelerate the
muscle-building process, I'm advising that you increase your daily
protein intake to one and a half to two grams per pound of
bodyweight. Increasing protein intake helps to enhance protein
synthesis while preventing protein breakdown. The net effect is
anabolism (gaining quality muscle size) rather than catabolism
(getting smaller due to losing muscle mass).
- Jack up the CarbsIngesting three
grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight daily will provide your body
with plenty of calories for energy, ensuring that your
protein-derived calories will be left to support muscle growth and
repair. Another cheery result of increasing carbs is that the body
won't tear down muscle tissue for energy during training.
- Eat the Right FatsAll fats are not
created equal. The omega-3 fatty acids in salmon and swordfish help
to prevent muscle inflammation, improve glycogen formation and
enhance protein synthesis. Eat salmon or swordfish three times per
week or take five to seven grams of fish oils daily.
- Increase Rest Intervals During
TrainingTaking time to rest between sets allows for immediate
recovery within the muscle. That will enable you to train with
heavier weights. It's amazingly simple: Heavy poundages (plus good
form) equal more mass. My recommendation is to rest for no less than
two minutes, but no more than three minutes, after each set.
- Eat Six Meals Per DayI know it's a
pain in the neck to eat so often, but gaining mass on four meals a
day is simply not going to work for most people; only the
genetically blessed mass monsters can gain substantive size on a
four-a-day meal plan. Schedule each of your six
bodybuilding-friendly meals every two to three hours. This
installment plan allows you to increase the absorption and
assimilation of your precious nutrients.
- Don't Snub SugarFast-digesting carbs
-- a.k.a. simple sugars -- get a bum rap. Including simple sugars in
the posttraining meal helps to suppress the production of cortisol
-- a muscle-wasting hormone -- and promote the release of insulin.
Shoot for 80-130 g of carbs immediately after training, with at
least half coming from fast-burning carbs such as fruit juice,
bagels, fat-free ice cream or white-flour-based bread products.
- Use an Anabolic CocktailMy cocktail
of choice is glutamine with a creatine chaser. Two grams of
glutamine in the meal immediately following your training can
increase growth hormone levels; 10 g of creatine can drag water into
the muscles to turn on protein synthesis.
- Experiment with Low Reps and Heavy
WeightInclude low reps -- two or three per set -- and heavy weights
in your program, especially with compound exercises like squats,
bench presses and deadlifts. These heavy multijoint movements are a
prerequisite for building a maximum amount of muscle.
- Design an Insulin-Boosting
StackLet's get creative and devise a three-supplement stack of
goodies that will release insulin when ingested with your high-carb
posttraining meal: 400 milligrams of alpha-lipoic acid to promote
the uptake of carbs by muscles -- even without the presence of
insulin; 200 micrograms of chromium to increase the muscles'
sensitivity to insulin; and six grams of branched-chain amino acids
to provide a shot of leucine, an amino that helps to trigger the
release of insulin.
- Limit Workout VolumeVolume in a
workout context can be defined as the number of sets you perform per
bodypart. Doing too many sets promotes catabolic hormones and
adversely impacts recovery and recuperation. The ideal volume for
building mass is six to eight sets comprising two exercises for
smaller bodyparts, and 10-12 sets comprising three exercises for
larger bodyparts.
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