19 June
10 min. read
Съдържание:
When we talk about muscle growth, probably the first thing that comes to mind is the weight training. But the truth is, nutrition is just as important - and even more! If you don’t pay enough attention to it, you’ll never gain weight.
Working with clients, I've noticed the most common mistakes people make when trying to gain muscle mass. And I want to share them with you - so roll back your sleeves and take a pen and paper, because if you continue making these mistakes, you won’t get good results!
Mistake #1: You don’t eat enough food!
For your muscles to grow, you must give your body the building blocks to support this growth. I don’t care how you train in the gym - if you don’t take enough calories, you’ll never gain mass. My recommendation is to calculate your caloric balance - the number of calories your body needs to maintain its weight - and then add another 250 to 500 kcal on top.
Notice that I didn’t tell you to gorge with everything you see. Yes, you need more calories than usual, but you need to get them in a controlled manner. Still, the goal is to get lean muscle mass, not fat!
Mistake #2: You don’t eat enough fat!
I may have surprised you here, but the truth is fat is very important. Yes, fats have a bad reputation, but they are not harmful to you, as long as you eat the right kinds and in the right quantities. Do you know, for example, that saturated fat contributes to the transport of cholesterol in the testicles where it is used to produce testosterone? Cholesterol is a major component of testosterone, and testosterone is a key to muscle growth.
If you limit your fat intake too much, you are not only endangering your fitness results but also your potency in the bedroom. Keep in mind that unsaturated fats or so-called "good fats" are also very important to your overall health. Ideally, about 15-20% of your daily calories should come from unsaturated fats like olive oil, salmon, nuts and avocados, and another 5-10% of your total calories should come from saturated fats that I most often get from eggs and coconut oil. Don’t forget - when we talk about fat, you don’t want too much or too little. You have to find the right balance!
Mistake #3: You don’t eat quality food!
I'm sorry if this is bad news for you, but I've always been against the harmful junk foods - even when we talk about gaining weight, not losing it! You’ll hear many people say that calories are calories, no matter where you get them from - whether it’s from an oily portion of fries or a healthy oatmeal. Of course, this is not true, because apart from calories, the vitamins and minerals in food are also important. These nutrients are critical for most of the processes affecting muscle growth.
I like to compare the human body to a car. Your car needs more than just fuel to work efficiently. It also needs quality oil, brake fluid, antifreeze, and so on. If the fuel in the human body are the macronutrients that supply us with calories - protein, carbohydrates and fats, the “oil, brake fluid and antifreeze” are the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. They affect the digestion of nutrients, hormone regulation, including one of the most important muscle gainers - testosterone. Of course, you can’t get the right vitamins, minerals and fiber if you only eat junk food.
Another important thing to know is that packaged foods, refined sugar, trans fats and all other harmful ingredients affect not only testosterone but the entire endocrine system. For those of you who don’t know, the endocrine system regulates your hormone levels, and well-balanced hormones are key to building muscle mass.
I myself, besides healthy on the outside, prefer to be healthy inside too. To achieve this, you need to make healthy choices most of the time. I, for example, regularly eat chicken or fish, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, eggs, broccoli – all of which are healthy foods! There is no other magic formula. Everything rests on healthy choices!
Of course, I’m not saying you have to live like slaves and never eat what you like. I don’t do it either! You don’t have to torture yourselves to such extent. If you want to look good, eat healthy food just 85-90% of the time, and in the other 10-15%, you can pamper yourselves. Everything is about persistence. Half a chocolate bar a week won’t ruin your physique, but half a chocolate every day can do it!
Mistake #4: You don’t eat enough carbohydrates!
People are generally afraid of carbohydrates, but they are also important. Carbohydrates will give you strength to train, so you can grow. They are not just a source of energy. They also help muscle growth. Research shows that muscle growth is greater when you eat both carbohydrates and protein after a workout, compared to only eating protein.
And when I say carbohydrates, I mean quality carbohydrates, not sweets and dough products. Focus mostly on the intake of complex carbohydrates, which are made of large, complex molecules that take the body a lot more time to break them down. This leads to stable levels of insulin - without sharp peaks and drops. Insulin control is important if you want to gain lean weight. Examples of healthy complex carbohydrates include sweet potatoes, brown rice, oatmeal, whole grains, various legumes such as beans, lentils, and so on.
Mistake #5: You don’t eat enough protein
I know this is an obvious mistake, but it is nevertheless frequently made! Protein is the basis of muscle growth. To increase muscle mass, you need about 2-3 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight a day. Of course, we are talking about the total amount of protein for the day, obtained through food and supplements, if you take any.
Never forget how important it is to keep track of your total protein intake for the day! You have no idea how many people come to me and ask, "Why can’t I gain muscle mass?!" And when I ask them how much protein they eat a day, they tell me "a lot." I immediately respond to them that "much" means nothing. It is important to know the exact grams! And they usually tell me they have no idea how many grams of protein they eat daily. So pay attention to this - there are some basic things you can’t go without!
Well, as you’ve seen, when gaining muscle mass, it's all about the balance. You must have a well-structured diet to start gaining. Do not completely neglect a food group and make sure you get enough fat, carbohydrates and protein!
