These three muscle gain truths are known and practiced by a select few successful weightlifters across the World, and separate the dreamers from the massive. By putting these simple tips into action, you will increase your lean muscle mass, burn off excess fat and gain the confidence you deserve in no time…and keep your body strong and rock-solid forever!

1) Choosing the right exercises

The first muscle gain truth you need to keep in mind is the actual exercises you’re doing. This is the easy part, but many people fail to do this fundamental step correctly. The best workouts to build muscle are known as compound exercises. They do three amazing things for your muscles:

i. They work out and build more than one muscle at a time

ii. They help you to lift the greatest weight possible without injury
iii. They increase anabolic hormone production

The combination of these three benefits results in a much higher return on your invested time and energy, boosting your muscle gains and other positive results by unbelievable amounts. In short, pick compound exercises, do them correctly, and you’ll have the muscular body you’re looking for.

There are many compound exercises to choose from, and some sources will even provide videos to be sure you’re getting the most out of them by executing them properly.

2) Training too much

Muscle gain truth #2 will be your favorite! You can actually increase your results by deceasing your workouts. By working out, your muscles are fighting and resisting, which your body responds to by adapting to handle the resistance in a healthy way, thus increasing your muscle size. The key, though, is not overdoing it. The goal is to train with the minimum amount of resistance needed to cause your body to adapt and your muscles to grow, yielding positive muscle gains over time.

For this reason, it is highly recommended to keep track of every workout and how long you exercised. This is made much easier by using simple tracking software programs.

3) Muscle gain diet

There are an unbelievable number muscle gain truths you need to learn about eating. The first is to eat as often as possible. Your body goes into a catabolic state when you go too long (3 hours+) without eating.

This means that it breaks down your muscle tissue to get out of starvation mode, which is counter-productive for muscle gain. A good rule of thumb is to eat 5-6 smaller meals spread throughout the day. This also keeps your fat-burning metabolism at a high level, which makes it easier to burn fat and build muscle.

Some other very important aspects of eating properly to maximize muscle gain are the amount of calories you consume, protein, carbohydrate and fat sources, water intake and what you consume before and after workouts.

While it can take a lot of time to research and choose the perfect meal plan, coming up with a plan and sticking to it will help you tremendously. There are plenty of meal plan software programs and professional services to help with this.

By following these simple steps, keeping track of your progress and relying only on reputable sources for further tips, you can easily burn fat, build muscle and get the ripped body you’ve been dreaming of!

Whether you are an expert in mass building or you are an amateur, there are things which must be done to make sure that you perfect the art of muscle building and doing it in the shortest time possible. These are conditions which one must fulfill when it comes to respecting the programs and preparing for muscle development.

It is important to have a diversified way of eating when you are training to add mass. Remember that food is the main raw material that will be used by the body to make muscles and without it, they can never be constructed. Eating for at least six times all along the day is a wise step in taking. As a body building expert, you cannot eat one heavy meal and convince yourself that you have done enough for the body. This is even doing injustice to the body and once you are out of energy to be used in training that is when you will realize the importance of eating regularly. Plan those meals diligently and this will work for your advantage.

If your dream is to have mass increment, definitely sugars must be your first friend. Many people forget about sugars when they are planning their meals and this definitely cost them a great deal. You have to include some simple sugars in all your diets because they are relevant in suppressing the respective production of body cortisol which happens to be an enemy of the muscle production. It leads to wastage of the muscle which is why the body builder must find ways of doing away with it.

Anabolic cocktail is another crucial way of mass gain. Many people do not have the knowledge of this and they have never even thought about it. However, a glutamine cocktail is a favorite for the mass builder and a great creatine chaser. With not less that two grams, the glutamine can eventually lead to a subsequent increment of the hormones responsible for growth. For the creatine, at least 10 grams of the same component is not bad of to assist in dragging water into the respective body muscles and the resultant feature is a turn on high levels of protein synthesis.

There is also need to consider the trainings you involve in when you are using them for mass gain. It is good to experiment using heavy weight but doing them on low reps, there is no harm in doing two per set because it is the standard measure of a general routine. The use of compound exercises has been proved to be one of the most effective when it comes to issues of managing weight and they are therefore best in operation when well controlled by the body builder. Bench press, squats and dead lifts are some of the routines you can incorporate in the program to make everything perfect in muscle development

In all these make sure that you remain devoted to every strategy because any compromise or diversion of an approach is very detrimental and can eventually make you fail totally in the attempt of mass building.



Whether you are an expert in mass building or you are an amateur, there are things which must be done to make sure that you perfect the art of muscle building and doing it in the shortest time possible. These are conditions which one must fulfill when it comes to respecting the programs and preparing for muscle development.

It is important to have a diversified way of eating when you are training to add mass. Remember that food is the main raw material that will be used by the body to make muscles and without it, they can never be constructed. Eating for at least six times all along the day is a wise step in taking. As a body building expert, you cannot eat one heavy meal and convince yourself that you have done enough for the body. This is even doing injustice to the body and once you are out of energy to be used in training that is when you will realize the importance of eating regularly. Plan those meals diligently and this will work for your advantage.

If your dream is to have mass increment, definitely sugars must be your first friend. Many people forget about sugars when they are planning their meals and this definitely cost them a great deal. You have to include some simple sugars in all your diets because they are relevant in suppressing the respective production of body cortisol which happens to be an enemy of the muscle production. It leads to wastage of the muscle which is why the body builder must find ways of doing away with it.

Anabolic cocktail is another crucial way of mass gain. Many people do not have the knowledge of this and they have never even thought about it. However, a glutamine cocktail is a favorite for the mass builder and a great creatine chaser. With not less that two grams, the glutamine can eventually lead to a subsequent increment of the hormones responsible for growth. For the creatine, at least 10 grams of the same component is not bad of to assist in dragging water into the respective body muscles and the resultant feature is a turn on high levels of protein synthesis.

There is also need to consider the trainings you involve in when you are using them for mass gain. It is good to experiment using heavy weight but doing them on low reps, there is no harm in doing two per set because it is the standard measure of a general routine. The use of compound exercises has been proved to be one of the most effective when it comes to issues of managing weight and they are therefore best in operation when well controlled by the body builder. Bench press, squats and dead lifts are some of the routines you can incorporate in the program to make everything perfect in muscle development

In all these make sure that you remain devoted to every strategy because any compromise or diversion of an approach is very detrimental and can eventually make you fail totally in the attempt of mass building.

One of the biggest challenges in bodybuilding is figuring out the best gain muscle diet. Too much and you can pack on the fat right along with the muscle. Not enough of the right things and you inhibit your efforts to build muscle. It is the age old question of how much of what to eat in order to maximize your efforts to gain lean muscle and reduce body fat. What you eat in your gain muscle diet is just as important as how you work out, so be sure to include meal planning right along with your exercise plan.

Schools of Thought

There are several schools of thought in the muscle gaining diet controversy that seems to be contradictory; however, each has its own merit. What it comes to in the end is there really is not a single “one size fits all” diet formula to follow in order to build muscle. Each individual is different, with a unique physiological structure, metabolism and genetic background, so it is best to try the diets you read about in muscle magazines and such, as guidelines and to go with what works best for you and your body type.

One school of thought in the gain muscle diet arena is to eat massive amounts of protein while you build and deal with the body fat increase later, after you have muscle to work with. This is not a subtle, carefully calculated diet, but it can be very effective for people who can’t or don’t know how to measure grams of fat and protein, or monitor total caloric intake. This approach is most often used by those who come into bodybuilding from the already “lean” end of the spectrum and simply want to get bigger. The disadvantage to this approach to the gain muscle diet is that you will have to deal with the body fat increase later on, although it can be very effective in building muscle mass very quickly.

The next school of thought in the gain muscle diet approach is the carefully calculated, regulated, measured and individual diet plan.

Following specific formulas, taking into consideration existing body fat as well as height and weight, each meal is carefully planned, weighed and measured to achieve a planned balance for intake of protein, fat and carbohydrates. This approach is designed to maximize muscle, but limit the amount of body increased body fat, and it also works very well. However, it is very complicated, hard to set up properly, and really needs to be monitored by a professional. It does not work well for beginners because of the complexity, but does work great for the professional body builder.

Another school of thought takes a fairly practical, if somewhat less scientific, approach to the gain muscle diet in that you stick to a normal, balanced and healthy diet, but to consume a larger quantity in order to fuel your workouts and build muscle. There are no complicated calculations or having to measure and weigh your food, so this makes it simple to follow and easy to stick with – just eat a little more at each meal.

Conclusion

There are many ways to approach the gain muscle diet, and each has its advantages and drawbacks, but the bottom line on all of this is that it is essential that you consider what you eat while you are trying to build muscle. The best advice in the business for a muscle building diet is to use what works for you.

You can’t argue the fact that when it comes to the subject of fitness or diet, there are gazillions of information that caters mostly for people who wish to lose weight. Now what about skinny people looking to gain weight? Although being overweight can be a real pain, having a skinny, high-metabolism body is not a very pleasant experience either. As a once chronic hardgainer, I can’t begin to tell you how painful it was to be constantly disparaged with terms like “the skinny guy”, “twiggy”, “sticks” ,”bony”, “Mr. Anorexic”’, and too many irritating and hurtful ones to list.

Being frequently belittled is just one of the many problems faced by those with extremely lanky frame. Skinny people are also susceptible to many health problems, prone to bouts of flu, usually perceived as weak and unattractive, low self-esteem, and much, much more. I’m sure there are many skinny, lanky guys out there who are dying to gain a little bit of weight, along with some muscle mass to become more appealing to the opposite gender or simply to increase self-confidence in general.

Genetics is the major reason why a lot of hardgainers find themselves in a bind when it comes to putting on weight. We skinny people have extremely high metabolism hence we don’t put on weight as effectively as those who are blessed with normal metabolic rate. Although genetics may not work in your favor as far as gaining weight is concerned, there are proven means to help you solve the problem. All it takes are the right knowledge coupled with a little hard work.

Always keep in mind that adding slabs of mass onto your thin frame is absolutely possible no matter how lousy your genetics may be. The following are ten very effective mass building tips for skinny people who want to gain weight and increase muscle size:

1. Eat a lot – I know this may sound obvious but the cold hard fact is that most hard gainers fail to consume adequate amount of calories to increase their weight. Remember that you have a higher metabolic rate than the average person therefore your caloric intake must be significantly higher as well. In order to gain weight and build muscle mass, you must consume more calories than you burn.

2. Consume high protein foods – You may have trouble gaining weight and all, but that still doesn’t accord you the license to indulgence on all kinds of junk foods, unless you’re in hurry to become overweight. Junk foods are mostly made up of empty calories, totally void of nutrients, and therefore, will not help you add pounds of healthy muscle mass to your body. Eating protein rich foods on a daily basis are an absolute must if you wish to put on “muscle weight”. Protein is the cornerstone for optimal muscle development. Without this nutrient, your body will not be able to build and repair damaged muscle tissues, sustained during intense heavy workout. Foods with high protein content include poultry, fish, beef, whole eggs, milk, cottage cheese, tofu, and the mighty whey.

3. Eat slow-digestion meals before bedtime – Most people would regard the notion of eating before bedtime as a sure-fire way to add excess bodyfat, but for skinny people who want to gain weight, the importance of eating slow-digestion meals prior to dozing off cannot be stressed enough. The key to avoid adding unwanted bodyfat is to choose proper foods such as milk, oatmeal, and flaxseed oil to drip feed your muscles with the necessary nutrients when you’re fast sleep.

4. Concentrate on free weight compound exercises – Place more emphasis on free weight compound movements like presses, deadlifts, squats, rows, chin-ups, and dips. They are proven to recruit more muscle fibers leading to massive gain in size and bodyweight.

5. Train heavy – Focus on training with heavy weights, otherwise you won’t grow. How heavy? Well, if you’re able to bang out 8 to 12 reps that mean the weights are not heavy enough.

6. Don’t neglect your legs – Pay attention to the muscle groups in your legs as well. Train them just as hard as you would train the rest of your bodyparts. A pair of muscular legs will contribute greatly to the overall development of your physique.

7. Avoid cardio – Since you’re a skinny hardgainer aiming to increase mass and weight, cardio is totally unnecessary. Perform cardio after you have successfully gained the weight that you wish for.

8. Spend Less Time in the Gym – Overtraining may greatly hinder your progress and lead to burnout or worse, muscle injuries. You’re not a pro-bodybuilder so keep the length of your workout to not more than 1 hour and stick to 3 sessions per week for good results.

9. Consider the appropriate supplementation – Supplements are not an absolute must of course, but they do however, make your life easier and certainly allow you to accomplish your goals faster. Proven weight gain and muscle building supplements that you should consider are creatine, meal replacement powder, and basic whey protein.

10. Seek instructions from proven muscle building programs – By and large, the most essential part of the one’s muscle building plan. A good muscle building program with strong support modules can mean the difference between success and failure as it consist of proven mass building tips, motivation tactics, exercises, and diet for people who want to gain weight which are compiled in an organized, streamlined training system. One program played a major role in changing my physique in less than 2 months!

While there are plenty of news stories, research, statistics, and TV reality shows about weight loss and its politics, gender issues, self image problems, and opponents and proponents, there is not much you hear about people wishing to gain weight. The common assumption is always – if you have problems with weight, you probably want to lose it. There are plenty of skinny men (and women, yes!) out there who are looking for weight gain advice, and finding none of it.

Traditional Issues and Conventional Solutions

The traditional candidates for weight gain have almost always been men. A slim man who looked at a poster of Sylvester Stallone had the same self-esteem issues that a woman with acceptable BMI has when she gazes at a billboard featuring Kate Moss. However, with ultra skinny no longer being the torch bearer for chic, many women as well as men are looking for ways to gain weight.

Old wives’ tales will have you believe that only homemade potions that include raw egg yolks, milk powder, and yogurt can add bulk to your frame. If such bloodcurdling diets make you feel faint, you may feel the need to try a more “logical” diet plan – high calorie fried chicken, hunks of beef. The problem with such diets is that they are high in bad cholesterol; while they will not help you add muscle mass, they will clog your arteries sneakily.

Supplements for Healthy Weight Gain

Mass media overdose has educated everyone on the nuances of healthy weight loss; although its counterpart, healthy weight gain, remains somewhere in the shadows. We have heard stories about weight loss medication causing liver damage, not many know about the complications a dangerous gain weight supplement can cause. Stick to the categories of gain weight supplement mentioned below.



Whey Protein – These are most popular of all weight gain products. They contain the Creatine – a protein constituent good for building muscle mass. Fish Oil – The major component of fish oils are Omega 3, known as the “good” cholesterol, as opposed to the bad cholesterol that blocks arteries and gives you heart disease. Fish oils provide the right amount of calories to people who are not getting enough of it through regular diet.

If the product you are planning to buy has no information on category, avoid buying it.

People who lose weight quickly by “crash” dieting or other extreme measures usually gain it all back or gain even more of the pounds that they lost because they haven’t permanently changed their eating habits. As a general rule though, most nutrition experts recommend never going below 1,000-1,200 calories a day if you’re dieting on your own. This explains why it’s crucial to do as much as you can to protect your metabolic rate, especially when you’re dieting. And this means dieting sensibly with a suitable, rather than a very low calorie intake so that you lose fat rather than muscle.

Weight-loss

Weight-loss typically involves the loss of fat, water and muscle. Weight management is about long-term success & will hopefully last a lifetime. Weight gain is often linked to certain medication, such as HRT, the contraceptive pill and steroids. Weight-Loss is something that many Americans struggle with. Weight-loss dieting increases the risk of developing gallstones. Weight cycling, or losing and regaining weight repeatedly, may increase the risk of developing gallstones. Weight reduction diets include medically supervised diets; self-administered diets; commercial diet organizations and centers; weight-loss support groups or behavior modification programs; “fad” diets; “sensible, well-balanced” diets; in-hospital fasts; very-low-calorie diets (VLCDs); prepackaged food plans; and diets supplemented by drugs or artificial food products or supplements. Weight-loss diets have long been promoted as a permanent cure for “obesity,” although they rarely produce long-lasting or permanent results. Healthy rate to lose weight is about 2lb a week on average.

Diet

Dietary fiber is another food component which influences health even though it is not actually absorbed into the body. Diets affect the “energy in” component of the energy balance by limiting or altering the distribution of foods. Diets can be boring and there’s always a temptation to return to old habits.

Diets

Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people. Diets cannot help but fail because bodies were never meant to engage in repetitive cycles of dramatic weight loss and weight gain. Diets that don’t include a variety of nutritious foods, or have too few calories, can be dangerous for kids. In most cases the goal is weight loss, but some athletes aspire to gain weight (usually in the form of muscle) and diets can also be used to maintain a stable body weight. There are several kinds of diets:Weight-loss diets restrict the intake of specific foods, or food in general, to reduce body weight. Many professional athletes impose weight-gain diets on themselves. American football players may try to “bulk up” through weight-gain diets in order to gain an advantage on the field with a higher mass. Individuals who are underweight, such as those recovering from anorexia nervosa or starvation, may adopt weight-gain diets which, unlike those of athletes, have the goal of restoring normal levels of body fat, muscle, and stores of essential nutrients. As more cultures scrutinize their diets, many parents consider putting their children on restricted diets that actually do more harm than good. Unless a doctor says otherwise, low-carb, low-fat, or other specialty diets for children who are not heavily obese are unhealthy because they deprive the body of the building blocks of cells (namely energy and lipids in the above examples).

Dieting

Dieting sets up a psychological state of childhood and usually fails in the long run, study finds. Dieting actually causes some people to gain weight.

Dieting can cause the following side effects:

- It may make you feel hungry and preoccupied with food (thinking about it all the time)

- Distracted and tired

- Sad and unmotivated

- Cold and dizzy

- And deprived of foods you enjoy.

Dieting before Pregnancy, many doctors do emphasize losing weight before beginning apregnancy. Dieting (especially strongly hypocaloric diets) tend to deplete the body of vitamins and minerals, and particularly of B vitamins. It is already a stress on the body; add in nutritional depletion before taking on the stress of making another little human being inside you (and all the huge hormonal changes associated with that). Dieting after pregnancy has special implications when breastfeeding.

Studies have found relations between dieting and low self-worth in 8-year-old girls and dieting and the development of eating disorders in overweight and obese adults.

Conclusion

Dieting creates more problems than it solves; dieting and overeating become a vicious circle. Dieters never stop dieting, and never stop using the dieting industry. Dieters have double the risk of getting type-2 diabetes compared to those who are overweight but do not diet.

As a general rule, until you have seen your GP, I suggest you stop thinking about dieting and losing weight and instead concentrate on eating a healthy, balanced diet that contains a wide range of foods. Did you know that by far, the biggest secret to losing fat is detoxifying your colon and liver?

Good luck dieting and remember to eat smart.

One major reason that people do not gain muscle mass in because of an insufficient diet. Weight training only provides a stimulus for your muscles to start growing. It is when you go home and recover after the exercise that you start to add on muscle.

For your muscles to grow you need to eat plenty of the correct types of food. Your diet provides the raw materials for your muscles to grow and if it is lacking then your muscles will stay the same size and you will see no results for your efforts in the gym.

The key to weight gain is to consume more calories than your body uses. The excess will be stored as extra weight on your body. This will either be muscle or fat but the key is to consume extra calories.To build muscle you must consume extra calories with sufficient levels of protein, if you eat just extra calories but with no protein to build muscle you will just get fat so we need to look at protein intake and calorie intake combined.

There is debate about how much protein you should consume. The amount most people agree on would be about 1.5grams per kilo of bodyweight. So if I was 80kg I would need about 120grams a day if I was 100kg I would need 150 grams per day. You then divide this by the number of meals you eat in a day to get the amount you should be eating in each meal. If I need 150grams of protein a day and eat six times a day I will need to have 25 grams of protein in each meal.

The protein consumption needs to be spread out evenly over the day. The body cannot store protein so if you eat more than the body can process in one go then it will get burned as energy or broken down and pass through the body. Eating it in smaller amounts throughout the day gives your body protein evenly leading to better muscle gain. Most sources say that the body can process and utilize around 30grams of protein per meal so going higher than this in one meal doesn’t really have any benefit.

The best sources of protein in the diet are meats and dairy products. Meat on average uncooked is 20% protein so cooking 100grams of meat will yield about twenty grams of protein. An egg is about 7grams of protein. Milk ranges from about 6 grams per 200mil to 11grams per 200mls. The types of milk with the highest protein levels are the high calcium milks. In general meats provide the best sources of protein but it is good to get a variety of protein sources to stop your diet from getting monotonous the key is to eat an appropriate amount in every meal.

The next thing to look at is how often during the day are you eating. Some people eat lots in one or two meals but then eat nothing else during the day. People should be eating about 5 to 6 meals per day. This means that the body gets energy throughout the day making it less likely to store it as fat plus also you can keep building muscle through the day. The most important reason I feel however is that your stomach can hold only so much food in one go. A huge plate of pasta or rice at most could be around 1000kcals and if that make you full for the whole afternoon then in total you wont have eaten as much for the whole day as if you had smaller meals. The body can digest a lot more food if it is spread out in slightly smaller meals.

When eating through the day it is best to have your meals regularly spaced and about the same time each day, if possible. This gets you body into a pattern and makes it easier to eat your meals. If your meal times vary you my end up having two meals close together and not be able to finish the second one. If you are eating to gain weight you will most likely not feel hungry when you are eating and may go for days without feeling hungry. The thing though is that you may not be hungry but you will still be able to eat if you stick to a schedule. If you time your meals wrong you may feel stuffed and not be able to even chew and swallow your food. This may seem like a lot of eating but it only takes me 10-15 minutes to eat at each meal so I can easily fit it into my workday.

Pieces of equipment you need

Diary

One thing you will need is a diary to track what you are eating. The first thing you need to do is track your food requirements for a week. At the start measure your bodyweight at the beginning of the week. Then record everything you eat for a week, record when you ate and what you ate but most important the number of calories per meal. To figure this out you will have to start looking at packaging that comes with the food or making estimates based on nutritional guides you can find on the net but you have to record everything that you eat. Also record the caloric content of anything you drink as you may be consuming a lot of calories in drinks etc. Recording this will give you your calorie intake for the week and then divide this weekly total by seven to see what you consumed on average per day. Then measure your weight at the end of the week at the same day of the day as when you measured at the start to see if it has changed.

Most likely if this is how you normally eat your weight will not have changed and we will have figured out what you need to eat each day to maintain your weight. Most people need to eat between 2000-3000kcal per day to maintain their weight depending on age and size. To gain weight you will need to start eating more than this amount. To gain one kilo of weight you have to eat in excess about 7,000kcals of food. So if you wanted to gain one kilo in a week you have to eat an extra 1000kcals per day. This is about the same as adding 250grams of uncooked pasta or rice to your diet per day. But if you spread that over a day that is only and extra 170kcals per meal if you eat six times a day which is quite feasible.

Digital Scales

Now this is a very important piece of equipment. You need to have a set of these so you can measure the amount of food you are eating in each meal. Judging by eye is not a very accurate method and scales ensure that you are eating consistently over the day and not overeating in one meal or under eating. You will be weighing out your carbohydrates and your protein. When preparing meals you will have a protein source (Normally some type of meat but also dairy products or eggs) you will weigh out the protein source so you have the required amount per meal (20-30grams depending on body weight) So if I was making a meal with chicken I would measure out about 150 grams of chicken as this will give me about 30grams of protein. Then I weigh out my carbohydrate source (Potatoes rice pasta etc.) If was wanting about 500kcals from carbohydrate I usually weigh out about 125 grams of rice or pasta (uncooked). You will have to start looking on the packaging to see the energy value of the food then from there you can then figure out how much you need to eat and then weigh that out

Digital scales are pretty cheap. I bought mine from the Warehouse for about thirty five dollars. I use them to weigh my meat, pasta and rice, protein powder and other supplements since they work down to the gram. This helps make sure my meals are all the right size and have enough protein.

Bathroom Scales

Another important thing to have when trying to gain weight is some scales to measure your bodyweight. If you cannot keep track of how your weight is going it will be hard to know if you are eating enough or too little. I weigh myself in the morning and the evening and record what my weight is. This helps me to see any patterns. Another trick is to weigh yourself when you get home from work so you know how much you have to eat to be on target for your weight gain for that day or whether you don’t have to eat as much this evening since you are already at what you should be. Your weight will fluctuate by one or two kilos between evening and morning so only use one of the measurements as a guide for your overall weight gain. Tracking how much you are eating and seeing how this relates to your weight gain gives you a guide as to how much you need to be eating to gain weight

Should I be using supplements?

When you are starting the most important thing is to have the diet correct make sure you are getting enough sleep each day (about eight hours a day) and weight training properly. If you are not doing that supplements will not be much help. Protein supplements can useful if you have trouble eating solid meals six times a day or are unable to prepare a meal or are on the go. You can get weight gain shakes and protein shakes which have the same calories and protein as a normal meal but they only take a minute or two to prepare and drink. If you are sometimes in a rush or not very hungry they can be quite good to have. They are also good to take straight after weight training as you may not feel like solid food but your body needs protein to help start the recovery process

Other Notes

One thing to watch out for when you are eating is that you will have figured out what you need to eat to maintain you weight and then you start to add extra calories but your weight gain is lower than what you thought it would be. I have had this occur myself and it appears to be that the body is trying to burn up the extra calories. For me this results in my body temperature going up, when I start eating more to gain weight my wife quickly notices that my skin becomes a lot warmer to the touch and this is the body trying to use the extra calories. However the body can only burn so many calories this way and then it will have to start storing it as extra body weight.

Useful Numbers

Most people eat the same types of food on a regular basis so here are a few numbers to help you start to calculate the number of calories you need to eat to gain weight. For more nutritional information search on google for “nutritional calculators”

Carbohydrate Sources

Bread (per slice) = 81kcal per slice

Pasta (Uncooked) = 361kcal per 100grams

Rice (Uncooked) = 357kcal per 100grams

Potatoes (Uncooked) = 83kcal per 100grams

Kumara (Uncooked) = 80kcals per 100grams

Protein Sources

Rump Steak (Uncooked) = 234lcal and 19.8grams of protein per 100grams

Chicken Breast (Uncooked) = 122kcal and 22.3grams of protein per 100grams

Eggs (No 7) = 76kcal and 6.9grams of protein per egg.

Milk (Calci-Trim) = 92kcal and 11.4grams of protein per 200mls

Conclusion

Hopefully this advice will help you get on track to making gains outside of the gym. Remember that diet and weight training are equally important and some people even say that weight training is slightly less important since you spend more time eating that weight training. However if you stick to a routine with your eating and make sure you are eating enough then you will start to make gains. Remember this process will take weeks and months but if you track your progress this will give you motivation to keep on going.

With the weight-obsessed society that we’re living in, it is not a wonder that a lot of diet pills and weight loss products are in demand right now. But what other people failed to recognize is that achieving a well-toned body goes beyond just losing unwanted fats. It is losing unwanted fats in the right places.

n place of those fats should be lean meat where you will still look healthy and not emaciated when you lose weight. Taking various diet pills is a get-there-quick-to-slimville scheme. To achieve long term effect you need the right knowledge to lose weight and gain muscle mass.

Many people neglect the importance of bulking up. To gain muscle mass you have to add some slabs of lean meat to your muscles to achieve that enviable perfect shape. Well, everyone has flaws but it is possible to play down those flaws and highlight your best features. If you’re not one of those genetically gifted people then you need to start from scratch. First off, you have to know about the right nutrition for your body. Food is the essence of all weight-loss programs out there. Building healthy eating habits should be one of your main goals. The general perception of dieting is eating less. But the danger of eating less is the deprivation your body with important nutrients.

Foods high in protein, complex carbs, fibrous carbs, fruits, healthy fats, dairy and eggs will help you to gain muscle mass while filling your body with the right nutrients. Eating many smaller amounts rather than three regular large meals is also recommended since you’re giving your body ample fuel throughout the day while giving it less work in burning calories. This will help your muscle mass to develop in the right way. Necessary and significant workout is also pivotal if you’re trying to gain muscle mass. You cannot just enrol in any exercise program. There are certain workouts that can diminish your muscle mass. When you plan to bulk up you need to choose exercises that centre and aim in developing muscle.

Weight training and strength training are primary exercises with a long term effect if you want to lose weight and gain muscle mass. Losing weight is far easier than getting those muscles lean. You need to have discipline and determination to do this on a regular basis. A trip to the gym for these exercises 3 to 4 times a week will do the trick. Muscle mass isn’t restricted to the upper body alone. All parts of the body should be given the same amount of attention as those muscles you want to develop and emphasize.

Training your back, legs, and triceps is as important as developing your biceps and pecs to give your body a proportioned and symmetrical look. Splitting your routine can make the workout more fun and relaxing for your muscles. Doing one kind of exercise that concentrated on your upper body one day while doing your lower body the next day give your muscle enough time to recuperate from stress.

After all these important exercises and workouts it is also important to rest your whole body. Don’t obsessed over workout and dieting because your body is not an indestructible machine. Taking ample rest gives your body enough time to grow. An eight-hour sleep when you’re on a training program is very important to increase growth hormones. And, do not neglect food after workout. Food is the fuel of the body and during workout you are using up that fuel. Post workout, your body is hungry for nutrients. When you don’t feed it you’re hampering its growth. Remember that staying lean is staying healthy.

To gain muscle mass is the dream of every hot blooded male. However, if you are going to achieve all that without relying on steroids or any artificial supplements, then you would really need lots of discipline and commitment to your training and diet. It is vital that you reevaluate your schedule, and set aside time to work out in the gym and make necessary changes to your diet. We will look at some hot tips that would help you to gain muscle mass and to shape up.

1. Sodium Intake

Sodium is an essential mineral you would need to take as it encourages the growth of muscles through increasing our muscle cell fluid volume. Though it is a good water retainer which is not good for us if we want to bulk up, it benefits you by enhancing carbohydrate storage and absorption of amino acids into our bodies. Since it can increase our cellular fluid, our joint leverage is improved and hence we gain more strength, suffer lesser muscle strains, and soft tissue injuries from weight training. On top of that, sodium improves the responsiveness of our muscles to insulin.

2. Fish and Foods with Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Eating fish and foods with omega-3 fatty acids would help us to gain muscle mass indirectly. Go for fish with tons of omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, mackerel, lake trout, sardines, tuna and herring. Flaxseeds, walnuts, oregano, cauliflower, mustard seeds, cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, tofu, spinach, kale, soybeans are all rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids. These foods make our muscles more sensitive to insulin which aids fueling our glycogen storage and entry of amino acid into our muscles. All these is done while preserving our storage of glutamine, a key nutrient for protein metabolism and preventing muscle deterioration.

3. Free Weights Training

If you are serious about wanting to gain muscle mass, keeping the right diet is not enough. You need to work on some resistance training such as using free weights like dumbbells. They would work out your ancillary muscles and build compound mass on them. Dumbbells are exceptionally useful and versatile in muscle building because of the range of motions you can carry out when using them. This also means that you can work on more sets of muscles with the same piece of equipment, and the result is of course more muscle mass gain.

4. Experimenting with Different Exercise Regimes

No one is born with inert understanding of how their bodies respond to different exercises. What works for others may not work for you and vice versa. But if you have been training for a while, you would know what exercises work best for your muscles. Experiment different exercises and techniques with your dumbbells and free weights to see which helps you to gain muscle mass best.

There are a hundred and one ways to train up your muscles to gain muscle mass. But if you are keen and want to learn more, there are plenty of sites including my blog where you can pick up some great advice on muscle mass gain especially if you have tried but failed in other exercise regimes.

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No matter what purpose is behind your attempts to gain muscle mass fast, one thing you should understand first of all – no miracle is going to happen to your body. Six pack abs don’t appear overnight. And if you see somebody’s fantastic shape, just know that there is a lot of effort, will power and discipline attached to it.

What some beginner bodybuilders tend to underestimate is the role of proper nutrition in the process of growing muscle mass. Diet is just as important as the whole set of workouts if you want to gain muscle mass fast. Eating wrong, on the other hand, will only reduce all your efforts to nothing and, what’s worse, can even harm your health. So, keep your diet under control with the following tips:

1. Each meal should consist of four main groups of nutrients.

Protein, carbohydrates, fats and fiber are what each meal should contain. Concentrating on one element only, say, protein is not going to do you any good. If you want to gain muscle mass fast, your diet should be well-balanced in the first place. Though protein is a staple of any bodybuilding diet, complex carbs, unsaturated fats and fiber are of great importance, too.

2. Large meals should be split up into smaller ones.

If you are used to eating three large and nutritious meals a day, which you think work just fine for you, consider splitting up your meals into four to six smaller ones. This will boost your metabolism, making you burn the unwanted fat and gain muscle mass faster. Besides, it will keep you well satisfied between your meals, providing more energy for workouts.

3. Fresh and natural foods should be preferred over processed ones.

Any experienced bodybuilder will tell you that processed foods are your worst enemies that can easily nullify all your sweat in the gym by covering your muscles with a layer of fat. Sugar, white flour and fries are some of the foods you need to completely avoid. Instead, your diet should include plenty of natural and fresh products.

4. Protein sources should vary.

Protein, so essential to anybody who wants to gain muscle mass fast, should not be consumed in the form of meat only. In fact, eating meat all the time is quite unhealthy and can intoxicate your body pretty fast. Choose a variety of protein sources: lean red meat, poultry, eggs, fish, milk and diary products, and vegetables. Alternative forms of protein are also a must for any amateur or professional bodybuilder; they include whey protein, soy protein and casein protein among others.

5. Water intake should be adequate to your workouts.

Though there are diets, which advise against drinking too much water when building muscle mass, staying well-hydrated is essential for proper metabolism and good endurance. At the beginning of your workout regimen you will need a lot of water to avoid dehydration and wash out the toxins from the body. In spite of one common point of view, refraining from drinking water will not help you gain muscle mass fast; on the contrary, it can slow down the fat burning process.