Muscle Building: You Are What You Eat
When it comes to muscle building many inexperienced and novice body builders seem to be of the opinion that this is a straightforward affair that requires no more input from them than simply attending the gym three times a week and lifting heavy weights.
In reality, the process is a lot more involved than that and so it essential that we actually take the time to study the basics of physiology and nutritional science.
The old adage of "you are what you eat" is especially appropriate and relevant in this particular context.
In order to maximise the muscle building process, it is vital that you increase the amount of calories that you consume.
However, this does not mean to say that you now have a license to eat whatever you want whenever you want: make sure that you achieve this increase in calorie intake by eating the right kind of foods.
This is always a topic that catches inexperienced muscle building trainers off guard, why on earth would they need to eat more calories? By eating more calories than you can actually burn off, this means that your body acts as a granary or a warehouse of sorts, with the surplus of calories then used in the creation and development of muscle tissue.
If you are inactive, then the excess calories will be converted into fat deposits and then stored around the body.
However, if you are actively engaged and involved in muscle building then the surplus is put to a much more productive use, i.
e.
the creation of muscle.
As a general rule of thumb, the best way to determine the amount of calories you should try and consume is your body weight multiplied by twenty.
Whenever we engage in a muscle building training session, our muscles will become damaged and torn due to the excess strain.
The surplus calories are then used to repair the muscles, thereby making them stronger, more robust, and generally denser.
As noted earlier, make sure you eat the right foods.
Specifically, the bulk of your calorie surplus should be derived from (complex) carbohydrates.
If you consume a lot of simple carbohydrates then you will end up simply increasing your fat tissue as opposed to your muscle mass because of the high levels of saturated fat that are already present in the types of food which have a high simple carb content.
In reality, the process is a lot more involved than that and so it essential that we actually take the time to study the basics of physiology and nutritional science.
The old adage of "you are what you eat" is especially appropriate and relevant in this particular context.
In order to maximise the muscle building process, it is vital that you increase the amount of calories that you consume.
However, this does not mean to say that you now have a license to eat whatever you want whenever you want: make sure that you achieve this increase in calorie intake by eating the right kind of foods.
This is always a topic that catches inexperienced muscle building trainers off guard, why on earth would they need to eat more calories? By eating more calories than you can actually burn off, this means that your body acts as a granary or a warehouse of sorts, with the surplus of calories then used in the creation and development of muscle tissue.
If you are inactive, then the excess calories will be converted into fat deposits and then stored around the body.
However, if you are actively engaged and involved in muscle building then the surplus is put to a much more productive use, i.
e.
the creation of muscle.
As a general rule of thumb, the best way to determine the amount of calories you should try and consume is your body weight multiplied by twenty.
Whenever we engage in a muscle building training session, our muscles will become damaged and torn due to the excess strain.
The surplus calories are then used to repair the muscles, thereby making them stronger, more robust, and generally denser.
As noted earlier, make sure you eat the right foods.
Specifically, the bulk of your calorie surplus should be derived from (complex) carbohydrates.
If you consume a lot of simple carbohydrates then you will end up simply increasing your fat tissue as opposed to your muscle mass because of the high levels of saturated fat that are already present in the types of food which have a high simple carb content.
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