Building Lean Muscle
Building lean muscle is based on one simple fact: how much protein and calories you take in everyday. To build muscle and burn fat you need to weight train, eat clean and consume enough protein.
You have to lose fat by eating properly while at the same time increasing your protein consumption. But here’s something else to consider, if you’re not eating right, then you have no reason to be in the gym; you’re actually harming your body if you do.
Here is what you need to do to build lean muscle – keep a daily food journal that counts the fat, protein and carbohydrate calories you are consuming each day.
Once you’ve done this, you can start to plan a strategy that will increase your muscle mass without putting on that much fat. Next up, you will have to learn just how much protein you will need to consume everyday.
If you weigh 165 lbs, and you want to weigh 185 lbs, then you need to eat like someone who weighs 185 lbs, and the key to that is consuming 1.5 your body weight (or goal body weight) in grams of protein.
So the guy who weighs 165 lbs, but who wants to weigh 185 lbs needs to consume 225 g A DAY to reach that weight and build that lean muscle mass.
225 g of protein is a lot, but not if you’re used to eating that much food. Take in 45 grams of protein in each of 5 to 6 meals a day and you will hit your goal. Your consumption must be maintained at that level to retain your body mass. Once you’re eating right, you‘ll need to establish a weight-training routine that gradually builds as you graduate up the scales.
Of course, eating right also means eating smart and by this, we mean selecting menu items that are high in protein, vitamins & minerals, especially Omega-3s (good fat) and low in bad fat. Some good options are chicken and tuna, but to be sure that you get your daily protein dosage, you might want to try taking in quality protein shakes.
Carbs, you can take in all the carbs you want just as long as you’re getting the protein that you need, because you’ll be burning lots of carb calories during the workouts which requires an intense cardio routine.
There are lots of healthy carbs on the grocery store shelves, like fruit, vegetables, nuts, and grains, so don’t think that carbs are solely from fastfood. It is important to note that junk foods contain useless carbs that you should stay away from, instead get your carbs from natural fruits and vegetables.
Junk foods have no protein value so you’ll have stay away from those, and your main goal will be to reach your daily protein requirement and eating whatever else you want later.
Now you know the key factors involved in how to build lean muscle mass, don’t forget to take a multi-vitamin every day while you’re working out. This will help you push yourself forward by refilling all the minerals and nutrients you’ve used.
