How to Gain Muscle
Today we are going to be talking about how to gain muscle.
The first 2 easiest tips I can give you right off the bat is that you are going to have to eat more protein and strength train.
If you are someone who has always been fairly active and are looking to put on muscle mass, adding more protein in your diet is always an easy start that will bring noticeable changes.
Now if you are fairly new to training or are looking to get into it, it is going to look a little different for every body type and I’ll get into detail on how so for each.
If you don’t already know a lot about nutrition you are going to need to eat balanced meals that consist of carbs, protein, and fats.
Carbs are typically found in foods like rice, bread, beans, tortillas, potatoes, and pasta just to name a few. Some foods known to be high in protein are beef, chicken, salmon, turkey, egg whites, greek yogurt, and lentils. And finally foods known for healthy fats are avocados, nuts, seeds, and cheese. Of course, there are more foods you can look up for each category, these are just a few. When planning a diet to gain muscle you are still going to need to incorporate all these foods into your diet.
You also cannot forget to add fruits and vegetables to your diet, as they contain vitamins and minerals our bodies need to function properly and help prevent any digestive issues. They also are so yummy in my opinion.
Now depending on your body type you may need different portions of each so let's get into it. There are 3 main body types. We have an ectomorph, which is someone who is skinny, a mesomorph, which is someone who is muscular and fit, and an endomorph, someone who is broad and thick.
First, we’ll start with those who are skinny or struggle to gain weight.
If you are an ectomorph you are going to have to start eating a lot more. In the first few months, most of your calories will be coming from carbs, then protein, and finally fats. A good rule of thumb is to consume 0.75g-1.2g of protein times your goal body weight, depending on how much you can eat and how fast you want to gain weight. You are going to want to start strength training and don’t worry about lifting super heavy right off the bat. Focus on picking weights that feel comfortable and allow you to maintain form. Little by little you want to start increasing the weight every 1-2 weeks. Increasing by 2.5-5lbs is just fine, but you can always do more if you are someone who gains strength easily. Remember form is always more important than the number on the weight. You will not need to worry about doing cardio during this time, especially if you struggle to gain weight as it can be detrimental to your progress.
If you are a mesomorph, someone who is already fit and muscular and are in a plateau then increasing your protein intake will make all the difference while continuing to strength train. You can consume 1g-1.5g of protein times your body weight to help increase muscle growth. You will still need to eat slightly more carbs than protein. Cardio 2-3 times a week anywhere from 20-30 minutes will help burn fat and still allow for muscle gains.
Last but not least, if you are an endomorph, broad and thick, most of your calories will be coming from protein and healthy fats. You will need to cut back on carbs, but that does not mean you need to cut them out completely as they are still part of a healthy balanced diet. Strength training and cardio 3-5x a week for 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on frequency and intensity. If you are new to training you will see results fast in the beginning, if you have been training for a while but struggle to lose the body fat you will possibly need to do cardio for longer intervals or higher intensity. Cutting back on calories but still getting most of them from protein will help as well.
If you follow these general guidelines, depending on your body type, you will definitely make progress in gaining muscle. If you want to actually track your macros depending on your body type, weight, height, and certain time frame there are many websites online that can help calculate it for you. You can click here to check out the website I use. Counting macros for every meal is not easy or sustainable in the long run for most people (including myself). I did however try it once for a couple of weeks just to get a ballpark of what I should be aiming for. It really helped me become more conscious of portion sizes when I’m eating, even if I don't count the macros to a T.
I hope this helps! Checkout my blog for more posts related to health, fitness, and lifestyle.
Best,
