3 Things Essential For Gaining Muscle
3 things will optimize your muscle gain:
Resistance training
A calorie surplus
Adequate protein intake
Each of these things plays off of one another. You can gain muscle in a calorie surplus without resistance training, but you’ll likely put on more fat than you will lean body mass if you don’t lift. If you don’t eat enough protein, you won’t put on as much muscle as you could.
In the opposite direction, you can gain muscle with resistance training at maintenance calories - but you’re not going to optimize the amount of muscle you could put on compared to what you would in a calorie surplus.
Can you gain muscle in a calorie deficit? It depends. Are you significantly overweight/obese? If so, your body may be able to use its internal fuel source (fat stores) to create muscle. If you are brand new to resistance training, you may also see muscle gain since it’s a new stimulus. But if none of these apply to you, then a calorie surplus is like best for you.
How much should you eat above maintenance?
IT DEPENDS.
It is NOT a one-size-fits-all approach.
Novice & younger lifters can gain muscle faster than their more experienced & older counterparts. They will see more muscle gain if they consume a surplus of 10-20% above their maintenance while lifting weights because it’s a new stimulus.
However, that aggressive of a surplus may cause more experienced lifters to put on more fat than is ideal; so, we recommend a more conservative surplus of 5-10%.
Lastly, if you’re nervous about eating more food, you can even utilize a reverse diet to help increase your calories slowly.
Sufficient protein intake is absolutely ESSENTIAL for building muscle.
The literature shows that a MINIMUM of 1.6-2.2g/kg BW/day is required to maximize muscle protein synthesis (MPS), a process where protein is created to repair muscle damage induced by exercise.
What matters most is how much protein you eat during the day.
But, if you want to optimize MPS, consume 0.4-0.55g/kg BW of high-quality protein in 3-4 meals/day.
The time between meals should be ~3-5hrs.
At the very least, consume PROTEIN after you train.
The research also shows that carbs don’t have as a significant effect on anabolism as once assumed.
Consuming sufficient carbohydrate intake will fuel your workouts & help replenish glycogen stores that are utilized during resistance training.
We recommend 4-7g/kg BW/day.
Dietary fats should make up a MINIMUM 20-30% of your total calorie intake, with 30% being ideal to support hormone health.
Written by: Megan, Nutrition Coach