Eating for muscle growth and strength
Building lean mass is what keeps us feeling awesome, staying healthy, and looking good.
In an athlete’s world, lean mass = power and performance.
In a physique competitor’s world, lean mass = strategic body shape and visible muscle tone.
In regular people world (hi! 🙋♂️), lean mass CAN EQUAL a little bit of both, to lesser degrees, depending on your preference.
Whatever your goals are with muscle and strength, how far you can get depends on your nutrition.
You cannot—look at me—cannot build toned, juicy, glistening muscles without eating for it. I see women in particular trying to build a bombshell bod while dieting and they just spin their wheels forever. It’s ok to focus on fat loss first, but if you want to build a body-ody-ody…you have to build it with MUSCLE.
Today I’m going to cover the essentials. Trainees in the Academy will have exclusive access to the in-depth Guide To Building Muscle, along with Physique Mode support for the nutritional angle.
*Shameless pitch* —If you want those resources and guidance, consider applying 😉
Now onward to the muscles!
If you want to support muscle building with your nutrition, you gotta know three things:
How much to eat (and how to adjust).
What proportion of protein, carbs and fat (macros) to eat.
What actual foods to eat.
How much to eat
As with any concentrated period of fat loss or muscle growth, you’ll want to track your food. I use MacroFactor with my clients. This takes the guesswork and frustration out of the process. You don’t need to track forever—it’s simply a tool used to teach you the new portions you should be eating.
If you’re skinny-fat (healthy weight range but low strength and muscle mass) or already lean-ish, you’ll need to eat in a small calorie surplus. About 250-500 calories more per day, preferably from carbs.
For these folks, women can comfortably gain 0.25-0.5lbs per week, and men can gain 1-2lbs per week.
If you’ve got extra fluff to lose (20+ pounds overweight), you’ll want to eat at maintenance but improve your food proportions and sources. This is because you’re already carrying around the extra fuel needed to be in a surplus, so we can let your body use those stores.
If you’re building muscle while losing fat (body recomposition, covered in Week 4), the scale will remain the same or maybe go down slightly, but your measurements will improve, and clothes will fit better.
Macro Proportions
The 3 macros to track are protein, carbs, and fats. To build entirely new tissues and all the connections between them (mind-blowing when you think about it!), you’re going to need the raw materials to do so.
Daily Protein Goal:
For lean gains: 1 gram per pound of your ideal bodyweight. I’m a lean 135lbs,so 135g of protein is my daily goal. If you’re trying to lose or gain weight, use your goal weight.
For fast gains: 0.7-0.9 grams per pound of ideal bodyweight. Best for the skinny folks who have a hard time building. Slightly less protein allows for more carbs. Carbs are both anabolic and protein-sparing, making them gasoline for muscle growth!
Daily Carbs: 40-60% of your daily calories. Carbs are amazing for muscle growth, energy, deep sleep, and powerful performance! Plus they make you a nicer person. Don’t fear them, but aim for whole food sources.
Daily Fats: 20-30% of your daily calories. Most people are eating too much fat, and they realize this when they start tracking (including me). Fats are compact and pack a huge caloric wallop, and are most overlooked in take-out and processed food, although I see people eating obscene amounts of nuts and cheese all the time.
You can adjust your carb and fat levels to what suits your preference, but protein must remain steady!
Foods to eat
The second I start talking numbers and calories, people immediately ditch whole, nutritious foods and go for pre-packaged shit and supplements that have easily loggable nutrition info.
I get it, but don’t. If you want to be healthy, you still gotta stick to the basics: Whole foods (it was grown or could run, fly, or swim).
Meat, fish, eggs, dairy, all fruit and vegetables, whole grains, potatoes, etc etc. Pretend you live on a farm if you have to. Live your best prairie life.
A protein shake here and there is fine, but eat real food like a good little human animal and you’ll feel much better. Improve one meal at a time instead of overhauling your whole life!
Last time I made a concerted effort for muscle growth, I was the strongest I’d ever been. Not because my training was different, but because I was so incredibly fueled up! Once you experience feeling this powerful, it’s hard to go back to poor eating habits.
Next week we’re jumping into training! Strap in!
December Theme Schedule:
Last week we went over what bulking season is, why it exists, and what “winter” can mean
This week we covered nutrition for muscle building
Week 3: Training for muscle building
Week 4: Mitigating fat gain while building, and body recomposition
Love & muscles,
Coach Mac
Muscle Sherpa
