Posts Tagged ‘Build’

Eating Carbohydrates To Gain Weight And Build Muscle

August 16th, 2011

Whenever people look to gain weight and muscle mass, the first thing that comes to their mind is to load up on protein intake and cut down on carbohydrate intake.

This is a natural first thought because protein is associated with gaining muscle mass and growth, whereas, carbohydrate when taken in excessively quantity tends to facilitate weight gain in the form of fat. However, if we were to investigate further from a physiological point of view, taking in carbohydrates and taking in different forms of carbohydrates to gain massive weight and build muscles is also important. Lets dig a little deeper here so I can explain why.

When we are seeking to gain massive weight and build muscles, we will have to stimulate this growth through exercise. If we do not stimulate our muscles hard enough by increasing training frequency and intensity, our muscles will not respond. But when we increase the exercise intensity and frequency, our bodies will need extra energy to do the extra work.

Guess where is this extra energy going to come from? Yes, from carbohydrates first and foremost. Carbohydrates are the most immediately available form of nutrients for energy production. If this is not present in sufficient quantity in the body for increased training, the body will start to use other food sources for fuel.

The next thing your body will use as energy is protein followed by fats. If there is no protein in the diet, your body will break down muscle tissue to use as fuel. This is known as muscle catabolism.

By having a high protein and low carbohydrate diet, we are actually encouraging the body to use protein to fuel your body’s energy supply. The idea of having more protein for growth will not happen if carbohydrates are not present in substantial amount to fuel the growth.

It is thus important to take in carbohydrates along with protein in your diet as well if you expect to grow muscle at a rapid rate. As long as exercise intensity is raised, the extra carbohydrates will not be converted into much fat if at all. To further enable the efficient utilization of carbohydrates, do take into account the type of carbohydrates taken in.

The first form and simplest form of carbohydrate exist as simple sugars, which are found in fruit juices, cakes, cookies, candies and anything sweet. Simple sugars are made up of empty calories and will most likely be stored as fat in the end if not used immediately.

Blood sugar is the first source of carbohydrates to be tapped for energy. By raising your blood sugar levels through the intake of sweet fruit drinks, this will provide immediate source of carbohydrate for energy production. The key is the immediate availability.

When not used, blood sugar is easily converted into fat. For this reason, you’ll need to monitor the intake of this kind of carbohydrate. The best time to consume simple sugars is in the morning upon waking and right after an intense workout.

The second form of carbohydrate is known as complex carbohydrate. This form of carbohydrate comes from brown rice, pasta, whole grains, cereals, and so forth.

The advantage of this form of carbohydrate is that it releases a steady stream of energy once absorbed by the body. But they need more time for the body to digest and absorb all the nutrients.

Complex carbohydrates are also typically stored in muscles as glycogen, which is the first form of fuel available for exercise after blood sugars. By and large, bodybuilders and weight trainers should stick to this form of carbohydrate because of the reliability of energy provision.

The final form of carbohydrate is fiber filled carbohydrate. This is commonly found in starchy vegetables like corn, beans, broccoli, etc. The fiber content inherent in this class of carbohydrate assists the digestive system, and they also contain other nutrients for growth.

However, it is not advisable to take more than 10 grams of fiber carbohydrate per 1,000 calories consumed as this could block the absorption of vital macronutrients.

When you want to increase muscle mass and bulk, you should not be too be fixated with the concept that protein intake is the most important. Having sufficient carbohydrate intake to fuel the energy required is also important.

In the larger context, a diet consisting of high protein and a mix of different forms of carbohydrates will be most appropriate to support a weight training program to gain muscle mass.

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Eating Protein to Gain Weight And Build Muscle

August 15th, 2011

There are many reasons why people would like to gain weight and build muscle mass. For some, the reason is for a stronger and tougher body, so that they can perform better in their respective sports. For others, it’s because they’re too skinny and want to be bigger.

Typically for a guy, looking good means having a bulky muscular body that is ripped. In their quest for weight gain, the use of protein supplements and a high protein diet will accomplish this objective of gaining muscle mass.

But how does protein actually help muscle growth? What type of food is protein-rich? What are some of the supplements that can be used to increase your daily protein intake to feed that muscle growth? These are some of the questions we’ll answer in this article.

I’m sure we all remember the balanced diet pyramid diagram from our school days. In the balanced diet pyramid, protein occupies the middle third of the pyramid, which means that in terms of volume of protein product intake, it should be moderate to fulfill the needs of the average person.

Protein serves two main purposes in the body. First, it provides the building blocks in amino acid form for growth and development of the body, in particular the muscles.

Second, protein helps the body to repair damage tissues in the body. For a person performing intense weight training to gain weight and build muscles, protein is more important than for the average person.

When there is exercise at high intensity, not only does stimulation takes place for the muscles to grow bigger, muscles and tissues also suffer from damage and break down. These need to be repaired and protein nutrients provide the materials for this repair work.

In addition to that, muscle growth can only take place when sufficient raw materials (proteins) are available within the body system. For someone on a serious weight gaining program, the intake of protein must be increase from what is recommended in the old balanced diet pyramid you remember from school.

Most fitness and health experts recommend 1.5 – 2 grams of protein intake for every pound of bodyweight for a person on a weight gaining and muscle building program. If the person weighs 150 pounds, he will have to ensure that he consumes up to 300 grams of protein in a day during his training period.

This average is certainly more than what is recommended for someone on a normal diet. To get this amount of protein, you’ll have to eat a lot of lean meat, fish, eggs, milk and other dairy products.

These sources are high in protein, because they are essentially muscles of animals and fish. Lean beef for example is actually muscles of beef from non fatty regions like the leg and so on where less fat is found. Eggs and milk contain lots of high protein content that promotes muscle repair and growth.

Trying to get all the protein from food can be a challenge. Sometimes, the protein intake from these natural sources has to be supplemented by protein powder to ensure that sufficient amount of protein nutrients are available for growth.

Protein powders are widely available in the market in health food stores and online. These powders are easily mixed into drinks and shakes for easy consumption. But when choosing your protein powder it’s important to avoid products that contain too much sugar and calorie laden. These forms of protein powders can promote fat gain, which is really not what we want.

Your best bet is sticking to protein isolate. It’s more expensive than protein concentrate, but it’s a more pure form of protein and is more easily digestible.

Now you can see why protein is an important food to gain weight. It’s necessary to repair muscle fibers that get broken down during high intensity exercise. When you’ve got enough protein in your diet you allow your muscles to grow back bigger and stronger.

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Designing a Weight Gain Diet To Build Muscle Mass

August 14th, 2011

A weight gain diet becomes absolutely important for all those who are naturally thin as they should gain healthy, lean muscle mass. It is first of all important to have a thorough knowledge with respect to a weight gain diet so as to know what you should be eating in order to build your body mass.

First and foremost, the way to gain weight is by consuming more and more food than your body can actually utilize for energy. Further those people who have faster metabolism rates than others should think of eating even more calories.

The key imperatives of a good weight gain diet are that it should be extremely nutritious and it should be comprised of high calorie foods. There is a definite formula to find out about how many calories you should consume if the prime objective is weight gain.

Most of the time, this formula should be based on weight and the age of the person. Through this formula, you should be able to calculate that how many calories of food you should be able to consume in a day and ultimately you have a perfect idea with respect to how much should you eat in a particular day.

The next aspect that needs to be determined is how much protein you should consume. The amount of protein that has been recommended by Federal Drug Administration (FDA) is 50 gms per day for an average male adult. However, the amount that has been recommended by WHO is slightly higher and it is equal to 56 grams. But athletes and body builders definitely need more protein than this according to some of the sports scientists and coaches.

The rationale that is presented by them is the weight lifters and athletes are definitely burning more calories than the general population. It is important to realize the role of proteins for building of body mass.

You should remember that it will not be possible to achieve muscle gain without consuming an adequate amount of protein. Thus, some of the good sources of protein should always be kept in mind while designing a weight gain diet for building mass. These sources include whey protein powder, egg whites, low fat milk, chicken, and lean red meat.

Another key element of a weight gain diet is the presence of a lot of unrefined carbohydrates. The carbohydrate intake is equally important even if you are ensuring appropriate amounts of proteins in your diet. This is because carbohydrates are one of the macronutrients that are immediately converted into glucose and glycogen, which are your body’s sources of energy.

So while designing your weight gain diet to build body mass you should also include rich sources of carbohydrates such as potatoes, brown rice, pasta, bread, etc.

Fats are also extremely important for gaining weight as well as ensuring overall health. The calories that are contained in fats are almost twice when compared to the proteins and carbohydrates. Thus, consumption of the fats will not only help in providing energy but they also have numerous health benefits.

Fats also play a very important role in adding to your muscle gains. The fat rich sources that can be added to a weight gain diet include the different varieties of fish such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel, as well as nuts, flax seed oil, and avocados.

The frequency of your meals also plays a very important role in building muscle weight. The best way to gain weight is by eating 5-6 small meals during the day. You should also include a lot of fruits and vegetables in your diet. All these fruits and vegetables are rich sources of vitamins and minerals. With all these factors taken into consideration, you’ll have a solid weight gain diet to pack on mass and muscle weight fast.

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Build Energy With Reflex Nutrition

January 12th, 2011

Various parts of human body hint at the overall health of the body. The skin, fingernails, hair, and mouth are some of the parts that provide necessary hints about the body health. There are many people who ignore the signs of under-nutrition and become ill. To cure the problem of deficient in nutrients, Reflex Nutrition is one of the options. However, it is important that Reflex Nutrition must be started after consulting your health care advisor. Many health care professionals recommend Reflex Nutrition as one of the important supplements of nutrients. The Reflex Nutrition contains all the necessary amino acids that a human body requires.

The various types of Reflex Nutrition are recommended for people interested in building their body. For example, there are athletes who require some Reflex Nutrition forms to keep the requirements of proteins and other necessary nutrients up to the mark in their body. Reflex Nutrition is recommended for people who indulge in regular exercise or physical training regimes. They are the people who require Reflex Nutrition to combat fat loss and also to supply necessary nutrients to the human body.

There are many products designed for Reflex Nutrition and are easily available in the market. Reflex Nutrition products contain necessary whey proteins and caffeine, along with other nutrients. Some variants of Reflex Nutrition are specially designed for the professional athletes and bodybuilders. The contents of Reflex Nutrition products help to increase metabolism in the body thereby converting food into energy. The Reflex Nutrition also helps in improving the immunity system of the body so that it can fight against ailments. In some cases, it has also been observed that Reflex Nutrition has helped in increasing the energy levels and stamina of the body. Intake of Reflex Nutrition has helped in increasing mind alertness and improving focusing capabilities of a person.

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