Diet is crucial to achieving this goal, if you’re not eating right then all the exercise in the world won’t make the difference. Firstly protein intake must be increased. Protein plays a vital role in repairing muscles after your workout and should be taken from foods as part of a healthy diet, which can be assisted with protein supplements. Good sources of protein include, good quality meat, fish, eggs and dairy. Choosing the right protein supplement is important to how quickly you achieve your goals. If you have a lot of weight to gain then choose one with a high carbohydrate value per portion, if it’s a smaller amount then go for one with a smaller carbohydrate value. These should be taken directly after a training session, and also for a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack.
Carbohydrates also play a role in fuelling and assisting recovery to the muscle. However the carbohydrate source is important dependant on the time of day. Low GI carbs such as oats are great early in the day as they give you slow release energy and you will burn them off throughout your day. High GI carbs such as sugary drinks should only ever be taking before or during a workout to assist you during your workout if you need an energy boost, although most energy drinks contain fructose which is one of the worst sugars to take if you want to burn fat. Carbohydrates should be kept to a minimum during the evening. In simple terms plenty of protein and veg or salad in every meal.
Once the diet sorted then the next step is to get the correct training program. There are lots of techniques which can be used to increase muscle mass and most will work providing they are not done for too long e.g more than 12 weeks. However before you go into split routines, dropsets, DC training 5 x 5, 5-3-1, or any other that you may have heard of then it is crucial that you get the key exercises right. These are Deadlifts, Bench Press, Squats, and finally Chin Ups. I would recommend the first 8 weeks of doing these exercises with a sets and repetition range of 4 x 12-15. These will give you a great foundation for all future exercises and remember if you want a good upper body then most importantly you MUST TRAIN LEGS!. This will give you a greater testosterone production needed to develop muscles.
At Activzone, we can design workouts and achieve results for any goal. This is just a small taster of what is needed to gain lean mass, if you would like more information then please contact us on 01483 448666 email info@activzone.co.uk.
