To efficiently gain quality muscle you need to do more than just lift heavy weights. It is essential that you eat properly as well. The term eating properly means eating the right amount of the right foods every 2 – 3 hours throughout the day. If you don’t eat properly you will waste all the hard work you have put in with lifting weights.

The right amount of food will vary with each individual but don’t use that as an excuse for eating too little or too much. The right amount will leave you feeling content, not full. The right amount also needs to include 0.3g – 0.4g of protein per kilogram of body weight per meal.

For example, someone weighing 75kg will want to consume between 20g and 30g of protein per meal. That equates to 100g-150g of tuna, chicken or lean red meat. These meals should also include complex carbohydrates such as rolled oats, whole grain pasta or rice.

To eat every 2-3 hours means consuming between 6 and 8 meals per day. As part of or in addition to these 6 to 8 regular meals each day, arguably the most important are the pre and post workout meals. Muscle gains can be significantly improved just by being diligent in the consumption and timing of these two meals.

Pre Workout Meal

Pre workout you want to focus on providing your body with the energy to get it through the workout. Therefore focus on consuming carbohydrates. If you are eating more than an hour prior to working out, then one of the regular meals, combining complex carbohydrates and protein is sufficient. The complex carbohydrates take longer to digest than simple carbohydrates and will continue providing your body with energy up to and throughout the workout.

If you are eating within 45min of exercising then simple carbohydrates, such as those found in a white bread jam sandwich or a banana will be best because they are digested more quickly and therefore provide the body with energy more quickly.

Post Workout Meal

Post workout you want to focus on both carbohydrates and protein. The carbohydrates will replenish the energy lost during exercise as well as provide energy to begin the recovery and repair of the muscles. The protein is needed in repairing the muscles. So it is essential to include protein in the post workout meal. The main point to remember is to eat within 30min of working out.

A point to note here is that if you are serious about your muscle gain then you need to limit your workouts to no more than an hour. After this time your body will have used all the energy you fed it prior to working out. It will then begin breaking muscle down rather than building it.

Protein Sources

If you want to see muscle gains then protein shakes are worthwhile for post workout meals. They come in powder form and are therefore easily transportable, just add water or milk.

Other extremely good, natural sources of protein are:

Milk, eggs, fish, chicken, lean red meat, beans and nuts.

The advantage with milk is that it is so readily available, transportable and consumable. One 600ml carton of milk is easy to drink and provides just less than 20g of protein.

Tuna is also a great source of protein for similar reasons to milk. One 100g tin of tuna can be bought in any supermarket, transport easily and will provide you with the required amount of protein per meal. As far as red meat is concerned aim for lean red meat.

Learn more about the topics covered in this article, visit www.MuscleGainingSecrets.com

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