Gaining Muscle with Protein
Gaining weight and building muscle go hand-in-hand, though gaining weight doesn’t necessarily mean gaining fat. Muscle is heavy and dense, which means you inevitably have to bulk up in a literal sense to build it.
Tips for gaining muscle
Muscle building goes beyond eating more, you have to consume more protein to avoid accumulating too much body fat.
Protein is necessary for muscle growth and repair – you need it to get ripped and stay that way.
Muscles are built over time through a constant cycle of stress and repair, and the recovery period after an intense workout is critical to building mass.
Adequate protein and calorie intake give you the energy to make it through each gym session and ensure your muscles repair properly afterward.
You Need Calories to Gain Weight
There’s no way to get around it, muscles need calories. Specific caloric needs will vary depending on your height, age, and level of daily physical activity.
However, if you’re looking to bulk up, you’ll need more calories than you’d think.
Generally, you’ll be looking at a minimum of a solid 2,000 calories or more.
Put another way, you get stronger by lifting weights and training, but you grow bigger by eating a surplus of calories.
But not all calories are the same when it comes to building muscle. Muscle burns twice as many calories as fat and, in particular, requires a hefty amount of protein to maintain.
The same discipline you apply to your strength training routine also needs to carry over to your diet. Nutrition and protein matter just as much as your rep count.
You Need Protein to Gain Muscle Instead of Fat
As important as increased caloric intake is for muscle building, there’s a difference between getting in your calories from Twinkies versus protein powder.
You may be tempted to eschew all other macros from your diet in favor of protein and leave your overall calorie intake untouched, but that’s actually a pretty big mistake if done incorrectly.
Protein and overall caloric intake need to both be increased in order to build muscle without causing damage to other parts of your body.
On the other hand, ketogenic diets, which drastically cut carbs to increase fat and protein consumption, are growing in popularity.
These diets are best started under the supervision of a doctor or trained nutritionist, who can help you keep your diet balanced in other ways.
You need more protein to build muscles, but you can’t sacrifice other important nutrients in the process – otherwise, you’d be sabotaging yourself.
Using a Muscle Gainer Protein Powder
In the end, it’s all about finding the right balance. We all need the same basic nutrients to survive, but you have to change your diet if you want to change your body.
One of the best and easiest ways to ensure you get the calories and protein you need is through weight gainer protein powders.
A lot of people looking to bulk up to have trouble gaining the necessary weight, especially when a diligent muscle exercise routine is undertaken. This is where a weight gainer fortified with protein comes into play.
These powerful supplements are good sources of additional protein when your normal diet just isn’t enough.
What can a good mass gainer do for you? It can:
- Help you meet your specific calorie goals
- Help your muscles recover after a workout
- Fill any fat and protein gaps in your diet
- Provide supplemental vitamins to keep you energized
Wrap-Up
Different mass gainers can fulfill different needs depending on what you require, so you need to do your research.
For more detailed information on using protein powder for weight gain and the best brands out there, check out the best mass gainers guide.
And don’t forget to keep working at it – with the right diet and exercise plan, you’ll get where you want to be.
