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Top 10 Tips to Maximise Muscle Growth

Muscle growth is a process that is usually closely related to the goal of acquiring a dream body. Men dream of a muscular body, broad shoulders, and large biceps, while ladies tend to have slimmer waist and sexy arches. By increasing muscle mass, even ladies can achieve a more toned and attractive body while easily retaining their feminine charm. However, building muscle requires time, patience, and long-term consistency.

1.Get energy from healthy foods

A good workout requires a certain amount of energy. The body is very similar to the engine of a car. It does not move without fuel. But you can’t fill the tank with anything. Similarly, your body’s fuel should come from a healthy diet that provides enough energy, vitamins, minerals, and other biologically active substances to function optimally. Therefore, when building muscle, always make sure that you are getting enough of the essential macronutrients, ie protein, carbohydrates and fat.

The specific amounts depend on a number of factors. The recommended average values ​​for muscle growth are as follows:

Protein: 10-35% of total energy intake (approx. 1.4-⁠2 g / kg)
Carbohydrate: 45-60% of total energy intake (approx. 4-7 g / kg)
Fats: 20-30% of total energy intake (approx. 0.5-1.5 g / kg)

Simply put, you need to eat more to build muscle . Specifically, you will need about 10-20% more energy than your calorie maintenance level, which would keep your weight stable. In terms of calories, we’re talking about 250 kcal. This value, of course, depends on your body. You may need more than that. It’s easy to check.

First, you need to measure your weight and the parts of your body that you want to control (such as the waist, abdomen, hips, or chest circumference). Add 250 extra calories to your daily diet and maintain this intake for about two weeks.

After these two weeks, repeat the measurement process. If your weight has changed or you notice a change in the measured body parts, it means that you are on the right track and gaining the desired weight with extra calories.

If you do not notice any change, try adding an additional 250 kcal. It is important that the excess calories are not too high as they can lead to weight gain and gain fat. As with many things in life, it pays to move forward with small steps.

With online energy and macronutrient intake calculator , you can easily calculate specific values ​​related to your goals. However, the results should be considered as a guide rather than something set in stone, as they may not accurately reflect your body’s true energy and macronutrient needs.

Proper input depends on a lot of data and variables that are virtually impossible to incorporate into such calculators. Every human body has a slightly different genetic makeup, hormonal environment, metabolic rate, and so on. The key is to learn to listen to your body. If you do this optimally, you can increase your performance, improve your shape, and gain the muscle mass you want during any physical activity .

2. Optimize the distribution of meals throughout the day

Want to build muscle but eat too little food? That’s not good. To achieve your goals, you will definitely need to bring in a lot more energy that you need to rationally distribute throughout the day. You have already calculated the quantity yourself with our online calculator. But what are you doing with this number? The thing is, when you don’t eat enough and bring in too little energy, your body produces less new muscle protein.

This process can tip to the point where anabolic processes (production of new muscle protein) are outweighed by catabolic processes (short-term breakdown of protein). The production and breakdown of muscle protein is a natural cycle that results in long-term increase or loss of muscle mass . For anabolic processes to outperform catabolic processes, you need to increase your energy and protein intake.

Therefore, it is usually recommended to eat several times a day, depending on your preferences . A diet with five to six balanced meals a day is especially popular. Increasing the frequency of meals is more appropriate for muscle growth. 5-6 meals a day every 3-4 hours can be a good starting point .

However, if you are following a diet that follows a certain low-frequency meal, such as the popular periodic fasting , make sure you are consuming enough calories. Overall, keep an eye on your body, make sure you’re getting enough calories, and make sure you don’t feel unnecessarily tired after larger meals. Determining the frequency of meals is a game that you need to play until you find a solution that suits your own body.

3. Make sure you eat enough protein

You know for sure that protein is an essential building block for muscle growth and maintenance . Protein intake stimulates additional muscle protein synthesis, which occurs naturally in the body. MPS (muscle protein synthesis) is the process of producing, renewing and growing muscle protein. It works in cycles. It responds to training and nutrition. In order for it to work as smoothly as possible, it is key that your protein intake is high enough . Getting the right amount of protein depends on a number of factors, such as your age, weight, goals, and the intensity of your physical activity.

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To increase and maintain muscle mass, you need to maintain a positive muscle protein balance. According to general recommendations for strength sports, the appropriate protein intake is about 1.4 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (kg) . This is enough for any physically active individual. The recommendation is sometimes increased to 1.6-2.2 g / kg . Studies often point to 1.6-2.4 g / kg as the ideal range for maximum support for muscle growth.

To make this easier to understand, the protein intake recommendations are shown in a table where 1.6-2.4 g / kg is used as a reference to support maximal muscle growth.

Your weight Lowest Protein Intake (1.6 G) Highest Protein Intake (2.4 G)
60 kg 96 g 144 g
65 kg 1 04 g 156 g
70 kg 112 g 168 g
75 kg 120 g 180g
80 kg 128 g 192g
85 kg 136 g 204 g
90 kg 144 g 216 g
95 kg 152 g 228 g
100 kg 160 g 240 g

4. Don’t forget about quality nutrition before and after a workout

If you recall the first tip of the article, we mentioned enough energy intake. It’s time to explain this tip in more detail. Nutrition is especially important before and after a workout. A pre-workout meal will determine if you will have enough energy to get the most out of each workout. Timing also plays a key role. If you eat too early before your workout, you may not have enough energy during your workout. Otherwise, if your meal is too close to your workout, you may feel full and tired as your body invests energy in digestion. Any of these cases can make your workout less fun and less effective.

Most people consider it an ideal time to consume a larger, all-nutrient meal about 2-3 hours before a workout . You can then have a small snack just before your workout to replenish your energy and protein. It could be a banana or a slice of protein about an hour before your workout. The general rule is that the closer you eat to your workout time, the easier it should be for your food or snack to digest. It is convenient to reach for liquid foods, which are usually digested faster.

To recharge your body efficiently and comfortably, try FueCarb Instant Blend . In this respect, however, every individual is quite different and what works for your friends may not work for you. A lot depends on how fast your metabolism is, how much food you eat and what type of physical activity you will be doing. That’s why it’s key to pay attention to your own body and schedule a pre-workout meal accordingly.

Another important thing to keep in mind is to watch what and how you eat after your workout. In order for muscle growth, the essential ingredient in the diet should be protein , which initiates the process of muscle regeneration and restores damaged muscle tissue after exercise. After the main protein-rich meal, you can eat a banana or two or some complex nutrient-rich shake like Fue Gain

This will replenish your body with protein, carbohydrates (needed to replenish muscle glycogen) and other micronutrients. Don’t forget about complex and balanced meals based on the calculated optimal energy intake.

If you do not have time to eat such a meal within 2 hours of your workout, it is recommended that you combine micellar casein and whey protein supplement into your post-workout shake, or choose the FueGain already mentioned .

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5. Consume dietary supplements

Nutritional supplements are one of the key tools to help make your workouts even more effective. Below are three basic types of dietary supplements designed to increase your efforts to increase muscle mass.

a. Weight gainers and all-in-one blends
To build muscle, you need to take in more energy than your body burns (about 10-20% more). The extra calories you need, of course, come from the food you eat. However, it’s not always that simple, no matter how hard you try. The fight doesn’t have to be presented to those who have a hard time gaining a pound of muscle mass. Also, there are always days when you simply don’t have time for a rich and nutritious lunch or dinner.

Then there are days when your energy consumption rises so high that you simply can’t cover it with regular solid foods. This gap can be bridged by consuming a weight gain or a good quality all-in-one blend that covers the excessive energy required by an extremely hard workout . These products are especially rich in carbohydrates, which act as a fuel and affect the activity of insulin, called anabolic hormone.

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Another important ingredient in high quality weight gainers is usually protein, which is important overall for increasing and maintaining muscle mass . The weight gain may also contain additional ingredients such as vitamins, enzymes, and the like. The typical dose of weight gainers is about 500 kcal , which you can always adjust to your own needs. All in all, consuming weight gainers is an easy and convenient way to add extra calories and important nutrients to your diet.

Another option is to consume a high-quality all-in-one blend or a complex source of macro- and micronutrients. Weight gainers and all-in-one blends can be consumed specifically after workouts, but even at any time during the day if you simply don’t have enough time to sit down and eat a solid meal. Always follow the instructions on the product packaging and follow the recommended use.

b.Protein powder
Protein powder is the king of the family of dietary supplements and probably doesn’t really need to be better presented. The most important task of this dietary supplement is to provide your body with a fast dose of the quality protein it needs to grow and maintain muscle mass . You can consume protein powder at any time of the day and in addition to the basic protein shake, you can also use it for various fitness recipes for baking.

As with weight gain products, the main benefit of protein supplements is that they make the intake of larger amounts of this key macronutrient faster and more convenient. The market is full of a wide range of protein powders from different sources boasting different properties. Generally, a serving of protein powder will contain about 20 to 27 grams of protein. You can consume protein powder at any time of the day when you need to replenish your body with quality protein. To make sure you choose the right type of dietary supplement .

c. Creatine
Another popular dietary supplement is creatine . Your main job is to help your muscles produce the energy they need for a demanding workout, whether it’s lifting heavy weights or intense training. In this way, it contributes to the process of building muscle. Creatine is available in various forms with slightly different components and solubilities . The most intensively studied variety is the monohydrate , which is also considered to be the most effective. The recommended range for creatine intake is between 3 and 5 grams per day , with no need to pause in the long run.

6. Stick to your training plan
This is where many people tend to go to extremes. Either they only visit the gym twice a week and expect them to grow muscles like Thor, or they are over-motivated and spend hours at the gym every day. None of this will work. Studies show that it is ideal to train 3-5 times a week for optimal results .

Always schedule your workouts as if they were featured business meetings. Of course, the scarcity of time is a significant factor and training “only” three times a week does not spoil our results. It is ideal to combine and change large and small muscle groups within a single workout, training each muscle group on average every three days. If your workouts focus on the whole body, you can do them on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, for example. In case you divide your workouts into muscle group days, do two workouts a week for your upper body and one for your lower body.

7. Perform complex exercises in your training routine

Your workout plan should include complex exercises such as squats, bench presses, or pull-ups , the correct execution of which involves the simultaneous work of multiple joints . Squats include the knee, ankle, and hip, for example. Other complex exercises include breakouts, lifts, push-ups, or stairs.

If you involve more muscle in a given exercise, you can work on each muscle group and use the training time to increase functional strength and muscle growth . This approach is more complex and effective than workouts that target only isolated muscle groups. It is ideal to combine these complex exercises with isolated muscle exercises.

8. Select the appropriate intensity and number of repetitions for your workouts

RM (Repetition Maximum) indicates the maximum intensity at which you can perform a particular exercise while maintaining the correct technique . During strength training, the RM (maximum weight on the dumbbell or barbell) should be somewhere between 60 and 85%. It is also important to set the right number of repetitions to ensure maximum muscle hypertrophy. A good starting point is to do 4 to 12 reps per series with 60 to 85% of 1RM.

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If you know what your individual 1RM value is, you can choose the right intensity to maximize the effectiveness of each workout. Suppose your RM on your bench press is 100 kg. This means you have to work with a weight between 60 and 85 kg and bring the number of repetitions close to what you can no longer do. The value of 1RM can be easily determined by trying out different weights and finding out if you are able to perform the exercises technically correctly. Ideally, in the presence of a gym partner, you can try to determine your RM, who can help you judge more objectively whether your technique is appropriate for a particular weight level.

How to calculate the approximate 1RM
The Internet and the literature on the subject offer a number of different equations for calculating the approximate 1RM. Here is an example of such an equation:

weight x repetition x 0.0333 + weight = estimated 1 RM

This means that if, for example, you squat regularly with a 100 kg barbell and reach 10 reps, the calculation of 1RM will look like this [16]:

100 x 10 x 0.0333 + 100 = 133 kg

9. Use the principle of progressive overload
If you exercise regularly for a while, then your body will gradually adapt to the load on it . If you do not change your routine for a few months, your progress may stagnate. You can avoid this by changing your workout plan and giving you stronger impulses for further muscle growth. This is done using the principle of progressive overload , which requires shortening the rest time between sets, prolonging the tension of the muscles for a longer period of time (i.e., increasing the time under tension) and increasing the number of repetitions per series.

In practice, applying this principle means constantly pushing your limits by adding one or two extra reps to your series, or putting more weight on the barbell or using a heavier dumbbell. The principle of progressive overload has been investigated in several studies. One of these, from 2011, observed 83 participants over 12 weeks who performed exercises to develop faculty strength. The results showed that the application of the principle of progressive overload by adding extra weight and number of repetitions promoted muscle growth and biceps strength in both male and female participants.

10. Don’t underestimate regeneration

Repeated intense physical performance leads to depletion of muscle glycogen and breakdown of muscle tissue. As a result, your muscles will be damaged and they will need to get better, making them bigger and stronger. This is where regeneration time comes into play. In the process, exhausted muscles recharge and damaged muscle tissue recovers.

Even though it is quite underestimated, regeneration is just as important as exercise and nutrition. Muscles don’t grow during a workout, but after your body regenerates them. Ignoring regeneration can lead to injuries, extreme muscle cramps, and other unpleasant symptoms of overtraining. However, the most important thing is to slow down your efforts for maximum muscle growth . It is especially important that you respect your training plan and do not train more than you plan. Make sure you get quality sleep, proper rest, and as little stress as possible.

One of the many methods that can increase the effectiveness of your workout and your muscle growth is to use the so-called deload phase of your workout. The principle of this is to temporarily reduce the intensity of your workout to the usual half . You can apply this phase every 4-8 weeks. This can contribute to adaptation, which manifests itself in increased strength and muscle growth.

End Up

The process of increasing muscle mass is time consuming, as is everything else in life that is worth the effort. Don’t forget some effective principles of patience and respect. Make sure you always have enough energy to nourish your body, especially during exercise. This is the only way to maximize the potential of each workout. Keep in mind proper protein intake, consistent training and tightening your limits, progressive overload, and the importance of enough time and space for muscle regeneration . We believe our tips have taught you something new and will help take your efforts to the next level.

How do you approach building muscle mass? Which techniques have proven to be best for you and which would you recommend to others? If you liked this article, we appreciate any sharing that these effective muscle building tips will reach your friends as well.

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