Gain Muscle

Protein’s are the building blocks required to repair and grow muscle tissue when participating in any type of activity that breaks down muscle tissue including particularly in our case, progressive resistance training.

Examples of common protein rich food’s include chicken, beef, eggs, milk, cheese, fish and of course supplementary protein sources known as protein powders.

There are protein’s found in potatoes, rice, pasta and nuts, but the majority of protein’s found in these sources are not considered to be ‘essential’ protein’s and their bioavailability is not as high as what is found in the meats and dairy groups. Therefore, when calculating our daily protein needs, it is best to only count the ‘complete/essential’ proteins.

Typically to gain muscle mass or even lose fat, you have to keep your protein intake high. A good rule of thumb to calculate protein for lean muscle gain is to multiply your lean body mass by 1-1.5. Then we would want to divide that intake into 5-6 meals over the course of the day.

If you are a newbie, don’t let the thought of eating this much scare you. Fear not as there is an alternative to eating 6 whole food protein sources a day that is guaranteed to deliver just as good as results.

The alternative is to ingest 2-3 protein powder’s in the form of a protein shake.

There are several advantages to consuming 2-3 protein shakes in place of whole food protein sources throughout the day and they include:

-       Convenience

-       Faster absorption for post-workout protein requirements

-       Better absorption and digestion

-       Constant flood of amino acids at all times

By now It should be clear that including a good protein powder in one’s diet is very beneficial in ingesting your daily protein requirements.

The tricky part is trying to pick a GOOD protein powder that will contribute to muscle gain and not break the bank.

Here are my 5 ways to pick a good protein powder.

Mass Gainer VS Protein Powder

First, you need to understand that not all protein powders are created equally.

There are some protein powders that fall under the categoy of mass gainers. A powder supplement that contains an abundance of carbs, some proteins and fats is considered a mass gainer. Although, all three of those macronutrients are required in a diet, when picking a protein powder, a person should never purchase a mass gainer if they really only want a protein powder.

Some people who are new to lifting often make the mistake of purchasing one of these so called protein powders not knowing that they are also consuming much more than just protein which may contribute to excess fat gain due to the excess calories.

When choosing a powder make sure it has the following:

-       Low fat (1-5 grams is ok)

-       Low carb (1-5 grams is ok)

-       High protein (normailly about 20-30 grams per serving)

The Test of Time:

Another factor to consider when picking a protein powder is to find out how long that company or product has been on the market.

My general guideline is to only consider products that have been around for at least three years and have received positive feedback.

Normally, if a product lasts this long it is because it is a quality product that people continue to purchase because it works.

Natural and Pure Powders:

The quality of a protein powder is in my opinion more important than the total quantity of protein when trying to gain muscle.

Always look at the label when deciding on a protein powder and make sure it doesn’t contain any more that 7-10 ingredients. Also, try and find a powder with more natural ingredients. Typically if you have a hard time pronouncing all the ingredient names, that might be a sign to put that one down and look for another one.

it’s important to never allow advertisements and marketing ads to affect your decision on which protein powder to take.

Supplement Company’s use a dirty little trick where they will include a small trace amount of an extra ingredient that may be helpful in promoting more muscle gain on its own, but the amounts they include in their product is not enough to make a significant difference. When this happens normally the price is usually higher and not worth it.

Concentrate, Isolate or Casein?

There is also lots of debate as to which type of protein is the best to ingest and the best to gain muscle.

To make this simple, here is what you need to know.

In my experience, I have tried them all at different times in my training and have found that it really doesn’t make a difference. Of course, that is just my opinion, but that being said, if you have the money and you truly believe the type of protein will make a or break your results, then here is a basic guideline.

Concentrate – This is a good source of protein powder that is absorbed at a moderate pace. Typically it is good to include this type between meals.

Isolate – This type of protein is more rapidly absorbed and is recommended to have immediately following a workout to shuttle proteins and amino acids into the starving muscle cells.

Casein – Casein has a longer digestion period, more so that concentrate and isolate. This particular protein works best when ingested at nightime as it is a slow release protein.

Stay Away From The Hype:

Supplements are notorious for hyping up their products with unrealistic claims and promises.

DO NOT buy into the hype of major companies that price their product above and beyond what you really need to pay.

I am not saying their products are not good or that you will not gain muscle with them, but rather, they are just not worth the cost they are charging.

Always pay attention to the ingredients and ignore the hype of the marketing of the product.

I get my protein powder from a very generic company. The protein powder I buy has a very traditional label and pacackaging from a reputable company. The product is simply composed of high quality ingredients and I trust the company. That is all that counts..

 

Tags: gain muscle, gain muscle fast, gain muscle mass, how to gain muscle
Filed under: Fat Loss