The Truth About How to Gain Maximum Mass
by preist943, Senior Mod @
www.IronLife.com & IronLife.com Staff Writer
What is the one thing everyone wants? Well every bodybuilder anyway. Its more muscle, awesome muscle size is what its all about. Mass is definitely the name of the game. Sure six-packs and ripped muscle looks good, but you can't pack on maximum mass and stay ripped too. What good is to be shredded anyway if you lack muscle size.
Why is it so hard to grasp the concept of putting on muscle. Just looking around the net we have these trainers that make pretty good money helping people with routines and diet. I think people just like to be told what to do, because for some odd reason they can't come up with a program of their own. As bodybuilders we primarily want muscle mass increased. However; you just can't avoid some fat gain as well. We should make it real clear at the start; you cannot build maximum muscle and stay cut at the same time. To increase muscle size you need a protein and caloric surplus. Fat cells will only decrease in a calorie deficit.
Here is a little shot in the dark method to calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate) and the amount of calories you will need to build muscle. First add a zero to your body weight in pounds. Now we are assuming that you are already a semi bodybuilder, meaning you have much more muscle that fat. Say you are 200 pounds by adding a zero to that weight we get 2000. That’s just about right because you will need 10 calories per pound of bodyweight just to sustain yourself, even if you did not do anything all day. Again assuming most of your weight is muscle. If you were 200 pounds of fat slob you wouldn’t need that many calories. Now; if you workout hard but you don’t have a strenuous job; add 50% to your BMR of 2000. Now if you train intensively and are moderately active add 70% to your BMR of 2000. If you are a serious bodybuilder and train like a mad man and are also active during the day add 90-100% to the BMR total of 2000. This will give you a general guide on the amount of calories you need to consume in the day to meet your goals.
Now I said it was a shot in the dark. This method is just a general rule to get you pointed in the right direction. When I try to put on mass I make much better gains from pumping the body full of carbs and about 1 ½ g of protein per pound. Everyone now of days pays so much attention to protein intake as high as 3 grams per pound in some cases. They would make much better gains if their carbohydrate intake was higher and the protein was more moderate. Lets remember that carbohydrates are protein sparing. If your not taking in enough carbs your body will just use all that extra expensive protein for energy.
Most people don’t realize how important calories are. It doesn’t just take protein to build muscle. There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat. A pound of muscle is around 800 calories; but it takes 1800 calories for the body to make that pound of muscle. So in total it will take 2600 calories to have a new pound of muscle. This is why even with protein intake high people fail to gain the mass they are looking for. Far to often they increase protein again when they should be increasing carbs and calories. Also as your embarking on your mass program you need to keep updating your diet as you gain muscle. You need to keep increasing your protein, carbs, and calories or you will not continue to make gains.
Now lets say we already have our diet down, you will still need to increase calories by 300-400 calories a week to continue the gaining process. Lets face it we all have access to growth enhancing products how to gain muscle from their use, is not that complicated. You do not need to pay for this knowledge. I think we all know what we need to do and just need a reminder once in a while. Nasser, Fuxx, and many other massive bodybuilders eat a ton of carbs with a more moderate protein intake. IMO this 2 ½ -3 grams per pound is just bull brought main stream to sell you more protein products. Just like most top bodybuilders have contracts with supplementation companies of course they are going to say they take in 600g a day. Everyone has seen the adds with Ruhl hawking Andro products. Do you really think he uses Andro? Think about it.
There you have it the truth to gaining weight. Wish you all the best in search of more muscle.
* Article by preist943, Senior Mod @
www.IronLife.com & IronLife.com Staff Writer.
* Back to This Issue's Frontpage
...great post btw
