My Top Tips for Muscle gain without fat!
Posted on 7 August 2008
Adding Muscle and staying lean!
I have always struggled to gain mass and always felt that mass came with too much fat, I would feel podgey and uncomfortable in normal clothes. Especially when I ate 5 times a day as conventional bodybuilding wisdom seems to suggest.
Recently though thanks to site’s like Art Devaney and the IF life I have developed simple methods for a gaining mass whilst staying lean. I am going to keep it very simple and will also stick in a sample workout.
Eat when you are hungry.
I mean genuine hunger not at the slightest hunger pang, make sure you eat good whole food; Prepare a huge salad with things like avocado, olives and good oils. Have eggs and fruit for breakfast. One of the most important things I have realized in recent months is that muscle gain is a hormonal occurrence all you can do is trigger it by working out and feeding your body good wholesome foods. Listen to your appetite.
I normally eat 3 times a day but graze on berries, nuts and vegetables throughout the day. I will make a post on a sample menu soon. The basic premise is good wholesome food, when hungry and eat well.
Optimize your Growth Hormone output.
My main tips for achieving this are to go to bed slightly hungry (no food for 2-3 hours before) Also do not eat anything for 1-2 hours after GH releasing activities (Sprints, weights etc)
Occasional fasts are very good for this also, a few mornings a week is enough to start. Have a look into the this post on the IF Life for some information on starting Intermittent fasting.
And always go to sleep 2-3 hours after your last food. Going to bed with food digesting blocks the release of Human Growth Hormone which is essential to grow, repair and for your immune system.
Supplements.
This one is simple take a high quality Cod Liver Oil which gives you roughly 10,00 IU of Vitamin A per day (usually 1 tbsp). Also take a good quality Zinc and Magnesium supplement (before bed). Also consider taking a High Quality Multi Vitamin.
If you can afford it I would also recommend a good antioxidant like high quality Vitamin C or just drink high quality green tea a few times a day.
Enjoy Life.
Have a glass of wine or a beer with dinner, Socialize with good people and practice relaxing and consider starting Yoga to correct your posture and breathing. If you are not relaxed your body will not want to build muscle. Also do not worry about eating bad food we live in the real world, treat yourself to that slice of cake, or have a pizza. Just add an extra 10 minutes cardio next time you workout if you feel bad about it, use it as motivation to work out harder next time.
Sample workout
Thsis is a simple plan for working out for muscle gain, it is based on Power Law Training so it is to be done in the 15-8-4 format with little/no rest.
- 4-5 20 second sprints on a stationary bike with 1 minute slow pace in between each one.
- Front Squats or Thrusters (Alternate)
- Dumbbell Pullover
- Bent Over Row
- Incline Bench Press
- Dips (Weighted if you can)
- Standing Barbell bicep curls
- Weighted Ab crunches
- Nice walk as a cool down
Thats is each excersise 15-8-4 reps shouldnt take longer than 20-30 minutes if your working out ferosiously. Just do this 2-3 times a week. Eat food 1-2 hours later. Also try to increase the weight you are pushing with each week.
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