How do you get lean muscle? The most effective approach is a combination of nutrition for building muscle and workout techniques tailored to your body type.
When trying to get lean and build muscle, you want quality AND quantity in your daily food consumption. Your diet for lean muscle must include enough calories. Be sure to eat more than you burn and feed your muscles throughout the day with healthy food choices.
The best diets for building muscle include the following guidelines:
- Be sure to combine complex carbs and protein in each meal.
- Complex Carbohydrates--You can get healthy carbohydrate intake from vegetables, fruit and whole grains like brown rice and oats. Note this category does not include simple carbohydrates (the kind found in sugary foods.) The intake of simple carbs is destructive because they lead to fatigue (sugar crash) and development of permanent fat cells. If your goal is to get lean, build muscle and do it the healthy way, be sure to choose the right carbs.
- Protein--Chicken breasts, fish, egg whites, beans. Protein is the building block of muscle and provides vital nutrition for building muscle. Consume 0.7 to 0.8 grams of protein per pound of your body weight. The pre-workout meal should be your most protein heavy to feed your muscles amino acids.
- Eat small amounts of good fats in moderation. These include peanut butter, avocado, olive oil and some nuts. Avoid bad fats which include: butter, vegetable oil and animal fat.
- Omega 3 fatty acids--flax seed oil, salmon, walnuts, sardines. Omega 3s are very important for muscle repair.
- Milk and juice- skip sodas because they are a source of empty calories that offer no nutrition (you probably know this, but it can't be overstated.) Drink plenty of water to replenish your tissues and prevent dehydration. Drinking water clears your body of toxins and helps protect against injury.
It is important to be consistent with nutrition for building muscle. It will take will power to avoid giving in to cravings. Avoid supplementing your meals with junk food that will only create permanent fat cells. If you are tempted to splurge, try a larger portion of a healthy food option to satisfy your hunger.
Proper nutrition for building muscle will also aid in muscle recovery after your workout. Protein supplement shakes can help feed muscles hungry for nutrients post workout. A healthy meal consumed within 60 minutes of working out is ideal.
The importance of a great work out program when trying to gain muscle is understood. Having the best diet for lean muscle gain is crucial in reaching your goal of having a healthy muscular body. Using proper nutrition for building muscle is not difficult. All that is necessary to achieve this goal is learning basic nutrition principles. You will need to create daily meal plans that include only healthy building blocks for gaining lean muscle. Lastly, follow your meal guidelines faithfully. As with all diets for building muscle, discipline will yield results.
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