Mass Building Diets

Fall-Winter Mass Attack
by Thomas Woods

After graduating high school this past June, I spent a little too much time vacationing and not enough time concentrating on my diet, but I am glad to say that I have been back on track for about 4 weeks now and my strength levels are high once again. My training partner and I have decided on competing in a show around next April, so the next eight weeks are optimal to try and pack on as much muscle as we possibly can. For this process to be successful, it is going to take a lot of hard work and time, both inside and outside the gym. Building muscle is much more involved then throwing heavy weights around in the gym day after day, and then eating pizza and drinking beer night after night, making excuses as to why you can not begin to see results. Hitting the gym hard a good 4-5 times a week is a great start, but first I want to talk about something even more important: nutrition.

So you mean to tell me if I want to grow I have to eat healthy too? Yes, if you want to pack on quality lean mass with as little fat as possible, dieting and supplementing is about 60% of the equation. Sure, you can go in the gym and attack the weights for hours and fatigue all the muscle fibers and hit each head of every muscle to failure, but if you do not eat right, the muscle tissue will not rebuild fast enough and growth simply will not happen. Here are a few key components of nutrition that I have relied on:

• 1. Calories- I like to keep things as simple as possible when it comes to caloric intake. To gain weight, you have to eat more calories than your body uses. That's easy to understand, right? Now if you want the weight to be muscle, you need to be sure that you don't overdue the calories. Try to intake about 500 calories more per day than your bodies uses up, and this will lead to about a 1-2 pound weight increase per week. Anymore than this and you risk a higher percentage of body fat, something not many bodybuilders desire.

• 2. Protein- Protein is the most important source of calories that your body can use. Bottom line: more protein = more muscle mass. That's why, at 235 lbs., I try to pack in between 250-300 grams a day to be sure my muscles have enough protein to grow. Some bodybuilders like extreme numbers, sometimes 2-3 grams per pound of bodyweight, but your body could never use up that much protein. Another important piece of advice: only count sources that carry significant amounts of protein. Don't count the 5 grams you got from those 2 slices of wheat bread. Count the protein from your powders, bars, meats, and dairy products, and watch the numbers on the scale start to grow.

• 3. Carbohydrates- Carbohydrates need to be kept low when losing weight, but when gaining weight/bulking, you can eat enough to keep your body satisfied and stay energized for workouts, as long as you don't go overboard. For me, I have to keep them low, around 300g/day, even when trying to gain muscle. Anymore and I will soon balloon up. If you have a faster metabolism, feel comfortable taking in up to 2-3 grams per pound of bodyweight, but no higher. You have to experiment and get the instinctive feel as to how many carbs your body needs and can handle without gaining fat. The best sources that I stick to are oatmeal, rice, potatoes, vegetables, and whole wheat bread.

• 4. Water- Enough good can't be said about this important drink. But I'll keep it real short…drink lots of it, aim for around a gallon a day.

• 5. Fat- Enough bad can't be said about this. Well, people out there have been successful eating a higher fat diet, so I guess I'm just jealous. But the only fat I intake comes as a byproduct of my protein. My carbs are virtually fat-free, but, steak is not. So protein is where I get all of my fat, and I don't feel the need for any more.

Here is an outline of the diet I have been on and will continue through the eight-week muscle-building cycle.

• Meal 1- 7:00 AM- For the days first meal, I usually choose 2 scoops of Nitro-Tech with 12 oz. Milk, and either yogurt or oatmeal. This gets me around 50g protein and 50-55g carbs.
• Meal 2- 10:00 AM- Since I am a college student and have not found a microwave on campus, I am stuck eating cold food. So I throw a packet of grilled chicken strips in a bowl of lettuce and chow down, and usually eat some applesauce or a bagel, another 40g protein and around 40-50 g carbs.
• Meal 3- 12:30 PM- Usually I can make it home in time for some real protein, so I have some grilled chicken or turkey, along with rice or a baked potato and a green vegetable. Greens are usually very low in calories and very high in certain nutrients, so I try to eat these 2-3 times a day. Either peas, lima beans, green beans, or even lettuce, getting another 50-55g protein and 65g carbs.
• Meal 4- 3:30 PM- This meal is usually very similar to Meal 3.
• Meal 5- 6:00 PM- This is right after my workout, so it is usually another 2 scoops of Nitro-Tech, 12 oz. Milk and a banana. 50g Protein and 40g carbs.
• Meal 6- 7:00 PM- This is usually my big dinner, and this meal that varies most since my mom likes me to eat her cooking. She usually cooks clean food, but sometimes I can't eat it. It ranges from steak to chicken, or hamburgers (usually the 96% lean), along with rice and a green vegetable. Usually I can get 50g protein and 70g carbs at the expense of 10g of fat, sometimes a little worse, but you know how mothers are. (Luckily I have already explained to her that I won't be eating much of her cooking at all when I start 'cutting up' my body.)

Usually this will do me good enough for the rest of the day, but if I'm still hungry, I have an array of Pure Protein Bars, which are low in carbs, on hand anytime, day or night.

So if your goal is to gain 5, 10, or even 15 pounds of rock added to your body, then keep training hard, and consider trying some of my diet advice.

Bulking, How to do it Right
by Layne Norton

I get the same questions about bulking every day. Guys want to bulk up but have no idea how to do it. I'll show you how. I have never had a problem putting on weight because I know how to do it and I'm dedicated enough to do it. (I've gained 50 lbs. in 2.5 years, staying at close to the same body fat).

First off lets get some things straight. > > To put on muscle you're going to have to put on some fat. If you want to try and stay lean when your bulking you're going to end up not adding much weight, probably over trained (from lack of calories) and very, very frustrated. YOU CANNOT PUT ON MUSCLE AND LOSE FAT AT THE SAME TIME UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES! Now I know some people have done it and it is possible but usually it only works for people that are untrained, very obese, or on steroids.

Bodybuilding is not a two way street, it's a one way, your either bulking or cutting. I don't care how many crunches you do...when your bulking your six pack is going to be blurry. Deal with it. By working abs 2, 3, or a hundred times a week like some people do, your doing nothing but taking energy away from your other training and overtraining your abs. I only mention this because most people these days freak out over their abdominals.

Last but most importantly, TO PUT ON WEIGHT YOU MUST CONSUME MORE CALORIES THAN YOU EXPEND! YOU WILL NOT PUT ON WEIGHT IF YOU DON'T. This is why cardio is totally useless when bulking (besides maintaining cardiovascular health). All it does is take calories away from muscle building.

Now, with all of that out of the way I am going to show you how to maximize your muscular gains with minimal fat gain. Depending on your metabolism you should take your weight and multiply it by 15-20 and that will give you your calorie goal for the day. So for instance, since I weigh about 200 lbs my goal caloric intake for the day should be about 4000 calories.

Macronutrient Breakdown

Here is the breakdown of macronutrient intake when bulking:

• Protein- A lot of people drastically reduce their protein intake when bulking and it is true you do need less protein during bulking than you do when cutting. However, if you are training intensely you still need a lot more than most people. I would recommend at least 1 gram per pound of bodyweight.

• Carbohydrates- Carbs are very protein sparing and they give you energy to fuel your workouts, so you need a lot of them. Carbohydrates also increase your glycogen stores in your muscle cells. High muscle glycogen levels are associated with increased protein synthesis and anabolism. Carbs also stimulate a greater insulin response than any other macronutrient. An insulin spike after your workout has been clinically shown to increase your protein synthesis and recovery. Sugars elicit the greatest insulin response so consuming sugar after you workout can have a very anabolic effect. However this does not mean that you should eat sugar all day. I'm sure your asking yourself "why not, if sugar stimulates insulin and insulin is anabolic, why not try to stimulate insulin release all the time?" First of all hormones don't work that way. If you continually bombard your body with sugar it will react by decreasing its insulin sensitivity. Over a long period of time this can lead to type II late onset diabetes. (Obviously not good). Also, insulin is very anabolic but it is also the most fattening hormone in the body when it is over-secreted. The reason you can get away with a large insulin spike after your workout is because your body needs most of the calories you are giving it for muscle repair and glycogen storage. Because of this your body will most likely not store those calories as fat. During the rest of the day however you should try to stick with complex carbohydrates. I recommend consuming at least 2.5g-3.5g of carbs per pound of body weight.

• Fats- Fats are involved in hormone production and also have a protein sparing effect. Consuming .3 -.4 grams of good fats per pound of bodyweight is about what you need when bulking. I know a lot of guys that consume massive amounts of fat when bulking. My question is why? Your body can't do anything with the extra fat. If you are having trouble putting on weight take those extra calories and add them into your protein count for the day. If you are still having trouble making gains add more carbohydrates. They are both more useable by the body than fats and are more adept at helping the muscle building process. Only as a last resort would I add in extra fat.

Bulking Tips

Now here are some bulking tips to help put on the mass and keep the fat from piling on:

• Your breakfast should be your biggest meal of the day, besides your post workout meal. I normally eat 30-40 grams of protein at breakfast, 70-80g carbs, and about 10g fat.

• Post workout is definitely the most important meal of the day. After your workout you have two goals: refuel and rebuild. You need to refuel your glycogen stores and rebuild the damaged muscle tissue. I usually drink 30g whey protein with 100g simple carbs. I take this meal in liquid form because it is easier for the body to absorb. Then an hour later I have 75g complex carbs with 2 glasses of milk.

• Before bed is also very important. You will be going 8 hours without protein so you will want a slow digesting protein, I usually drink 4 glasses of milk because it is rich in casein (a slow digesting protein) The carbs in the milk will spare the protein while you sleep. Even though all the carbs in milk are sugar, milk sugar digests slowly, slower than oatmeal actually, so they will stay with you throughout the night.

• Don't go more than 3 hours without protein. You want to keep a positive nitrogen balance and eating every 3 hours ensures this. This is where the dedication part comes in to play. Many times I've brought protein shakes to college parties so I could get my protein fix. I also bring weight gainer shakes to my rugby games to prevent myself from going into calorie deficit. If you play football, hockey, soccer or any kind of sport that requires you to burn a lot of calories you'll need to make sure you account for these burnt calories in your daily totals. Try mixing a weight gainer up with water and put it in your bottle (your coach won't be able to see it this way).

• Eat 6-8 meals. This gives your body a steady stream of nutrients and it also tricks your body so it stores less fat.

• Get 8 hours of sleep.

• Drink at least a gallon of water per day. When your cells are hydrated, your protein synthesis increases.

• The opposite reason is why drinking alcohol decreases your protein synthesis, because alcohol dehydrates your cells. So if you're going to have a couple of drinks at least take water with you and sip on that as well.

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