Body Building Diet
Discussion
Right, straight off I'm no body builder. I'm 165lbs of pure scrawn and work in IT (nerd, in other words)
I can run / cycle like there's no tomorrow but now I'm looking to build muscle.
My question is, how much actual food should I be eating to promote muscle growth? You read all these articles and it's all in grams per pound etc. While I'm sure if I was less lazy i could work it out, in your experience how much actual food should I be putting in my mouth?
i.e. 2 chicken breast a day, two eggs, a plate full of veg etc.
Cheers in advance!
Chris
I can run / cycle like there's no tomorrow but now I'm looking to build muscle.
My question is, how much actual food should I be eating to promote muscle growth? You read all these articles and it's all in grams per pound etc. While I'm sure if I was less lazy i could work it out, in your experience how much actual food should I be putting in my mouth?
i.e. 2 chicken breast a day, two eggs, a plate full of veg etc.
Cheers in advance!
Chris
I might get told off for saying this but if you're a skinny git, then just eat every f
king thing you can. And lift very heavy weights.
When I was weighed for my coffin (had an operation... why else would they weigh and measure you?) a year or so ago, I was ~10.5 stones, I weighed myself on Christmas Day and I was ~11.25 stones. The only difference is that I'm lifting heavy weights.
You'll need carbs before training to give you energy to lift and protein after to heal the muscles. But frankly, if you eat everything, you probably won't get fat unless you aren't as skinny as you claim...
king thing you can. And lift very heavy weights.When I was weighed for my coffin (had an operation... why else would they weigh and measure you?) a year or so ago, I was ~10.5 stones, I weighed myself on Christmas Day and I was ~11.25 stones. The only difference is that I'm lifting heavy weights.
You'll need carbs before training to give you energy to lift and protein after to heal the muscles. But frankly, if you eat everything, you probably won't get fat unless you aren't as skinny as you claim...
Hoofy said:
I might get told off for saying this but if you're a skinny git, then just eat every fking thing you can. And lift very heavy weights.
When I was weighed for my coffin (had an operation... why else would they weigh and measure you?) a year or so ago, I was ~10.5 stones, I weighed myself on Christmas Day and I was ~11.25 stones. The only difference is that I'm lifting heavy weights.
You'll need carbs before training to give you energy to lift and protein after to heal the muscles. But frankly, if you eat everything, you probably won't get fat unless you aren't as skinny as you claim...
Cool, thanks for that. I'm actually only skinny through a sking thing you can. And lift very heavy weights.When I was weighed for my coffin (had an operation... why else would they weigh and measure you?) a year or so ago, I was ~10.5 stones, I weighed myself on Christmas Day and I was ~11.25 stones. The only difference is that I'm lifting heavy weights.
You'll need carbs before training to give you energy to lift and protein after to heal the muscles. But frankly, if you eat everything, you probably won't get fat unless you aren't as skinny as you claim...
t load of running and cycling and a massively restricted diet. Naturally I'm of quite a big build, so put on fat quite easily.Hoofy said:
Oh, well, you'll have to experiment. Do less running and use the energy for lifting weights.
How restricted is your diet?
Just trying to keep things sensible. No chocolate, mayo, crisps, etc. Salmon / tuna / chicken for lunch followed by fruit, nuts and seeds throughout the day. Never really have a big tea either. How restricted is your diet?
Still no sign of a bloody six pack mind!!! ; )
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdd8mh_alistair-o...
Admittedly he is an MMA fighter as apposed to a bodybuilder but still, his diet and daily routine in general is staggering. 6 foot 5 and 260 plus pounds with well under 10% B.F
Admittedly he is an MMA fighter as apposed to a bodybuilder but still, his diet and daily routine in general is staggering. 6 foot 5 and 260 plus pounds with well under 10% B.F
I think you need to go and study the basics first.
If you can gain fat easy thats probably a good sign since most folk who have those qualities also have the ability to gain muscle.
Generally for most folk they are either losing fat or gaining muscle when it comes to these things hence the phrases 'bulk' and 'cut'. When bulking you'll be eating a little more calories than you require which should help to create the right environment for growth and then eating slightly less calories than required to cut the fat once the muscle is built.
There is a lot of conflicting arguments about the most effective way but the above has about 70 years of working proof behind it.
Now its also worth being very careful when taking advice from those on steroids (about 80% of the successful) because this completely changes the playing field and makes things possible that are impossible for a natural. Lots of folk who talk about 'clean bulking' are often on gear is my experience.
So my advice to you would be to learn the basics which I would consider are;
Diet; High protein/mod-low carbs/mod fats - 1.5-2g of protein per pound of bodyweight (vital!)
Exercise; Stronglifts or a similar program that focuses on the 3 basic exercise (Bench press, squat, deadlift) these 3 exercises build more muscle than all of the others put together. And I don't want to hear any nonsense about not needing to train legs because you cycle or some other junk! (preempt what I always hear). Missing any of these exercises will massively reduce your strength and size. Also ideally all exercises should be free weights, machines have their place but you'll ultimately gain far more from free weights.
Rest; Outside of weight lifting no other exercise to start with to see how you get on, training during rest periods robs your body of its chance of growth since energy is being expended else where instead of growing.
And that is it to start with, as time goes on you need to keep learning and trying new things although any program should be followed for at least 3 months before changing as constantly changing will reverse progress not make it faster!
If you can gain fat easy thats probably a good sign since most folk who have those qualities also have the ability to gain muscle.
Generally for most folk they are either losing fat or gaining muscle when it comes to these things hence the phrases 'bulk' and 'cut'. When bulking you'll be eating a little more calories than you require which should help to create the right environment for growth and then eating slightly less calories than required to cut the fat once the muscle is built.
There is a lot of conflicting arguments about the most effective way but the above has about 70 years of working proof behind it.
Now its also worth being very careful when taking advice from those on steroids (about 80% of the successful) because this completely changes the playing field and makes things possible that are impossible for a natural. Lots of folk who talk about 'clean bulking' are often on gear is my experience.
So my advice to you would be to learn the basics which I would consider are;
Diet; High protein/mod-low carbs/mod fats - 1.5-2g of protein per pound of bodyweight (vital!)
Exercise; Stronglifts or a similar program that focuses on the 3 basic exercise (Bench press, squat, deadlift) these 3 exercises build more muscle than all of the others put together. And I don't want to hear any nonsense about not needing to train legs because you cycle or some other junk! (preempt what I always hear). Missing any of these exercises will massively reduce your strength and size. Also ideally all exercises should be free weights, machines have their place but you'll ultimately gain far more from free weights.
Rest; Outside of weight lifting no other exercise to start with to see how you get on, training during rest periods robs your body of its chance of growth since energy is being expended else where instead of growing.
And that is it to start with, as time goes on you need to keep learning and trying new things although any program should be followed for at least 3 months before changing as constantly changing will reverse progress not make it faster!
nottinghamblue said:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdd8mh_alistair-o...
Admittedly he is an MMA fighter as apposed to a bodybuilder but still, his diet and daily routine in general is staggering. 6 foot 5 and 260 plus pounds with well under 10% B.F
Overeem used to fight in K1 don't know if he still does. Well known juicer though, ignore any press release endorsement or other packaged up 'advice' from such people. Admittedly he is an MMA fighter as apposed to a bodybuilder but still, his diet and daily routine in general is staggering. 6 foot 5 and 260 plus pounds with well under 10% B.F
your carb / protein / fat ratio will be very specific to you & needs to be worked out.
your rear end habits tell you pretty much where your balance is
start with a good mix of fruit, veg, pulses.
meats, fish & dairy are you best 'complete' protein sources (you say milk makes you sick? is this a dairy intolerance?)
Fats from avacado, walnuts, olives etc are essential for the growth.
protein for me is at 220 grammes a day, 6 dyas = 7 chicken breasts, 60 eggs whites, 7 large tins of tuna, 7 protein shakes, nuts & pulses make up the remainder
i wasted many years on to lower protein diet, (took to long to prep & eat) since upping to what I used to eat when I was a competing Bodybuilder my hunger craves have gone, my recovery is faster, I'm leaner but retained strength.
Diet side of BB - getting the right balance between Fat - Carbs - Protein is key to max results, you will get results if its wrong but just not max. in terms of size & speed of gain.
Training - heavy low reps & stick to the main power exercises for each body part, be strict with your consistency, keep good form & get plenty of rest & sleep, at the start force yourself to take a break every 8 -10 weeks if your really new to it, it'll stop you burning out which is very important.
you can move onto the more muscle shaping exercises later on when you have some size to work with, there's enough of the basic exercises to keep things varied & your body away from stagnating
wether you achieve what you want or not will depend on how disciplined, patient & tenacious you can be, good results taht will last a lifetime dont come over night or from a needle.
your rear end habits tell you pretty much where your balance is
start with a good mix of fruit, veg, pulses.
meats, fish & dairy are you best 'complete' protein sources (you say milk makes you sick? is this a dairy intolerance?)
Fats from avacado, walnuts, olives etc are essential for the growth.
protein for me is at 220 grammes a day, 6 dyas = 7 chicken breasts, 60 eggs whites, 7 large tins of tuna, 7 protein shakes, nuts & pulses make up the remainder
i wasted many years on to lower protein diet, (took to long to prep & eat) since upping to what I used to eat when I was a competing Bodybuilder my hunger craves have gone, my recovery is faster, I'm leaner but retained strength.
Diet side of BB - getting the right balance between Fat - Carbs - Protein is key to max results, you will get results if its wrong but just not max. in terms of size & speed of gain.
Training - heavy low reps & stick to the main power exercises for each body part, be strict with your consistency, keep good form & get plenty of rest & sleep, at the start force yourself to take a break every 8 -10 weeks if your really new to it, it'll stop you burning out which is very important.
you can move onto the more muscle shaping exercises later on when you have some size to work with, there's enough of the basic exercises to keep things varied & your body away from stagnating
wether you achieve what you want or not will depend on how disciplined, patient & tenacious you can be, good results taht will last a lifetime dont come over night or from a needle.
Turkey breasts, chicken, eggs, lean cuts of pork and fish are excellent source of protein which I normally consume. I don't really like protein shakes but have taken them on occasion when I'm on a bulking phase but I normally do weight circuits in between tennis year round as I don't want to bulk up too much which affects my mobility on the court.
Ordinary_Chap said:
I think you need to go and study the basics first.
If you can gain fat easy thats probably a good sign since most folk who have those qualities also have the ability to gain muscle.
Generally for most folk they are either losing fat or gaining muscle when it comes to these things hence the phrases 'bulk' and 'cut'. When bulking you'll be eating a little more calories than you require which should help to create the right environment for growth and then eating slightly less calories than required to cut the fat once the muscle is built.
There is a lot of conflicting arguments about the most effective way but the above has about 70 years of working proof behind it.
Now its also worth being very careful when taking advice from those on steroids (about 80% of the successful) because this completely changes the playing field and makes things possible that are impossible for a natural. Lots of folk who talk about 'clean bulking' are often on gear is my experience.
So my advice to you would be to learn the basics which I would consider are;
Diet; High protein/mod-low carbs/mod fats - 1.5-2g of protein per pound of bodyweight (vital!)
Exercise; Stronglifts or a similar program that focuses on the 3 basic exercise (Bench press, squat, deadlift) these 3 exercises build more muscle than all of the others put together. And I don't want to hear any nonsense about not needing to train legs because you cycle or some other junk! (preempt what I always hear). Missing any of these exercises will massively reduce your strength and size. Also ideally all exercises should be free weights, machines have their place but you'll ultimately gain far more from free weights.
Rest; Outside of weight lifting no other exercise to start with to see how you get on, training during rest periods robs your body of its chance of growth since energy is being expended else where instead of growing.
And that is it to start with, as time goes on you need to keep learning and trying new things although any program should be followed for at least 3 months before changing as constantly changing will reverse progress not make it faster!
Spot on. Best advice on here.If you can gain fat easy thats probably a good sign since most folk who have those qualities also have the ability to gain muscle.
Generally for most folk they are either losing fat or gaining muscle when it comes to these things hence the phrases 'bulk' and 'cut'. When bulking you'll be eating a little more calories than you require which should help to create the right environment for growth and then eating slightly less calories than required to cut the fat once the muscle is built.
There is a lot of conflicting arguments about the most effective way but the above has about 70 years of working proof behind it.
Now its also worth being very careful when taking advice from those on steroids (about 80% of the successful) because this completely changes the playing field and makes things possible that are impossible for a natural. Lots of folk who talk about 'clean bulking' are often on gear is my experience.
So my advice to you would be to learn the basics which I would consider are;
Diet; High protein/mod-low carbs/mod fats - 1.5-2g of protein per pound of bodyweight (vital!)
Exercise; Stronglifts or a similar program that focuses on the 3 basic exercise (Bench press, squat, deadlift) these 3 exercises build more muscle than all of the others put together. And I don't want to hear any nonsense about not needing to train legs because you cycle or some other junk! (preempt what I always hear). Missing any of these exercises will massively reduce your strength and size. Also ideally all exercises should be free weights, machines have their place but you'll ultimately gain far more from free weights.
Rest; Outside of weight lifting no other exercise to start with to see how you get on, training during rest periods robs your body of its chance of growth since energy is being expended else where instead of growing.
And that is it to start with, as time goes on you need to keep learning and trying new things although any program should be followed for at least 3 months before changing as constantly changing will reverse progress not make it faster!
VinceFox said:
Aye. It's a minefield tho, isn't it?
absolutely mind boggling to a beginner, although the OP sounds like he has exercise experience so thats a big help.I was overwhelmed by how complicated it was when I started at 15, I'd never done any studying of the body, exercise or diet at this age but was instantly hooked on BB, not read many books to that point but Robert Kennedy became my first friend ('Beef it' 'Get ripped' etc) no internet in the mid 80s either so local competitive bodybuilders took me under their wing, good bunch of guys & I was very lucky.
Their physiques & techniques spoke for themselves & you would gladly listen to them as their results supported what they were saying, sadly I'm not so sure the same can be said for much of the posters on here, the internet is good in some ways & not in others I guess.
Now in my 40s, have never stopped training or learning & it has given me so much self discipline, enough to do anything I put my mind to which is why I always speak very highly of it, as you say, huge amount to learn but worth it in ways I could never have seen at 15.
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