Weight gain through nutrition
The very first and most correct step to gaining weight, gaining good health and, in the long term, building good muscle mass is proper nutrition.
But if you eat a lot and still remain thin, then you must have made a common mistake among young people - overestimating the quality of the food you consume. This is common to all people with a thin physique. But the fact is that all food, be it fast food or snacks sold in stores, often does not meet the body’s needs for a certain amount of calories.
If the energy value of these products is kept at a certain and acceptable level, then the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates contained in this food does not meet the needs of the body. By eating this way, you will not only not be able to gain weight quickly, you will not even be able to get off the ground.
Therefore, in order to get the desired result and become several kilograms heavier, you will need to be responsible about what, when and how much you eat. A specialist in this field can help you with this - a doctor or trainer, or a specialized Internet resource where you can calculate the required amount of food and consider its quality.
Real food is beneficial only if it is consumed wisely and in strictly calculated quantities. You also need to get used to the estimated number of calories consumed. How well nutrients will be absorbed depends on this.
The fact is that if you immediately switch to a food consumption pattern:
number of calories 45 times body weight,
you will simply pass it on. It will be almost impossible to eat that much food at once and get the maximum benefit from it, unless you have an extremely fast metabolism and ALREADY consume that much energy.
Otherwise, you should start with small portions and eat until you feel full. But from the very beginning, get used to a stable pace - eating every 3-4 hours. This rhythm of nutrition suits almost everyone - it will not leave you hungry and will keep you in good shape all day. In addition, by eating this way, you eliminate the possibility of overeating in the evening or skipping breakfast, which is an unacceptable and unforgivable mistake when following a diet.
Keith second. Strength training
Once you have figured out how to eat to gain muscle mass, you can move on to training. Only a trainer can develop a full-fledged training program that is suitable for you. This is especially important for beginners, since incorrect exercise technique can, at best, negate all efforts, and at worst, lead to injuries. If you decide to work out in the gym, be sure to take at least a few lessons with a trainer. Here we will provide only general recommendations that need to be taken into account when gaining muscle mass.
First you need to understand that muscle growth can be achieved either by increasing the size of muscle fibers or by increasing their number. At first, growth is also possible due to increased blood flow and an impact on the energy depot of muscles. Therefore, the sequence of actions will be something like this:
- We start training with moderate weights in a high-repetition mode (15-20 repetitions per set) to provoke metabolic stress. Such training will increase the blood supply to the muscles and maximize the branching of the network of blood vessels. In addition, training with light weights is minimally traumatic and allows you to feel the muscles and practice technique. It is better to structure the workout in such a way as to involve the whole body. Basic exercises such as deadlifts, squats, bench press, pull-ups are perfect. The body will “respond” with fairly rapid muscle growth, but only to a certain limit.
- Once you feel that your workouts have stopped bringing results, you can begin to increase the size of your muscle fibers. This process is called hypertrophy and is achieved through microdamage to muscle fibers. The body reacts to this as if it were an injury and, when recovering, compensates for it with a reserve so that the injury does not recur. A very rough analogy can be made with scars on the skin. For such growth, a constant increase in load is necessary, that is, the weight of the training apparatus. Choose a weight with which you can perform a maximum of 4-8 repetitions. The last rep should always be at the limit. Training days with this type of training are divided by muscle groups, for example, one day we train the chest, another day the legs, the third the back.
- Since muscle cell growth is limited, progress will sooner or later stop. To achieve an increase in the number of muscle fibers, the so-called hyperplasia, volumetric, high-intensity training is required. But this is a topic that requires a separate article. Moreover, before it makes sense to start this stage, about two years of regular training will pass.
Based on this, you can immediately answer the question of whether it is possible to gain muscle mass at home. Can. But only up to a certain point, since at home you are unlikely to be able to provide a sufficient increase in load. In any case, wherever you train, it is important to work for quality and feel the muscle you are working.
Another axiom is that the more varied your workouts, the better your growth. The body quickly adapts to one type of load; even small changes in exercises will provide a good shake-up. And you need to completely change your training program every 2-3 months. People often ask how a girl can gain muscle mass; we will answer this question at the end of the article. Spoiler: almost exactly the same.
Menu and diet
As for the food that should be preferred, the most common and familiar food that we consume almost every day is a good place to start. But you'll likely have to change the way it's prepared. In order to eat normally at home, you will have to give up many of the usual methods of preparing food - frying, fat and even factory-made sauces. Despite the fact that they have a high calorie content, their consumption brings virtually no benefit to the body. Also, for each meal you will need to allocate special foods that it is advisable to eat at a certain time of the day.
Breakfast for weight gain
Thus, for breakfast, which, by the way, you will need to get used to and eat it within an hour after getting out of bed, it is best to eat porridge seasoned with sunflower oil and an omelet with vegetables. You can add cottage cheese and dried fruits to them.
Cocktails can be used as a drink. They can be prepared from anything - milk, cottage cheese, fruit, seasoning it all with honey. To make breakfast seem tastier and awaken your appetite, you can add your favorite dishes or certain foods to it.
Lunch when dieting for weight gain
You should not rush during lunch - all people, even those who do not follow any diets or programs, are strongly advised to eat slowly, chewing everything thoroughly. Thus, the body’s productivity increases, and the energy it spent on digesting large pieces goes into a much more useful direction.
It is advisable to start lunch with a salad or just vegetables. After a plant-based meal, soup is necessary. The thicker the soup, the better. A special requirement for this dish: no frying as a seasoning, only boiled ingredients. For the second course, a side dish of mashed potatoes or pasta with a portion of meat or fish will be a wonderful end to the meal. A small cup of natural coffee wouldn't hurt either. If desired, you can add sugar or even cream to it.
Light dinner
For dinner, it is advisable to eat only light foods, or those that do not burden the digestive system. All fats are definitely excluded, just like fried foods. But oddly enough, you can afford meat - veal and even pork. They are digested very slowly by the body, thus not affecting well-being or causing any particular problems.
It is best to end the day with fruit - for example apples. They will never be superfluous, and keeping them in the house in sufficient quantities is easy and simple.
When it comes to snacking throughout the day, nuts will help you here. Any nuts, no matter what they are.
Due to the high content of various vegetable fats, they interrupt the feeling of hunger if it arises and allow you to saturate the body. Regarding how varied your food should be, keep in mind that different types of foods are digested differently. It is advisable that each meal throughout the day consist of similar and homogeneous foods. This way you will help yourself get rid of heaviness and by the time of your next meal you will be completely ready.
Question about quick results
Often people want to develop strength quickly and effectively. Becoming physically stronger quickly is only possible if you follow a training schedule and devote yourself completely to them. Also, special devices – simulators – are used for these purposes. For example, Sotsky Bison-1M.
Even with a daily 15-minute session with it, you will seriously strengthen your hands and forearms.
If you are faced with a plan to quickly increase strength, then keep in mind that the very concept of “quickly” is quite relative and individual. Here you cannot do without comprehensive work, both with and without shells, and proper nutrition.
With some effort, you can become somewhat stronger in one week. But this will only be a weak local result. In this regard, a week is extremely short. You need constant training with full gear.
It does not have to be based on programs for athletes. Basic complexes will be enough:
- Bench presses in a lying position.
- Deadlift.
- Press up.
- Bent over barbell work.
- Pull-ups.
- Squats with weights.
For fruitful work, use weights that are limiting for you. For example, place enough weights on a barbell to perform 3-5 reps. Also, increase the load over time.
Take a 2-5 minute break between sets. Take this time to stretch your muscles.
The “pyramid” technique helps a man become physically stronger. It is based on the systematic development of the weight of the projectiles and reducing the number of repetitions.
Example: in the 1st cycle – 11 repetitions, weight – 70 kg, in the 2nd – 10, weight – 75, in the 3rd – 9, weight – 80.
But this method requires enormous energy consumption. For climactic approaches, it is important to maintain a lot of strength. A slightly different principle can be applied. Example - you set a task to squat with a mass of 100 kg and do 5 repetitions. First, thoroughly stretch your knees. Take a weight of 50 kg, squat 6 times. The next load is 60 kg – 5 times, then 70 kg – 4 times, 80 kg – 3 repetitions, 90 kg – 2 repetitions. After this, you can implement the designated plan.
Recipe for gaining muscle mass
Among other weight gain methods that guarantee fast and productive weight gain, there are drugs called brewer's yeast. This is just a name and they are not directly related to beer - they will not increase your belly.
But this yeast is directly related to weight gain and muscle growth. Thanks to the amino acids they contain, eight of which are not produced by the body, vitamins that improve the absorption of these amino acids and proteins, such yeast allows you to cope with any thinness. The only condition for their use is compliance with the diet.
Many videos describe the process of weight gain, paying attention to the process itself, but few talk about the indirect causes of thinness. And there are enough of them. First of all, these are health problems that are associated with internal organs, the functioning of the glands, and the condition of the spine.
Weight is also largely influenced by well-being and mood - during constant stress, we, on the contrary, lose weight, and too little water consumed leads to the fact that the body begins to dry out, losing moisture. By drinking the optimal amount of water per day, you normalize the balance of the entire body. If you want to drink enough water, remember the simple formula: 30 ml of clean water per 1 kg of weight.
I hope this information was useful to you! Subscribe to the news of the blog of the adventure project “On the Edge” and always be aware of the latest events. See you later!
How to create a training schedule
Let's talk about how often you should exercise.
It all depends on how much free time you have. Professional trainers advise training 3-4 times a week. Less - muscles will not grow. More - you will overtrain, and the muscles will not recover.
I recommend training every day. Just don’t do the same exercises – alternate.
For example, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday - pull-ups and abs. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday - push-ups and planks.
If your goal is to strengthen your muscles
If your goal is not to become a bodybuilder, but simply to strengthen your muscles, then running and morning exercises will be enough for you. Run for 10-15 minutes in the morning and do the following set of exercises:
- Turn your head back and forth and left and right 6 times.
- Rotate your shoulders 15-20 times forward and backward.
- Pelvic tilts. 10 times in each direction.
- 20-25 squats.
- 10-15 push-ups.
- Exercise bike for 30 seconds.
- Stretching. Sit on the floor. Spread your legs and stretch.
This is how you can stay fit in just 30 minutes a day.
Tilts. He bent his legs a little.