Your Nutrition Guide To Muscle Growth
Muscle growth is the development of size in muscle cells, and in the number of muscle fibers. The complex signaling and adaptation of muscle growth is influenced by 3 specific anabolic vectors; training, nutrition and supplementation. In today’s article we are going to cover how to set yourself up for diet and supplementation success, to maximize your performance in the gym, and your gains.
I have identified some key areas for discussion; calories, protein timing, macronutrient distribution, peri workout nutrition, food selection and supplementation.
If there is one thing I see too often, it’s people either not setting their diet up for success, or not taking nutrition as seriously as they do with their training. This article will ensure no stone will be left unturned when it comes to maximizing your progress potential through nutrition.
Calories
To facilitate growth, we need an excess of calories in order to support the energetically expensive process of making more lean tissue.
The specific energy surplus required for this process is unknown. However, there is clear evidence of an anabolic stimulus being driven from an energy surplus, even independent of resistance training[1].
In a lot of cases, inadequate supply of energy in the diet is often the limiting factor for individuals increasing in muscle mass.
When it comes to consideration for a starting surplus, any recommendation has to take into account the expensive energetic processes associated with:
Creating tissue
Acute metabolic adjustments due to body changes and energy intake
Individual nuances like genetics, training status, biological sex, current body composition and energy status[2].
Until we have a greater understanding of the energy demand for all these moving parts, it is advised that a conservative approach is taken to creating an energy surplus[3]. It is recommended to start in the range of 350–470 k/cals (1,500–2,000 kJ) per day, but before you start setting your new calories, there are considerations to cover that are influenced by training age.
Beginners will respond better to a larger surplus, as they experience more muscle damage and have a greater growth potential. Intermediates sit somewhere in a moderate to high surplus as they are mid range in growth potential and recovery status. Advanced trainees will hypothetically respond to a lower surplus as they experience far less muscle muscle damage, recover very well and are much closer to their ceiling of growth potential, meaning their gains are much smaller.
To interpret your progress when implementing a starting surplus, assessing your rate of weight gain and evaluating your body composition on a regular basis are great tools. If either is moving in the wrong direction too quickly, adjust calories and review the process every 10–14 days.
A great model to use for weight gain in a surplus is the Alan Aragon/Helms Model:
Beginner Male 1–1.5% kg/bw/month
Beginner Female 0.5–0.75% kg/bw/month
Intermediate Male 0.5–1% kg/bw/month
Intermediate Female 0.25–0.5% kg/bw/month
Advanced Male 0.25%–0.5% kg/bw/month
Advanced Female 0.125–0.25% kg/bw/month
Protein timing
Protein intake and timing plays a vital role in managing skeletal muscle protein turnover. This is the relationship between muscle protein synthesis (MPS) and muscle protein breakdown (MPB). Muscle growth occurs when we are in a net positive protein balance, this is when the rate of MPS exceeds the rate of MPB.
For the muscle protein synthesis rate to elevate, we need either; a sufficient supply of amino acids in the bloodstream (hyperaminoacidemia), or our muscle fibers exposed to tension through resistance training. Done together, this synergistic relationship creates the best environment for an anabolic stimulus.
For this relationship to work best, we need to consider the timing and portion of our protein feedings. Fast digested complete proteins, proportional in essential amino acids (EAAs) and adequate leucine, are most effective in stimulating MPS. This MPS stimulation is acute though, as the MPS stimulating effects from the protein (particularly the leucine content), only lasts around 2–4 hours. This is why a protein serving in the range of 20–40g, every 2–4 hours is necessary.
Macro distributions
The distributions of macros is indicative of the goal, so to maximize growth we need to consider the ratios of protein, fats and carbs in relation to the total amount of energy consumed by the individual.
Protein: How much protein do we need to supply our body with to recover, and build more muscle tissue?
When we look at the data, the amount (in terms of g/kg) varies slightly. Morton et al. performed a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression to determine if dietary protein supplementation augments resistance exercise training (RET)-induced gains in muscle mass and strength. They came to the conclusion that after analyzing 49 studies, with over 1800 participants, that protein intakes over 1.6g/kg didn’t result in any more muscle growth[4].
When unpacking the International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand on protein and exercise, they recommend protein for muscle growth to be in the range of 1.4–2g/kg. These recommendations fall in line within the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range published by the Institute of Medicine for protein[5].
There are a few studies that show higher intakes in protein having a positive effect on body composition through fat loss, but the evidence is novel[6]. It is also believed that higher intakes like 3.3g/kg+ are unlikely to build more muscle than the recommended 1.6–2g/kg.
Looking at these findings we can suggest protein intake for muscle growth to be in the range of 1.6–2g/kg.
Fats: I recommend that 20–30% of your calories come from fat when in a surplus. The minimum fat intake I recommend is 0.5 g/kg per day which can go upward of 1–1.5+ g/kg per day in certain circumstances.
Biological females tend to respond better on higher fat ratios than males, that is most likely due to hormones and body fat % ratios being different to biological males, however it is still case specific.
Carbohydrates: Should make up the remaining allocation of your energy requirements. They should also be the largest allocation of energy within your diet by a considerable amount. Carbohydrates are the primary fuel source for moderate to vigorous activity, like strength training.
Not only can muscles store carbohydrates in the form of glycogen for energy usage at a later date, they also have muscle sparing qualities as well. Having an abundance of preferred energy in carbohydrates, in combination with a surplus of energy will make the usage of protein for fuel next to impossible.
Peri workout nutrition / Anabolic window consideration
Peri-workout nutrition refers to what an individual consumes pre, intra, and/or post workout. If you are serious about your training and maximizing your progress, putting some emphasis on the food and nutrients you consume around the workout is important.
To simplify things we are going to break this up into the 3 phases:
Pre Workout: A meal 1–2 hours before training that consists of an adequate serve of protein, large composition of carbs and low to moderate fat is good here. This will supply the body with sufficient energy from the carbs, amino acids from the protein and still digest at a moderate to fast rate with the low fat content.
If you are in a rush and have minimal time to eat pre training, a liquid meal of carbs and protein 30–45 mins pre training can suffice.
Intra Workout: If your session is long, intense and high volume, you could have a fast digesting carbohydrate drink, to support fuel demand during your session. This is personal preference and case specific.
Post Workout: Post training our body has an affinity to protein in order to start the recovery process from a session. Due to this affinity, it makes a lot of sense post session to have a faster digesting meal of protein and carbohydrates.
How long does this affinity to protein last? Just so we are all clear we are talking about the “anabolic window” and before you check out of this article, it’s not a joke. Scientific literature has shown that an anabolic window does exist post training. However, the period in which this window is open seems to vary based on training age. Untrained individuals or beginners have a period of up to 72 hours, whereas in more trained individuals that window is 6–24 hours. I have recently seen some researchers say that window could be as small as 2–4 hours in highly trained individuals, but the data is preliminary at best.
Food selection
One of the biggest challenges people face when in a surplus is meeting their macronutrient and energy demands. This is where food choices become important.
There should always be a solid foundation of lean meats, starches, whole grains, eggs, dairy, fruits and vegetables. These food types are nutrient rich, supplying the body with what it needs to function optimally. However the energy density of these food types can become a problem, as a lot of them are quite low making them voluminous when eating in large quantities. This can be a problem for people with high energy diets.
In a lot of cases once a foundation of solid nutrition has been met, we should look to more denser options for energy supply, to mitigate food volume and gastric distress. Foods like juices, cereals, dried fruit, crackers, sauces, spreads and some sugary goods can be useful in meeting energy demands, without the struggle of feeling full due to food volume.
This may seem silly to touch on but you would be amazed at the amount of people I have come across who need to eat a considerable amount of food and simply cannot get it down with the current food options they have. It takes strategic thinking and planning of your diet to meet these requirements.
Supplementation
Supplementation is very popular amongst bodybuilders, the market is saturated with products that claim to increase muscle mass, strength and performance, however for many of them their efficacy comes under scrutiny. We are going to focus on the dietary supplements that have some evidence to yield an ergogenic effect relevant to muscle growth.
Protein Powders: Protein powders are commonly used similar to wholefoods in the diet, however categorically they are still supplements. Meeting one’s protein requirements can be challenging for people, supplementing with protein is a convenient way of meeting those demands.
Creatine: Is one of the most used supplements by bodybuilders and strength athletes. Creatine can increase power output, workout performance and muscle cross sectional area.
Caffeine: Probably the most used and widely researched supplement in the world. Caffeine increases arousal and can reduce perceived effort and exertion. It can also increase power output and strength.
Beta- alanine: Has been shown to enhance muscular endurance and improve time to exhaustion. This can lead to a greater hypertrophic effect, due to increased workload.
Citrulline Malate: Can increase blood flow via higher concentration levels of arginine. Other notable benefits are fatigue reduction and increased work capacity.
What we have discussed in this article is a combination of big picture and little picture components. Some variables like calories, macronutrient and protein distribution are part of the fundamentals. These are important and should have a place in every person’s plan.
When we look at peri workout nutrition, food selection and supplementation, these components are not only case specific and highly individual, they are also the things that add up the 1%’ers over time. To some people they mean nothing, and that may be because their goals aren’t big enough, or they see no value to the immediate effort.
For others these 1%’ers matter for a variety of reasons. They may have poor genetics, so every edge matters, or they may want to be the best and look at the return of these small benefits in an accumulation over weeks, months and years.
I simply look at all these 1%’ers by asking myself, is there a disadvantage to not doing this?
Instead of always drawing thoughts and conclusions off research, data and other people’s opinions, sometimes we have to go with our own thoughts and rationales, based on facts, common sense and the willingness to not leave any stone unturned.
Thank you for reading.
References
[1]: “Gaining weight: the scientific basis of increasing skeletal ….” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10470448. Accessed 3 Jun. 2020.
[2]: “Is an Energy Surplus Required to Maximize Skeletal … — NCBI.” 20 Aug. 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6710320/. Accessed 3 Jun. 2020.
[3]: “Is an Energy Surplus Required to Maximize Skeletal … — NCBI.” 20 Aug. 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6710320/. Accessed 3 Jun. 2020.
[4]: “A Brief Review of Critical Processes in Exercise … — PubMed.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24791918/. Accessed 2 Jun. 2020.
[5]: “A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis and Meta … — PubMed.” 11 Jul. 2017, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28698222/. Accessed 2 Jun. 2020.
[6]: “Exercise and the Institute of Medicine … — NCBI — NIH.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16004827. Accessed 2 Jun. 2020.
