Muscle building nutrition wants to be well planned. Crunching a protein bar here and there will not make your muscles grow. We tell you how to do it right!
So you want to get some nice defined muscles? I can understand that. It was the same for me.
I then wondered why my training partner's muscles were growing and mine were not. Do you feel the same way? Tip: Take a close look at what she eats and what you eat.
The difference lies in the muscle building diet. Because for something to happen, you need to provide your body with the right fuel.
Table of contents
- What constitutes muscle building diet
- Nutrition plan muscle building - 6 rules you must follow
- Why you should know your total energy expenditure
- What macronutrients make up muscle building diet
- Delicious food for your muscles
- Why micronutrients are so important in muscle building nutrition
- What muscle building nutrition and athletic progress have in common
The right nutrients help grow muscle groups.
Constant strength training is enormously important for a defined and muscular body. But 70% of your success is the muscle building diet!
But that doesn't mean that you should train less. Because even with the right diet and too little training, it's nothing with the muscles.
These are the best exercises for muscle building without equipment!
Or to put it another way: Without the right nutrition, you can still work your butt off. It will be much harder for you to build muscle.
We need to challenge our bodies when we workout. The muscles need regular stimuli to become stronger. And for them to succeed, we need to supply them with nutrients.
Mmmh delicious: These muscle building snacks, you must try!
What constitutes muscle building diet
If you eat the wrong food, you have to train much more intensively and longer to build muscle mass. It is important that you coordinate muscle building nutrition and workout.
Example for beginners
- You eat like you did before, so like the average person you eat pretty carelessly and work out 3-4x a week.
- You eat healthy, balanced and protein-rich. But you do not work out.
- You eat according to your body and your workouts. And train 3-4 times a week.
In which case do you think progress will be greatest?
Beginners who follow example 1 will see small progress at the beginning. But that flattens out again relatively quickly. And then nothing goes on at all.
In example 2 you will not be able to build muscles. You will most likely lose a few kilograms. Maybe even a muscle or two will show up, provided you have a workday that really challenges your body.
Do you know the difference between muscle building in women and men?
In example three, you will make tremendous progress. You can watch your body become stronger and more toned through muscle building nutrition.
Tip: With a Sling trainer* You don't need a gym! You can do all kinds of very challenging exercises for your body in your living room! One Slingtrainer* you can order from Amazon.
Those who combine muscle building and nutrition correctly from the beginning have a clear advantage.
Advanced and professional athletes know that the nutrition factor is crucial. It helps you increase performance and regenerate faster.
Psst: Do you already know these juicy curd pancakes for breakfast?
Nutrition plan muscle building - 6 rules you must follow
If you follow these rules and train diligently, you will soon watch your muscles grow.
- Breakfast always.
- All meals must contain high quality protein
- Take at least two snack breaks during the day. In addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Eat a high-protein snack before and after your workout
- Don't forget about dinner. At night your body needs power to grow muscles
- Drink a lot. Muscle tissue consists 75% of water. In addition, you are guaranteed to sweat again later during the workout.
For your body to build muscle, you need to distribute macro and micronutrients optimally.
These foods contain particularly high levels of protein!
Especially protein-rich foods should be on your menu now. Protein helps you build muscle.
By the way, delicious and rich in protein is the Protein Shake from Foodspring. 100 grams of protein powder contains 80 grams of protein, which is more than in any other shake.
If you are interested in Foodspring products, I can give you a Foodspring discount code give. With the code WGW15FS you get 15% on your order!
And the shakes are also delicious in taste. You can choose from 14 different flavors. My favorite is coconut :)
Why you should know your total energy expenditure
Very well. So we have to eat so that the muscles grow. But still, the question is: how much? And that's exactly why you need the total energy metabolism.
If you don't eat enough, you won't notice any progress. Your body simply doesn't have enough energy to build muscle.
If you eat too much, you will most likely put on body fat.
How much body fat is normal? Calculate it now!
So we need two numbers. These are the basal metabolic rate and the power metabolic rate.
Our body needs the basal metabolic rate to be able to run all vital processes. That is, to keep the cardiovascular system and the organs in good shape.
How high it is depends on how old you are, how much muscle you have and how fit you are.
And then there is the performance metabolism. This is all the additional expenditure for our body. That is, the amount of energy that the body needs over and above the basal metabolic rate.
GU = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) - (4.7 x age in years)
There is also a formula for total energy expenditure. But you can calculate both much easier online. Here you can calculate your Determine your basal metabolic rate and your total energy expenditure.
Super quick recipe for DIY whole wheat rolls!
What macronutrients make up muscle building diet
If you want to have muscles, you simply have to eat masses of protein - Uh, bullshit! For our muscles to grow, they need carbohydrates, protein and fats.
To be precise, we should get 50% of our energy from carbohydrates, 20% from protein, and 30% from healthy fats. They are also called macronutrients.
Protein as the building block of your muscles
20-30% of your daily calories
Our muscles need protein (protein) to grow. But it also plays a role in regeneration and nutrient supply. The protein is needed for the repair of muscle fibers and to build new muscle cells.
So easy you make a delicious protein shake (without powder)!
Proteins consist of amino acids that our body cannot produce itself. More precisely, they are called "essential amino acids". Only if you take enough of them, it can succeed with the muscle building diet.
Tip for those with a sweet tooth: 3 K Protein Powder with Cookies & Cream flavor from Nutri Plus. You can order the lactose-free protein powder from Amazon.
How much protein your body needs
The German Nutrition Society recommends 0.8 grams of protein per body weight for an adult. However, this applies to everyone who does not exercise.
If you're doing a regular workout and want to see progress quickly, it should be 1.5 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
You should not overdo it. Too much protein can damage the kidneys.
This breakfast makes your muscles grow!
Powder, bars and co. can support you to take enough protein to you. But it also works without dietary supplements.
If you want to take some, you should pay attention to good quality. I take Whey Protein from Foodspring from time to time.
These protein-rich foods should not be missing from any diet plan for muscle building:
- Low-fat dairy products such as curd, milk, skyr, cottage cheese and co.
- Eggs
- Fish like salmon, herring, tuna or pollock
- Legumes such as chickpeas, peas, beans and lentils
- Soy products such as tofu, soy milk and yogurt
- Nuts, seeds and kernels of all kinds
- Whole grain products such as rice, bread and pasta
- Lean meat like chicken and turkey
Of course, you can also build muscle without meat and fish. I myself have not eaten meat for a long time and must say: It works wonderfully!
Plant-based protein sources that are mega delicious!
If you're a vegetarian, you should meet your protein needs through low-fat milk and eggs. And of course, all the foods that vegans eat for their muscle building diet: Nuts, legumes, grains, vegetables.
Protein on plant foods is more poorly utilized by the body. You have to combine protein-rich foods cleverly. For example, like this:
- Wholemeal bread with cheese or herb curd cheese
- Muesli with yogurt or milk
- Potatoes with egg or cottage cheese
3 super easy recipes for DIY fitness bread!
Carbohydrates for more muscle growth
40-50% of your daily calories
Can't muscle building nutrition also be done without carbs? No. If you want to build muscle, carbohydrates must be part of your diet.
Where protein provides the building material for the new muscle masses, carbohydrates provide energy for strength training.
These foods are particularly high in healthy carbohydrates!
Carbs provide energy
If you want to grow the muscles, you have to tense them for a while during the workout. To be precise, it should be 20 to 50 seconds before you take a break.
And that's exactly what our body needs glycogen, a form of carbohydrate.
Without enough carbs, you can't train with good intensity. And that in turn ensures that you can't stimulate your muscles to grow.
If you eat too few carbohydrates, the muscle is actually broken down instead of built up.
Fast and slow carbs
Yes, you should give up carbohydrates. But only those that are called "fast carbs". This means white flour products and those with a lot of household sugar. In normal everyday life you give them a wide berth. It's different when you have a workout coming up.
An hour before a workout or right after, they can provide you with quick energy.
Normally, you reach for slow carbs from whole grain products, oatmeal and legumes. They support muscle building. Complex carbs provide an organism with energy evenly and slowly.
So delicious and so easy: make protein bars yourself!
Fats are important for the muscles
20-30% of your daily calories
Doing without fats completely is very unhealthy. Our body needs them to run like clockwork. But still you have to be careful with the muscle building diet. Because there are many foods with hidden fats.
That's why your protein sources should always be low in fat. Basically, we eat too much fat.
- 10% saturated fatty acids from animal foods
- At least 13% monounsaturated fatty acids from avocado and vegetable oils
- Maximum 7% polyunsaturated fatty acids (= omega 6 and omega 3) from fish
Particularly recommended: canola oil, walnut oil, linseed oil, soybean oil and olive oil.
Delicious food for your muscles
Now you know that we need protein, fat and carbohydrates. But what are the best ones? And which should not be missing in the muscle building diet?
It is important that your diet consists of high-quality proteins and complex carbohydrates.
Can I work out with sore muscles?
High quality protein for the muscles
- Low fat dairy products
- Low fat meat (beef, turkey, chicken)
- Fish
- Lentils, beans, peas, chickpeas, soy, corn and quinoa
- Potatoes
- Chicken eggs
High quality carbohydrates for the muscles
- Whole grain products
- Oat flakes and spelt flakes
- Amaranth, Quinoa
- Vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peppers, spinach
These foods contain especially many complex carbohydrates!
High quality fats for the muscles
- Vegetable oils
- Avocados, Flaxseed*sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds
- All kinds of nuts
Why micronutrients are so important in muscle building nutrition
It doesn't help much to eat a lot of protein, carbohydrates and fats if your body is lacking in micronutrients.
Micronutrients are the basis for your nutrition. They help with muscle building, protein metabolism and much more.
That is why magnesium does not help against sore muscles!
There are nutrients that you should definitely keep an eye on if you want to build muscle. The best thing to do is to go to the doctor for a complete blood count and make sure everything is in order.
- Iron: involved in muscle functions
- Potassium: involved in muscle functions
- Calcium: Regulates muscle contraction
- Magnesium: involved in protein metabolism
- Sodium: important for muscle contraction
- Vitamin B6: involved in protein metabolism
- Vitamin D: Regulates the calcium balance
- Zinc: Has an influence on training performance
Many of these micronutrients are lost through sweat. So with every workout that really makes us sweat, we lose not only water, but also potassium, calcium and co.
This is how you train your strength in the living room!
What muscle building nutrition and athletic progress have in common
The secret behind more muscle is that you are eating more calories than you actually need.
We need a daily calorie buffer so that our body begins to form muscle mass. Only then can it form new muscle fibers and structures.
If we keep the calorie intake at a minimum, it takes the energy for other things that seem more important to the body right now.
At the same time, of course, you have to really step on the gas during your workout. Otherwise you run the risk of putting on body fat.
I have a basal metabolic rate of 1300 calories, a power metabolic rate of 360 calories. This results in 1660 calories. In order for my body to start building muscle, I need to supply it with 1800 calories. And of course I have to train properly - at least 4 units per week.
I use one of them as an endurance session. I either go running or swimming. The other three sessions involve bodyweight exercises.
You want sexy butt muscles? Then look here!
Our conclusion
Muscle building diet consists of a lot of protein and carbohydrates. It is important that you do not eat any ready-made products and cook yourself. So you always have exactly in view what you feed your body.
If you train diligently, you will soon be able to celebrate noticeable progress!
Good luck! :)
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