How Many Calories You Need to Gain Muscle Mass

How many reps I should do to build muscle? How many calories should I consume to gain muscle mass? There are many different answers and different opinions on these questions, but one is sure - you need to consume more calories than you burn every day. You need to constantly be in caloric surplus.

But, that isn't so easy and it doesn't mean that if you eat twice more calories than you need that you will build twice as muscle. Also, that doesn't mean that you should eat anything. By the way, check out the list of muscle-building foods you should include in your diet:

20 Foods You Should Eat to Gain Lean Muscle Mass

There is an upper limit of nutrients that you can consume and turn into muscle which means that there is no point in eating calories that would just be stored as fat. Of course, it is very common that you will gain some fat while trying to build muscle mass but that doesn't mean that you should eat more that it is enough for the muscle to grow. 

Now you are probably thinking something like this:

But those big guys on YouTube say that I need to consume at least 5000 calories to gain muscle mass.

Your muscles need enough calories and enough proteins to grow, you don't need to consume 5000 calories every day if you weigh about 170 pounds. That would be too much and many nutrients will be stored as fat. Protein also, if you consume more proteins that you need that excess of proteins will be stored as fat and nothing else. 

There is no natural way to build 10 pounds of muscle every week, it doesn't exist. You need to focus on steady lean muscle gains. The whole point of muscle growth is to pursue progressive overload every week and to be in caloric surplus every day.

SO, HOW MANY CALORIES DO YOU NEED TO GAIN MUSCLE?

Some people say that one needs to multiply his body weight in pounds by 16 - 17, well I recommend you to multiply your body weight by 20. You might gain some fat along the way but if your diet is perfect there is nothing special to worry about. You can always shred one or two pounds of fat after you reach the size that you always desired.

Let's do some calculation for all you lazy people over there:

If you weigh about 160 pounds, for example, you need to multiply that number by 20 as I already mentioned which will be equal to 3200. You can add about 100 calories more if you want to be sure that you consumed enough, but I think that 3200 calories will be enough for you muscles to grow. Now, as you gain more and more muscle mass every week, you are going to need more calories and more proteins. If you reach the 170 pounds weight then multiply that number by 20 and the result is - 3400 calories. 

I know that there are many recommendations that differ from mine and that is mostly because I recommend more calories than someone else, or less than someone else but you can adopt this advice and see if it works for you. I believe that it does, especially if you are just started your bulking phase.

ALSO READ:

High-Protein Foods for Lean Muscle Gain

Mass-Building Workout Routine for Beginners

Best Exercises to Build Muscle Mass

Gain Muscle and Strength Fast with Creatine Supplement

There have been many questions about creatine since long ago. Today, creatine is the most researched and best-selling supplement. 

What is Creatine?

Creatine is a natural substance that can be found in red meat and fish. Our skeletal muscle contains 95% of creatine while the heart, brain, and tests hold the remaining 5%.

Why is Creatine such a popular supplement?

Creatine is widely researched and proven that have many benefits for all athletes. Yes, it is a supplement only for athletes who are into intensive training like lifting weights or running. A person that don't do any sport or lifting in the gym can't have any benefit from consuming creatine.

What is the best thing about creatine? It delivers results to most of the users very fast. 

Out of all workout supplements on the market today, creatine stands out as one of the best ever.

But, you need to know - Creatine is not any kind of magical drinks or anabolic steroids. It is totally natural supplement and you'll need to train hard and eat a lot of healthy foods if you want to build muscle or gain strength. Consuming creatine will only enhance your performance and boost muscle growth.


How to Gain Muscle Mass - 5 Principles of Muscle Hypertrophy





When it comes to building a great physique and gaining strength creatine is without any cons, absolutely. 



Many studies found that creatine supplements are increasing lean muscle mass when combined with resistance training and a good muscle building diet. It is also one of few supplements that is proven to increase strength. 




Benefits of Creatine Supplementation:


- Increases Lean Muscle Mass
- Improves Maximal Strength
- Enhances Muscle Endurance
- Boosts Energy Production
- Fat Loss




Does Creatine help people that want to lose fat?



Of course! Creatine helps you gain lean muscle which indirectly helps burning fat.

BEST CREATINE

Creatine comes in many forms, powder, pills or liquid. Newer versions of creatine give good results, but the most effective creatine is creatine monohydrate. Creatine in powder form is the most usable by the body.


It is not only the most effective version of creatine, it is also the cheapest. You don't need to buy the more expensive form of creatine when you can get the best effect with creatine monohydrate. It is cheap and cheerful.




How and When to take Creatine?


The best time to take creatine is after the workout. You can add it to your post-workout protein shake if you like. You can also consume 3 - 5 grams of creatine before a workout for better performance but you will get most benefits if you drink it after your workout.


I recommend taking creatine with water or fruit juice. Creatine mixed with milk is not so good option because of digestive problems.



You do not need any loading or maintenance phase. Consume 3 to 5 grams of creatine every day and you will gain strength and muscle mass. I recommend a short break from creatine after two months of consuming, but it is not necessary. 



Creatine is totally safe for consuming for all athletes except for people that have any kind of kidney problems. Anyway, for healthy individuals creatine won't make any harm. 



You can also check out which 5 supplements are best for muscle building:



Top 5 Muscle-Building Supplements

The Secret of UFC Fighters for Building Muscle Mass Fast

We know that training routine of UFC fighters consists of a lot of cardio and most of them look shredded. But, how do they succeed to gain 20 pounds of lean muscle for one month when they want to move up a weight class? Is it possible to gain that amount of lean muscle mass for that time?

Well, it is possible. No matter that many people say that is physiologically impossible to gain more than one pound of lean muscle per week. And of course, absolutely without using steroids.

Dr. John Berardi, Georges St-Pierre's nutritional coach tried that experiment on one UFC fighters and he gained 20 pounds of muscle for 28 days. The experiment started with the guy that had 169 pounds and after one month he weighed in at 190 pounds.

More information about this experiment you can find on the blog of author Tim Ferris:  How To Gain 20 Pounds In 28 Days: The Extreme Muscle Building Secrets of UFC Fighter

Most important things for building muscle mass are diet and training routine. Check out what training routine and diet plan were used for this experiment:

MONDAY - Upper Body Strength

Bench Press - 5 sets x 5 reps (5 RM - rep maximum)

Weighted Chin Up - 4 sets x 6 reps with 6 RM

Weighted Dips - 4 sets x 8 reps with 8 RM

Overhead Press - 4 sets x 10 reps with 10 RM

Barbell Curls - 4 sets x 10 reps with 10 RM

Weighted Crunches - 3 sets x 8 reps

TUESDAY - Hurricane Sprints

Round 1:

Sprint on treadmill at 10 mph for 25 seconds

1 set x 20 crunches

1 set x 20 table-top crunches

Repeat 3 times from the beginning and rest 2 minutes before Round 2.

Round 2:

Sprint on treadmill at 11mph for 25 seconds

1 set x 20 knee-grab crunches

Repeat 3 times then rest 2 minutes.

Round 3:

Sprint on treadmill at 12mph for 20 seconds

1 set x 20 bicycle crunches

Repeat 3 times this round too.

WEDNESDAY - Off

THURSDAY - Hurricane Energy Circuit 

Rope Swings

10 double rope swings

10 alternating rope swings

10 rotations

Kettlebell Swings

10 reps with both hands

10 reps for each hand

Medicine Ball Slams

Sledge Hammer Swings

Ladder

FRIDAY - Upper Body Hypertrophy

Close Grip Bench Press - 4 sets x 8 reps

Cable High Pull - 4 sets x 10 reps

Triceps Pushdown - 4 sets x 15 reps

Cable Rows - 4 sets x 8 reps

Dumbbell Curls - 3 sets x 8 reps each arm

Half-kneeling Chops - 3 sets x 5 reps

SATURDAY - Lower Body Strength

45 Degree Back Raise

1 set x 10 reps with bodyweight

1 set x 8 reps with 25 pounds

1 set x 8 reps with 45 pounds

1 set x 8 reps with 70 pounds

Barbell Squat 

3-4 Warmup Sets

5 sets x 8 reps (8 RM)

Deadlift

3-4 Warmup Sets

5 sets x 8 reps (8 RM)

SUNDAY - Off

The sample of diet plan that fighter followed for gaining 20 pounds of lean muscle:



Breakfast

Breakfast pudding

Blend these ingredients:

2 frozen bananas
1/4 cup of almond milk
3 scoops casein protein powder
2 squares high cacao chocolate 


Side dish

4 pieces of whole grain bread
2 tbsp of peanut butter
2 tbsp of jam
multivitamin
1 tbsp of creatine in coffee or green tea


Pre-Workout

500 ml water
10 grams of BCAA's


Post-Workout

1.5lb any type of lean meat
3 cups of vegetables
2 large sweet potatoes
1 tbsp of Udo's 3.6.9 oil


Anytime meal

1lb of any type of lean meat
3 cups of vegetables
1/2 cup of sauerkraut
2 servings of fruit 
1 tbsp of fish oil



This diet plan provides a lot of healthy calories that are needed to feed muscles to grow. 



I know that a lot of you that are reading this would probably be very skeptical and write comments like this is not possible, researchers have shown that one can't build such amount of lean muscle mass for that time and other comments like that. Before you do so, I must say that this was what Dr. John Berardi claim that is possible and proven so you can check out one of his comments about this experiment:


Dr. John Berardi, Georges St-Pierre's nutritional coach:

In the end, I know some people will be skeptical about these experiments, not knowing us. But we’re trustworthy guys and have documented everything in painstaking detail in our free online book "Bigger Smaller Bigger"

www.biggersmallerbigger.com

How to Gain Muscle Mass - 5 Principles of Muscle Hypertrophy

Gaining weight is very easy, many people may gain a lot of weight for a short period of time. On the other side, building lean muscle mass can be very hard, especially for guys that have a fast metabolism, commonly know as hard-gainers.

Also Read: How To Eat To Gain Muscle Mass - Diet Strategies For Hardgainers

Like many of the people in the world that are fighting with a body fat, there are also many people that are struggling to gain weight and build muscle mass. If you are one of those from the second group, continue reading this article.  

For everything in life you need three things - a goal, plan to achieve it and dedication. Those are three basic things to success in anything you want. You need to apply this rule and start your muscle building trip. 

There are 3 main ways to make your muscles grow:

1. Force muscles to grow with the right training

2. Feed your muscles with enough healthy calories

3. Rest, recover your muscles, let them grow

Those are only three general rules for muscle gain, now continue reading to learn five principles of muscle growth.

1. Multi-Joint Movements

In order to gain muscle mass faster, you need to place emphasis on the compound, multi-joint movements. Compound exercises are much better for building muscle mass than single-joint, isolation exercises. That is because exercises like squat and bench press allow bigger loads of weight and involve more muscle groups which lead to more muscle gains.


Top 10 Exercises To Build Muscle Mass


Bigger load and heavier exercises stimulate the bigger release of the muscle-building hormone. 

It is very important to do one of the hardest exercises - Squats. The squat is a great mass builder and it is probably the movement that involves the most muscle groups at the same time. 






2. Progressive Overload


The progressive overload is one of the most important muscle-building principles. Lifting the same weight will not help you build muscles. Muscles can quickly adapt to the weight and you need to put some more load in order to force your muscles to grow. 


Mass-Building Full-Body Workout Routine for Beginners


The key of muscle gain to leave your comfort zone, give your muscles a reason to grow. If you lift heavier weights from week to week you won't let your muscles time to adapt and you will force them to grow.


The best rep range to stimulate muscle growth is from 8 to 12. I recommend doing 10 reps per set for best muscle growth stimulation. 




3. Caloric Surplus 


To gain muscle mass you need to eat a lot. And that means you need to spend a lot of your time in the kitchen. It is one of the biggest mistakes that lifters make and don't succeed in building muscle mass, they don't consume enough calories or macronutrients. 


20 Foods You Should Eat to Gain Muscle Mass


You need to consume 18 calories per pound of your bodyweight to build muscle and at least 1 gr of protein per pound of bodyweight. On training days, try to consume more proteins because your muscles need it to repair and grow. 


Foods that are Best Sources of Protein




Consume enough calories and all three macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats) and in a combination with resistance training your muscles will start to grow. 




4. Rest Your Muscles


This is how it goes, you give your muscles a reason to grow in the gym, build them in the kitchen and they grow while you sleep. Lack of rest can decrease the chance of muscle growth.


Also, don't overtrain your muscles. Don't train same muscles for two days in a row or you will overtrain them and prevent them from growing. To build muscle you need a short and intense workout and long periods of rest. 




5. Supplements Selection


Many supplements ads promise you results. A lot of them are actually unnecessary and just a waste of your money. The best muscle building supplements that you need to buy are Creatine and Whey Protein. They can be a great support for building muscle mass. 


You can check the list of 5 best muscle-building supplements, but you must know there are no better supplements for building muscle mass than Whey Powder and Creatine. 


Top 5 Muscle-Building Supplements




If you start following these five principles right now, you have a big chance to build your muscles for less than one month. Applying these rules could make the most benefits for beginners because in the starting phase, first two to three months, you can build most muscle mass. 


It is very important to start doing it right from the beginning, so don't lose your time following wrong workout plans and wasting money on unnecessary supplements. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Bodybuilding Tips to Gain Muscle Mass

All bodybuilding fans know who is the most famous bodybuilding legend - Arnold Schwarzenegger. We all know that he is very famous as a bodybuilder, actor, and of course - governor. 

Arnold started lifting at the age of 15 and he won the first Mr. Universe title when he was 20. After that, he won 7 Mr. Olympia titles. Those are some well-known facts, but did you ever thought about how did he build such a muscular and defined physique? 

If you are interested in Arnold Schwarzenegger's tips for building a lot of muscle mass continue reading this article.

1. Arnold's Training Tips for Muscle Building

The Austrian Oak knew that it is not everything in training hard, he knew that he also need to train smart. One of his main tips for building muscle mass is: "To get big, you have to get strong."

In order to build his muscles, Arnold focused on multi-joint movements (compound exercises) more than on isolation exercises.

If you want to know which compound exercises are best for muscle building then check out another article:

Best Exercises to Build Muscle Mass

To get stronger and build muscle mass fast, compound exercises must be a foundation of your training plan.

2. Heavy weights and low number of reps

That is a key to building muscle mass and he knew it better than Arnold Schwarzenneger. Best rep range for muscle growth is from 8 to 12. To ensure muscle growth Arnold recommends starting with a few warm-ups and then pyramid the weight up from one set to next while decreasing the number of reps and going to failure. Arnold never performed a workout with less than 6 reps and more than 12 reps. 

3. Experiment with training routines

Never let your muscles to get used to the same workout routine. One of the best ways to make your muscles to grow is to shock them, confuse them. Don't let your muscles know what is coming next. 

Arnold was often switching his workout routines if he found that his routine is no longer producing muscle gains. Doing the same routine over and over without any significant changes will stop making results and your muscles will get comfortable with that workout routine, which means they won't grow anymore. 

4. Don't overtrain your muscles

This principle is very important for building muscle mass. You need to let your muscles to rest and recover after hard training sessions. Arnold said that too much can be as bad as too little in bodybuilding training. 

Overtraining one muscle can lead that muscle to lag behind other muscles. Don't overtrain your muscles, give them a chance to rest and grow. Remember, muscles don't grow in a gym, they grow while we rest.




5. Fuel your muscles with a lot of protein


In the time when he was competing, Arnold consumed a lot of protein. He knew that the most important macronutrient for muscle hypertrophy is protein. He used to say that for one pound of a body it is enough to consume one gram of protein.


Arnie used to split his 250 grams of protein into five meals a day. 



Here is an example of one of Arnold's meals:


3-4 whole eggs
2 pieces of bacon
2 pieces of Ezekiel bread



This was often his breakfast and after two to three hours he was ready to eat more. He was also a fan of protein shakes as part of his meals.

20 Foods You Should Eat to Gain Muscle Mass

If you are planning to build muscle mass one of the most important things is your diet. You can't gain muscle mass if you aren't consuming enough calories and all three macronutrients - PROTEINS, CARBS, and FATS.

One of the mistakes that many hard gainers make is that they don't consume fats and they do not understand that there are fats that they should eat. It is very important to avoid trans fats, that should be clear. Also, in order to increase muscle mass, you need to consume twice more carbs than proteins. Protein is the most important nutrient for muscle building, but carbs are crucial for building muscle mass.

HOW MANY CARBS, FATS, AND PROTEINS?

You should aim to at least 1.2 grams of protein per 1 pound of your weight. In order to build muscle mass you need to stick with this calories ratio:

What are the top 20 muscle-building foods?

1. Lean White Meat (Chicken & Turkey)

Chicken and Turkey breasts are the staple of every bodybuilding diet. If you want to build muscle or to burn fat then you should include lean white meat in your diet. 

100 gr of white meat will fill you with 31 grams of protein and only 4 grams of fat, which is very good for building lean muscle mass.

2. Fish 

Fish is one of the best muscle-building foods. Let's take salmon, for example, it contains about 25 grams of protein in 100 grams portion. Also, fish meat is packed with omega-3 fatty acids which are great for your heart and muscles too. 

3. Eggs

Together with fish and white meat, eggs are also very good source of proteins. It is very cheap to buy them, very easy to prepare them and they are delicious. Each egg contains about 5 - 6 grams of protein. The protein in eggs is probably the most efficiently for muscle growth among all other whole foods.

4. Lean Red Meat

Red meats, like lean beef, are the excellent source of protein. 100 grams of lean beef contains about 27 grams of protein, and that is not all, red meat is considered as best food for naturally increasing testosterone levels which support muscle growth. That is because red meat is filled with zinc, iron, and B12 vitamins. 

5. Cottage Cheese

Another great source of protein, and almost entirely pure casein protein. Casein protein is recommended for meals before bedtime because they are very slow digesting and muscles are fed during sleep.

6. Whey Protein Powder

Although it is considered as the supplement, whey protein is one of the best sources of protein with 30 grams of protein per one scoop (35 gr). It is the best post-workout protein source because it is fastest digesting and it feeds your muscles with quality proteins and reduces the risk of catabolism after a hard training session. 

I recommend making homemade mass gainers as post workout meals for faster muscle gains:

Homemade Mass Gainer - Gain Muscle Mass Fast

7. Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter is one of the best muscle-building foods. It is filled with proteins and good fats and it is very high in healthy calories. 100 gr serving of peanut butter can provide you about 30 gr of protein and 600 healthy calories. 

8. Oats

Oatmeal is one of the best sources of carbohydrates containing about 70 gr of carbs per 100 gr serving. Also, it is filled with 13 gr of proteins. One of the best choices for breakfast meal.

9. Mixed Nuts

Almonds, Peanuts, Walnuts and other kinds of nuts are also very good for building muscle mass. They are great sources of healthy fats and also protein. Nuts are also loaded with important nutrients like fiber, vitamin E, manganese, and magnesium.

10. Milk

It is enough to say that only one cup of milk contains 8 grams of protein and 13 grams of carbohydrates. Milk is also rich in branched chain amino acids (BCCAs), so it is a better and cheaper solution than buying BCCAs supplements.

11. Brown Rice (Very good source of carbs)

12. Sweet Potatoes

13. Ezekiel Bread

14. Shrimps

15. Greek Yogurt

16. Olive Oil

17. Avocado

18. Spinach

19. Broccoli

20. Flax Seeds

Don't forget to eat fruits and consume a lot of water too. Those 20 are just foods for muscle building but you need also to consume a lot of vitamins from fruits like oranges, apples, and berries. 

That is it, create your own muscle-building diet plan with these 20 foods and also check out which exercises are best for building muscle mass:

Best Exercises to Build Muscle Mass Fast