Macro-Based Diets Part 2: Building Muscle and Strength
When it comes to building muscle and strength, the most important macro to track is protein. You have to be hitting your daily protein goals (in addition to a good strength focused workout program) in order to grow the muscle you want. The most effective way to build muscle is to be in controlled weight gain/bulk phase where you consistently eat a little more calories than your maintenance number would be while focusing on protein consumption.
How Do I Build As Much Muscle As Possible?
Building muscle is a lot simpler than you think, if you know how to focus your energy. Here are the (shockingly simple) methods I’ve used to build elite levels of muscle mass, both for myself and my clients, over the past 20 years.
Fitness for 'Anti-Aging'
“Health” is an often overlooked aspect of the health and fitness industry, which tends to prioritize young fit individuals over the actual needs of older individuals training for health. As we age, the normal process is for aging to undo a lot of our hard earned gains, but we can age gracefully by keeping up the right routine. To optimize for health, you probably need to work out a lot less than you think.
You Probably Don't Need To Lose Weight
For most people, weight loss should be a consequence, not a goal, of getting in shape. The emphasize should be on developing new habits which are healthy for you, regardless of whether or not this impacts your weight in the short or long term. Most people face serious barriers to weight loss which render it not worthwhile as a primary goal.
Strategies For Incorporating More Protein Into Your Diet
Most people aren’t eating enough protein, which can stall or compromise the gains they’re working toward. Optimal protein sources will have at least 1/3 of their calories coming from protein, but ideally it should be much higher than the amount of other fats and carbs in the food. Keeping a variety of protein rich foods that don’t require prep (like protein powders, meat jerkies, or high protein yogurt) or minimal prep (like frozen fish, ground meat, or tofu) also helps from getting bored or not having enough time to eat enough protein.