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.
Are You Wasting Your Beginner Gains?
“Beginner Gains” aren’t a one-time phenomenon - it’s a process that happens whenever you start practicing a skill or exercise your body is unfamiliar with or change up your training programming. Hitting plateaus generally happen when people meet their body’s natural point of diminishing returns or when they’ve exhausted whatever program they’re using that wasn’t necessarily made for longterm progress. Diminishing returns will happen to everyone. Although the progress will not be as dramatic as what you see during the beginner gains period, the most reliable way to keep growing is putting in more time and effort working out.
When To Bulk And When To Cut
Do you need to bulk or cut? When should you do it? This post covers the guidelines for each.