National Nutrition Month, Week 2: Nutrition for Muscle Gain
March 16, 2022 | Words by Gabe Yanez
Welcome to the second week of National Nutrition Month. This week, it’s all about the GAINS!
As we mentioned last week, nutrition is a key piece that must be in place regardless of what your specific health and fitness goals may be.
Our goal through the month of March is to bring you valuable nutrition information that, when combined with the workouts on the new NCFIT App, will help you make significant progress towards your goals.
In case you missed last week’s write-up, you can find it below:
We’ll provide the nutrition guidance and the NCFIT App will provide the workouts. All you have to do is put in the EFFORT.
CARBS ARE YOUR FRIEND
When it comes to building muscle, protein gets all the attention. Rightfully so—protein is broken down into amino acids, which are the building blocks for muscle growth and repair.
But what a lot of people don’t realize is that carbs are also essential when it comes to building muscle for two main reasons:
First of all, carbohydrates replenish glycogen stores in muscles, which serve as the primary source of energy for your training. In order to build muscle, you need to elicit a significant enough training adaptation with an appropriate dose of resistance training like the type you’ll find in our NCX or NCFLEX programs on the NCFIT App.
If you’re not fueled appropriately, your workouts are more likely to fall short of the necessary stimulus needed to elicit muscle growth.
If your glycogen stores are depleted and you do a tough workout, your body may even resort to using protein for energy, which isn’t ideal if you’re trying to build lean muscle mass.
The second reason you want carbs is because of the key role insulin plays in muscle synthesis. Insulin is a hormone that’s released in response to the consumption of carbs or sugars. Chronically elevated insulin levels can lead to a wide array of negative health outcomes, but when appropriate, an insulin spike can actually be just what your body needs to build muscle.
Insulin directly stimulates the cellular pathway in the muscle that regulates muscle growth and it increases blood flow to the muscle. Two things you want to happen if you’re chasing those gains.
So does this mean you should bring some Sour Patch Kids to have before your next workout? Probably not. Food quality still matters, which is why prioritizing high-quality complex carbs like sweet potatoes, rice, and other starches is a crucial component to optimizing your diet for muscle growth specifically.
ONE THING TO TRY THIS WEEK
More protein, more carbs, and more rest days.
If true hypertrophy (muscle growth) is the specific fitness goal you are after, it might be worth experimenting with some higher protein and carb quantities in your diet, as well as more rest days than you’ve been taking.
If you’re currently tracking your macros and haven’t seen the muscle gain you’ve been trying to see, try adding 20% more carbs around your workouts while maintaining your protein number and see if your workouts feel better.
If you aren’t currently tracking your food, you can simply add more complex carbs around your workouts in the form of whole food starches like sweet potatoes, potatoes, and squash.
If you take a protein supplement, make sure that the leucine content is between 3-5g per serving, as this is the amino acid that’s most important for stimulating muscle growth.
Finally, make sure to rest. It can be easy to think that more training means more results, but when it comes to building muscle, the recovery need is higher, so make sure you give your body ample rest between training sessions.
If your body is burning more calories than you’re consuming because you’re hitting the gym six times a week, it will be impossible for your muscles to grow.
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