Eating for muscle growth is not that complicated. But also not as simple as “a shake after training”. These seven rules will help you achieve optimal results, provided your training and sleep are also in order, of course.

The scientific basis for these rules can be found in the many articles we have devoted to nutrition, but they are also contained in a recent review article by scientists, among whom coach Eric Helms.

Please note: this is about eating during the bulk, when you aspire to muscle growth. You can read about how to eat during the cut, when fat loss is your main goal, in this article.

1. HAVE A SMALL CALORIE SURPLUS

You don’t necessarily have to have a calorie surplus to build muscle. Especially beginners and people who are very overweight can also do this with an energy deficiency: body recomposition. And even if you already have some more training experience, you can ‘recomp’, according to research, but remember: the more advanced and/or the leaner you are, the more difficult it is. From a certain point it is much more efficient to bulk and cut.

Bulking means that you create a calorie surplus for a longer period of time, usually at least two months, to provide your body with sufficient energy for muscle building. But don’t overdo it, with that surplus. On many websites it is still recommended to go around 500 kcal above your maintenance level (and that is called ‘lean bulking’). We now know that a surplus of 10-20% of the maintenance level is normally sufficient. So if your calorie level for maintenance is 2000 kcal per day, then add 300 kcal at most.

As an average bodybuilder, aim for a maximum weight gain of ~0.25-0.5% of your body weight per week. You can only build a limited amount of muscle mass per week, so if you gain more, it is probably fat mass. Only when you notice that your weight is not increasing, despite the fact that you create overload in your training, you can increase your calorie surplus a bit.

2. EAT ENOUGH PROTEIN, BUT NOT MORE THAN YOU NEED

Okay, nothing new under the sun. Proteins are the building blocks of your muscles, so it’s clear that for serious gainz you need to consume significantly more protein than non-sporters. The exact optimal protein quota differs per person, with factors such as age, training status and the way of training playing a role. But for the vast majority of people, 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day should suffice.

Eating a little more protein is of course allowed, but don’t overdo it. Because although that won’t hurt your health, you also need your carbohydrates and fats for muscle growth (see below). However, you will not achieve more muscle growth if you eat even more protein. If only it were that easy.

Coach Mike Israetel calls this The Caloric Constraint Hypothesis:

The Caloric Constraint Hypothesis tells us that there IS something like “too much of a good thing,” because the addition of too much of that good thing (protein, in this example) comes at the expense of other “good things” (carbs, dude).

Of course, to be on the safe side, you can go a bit higher than the 1.6 g/kg/d, but don’t go higher than 2.2 g/kg/d.

SPREAD AND TIMING

For muscle growth, the total protein intake in one day is decisive. However, to optimally stimulate muscle protein synthesis, scientists recommend eating 20-40 grams protein per meal. And to spread those meals evenly throughout the day, so with three or four hours in between.

In addition, you should preferably plan your training between two meals, so that your body can have enough protein during and in the hours after your training to increase muscle protein synthesis. Because it seems that protein synthesis has the strongest increase during the first ten hours after training, although the so-called anabolic window of opportunity extends much further than that (for beginners up to 72 hours after training).

PROTEIN SOURCES

Almost all types of animal protein will suffice for muscle growth – so you certainly don’t necessarily have to use protein powder. If you eat a lot or only vegetable protein, you will have to combine multiple protein sources to get all the essential amino acids. But you probably do that already.

3. EAT ENOUGH FAT, BUT NO MORE THAN YOU NEED

No, you don’t get fat from fat: you become fat if you take in more calories than you expend. In addition, fat is necessary to maintain your testosterone levels and for other vital processes in your body, including the absorption of vitamins. So eat enough fat, but also no more than is necessary: aim for 1-1.5 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. Eating more fat actually offers no benefits, not even with regard to your testosterone, so it is better to fill the rest of your calorie intake with carbohydrates (see next point).

Make sure you divide your fat intake approximately evenly between unsaturated and saturated fats. Avoid products with (industrial) trans fats, because they are bad for your health (see point 6).

4. EAT A LOT OF CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for strength training (and also for many forms of endurance training). They are much more efficient than fats, which the body will only use primarily for low-intensity activities, such as walking. In addition, carbohydrates also contribute to good testosterone levels. Carbohydrates also stimulate the release of the hormone insulin, which, according to coach and author Mike Israetel, has a positive effect on the recovery of your training and on muscle growth. In addition, full glycogen stores promoted recovery and the presence of (a lot of) glycogen in itself also has an anabolic effect, according to Israetel.

It is therefore logical that as a strength athlete you should consume a lot of carbohydrates. By ‘a lot’ we mean that your intake of proteins (~1.6-2,2 g/kg/day) and fats (1-1.5 g/kg/day) is sufficient and that you fill the rest of your energy needs with carbohydrates. That usually amounts to 3 to 5 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight, unless you follow a calorie-restricted diet.

5. FEEL FREE TO USE SUPPLEMENTS, BUT JUST THE USEFUL ONES

Sports supplements have a somewhat dubious reputation: according to many, they are mainly intended to fill the pockets of the manufacturers. And yes, with many supplements that is the case. Still, there are a handful of strength sports supplements that have been scientifically proven to work. And they aren’t even that expensive, nor are they unhealthy or dangerous.

First and foremost, we’re talking about creatine (3-5 g/day), the compound that has been conclusively shown to improve strength performance. To a lesser extent, positive effects have also been shown with the use of beta-alanine (3-5 g/day), citrulline malate (8 g/day) and caffeine (5-6 mg/kg/day).

In addition, protein powders (like whey and/or casein) can be useful for those who find it difficult to get enough protein through regular food.

6. EAT HEALTHY

For muscle growth, the calorie and protein intake are decisive. To a lesser extent, the distribution of fats and carbohydrates also plays a role, as does the timing and distribution of food. Only after that comes the quality of food, which is partly determined by the presence of micronutrients (vitamins, fiber and minerals).

Don’t get us wrong, healthy eating is of course very important for many reasons. But many bodybuilders make the mistake of focusing primarily on healthy eating and therefore paying less attention to the right amounts of calories and macronutrients. And that while those are precisely, purely looking at body composition, decisive.

Does the quality of food have no influence at all on body composition? Still it does:

• Overall good health ensures overall good functioning and that also affects things like exercise performance and sleep (recovery).
• Thanks to a healthy diet you get an extensive palette of micronutrients, much more than you would with unhealthy food, even if you take a vitamin pill with it. And those micronutrients – such as vitamins, zinc and magnesium  – play an important role in muscle building.
• Healthy food – especially certain vegetables – ensures good fluid removal. This makes you look less fluffy and your muscles are more visible.

The latter alone should be sufficient reason for us bodybuilders, vain as we are, to choose mainly healthy foods, preferably unprocessed foods (whole foods).

Of course it can’t hurt for muscle growth to snack every now and then while bulking. Make sure you use a calorie app, so that you keep that snacking within the caloric limits.

7. USE A CALORIE APP

Using a calorie app every day is in any case a must to be able to adequately put the first four advice in this article into practice. But unfortunately that is asking too much for many so-called gym sharks.

NUTRITION FOR BODY COMPOSITION: OVERVIEW

Finally, the key points for nutrition for muscle growth, as detailed in this article.

Last updated September 1, 2022