If you’re looking to build lean muscle and lose excess fat, then this guide will help you achieve your goals to getting lean while packing on some extra muscle.
Inside, we’ll discuss how to increase lean muscle, workouts, and most importantly your diet.
Increasing Lean Muscle
Before we get into the workout and dietary information, let’s talk about how to gain lean muscle.
For a beginner who has never lifted weights before, it is very possible to gain lean muscle mass while losing fat at an incredibly fast rate.
This can happen because when you first start working out (and even sometimes after), your body will be in “a state of positive nitrogen balance,” which means that your body is building more lean muscle mass than it is losing.
When you gain lean muscle at an accelerated rate, your body will also burn fat at an increased rate.
Once you gain more lean muscle mass and reach a plateau (which is not the end of the world by any means), bulking will be much harder which makes it all the more important to gain muscle evenly throughout your body!
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How To Gain Lean Muscle Mass Safely With Minimum Fat Gain?
This can be done in 5 simple steps:
1. Lift weights at least three days per week (but no more than 6).
2. Make sure that you are eating enough calories each day to gain weight (getting fatter) but making sure they are clean calories from good sources like rice, fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, whole grains, peanut butter, and nuts.
3. Make sure that you are getting enough protein in your diet (1 gram per pound of bodyweight).
4. If you gain fat at an abnormal rate (2 pounds or more per week), it’s possible that you might be eating too much which means cut back on food intake slightly.
5. Add Supplementation to the mix.
Even though adding supplements to your regimen can add an additional cost, in some cases, your body needs the extra boost in order to pack on lean muscle mass. A great starter supplementation with tons of reviews comes from Dbal Max from Crazy Bulk because it’s 100% natural.
Why You Can’t Gain Muscle?
This happens to the best of us even with the strictest workout regimens.
Our DNA and genetic makeup make be working against us a bit.
If none of these basic steps seem to work out for you or if they don’t seem to keep the fat gain at bay, then you might have what is called a fast metabolism, which means that this goal is going to be difficult for you because your body burns through calories like crazy!
Which makes building lean muscle mass very hard for some people (but not impossible).
Instead, switch up your routine a bit.
A lot of people have reported great results by instituting a few modifications.
1. Lift Heavy Weights.
Lifting heavy weights will cause micro tears in your muscles which then heal and grow larger and stronger than before!
2. Stay Away From Cardio .
This might be a huge shocker but cardio can actually break down lean muscle and actually has the ability to burn through muscle mass.
You gain lean muscle faster when you’re resting (and not burning through calories).
3. Rest.
Let your muscles rest and recuperate because that’s how they grow bigger and stronger!
If you gain weight too quickly, then it might be a good idea to cut back on food intake slightly.
If you gain more than 2 pounds per week, chances are you’re eating too much and need to cut out some of the junk food in your diet. Rest assured, though: this isn’t going to permanently slow down or stop your rate of lean muscle gain! It will just slow it down slightly which means that this is all the
What Should You Eat To Gain Lean Muscle Mass?
If you gain fat at an unusual rate, it’s a good idea to cut back on your daily calorie intake a little bit.
The standard formula for determining how many calories you should eat if you wanted to gain weight is as follows:
Bodyweight in pounds x 16-18 = daily calorie intake
If you gain more than 2 pounds per week, chances are that you’re eating too much and need to cut out some of the junk food in your diet.
Rest assured, though: this isn’t going to permanently slow down or stop your rate of lean muscle gain! It will just slow it down slightly which means that this is all the more reason for you to gain weight at an even pace throughout every part of your body.
Doing so will ensure that you gain lean muscle everywhere while also reducing fat gain (which is almost inevitable when trying to gain weight). Try implementing these simple steps into your existing workout routine and let us know how it
In terms of macros , I would recommend that you shoot for the following breakdown within each meal:
40% carbohydrates from complex sources such as whole grains and brown rice, 25% protein from lean meats and egg whites, and 35% healthy fats from olive oil, fish oils (found in tuna), flax seeds, and nuts.
This diet should be enough to gain muscle at a healthy pace for most people.
A good rule of thumb is to gain 1-2 pounds per month so try adding in some lean carbs at each meal (like rice, whole grains, fruits and vegetables). Also make sure that you’re getting around 0.8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight each day.
If this doesn’t seem like it’s working then it might be time to consider creatine supplements or gainer shakes which are high in calories and filled with various types of sugars and proteins essential for lean muscle gain and recovery!
There is no reason why you shouldn’t gain lean muscle mass as long as you work hard enough which brings me to the actual exercises for building lean muscle mass.
Top 8 Exercises for Lean Muscle Mass
There are a number of exercises to use when building lean muscle mass and we’ve listed them below with videos to illustrate the perfect form.
1. Dead Lift This is a great exercise for gaining lean muscle mass everywhere from your back to hamstrings to glutes and even your arms!
2. Dumbbell Press Another good exercise for working out the chest, triceps, and shoulders while also allowing you gain lean muscle mass in these areas of your body.
3. Biceps Curls Also a great workout for targeting the bicep muscles while building up strength in this small section of your arm which will allow you gain lean muscle mass faster on all other exercises that give you a pump.
4. Core Workout . Core workouts do not necessarily build lean muscle yet they are very important when it comes to gaining overall strength and lean muscle gain.
5. Squats . Another great exercise for working the quads as well as the hamstrings and glutes. It also works out your lower back which is essential for a lot of exercises that involve lifting weights from the ground.
6. Chin Ups . Gain lean muscle mass in your back, biceps, forearms, and deltoids with chin ups!
7. Pullups . A famous exercise to gain pure strength and lean muscle mass all over your body and it’s not too difficult to master either!
8: Bench Press This is an excellent workout for giving you a good chest pump but will mainly work out your shoulders, triceps, and even your
Can You Gain Muscle After 40?
This is a popular question for those of us that are over 40.
The answer is yes; however, it’s much harder for over 40’s to gain lean muscle mass because the body slows down its protein synthesis.
This means that you need to work out a lot more and be more committed than people half your age in order to gain lean muscle mass. That doesn’t mean we can’t gain muscle though!
Just try sticking with these tips and tricks:
– get around 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight each day (200g or so if you’re trying to gain 1lb/week)
– train every other day
– eat 30% more calories than before (so 1800 if you were eating 2000)
Conclusion
In the final wrap up, this guide should serve you to help you build muscle mass.
If you gain lean muscle mass as you should be able to then it will help shape and define your entire body.
Remember to use the exercises listed, gain enough protein for your weight gain goals, and gain lean mass with a surplus of calories!
Plus get plenty of rest.