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Eating for Maximal Strength, Health, Energy & Muscle

September 14, 2009

sn586 Eating for Maximal Strength, Health, Energy & MuscleToday I have a great article for you by Ryan D. Andrews of Precision Nutrition. I couldn’t agree more with everything Ryan has to say here and really thought that everyone needed to read this article.

By Ryan Andrews
I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that you probably know what foods to eat for optimal health and body composition.

The bad news is that you probably aren’t eating those healthy foods at regular intervals.

Every time we sit down to eat, decisions are made that will impact our strength, health, energy and muscle mass. This article will help you to maximize those variables by outlining what to eat and when to eat it.

Legumes
Yes, I just typed the word legumes. No, I’m not a nutrition loser.

Legumes are a great source of protein and fiber. Protein is the raw material for structural and functional components in the body. Legumes also provide B vitamins, vitamin K, iron, zinc, magnesium and other trace elements.

Heck, if legumes could spot me on pull-ups I’d take them with me to the gym.

Legumes can be purchased dried and prepared at home for minimal expense. Or, for the ultimate quick meal, buy them canned. The canned varieties can be immediately added to nearly any recipe.

Consuming legumes at most meals throughout the day is a good goal. Options include black beans, pinto beans, refried beans, kidney beans, lima beans, hummus, tempeh, tofu, peas, edamame, lentils, bean burgers, soy burgers, etc.

Soy milk is a fine option; just remember that many people consume plenty of soy from foods. If you are looking for a beverage to mix with a protein powder or pour on your morning oats, try nut “milks” (see below).

Seitan is another dense source of protein. Technically, it’s not a legume. Seitan is actually derived from grain. Seitan is better known as wheat gluten. I’m not a huge fan of recommending high amounts of seitan, as it’s not a whole food, but having it a few times per week can help to boost protein intake. Plus, when seitan is prepared well, it tastes seitan-ilicious.

Legume Ideas:

Legumes are great straight out of the can, added to a salad, in a burrito, in chili, in soup, in a stir-fry, in a scramble, formed into a burger or blended as a dip. Tofu and tempeh can be grilled, baked, broiled, steamed, or crumbled and added to sauces.

Vegetables
Even nutritional degenerates know that vegetables are healthy. Aim for veggie and/or fruit consumption with every feeding of the day. Raw or cooked, frozen or canned, whatever you prefer.

I am continually amazed at how much nutrition power vegetables provide. Eating a wide variety of vegetables will provide every vitamin and mineral except vitamin B12 and D. Dark colored vegetables will provide you with pretty much everything but a bigger house.

Vegetables are alkaline once digested and absorbed in the body. This helps to counteract the acidity of legumes and grains. Balancing your acid/base load can preserve muscle mass and promote bone health.

If you are struggling to get enough veggies in each day, greens supplements can be helpful. Try adding greens powder to a nutrition shake as a healthy addition. I always encourage clients to keep several bags of frozen vegetables at home. They can serve as back up when the fresh supply is low.

Now, I’m going to share with you the most important vegetable tip ever released in print.

Ready?

HAVE VEGETABLES ON HAND AND READY TO EAT.

Don’t leave them full of dirt, stuffed in the back of your fridge behind the six-pack of lager.

Vegetable Ideas:

Vegetables are great plain, cooked, raw, with hummus, steamed, roasted, in large salads, in wraps, in soups, in stir-fry’s, in scrambles, added to nutrition shakes (good shake additions are pumpkin, beets, and spinach).

Fruits
Like I just mentioned above, get those vegetables and/or fruits in with every feeding if possible. Just like vegetables, fruits are loaded with fiber, vitamins, minerals and are alkaline once digested and absorbed in the body. Whole fruits are always preferable to the dried and juiced varieties. I recommend that most clients keep frozen fruits at home in case they run out of fresh.

Fruit Ideas:

Enjoy fruits plain, with nuts, with nut butters, added to whole grain cereals or blended in nutrition shakes.

Whole Grains
Whole grains are about as well understood as astrophysics. And ever since Lucky Charms touted its whole-grain goodness, I can’t dispute the confusion.

Whole Grain Rule Numero Uno: Keep them real.

Whole grains should not be refined. Refined means being stripped of ANY component.

Wheat flour is refined. This is found in many crackers, chips and snack foods. Even oat bran, wheat bran, and wheat germ are refined.

Also, try to keep whole grains in their unprocessed form whenever possible. This means whole quinoa, oats, brown rice, barley, amaranth, millet, corn, sprouted wheat, etc. Most whole grain crackers, breads and snack foods contain PROCESSED whole grains. Obviously, this is much better than the REFINED variety, but still not optimal. Sprouted whole grains would be the best option for breads and tortillas.

Consuming a majority of whole grains first thing in the AM and after workout sessions is a great idea for recovery and body composition. The body will use dense carbohydrate sources very well at those times. Keep in mind that everyone is different and you should adjust your whole grain intake accordingly.

Whole Grain Ideas:

Whole grains are great when cooked plain, with water. They can also be combined with your favorite vegetables, legumes and spices. Some of the best whole grains are quinoa, oatmeal, barley, brown rice, millet, amaranth, sprouted grain breads and sprouted grain tortillas. Nuts and nut butters are an easy high protein addition to whole grains.

Nuts/Seeds
Don’t be afraid of the big bad nut. Adding in healthy fats during the day is very important for health and body composition. I am talking unsalted raw nuts (e.g., walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, peanuts, etc.), seeds (e.g., flax, hemp, chia, sesame, pumpkin, etc.), oils (e.g., canola, walnut, flax, olive, etc.), nut butters, coconut, and so on.
Avocado is a good fat source too, but it’s technically a fruit. One of the most important factors with fat intake is balancing your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio! Between 1:2 & 1:4 is a good goal.

Give it up for nut “milks.” Almond and hemp beverages (“milks”) are nutritious drinks with tons of flavor. Plus, they don’t have a lot of useless carbs from sweeteners (only true for the unsweetened and original varieties).

Nut/Seed Ideas:

Nuts and seeds can be added to just about everything. Some options include salads, whole grain cereals, sprouted grain breads, with fruits, and with legumes. Dried fruits and nuts can be a good combination as well. And don’t forget nut “milks.”

Beyond The Food Groups
Having the know-how, enlisting social support and building habits are essential for good long-term nutrition. Successful nutrition is more than just reading an article and following a meal plan. It constantly evolves and needs troubleshooting.

Since we already talked about the healthy food groups, let’s touch on a few more nutrition concepts.

•    Hopefully it’s no surprise that frequent feedings and plenty of protein are important for strength, health, energy and muscle mass. Listen to your body. Eat when hungry, stop when full. This can mean anywhere from 3 to 8 times per day. Be smart.

•    Yes, you are going to eat healthy. No, caloric beverages aren’t a good idea. Save recovery drinks/coconut water/juices for intense training cycles or as minor additions to nutrition shakes. The only exceptions to the caloric beverage habit are unsweetened (or lightly sweetened) non-dairy beverages and nutrition shakes.

•    Never forget how important “real food” is. People usually don’t overindulge on real foods. Heck, many people don’t eat enough of it.

•    Protein powders can be a tasty and nutritious addition to someone’s nutrition plan. Rice protein, hemp protein and pea protein are great options. You may want to try focusing on non-soy protein powders since we tend to get plenty of soy from other foods (as I mentioned earlier). A supplement I recommend to many people is Vega®. This stuff is loaded with protein, fiber, essential fats and is free of soy. But I caution, be on full alert for delici-gasm’s when you consume it. In other words, it tastes good.

•    Remember not to skimp on the vitamin B12. Supplementing with this vitamin is an essential component of good nutrition.

beach volleyball Eating for Maximal Strength, Health, Energy & Muscle•    Get out in the sun a few times per week to soak in some vitamin D.

•    If you are struggling to balance the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio, consider an algae supplement that provides DHA & EPA.

•    What you put into your body before and after your workout can greatly influence your performance and body composition. Taking advantage of this window of opportunity around workout time can be of benefit to any athlete/exerciser. Eating too much food so close to exercise can leave you feeling weighed down and bloated.

Summary
•    Eat a vegetable and/or fruit with each feeding

•    Eat a higher protein food (legumes, nuts, seeds, supplement) with most feedings

•    Build in healthy fats during the day, focus on those higher in omega-3’s

•    Focus on consuming a majority of your whole grains first thing in the AM and after exercise/workouts

•    Aim for regular meal intervals – every 2-4 hours or so

•    Ensure your beverages are non-caloric (exceptions are for athletes, intense training cycles, unsweetened “milks,” and protein shakes)

•    Find a peri-workout nutrition strategy that maximizes recovery

Always remember to keep an open mind and use outcome based decision making with nutrition. If things aren’t working and you are down in the dumps with your current routine, then try a different approach. Even the most “perfect” nutrition template isn’t so “perfect” when you can’t adhere to it.

About Ryan Andrews
Ryan Andrews trained and worked at The Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center. He is trained in Exercise Physiology, Nutrition, and Dietetics, Ryan is also the Director of Research at Precision Nutrition – a world leader in nutritional programming for athletes and recreational exercisers.

To get your copy of the Precision Nutrition system click HERE now.

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Written by jasonferruggia · Filed Under Nutrition | 7 Comments 

How to Build Muscle Mass

September 9, 2009

oliva How to Build Muscle MassToday we have a recent interview I did for my buddy Keith Scott.

Jay, everyone thinks they know how to build muscle mass. But as you and I know, most people never really even get close to their true potential regarding strength and size. What is the biggest mistake people make when trying to get big and strong?

They follow the same old, traditional bodybuilding routine. That means they are training each body part with way too much volume, not enough intensity, probably too much intensiveness, and not enough frequency. Just so everyone is on the same page, when I say intensity I am referring to percentage of one rep max. That means that they aren’t lifting heavy enough. Intensiveness refers to perceived intensity of effort. Too many weak, skinny guys continually go to failure and beyond, using forced reps, drop sets, negatives, etc. because that is what they think is hardcore and what they read about in some muscle mag. Training hard and training smart are two entirely different things.

You want to provide the muscles with a growth stimulus and then get out of the gym and start recovering as soon as possible. This takes far less volume than a lot of people think. Research and in-the-trenches-experience has shown that most trainees will make great progress on 50-100 total reps per week, per body part. Doing more than 50-100 total reps per week will not elicit greater gains but only impede your recovery, making it harder for you to add size and strength.

The way you get to that magical number of total reps is very important, however. If you do them all in one workout you will make far slower gains than if you broke them up into two sessions of 25-50 reps (optimal for intermediate/ advanced lifters) or three sessions of 17-33 reps (optimal for beginners and hardgainers). Doing that will allow you to get two or three times as many growth stimulating workouts per year, per body part. I think anyone can do the math on that one and see which option would be more productive.

I know you’ve been training a lot of females lately. What is the best advice you can give the females out there that want to know how to build muscle mass and get a body like Jessica Biel….you know, killer abs, shelf-butt, ripped arms and legs, etc….

keyra How to Build Muscle MassYou have to lift weights. That would be my first piece of advice for the ladies. You can’t just do cardio and expect to get in great shape. It will never, ever happen. There is no worse look for a girl than a flat, pancake ass that doesn’t’ even fill out your jeans. You have to squat and deadlift if you want to get that round, bangin’ Jessica Biel type butt that every girl is after.

If you are adamantly opposed to lifting weights then you at least have to do bodyweight exercises that will be challenging enough that you can’t do more than ten reps per set. Chin ups, dips, pushups, pistol squats, lunges, inverted rows and tons of other moves with the TRX are all great choices. High reps with light weights will do absolutely nothing and are a complete waste of your time.

There is no definition for the word tone. You can either build muscle or lose fat. And that is what most females should be trying to do. While you can’t tone you can increase muscle tonus. That is basically the appearance of the muscle at rest. And the only way to get that rock solid look is through heavy resistance training. Simply doing cardio and lifting light weights won’t cut it.

To see your abs and definition in your arms and shoulders your body fat has to be very low. The only way to get it there is through a strict fat loss diet and non traditional cardio methods. Ditch the steady state stuff and opt for sprints instead.

Give me your top core lifts for getting really strong.

Squat, deadlift, military press, chin up and some kind of pushup (TRX, Power Wheel, weighted, etc.) or horizontal press variation (dumbbell press, floor press, bench press if your shoulders can handle it, etc.). Those lifts and their variations will get anyone really, really strong as long as they remain consistent and pay attention to their nutrition and recovery.

For those “beginners” out there, hell, even for the more advanced people out there, what are the top 2 or 3 things people need to do each day if they want to pack on muscle and get really strong?

When people ask me how to build muscle mass as fast as possible I tell them that the two most important things you can do are add weight to the bar and food to the plate. You must constantly be trying to make strength gains (in a hypertrophy rep range) at each and every trip to the gym. This is the only guaranteed way to gain muscular bodyweight on a long term, consistent basis. Supersets, drop sets and all the other fancy training techniques will never hold a candle to lifting progressively heavier weights. If I took two twins and had one gradually double his training volume over the course of a year and do tons of leg extensions supersetted with leg presses and similar type training and had the other twin simply increase his squat from 135 for ten to 275 for ten, which one do you think would have bigger legs at the end of the year? Which one would weigh more at the end of the year? The answer should be obvious.

Aside from that you need to eat ample amounts of healthy food and constantly be adding calories as you gain weight.

And you need to do everything you can to maximize your recovery ability. Foam roll, stretch, ice, get massage and ART, meditate and sleep as much as possible.

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Written by jasonferruggia · Filed Under Muscle Building | 11 Comments