Building Muscle and Eating …

October 26th, 2007 by

Ok, as I said yesterday, I was going to try to update frequently and figured my training updates would serve as some easy ones.

I’ve been on my current plan for about 6 weeks now. Strength gains have been good and consistent, but my overall size gains have been less than optimal. I chalk that up to the inability to eat enough food. Being in the mid to high 220s generally means I need to be eating a lot of food to see the scale start to move up, and I haven’t been doing so on a consistent basis; partly due to a lack of appetite and partly due to simple laziness. So in a sense, for no good reason at all, so the lack of gains are my own fault. I’m committing to eating enough *every* day now.

On that note, contrary to what many seem to think, muscle gain is not an easy process. Well, technically I suppose it is from a requirements standpoint – sufficient tension with adequate volume, and enough calories to support the muscle building process. I think it’s that last part that makes it difficult for many and is why more people don’t make bigger gains in size and strength. Add to that the fact that it’s a slow process, often annoyingly slow. Even a 1-2lb of gain of actual muscle tissue a month is a solid 12-24lbs a year. Sounds huge over the course of a year doesn’t it? But in the span of a month? It almost sounds disappointing.

A lot of people – people who talk about wanting to gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously – fail to realize that building muscle is an extremely energy-intensive process. You’re eating in a caloric deficit, which to your body is a stress in itself, as evidenced by the fact that your body adjusts levels of the various regulatory hormones in an effort to adapt to your lower caloric intake and preserve bodyfat. Yet in many cases some of these people are after big strength and size gains as well, and are confused when they’re not coming. Your body is simply not going to go wasting calories to support an energy costly muscle building process … all the while trying to survive an energy shortage.

Now this isn’t to say it’s not possible, but if you’re reasonably lean, it likely isn’t going to happen unless you’re brand new to lifting heavy, focusing on compound lifts, etc – basically lifting properly. If you’re carrying a significant amount of bodyfat, your chances however, are greater.

Having a great body isn’t always about just getting the fat off. You could diet down, have a nice low bodyfat percentage, and suddenly realize that while you’re definitely in shape, you’re in dire need of some muscle – maybe some bigger shoulders, wider lats, bigger legs, etc.

And here’s when it gets difficult. You’ve finally gotten all the fat off, and now you can give yourself an honest assessment. You realize, ok, I need more muscle. Alright, so let’s get to it. Time to hit the gym hard and get strong. But wait, what about my food? And here’s the road block. If you’ve been dieting for a long time, focusing on fat loss, shifting gears and raising your calories – in many cases significantly higher than what you’re used to – is tough. BUT, it’s necessary. There are simply no two ways around it. If you want to grow, you need to eat. Period.

Maintenance calories … maintains, so that doesn’t cut it. Now that’s not to say you should just go hog wild and eat an unreasonably high amount of calories, but you definitely need to be eating enough to support the muscle building process. So, calories need to be over maintenance and yes, that means you’re going to gain weight. It’s not a bad thing, it’s necessary. Muscle is weight. And likely the hardest part for some people? Women especially? The fact that yes, you’re likely going to gain at least some bodyfat. I know, you’ve just worked so hard to get it off. I’m not saying you have to get sloppy, but if you’re not eating enough to gain at least some bodyfat, you’re likely not eating enough to gain any muscle (I believe I first read that comment from Kelly Baggett). No one’s partitioning ability is so good that their body diverts all extra calories towards muscle growth; some will head on over and take residence in your fat stores.

Again, just to reiterate, that’s not to say you ever have to get sloppy. Everyone has their limits and their degree of comfort. So eat, and gain until you’ve reached your limits of comfort and then simply shift gears and diet some of the fat back off and then get back to the muscle building process. Just like you’re not going to wake up one morning, look in the mirror and find yourself suddenly shocked by how big and jacked you are with all that new muscle you built over night, you’re also not going to wake up one morning and suddenly be too fat.

Anyway, that turned into a lot more than I planned …

The take home point is that if you want to get bigger and stronger, you simply have to make sure that you’re eating enough to allow for it to happen. It’s simply not going to happen to any significant degree while you’re trying to lose fat.

I think I’ll take my own advice and go eat now.