Muscle Gain
Building muscles required both patience and efforts. In order to gain, you have to increase your calorie intake above your recommended daily intake. In simple words, you have to eat more.
Let suppose if my daily intake is 2782.6 calorie. Then I have to increase it by adding 500 more. Thus my final daily calorie intake will be 3282.6.
You have to slightly increase your carb percentage intake while reducing fat.
Below I have highlighted few of the important points along with the diet for muscle gain.
Pre Workout Meals
Without pre workout meal, you may not be able to hit harder while training. After some level of continued exercise you will feel tired and exhausted. Hence, don’t skip it.
Pre-workout helps in boosting the energy and aid concentration. You can either takes BCAA supplement or go with natural foods like Apple, Banana or Coffee without milk and sugar.
It needs to be consumed before 20-30 minutes of workout.
Workout
It’s all depend how you exercise. Best results comes when proper standard are followed.
Warm up
Before you begin any exercise routine, whether it is a simple jog or a 150 kg deadlift, start with a low-intensity routine designed to warm up all the muscles you're about to work on. Not only will it help you get into the right frame of mind, it can help prevent injuries.
Limit your cardio training
While doing cardio is great for fat burning, it can limit muscle growth by burning up glycogen and amino acids. If you must keep cardio as part of your fitness plan, try sprint intervals: one minute at an all-out sprint, followed by two minutes of light jogging. Do this for no more than a half an hour, three times a week.
Tough Training
Training with high reps is good for building endurance, but it won't help you build up either size or strength. Instead, aim for about 3-8 sets per muscle group, and 6-12 reps per set for your normal routine. Your final rep should be very hard to complete. If it's not, increase the weight you're lifting.
Stretching and Body Massage
Stretching of any kind (static - getting into a stretched position and holding it or dynamic - moving fluidly in and out of position), using a foam roller and getting body massages will all help keep you flexible, prevent injury, and improve recovery between workouts.
Post Workout Meals
After exercise, protein is particularly important since muscles need it to recover and grow. A portion of protein (15-25g) is recommended within 30 minutes of exercise, when your muscles are particularly receptive to protein synthesis.
Either you can take Protein shake or a protein rich food. Only whole foods are not the best option post workout since they take too long to digest. You can either take 1 scoop of whey protein or prepare protein shake naturally with semi-skimmed milk and low-fat natural yoghurt.
Along with shake, you can take 4-6 egg whites, 1-2 whole eggs.
Also note, don’t miss the carbs. Your glycogen gets depleted in training which can be recovered only by carbs. You can take banana and dates.
Balanced Diet
Eat a lean, balanced diet. No matter how much your exercise, your body will only be able to build new muscles if you give it the materials it needs for the task. Get enough proteins to support muscle growth. Try to accompany any serious exercise routine with a diet that includes lots of proteins, whole grain carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
Unsaturated fats are beneficial and even necessary. Fat is necessary for the proper distribution of vitamins A, D, E, and K. Depending on your total caloric intake, 50-70g of monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat along with Omega-3 fat is beneficial for your training.
Below are the list of foods you'll want your diet to favor:
Proteins: Chicken breasts, fish, beans, lentils, soya milk and egg white.
Carbohydrates: Whole wheat bread products (bread, pasta, crackers, etc.), brown rice, fleshy or leafy vegetables (broccoli, spinach, etc.), fresh fruit.
Fats:
Monounsaturated fats found in olive, sesame oils and nuts such as almonds, cashews, peanuts, and pistachios.
Polyunsaturated fats are found in corn, cottonseed, safflower oil and soybean oil.
Omega-3 fats are found in fish such as salmon, tuna.
Rest and Recovery
Get your rest. Your body needs time to recover, and to repair (build) your muscles, and to do that you will need at least 7 or 8 hours of sleep a night. Avoid caffeine and alcohol for deeper sleep. In addition to the proper amount of sleep, do not exceed your training above the limit.
Now moving towards the conclusion:
Simple rule for muscle gain:
Tough Exercise, Stretching/Massage, Rest, Enough Carbs and Proteins, Unsaturated/Healthy Fats.