If you are training diligently daily & nearing your goals but you are making less progress as the time goes by, probably diet is the culprit. It’s always encouraging to see massive improvements during the initial phase of your training knowing that you are moving one step ahead towards your fitness goals. However after a few months of hard work, the rate of improvement which you are witnessing starts fading. This is probably because your body has reached a plateau. This can be frustrating for you. But do not worry! This is a temporary phase & you will overcome it- you are not alone- almost each one of us has faced this situation at some point in our fitness journey.
You must be thinking how bodybuilders do it? Is it their genes since we put in similar effort as they do? Or are we missing something? The answer to this lies in our diet & nutrition!
What you eat & how you train are intrinsically related to the results & progress you will see from the time you spent on exercising. If your diet is not aligned with your fitness goals, your body will shy away from progress. So if you are serious about diet & fitness, you should build a practice of clean eating & having a healthy balanced diet. If your fitness goals are to build muscles & gain weight, you should focus not only on the right foods but also on the right quantities of food as well.
At Passion for Fitness, we focus on healthy eating & we never endorse any supplements as a strategy to replace natural foods. Our focus is more on micronutrients rather than only on macros.
The key to bulking lies in consuming protein. Protein helps in muscle synthesis, growth & recovery & is essential for building muscles. Animal protein has the highest protein absorption however some of them have high amounts of saturated fats as well. So choose your protein sources wisely. To gain muscles, you should consume protein more than the average person. Ideally it varies from 1.2 gram to 2.0 gram of per kg of body weight depending upon level of physical activity/workout.
However, it is important to note that muscle building isn’t only about proteins! A balanced diet with sufficient amounts of fats & carbohydrates is the key. This assists not only with energy required to pick up weight but also during recovery. The focus should be to improve the nutrition quality of the diet. So you should consider swapping & replacing white bread with multigrain whole wheat brown bread, pork chops with chicken breasts & salmon, nuts, seeds & dried fruit instead of high salt & sugary stuff. We are sharing list of food items which can help you build muscles:
- Eggs
- Lean Beef
- Skinless Chicken Breast
- Salmon
- Tuna
- White Turkey
- Milk
- Avocados
- Quinoa
- Nuts & seeds
- Low fat yoghurt
- Wholegrains
For those following a vegan diet, you need to consider alternative sources of protein. This is quite possible. Do not get disheartened by people telling you that it is impossible to build muscles through plant based protein. You need to experiment what works for you which may take some time. Some plant based protein foods that can help you build muscles:
- Quinoa
- Soy
- Buckwheat
- Bean & Legumes
- Nuts & seeds
- Chickpeas
- Hemp protein
Let us discuss the third & most important leg for your muscle building- your genetics. Your metabolism & frame size are largely impacted by your genes. You can easily gauge through your genetic code whether you have an athletic build or if you are made for power based workout. A lot of it also depends upon your parents & grandparents. If your parents are thin & short, it is more likely you will also be thin & short & it will be more difficult for you to build that six pack. This is the reason you should believe in personalised advice guided by your genetic code rather than general guidance since each one of us responds differently to different exercises. Do not fall in the trap of comparing your bodies & build with that of other people. Just because a celebrity promotes a fitness product does not mean that it will work for everyone in the same way. Your genes also let you know whether you have a predisposition to injuries. If you have high genetic risk to injuries, you should be cautious while training. Some people can train everyday while others need a break of a day. All these impacts the speed at which you can achieve your fitness goals.
By understanding your genes you can structure your training program accordingly. Your training schedule can vary from 100% focus on power or endurance based training to an optimum mix of both endurance & power based training. All this is guided by your genetic composition. If your endurance response score is high, you will benefit more from low weight high repetition exercises rather than power based training. It does not mean that you cannot take power based training however your fitness will be much more effective & sustainable through endurance based training.
Discover your personal traits & learn about your specific genetic predisposition to both workout & nutrition with our genetics based personalised fitness program. Whether you are a busy professional, homemaker or a sportsperson/athlete, by subscribing to our Transformation, Pro-Athlete, Get that X-factor or Get Toned personalised fitness programs, you will not only receive information about genetic response to various aspects of nutrition & fitness but also be coached by an international fitness coach who will cover both genetics powered nutrition & exercise aspects of the program. Sign up here.
Awesome post.
Happy that you enjoying the posts. 🙂