Day in and day out, grueling weight training sessions of slamming heavy weights in the gym and eating beyond the point of feeling “Full” still leave your body at the same point it was when you first purchased your gym membership. “Why is this?” one might ask. There are several reasons why the body may not be responding to the current journey at hand, the journey to gain lean muscle mass is never easy! First of all, the most important and usually most over looked obstacle is lack of rest! Yes, the body has to have rest in order to grow ! Typically speaking, a body part should be given ATLEAST 72 hours of rest before trained again. With that being said, it’s generally not a good idea to even train a body part that often unless it is one of your weaker body parts. Most training splits for bodybuilding workouts provide anywhere from five to seven days of rest before being trained again.
The second factor to examine is nutrition! Although an individual may consume good sources of protein, are they taking in enough calories from complex carbohydrate sources and healthy fats? As for the protein, the best guideline to abide by is multiply your bodyweight times 1.5 and that is how much protein you need per day in order to gain lean muscle mass. Also, protein needs to be consumed every two to three hours, so the body will remain in an anabolic (muscle building) state instead of going into a catabolic (muscle loss) state. Don’t forget those complex carbs (i.e. oatmeal, sweet potato, brown rice) and of course, your omega 3 fatty acids! Ok, so how do people find the time to get all these good calories in and so often?
Meal replacements have been the answer to this dilemma for years! However, not all meal replacements are created equal. I can remember going to my local supplement store back in my teenage years and looking for a great weight gainer, so I could look just like the guys on the box! However, much to my disappointment, when I looked at the nutrition facts on the label, the sugar content was equivalent to buying a bag of sugar at the grocery store! Luckily for us hardcore athletes today, the supplement industry has evolved tremendously! Now when people ask what I recommend for a good weight gainer/meal replacement, I can HONESTLY tell them about REAL MASS by Gaspari Nutrition! This awesome product gives you 50g of protein and 78g of carbs per serving! Click here for more info about REAL MASS by Gaspari Nutrition
