3444: How to Build Muscle Quickly While Maintaining or Losing Fat on Muscle Building

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[00:00:30] It's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily. And I'm Dr. Neal Malik. A very happy Friday to you and welcome back to another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily. Where I answer your health questions related to fitness, diet and nutrition, and lots more. You send me the questions and I answer them for you. Alright, let's hear today's question as we optimize your life. Hi Dr. Neal.

[00:00:57] Well, my question is what an ideal diet or eating regime would be like for someone that's trying to build muscle and trying to bulk up. Thanks! Thank you for your question, Kathy Robinson. As I always say, making muscular gains and proper nutrition, well, they go together like peanut butter and banana. Well, not jelly, because jelly is not as nutrient dense.

[00:01:22] So, let's discuss the exercises and foods you should eat to help you maximize your gains. Let's start with the fitness component. If you want to get bulky, that's using your words, Tanisha, the foundation should involve compound movements and lifting heavy. Because you're going to be lifting heavy weights, the number of repetitions you'll be able to perform will obviously decrease. So, please know, I don't recommend beginners perform the exercises I'm about to describe.

[00:01:50] If you're a beginner, ignore this advice. Now, if you're not a beginner and you're more advanced, according to the American College of Sports Medicine, you want to aim for a range of three to five repetitions in order to build mass. If you can perform more than five repetitions, then the weight you're using might be too light. You can perform multiple sets of the same exercises that I'm about to describe with the goal of getting three to five reps per set.

[00:02:17] Just know, when you lift heavy, you also need a longer break in between sets to recover and regain your strength. So, in between each set, rest those muscles for two to three minutes. Now, why a rep range of three to five? That's because if you can only lift a weight one time, you might increase your chances for injury. And if you're not very experienced, trying to lift a heavy weight only one time, what's sometimes referred to as your one rep max, can lead to some debilitating injuries.

[00:02:47] That's why it's not often recommended. If you're more advanced, then you can work up to performing one rep maxes, but always have a spotter when you perform those. So, what types of exercises should you perform to help you bulk up? Earlier, I mentioned something called compound exercises. These moves use multiple muscle groups at the same time. Examples would be like bench presses,

[00:03:11] because bench press requires you to use your chest, shoulders, and triceps in order to lift the weight. Another example would be pull-ups, because pull-ups use your lats, shoulders, forearms, and biceps. Okay, I'm going to stop listing muscle groups because I think you get the idea. But here are some other examples of compound exercises. Squats, deadlifts, rows, military presses, lat pull-downs, and so on.

[00:03:37] So, these are the key moves that will help the bulking up process. I will also mention that you don't want to perform these types of heavy lifts day after day, week after week. You want to mix in some cardio, of course. Maybe after a couple of weeks of lifting heavy, throw in some lighter sets. Variety is still important here. That will help you avoid imbalances and injury. Now, what should you eat to support all of this hard work? Of course, protein is important. This is because our muscles are made up of protein.

[00:04:08] First, I'm going to use my psychic abilities though and go out on a limb by saying, chances are you're probably already consuming enough protein each day. How could I possibly know this? This is because there have been a lot of data collected on how much and what types of food most folks around the world consume regularly. And what we've learned is that most of us in the Western world, like the United States, consume plenty of protein each day.

[00:04:34] But, do we need protein maybe immediately after a workout to help support muscle growth? Now, I discussed this during last week's Q&A, but I'm going to repeat it here. After your workout, especially after strength training, researchers are discovering that consuming 20 grams of leucine-rich protein is often recommended. Leucine-rich proteins can be found in animal products, as well as vegetarian sources like beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds. So, how much is 20 grams of leucine-rich protein?

[00:05:02] Well, let's take chicken for example. Three ounces of chicken would contain about 27 grams of protein. Three ounces isn't much. It's about the size of a deck of cards. Consuming some carbohydrate after a workout is also beneficial. This is because carbohydrates can help our bodies absorb that leucine-rich protein more efficiently. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends we aim for about one gram of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight after a workout. Now, this does take a little bit of mass to figure out, but stick with me.

[00:05:33] It's not too bad. So, let's say you weigh 150 pounds. You first need to convert your weight in pounds to weight in kilograms. It's easy to do this. Simply divide your body weight in pounds by 2.2. So, using my example, just divide 150 pounds, your current weight, by 2.2. Okay, plugging that into my imaginary calculator, that means 150 pounds is equivalent to 68.2 kilograms.

[00:06:01] No matter what you weigh, use the same formula. Take your body weight in pounds and divide it by 2.2. Okay, now that we know your hypothetical body weight in kilograms, the math is super simple. Because the American College of Sports Medicine says you need one gram of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight, you don't need to do anything else. You have your answer. Using our example, we said 150 pounds is equivalent to 68.2 kilograms.

[00:06:28] And because the recommendation is to get one gram of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight, we would multiply 68.2 times 1, which is 68.2. So, that means if you weigh 150 pounds, you should consume about 68.2 or roughly 70 grams of carbohydrates after a workout. This would be like eating a bowl of oatmeal topped with blueberries.

[00:06:53] Now, combine that with about 20 grams of leucine-rich protein, which would be like 6 ounces of Greek yogurt, and you've met all of your post-workout needs. What about timing? Researchers are discovering that the timing of this post-workout meal is important. The goal is to consume these foods within 20 to 30 minutes of finishing your workout. After a workout, the demand for protein is high, which makes it the best time to replenish it.

[00:07:18] And again, because carbohydrate actually helps with protein absorption, eating both within 20 to 30 minutes of your workout would be ideal. And like I mentioned last week, there's no need to consume too many calories to help bulk up. Typically, I do not recommend individuals gain weight prior to building muscle. So, instead of exceeding your caloric needs, I prefer you simply meet them.

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[00:09:12] Need to hire? This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. Thank you again for the question, Tanisha. Now, if you want to send your questions in and get a copy of our Optimal Living Daily Workbook for doing so, you can email them to health at oldpodcast.com. That's health at oldpodcast.com. Or, if you want your voice played on the show, come by oldpodcast.com slash ask.

[00:09:40] Or, you can do it the old-fashioned way and call in your question. The number is 161-ILOVE-OHD. That's 1614-568-3643. Thank you so much for sending me your questions. Answering them is one of my favorite parts of this show. All right, that's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily. Thank you so much for listening every day and all the way through. I hope you have a great start to your weekend,

[00:10:09] and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.