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Muscle gain is a common goal for many fitness enthusiasts. However, the journey towards achieving this goal is often filled with debate and controversy. Some people believe that genetics play a significant role in muscle gain, while others argue that training and diet are the key elements. This blog post seeks to shed light on the importance of a balanced diet in muscle gain and how it interacts with other factors such as genetics and training.
Muscle gain can be visualized as an equilateral triangle with three sides: genetics, training (plus recovery), and diet. Each side is equally important, and a deficiency in one can hamper the overall progress.
Genetics sets the physiological limits for muscle gain. Training, on the other hand, provides the stimulus for muscle growth. It should be intense, continuous, and supported by a good diet. However, the diet is the fuel that powers the body to respond to the training stimulus and recover effectively.
Diet plays a significant role in muscle gain, especially for athletes who have already undergone initial physiological adaptations due to training. While initial muscle hypertrophy can occur regardless of nutrition, the body's response to anabolic-hypertrophic stimuli differs significantly with or without a correct diet.
A diet for muscle gain must be healthy, nutritionally balanced, and have an energy intake equal to or greater than a normal caloric diet. It should also promote multi-fractional energy distribution.
The diet should be harmless and aim to support the energy expenditure and meet the nutritional needs of the individual. It should provide sufficient energy and nutrients to maintain a desirable physiological weight and body composition. If needed, the overall contributions can be increased based on individual needs.
The diet should be at least normocaloric, meaning it should provide enough energy to maintain the desirable physiological weight and body composition. An increase in the portion of carbohydrates (with anti-catabolic function before training or pro-anabolic at the end of training) and possibly the lipid portion can be considered. Proteins should also be distributed uniformly throughout the day to favor the reconstruction of myofibrils and predispose them to hypertrophy.
The distribution of meals becomes crucial for the optimization of the strategy and its "practicability". The energy and nutritional distribution of the diet must be multi-fractionated, ensuring total coverage of nutrients and avoiding catabolism throughout the day.
Carbohydrates in the diet must ensure sufficient energy intake to avoid catabolism, stimulate insulin for muscle anabolism, and support the reconstruction of energy reserves.
Fats in the diet have the function of covering the need for essential lipids and fat-soluble vitamins. They should not increase proportionally to the energy and maintaining them around 25% would limit the increase in adipose tissue.
Proteins in the diet must be calculated based on the individual's muscle mass. They must be distributed throughout the day and with emphasis post-workout - especially to ensure the supply of the amino acid leucine.
Taking everything said previously into account, a balanced diet plays a crucial role in muscle gain. It provides the necessary energy and nutrients for training and recovery. It also supports the body's response to anabolic-hypertrophic stimuli. Therefore, anyone aiming for muscle gain should pay keen attention to their diet.