Rejoice! In less than a week, gyms in the UK reopen their doors, and exercise enthusiasts who’ve been chomping on the protein-boosted bit are unleashed once again.
Let’s face it, those all-important gains (‘progressive muscle growth’ to those who have been living under a rock they couldn’t lift for the last few years) haven’t come easy in the hastily arranged home gym environment, and we can’t wait to get back down to business in the real thing soon.
That said, and however much we’ve missed the gym, so much of the hard work doesn’t actually occur in there. Instead, everything from what you eat to the amount you sleep has a huge impact on whether your workouts are as optimised as possible. With that in mind, here are 6 lifestyle hacks to maximise your gains pre and post gym.
NUTRITION, NUTRITION, NUTRITION
Your body needs fuel to build muscle, make no mistake, but the standard gym-goer’s received wisdom regarding diet and muscle growth can be murky at best and downright misleading at worst. Simply put, you will struggle to gain muscle if you’re calorie-cutting, since the more protein you consume (and your body stores), the larger your muscles can grow. This is all down to protein synthesis.
The problem, according to Men’s Health, is that your body is constantly using up its protein reserves for other purposes, leaving you less leftover for the primary use of muscle repair and rebuilding.
The US’ weight based Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of protein suggests 0.8 grams of protein should be consumed per kg of body weight each day. But if you’re trying to build muscle mass, this number should be much higher. Some experts suggest doubling it to 1.6 grams of lean protein per 1 kg of body weight – which is roughly the maximum amount that your body can use in a day.
Of course, you should vary the sources of protein you consume to ensure you’re enjoying a more balanced and nutritious diet. Using the grams of protein per kg of body weight method, the average man weighs around 80kg, so if they were trying to build muscle and maximise gains, they’d need to be consuming around 130 grams of lean protein a day, as a maximum. The body can’t use more.
USDA guidelines suggest a maximum of 35% of your daily calorie intake should be devoted to protein. The NHS recommend that the average man and woman need 2’500 and 2’000 calories a day respectively, so the very top end of your lean protein consumption should be 875 or 700 calories, if you prefer to think of it in those terms.
DID WE MENTION NUTRITION?
Not only should you focus on consuming enough protein, but you should also be getting energy from other food sources, in order to provide your body with enough energy so as not to dip into those protein reserves. 65% of your daily calorie intake should be provided by sources which aren’t protein, and you should place a particular focus on complex carbohydrates and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Both of these, along with protein, make up the holy trinity of macronutrients.
You should be looking to support energy and muscle building with around 3-4 grams of complex carbs per kg of body weight a day, with 1 gram of quality unsaturated fats per kg of body weight completing the trifecta.
The best complex carbs include whole grain pasta and rice, as well as sweet potatoes, quinoa, barley, beans and pulses. Fibre rich fruits and vegetables, like apples, berries, bananas, and broccoli, leafy greens and carrots, also qualify. ‘Healthy’ fats – the unprocessed, unsaturated kinds – are found in abundance in oily fish, avocados, olive oil, corn and some nuts.
Of course, getting all of your nutrition from your diet is the healthiest, most sustainable way to do so. That said, if you’re struggling to get sufficient amounts of the good stuff from food alone, supplements are also available designed specifically to help with muscle gain. Why not check here for more information on nutrition and supplements.
That’s not to say you should neglect your micronutrients – the elements of your diet which contain vitamins and minerals rather than giving us energy and muscle building power. Without them, you simply wouldn’t be able to function.
GET ENOUGH SLEEP
Sleep is essential for muscle recovery, repair and growth, and if you’re not getting enough of it, then you’re doing all of your hard work in the gym a massive disservice.
According to the guys at Joe (or should that be ‘according to Joe’? Hang on, my name’s Joe…now we’re just confused), each of the four stages of the sleep cycle plays an essential role in muscle repair and growth.
- During the initial nodding off period, Stage 1, ‘’Brain wave patterns in this stage are associated with muscle memory and ‘logging’ movements learned during the day’’. All that careful attention you’ve paid to proper form in the gym is reinforced here.
- Stage 2 sees the body begin to produce ‘’Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which increases the growth of muscle tissue and regulates the body’s metabolism.’’
- The third stage of sleep sees growth and repair go into overdrive, with more HGH released. What’s more, ‘’anti-inflammatory hormone called prolactin is also released which are important for joint recover.’’
- REM, the fourth stage, sees ‘’your muscles supplied with extra oxygen to breakdown lactic acid. If you’re not getting enough shut-eye, you get painful and potentially-problematic muscle knots called “trigger points” building up.’’
Thanks, Joe. Over to Joe…
All in all, without proper rest and recovery, which is most succinctly released through a nightly 7 to 9 hours of the good stuff (we mean sleep), you’re simply not going to allow your body time to build muscle and maximise those gains.
If you’re keen to learn more about how to get more restorative sleep, then check out these 7 things to try.
HYDRATION
The body comprises 60% of it, so neglecting proper water consumption represents a rookie error if you’re looking to build muscle mass. As such, it’s vital to focus on proper hydration pre-workout, consuming the correct amount of water during it, and also refuelling with the good, liquidy stuff afterwards, too.
One of the biggest mistakes gymgoers make is to allow themselves to be dehydrated when they’re working out, which results in them losing body weight in fluids and making exercise feel harder, in turn reducing productivity and the body’s ability to recover properly, and leaving you more prone to injury. What’s more, studies have suggested that when cells lose water, protein production slows.
Professionals recommend that you drink water regularly throughout the day to stay hydrated. As a general rule, drink 300-500 ml 2 hours before your workout, 80-100 ml 10 minutes before training, 100-150 ml every 10-15 minutes during exercise and more than 200 ml after training. To make sure you are drinking enough water within your workout to restore the fluids you lose, weigh yourself before and after physical activity. You shouldn’t lose more than 2% of your body weight.
MILK BEFORE BED
Sure, you might be thinking that this one’s a tip for the kids only, but let’s be honest here; babies are the kings and queens of ‘gains’. Have you seen their ability to grow? It’s unrivalled.
In fact, a recent study, as highlighted in Runner’s World, found that ‘’one type of protein found in milk–casein–can be digested and absorbed overnight to help speed muscle recovery and growth the day of a resistance workout.’’
Because of this, casein is found in many of the world’s most popular protein shake formulas, with the stuff cited as yielding greater gains in its consumers, as well as boosting strength and even improving metabolic rate.
DESTRESS
You’ve taken the first step to de-stressing by committing to a devoted workout regime. Exercise is consistently praised as the best all-natural stress-busting tool that humans have at their disposal. It does this by releasing endorphins, the brain’s feel-good chemical, and as anyone who has ever experienced a ‘runner’s high’ will tell you, those chemicals certainly do feel good.
But this thing is cyclical, and on the flip side, if you’re regularly stressed out, your muscles can’t rebuild as efficiently. This is because stress increases the body’s production of cortisol, a catabolic, naturally occurring steroid hormone which can inhibit that process of protein synthesis which we mentioned earlier; you know, the one that your body needs to build muscle.
This month is National Stress Awareness Month, and in the spirit of the occasion, as well as for maximising your gains and mood, why not check out these 5 IDEAL exercises to help you relax after a stressful day.