The Secret to Building Serious Muscle Mass

1. Eat up!

Looking to bulk? Check out our Loaded Waffle Recipe for a high protein treat.

Yeah, it’s not rocket science, to build muscle and size you need to eat to compensate. You’ll want to be in a caloric surplus, that means that you need to be eating more than your body burns in a day.

If you’re an ectomorph and have trouble keeping size on, eating consistently and eating well is so important.

If you’ve been putting in the hard yards at the gym but still find yourself not gaining weight, you probably aren’t eating enough!

The secret is to make eating a habit, this way you can avoid forgetting to eat! If you don’t already, start tracking your daily calorie intake (try an app like MyFitnessPal) and from there add around 500 calories to your daily total at a time and see what changes you notice in body weight, recovery, muscle growth and strength in the gym.

Eating may seem like a full-time job when you are bulking but believe us when we say it’s a whole lot more fun than cutting down.

If you are struggling to get the recommended amount of protein in your diet, supplements are one way of ensuring maximum nutritional benefits. Some of the best supplements for muscle growth include protein, BCAAs and creatine.

We do recommend eating pretty healthy too, it can’t be all doughnuts, pizza and ice cream, unfortunately. You want to get good quality proteins, complex carbs and healthy fats into your body to build the most muscle as possible.

But in saying that, cheat meals are good now and then to satisfy cravings and shock your body a little which can help with boosting metabolism and avoiding nasty plateaus.

2. Hit the weights

That’s right, you’ve gotta work those muscles to get them to grow! Around 3-4 weight sessions a week is all you need to work on your different muscle groups and promote muscle development. Try to stick to an hour for each as you want to keep the intensity high, so less chit chat to other members and more work, please!

Focusing on the major lifts squat, bench press and deadlift is a good place to start. Programs like Wendler’s 5,3,1, traditional muscle group split or other strength-based programs are good choices when it comes to training. Keep in mind, it’s always good to change up your rep range (or deload) every now and then if you find you’re hitting a plateau.

Cardio is, of course, less important when you’re wanting to put on weight but some low-intensity steady state such as a light walk could be helpful in loosening up your muscles (especially after leg day) but you can avoid cardio as much as you like while you’re aboard the gains train.

3. Let your body rest

Rest is equally important as training hard, word. Without a bit of downtime our bodies won’t fully recover and listen to this, muscles get built during times of rest not when you’re going hard at the gym.

Overtraining is real, so make sure you allow a day or two of rest each week. Relax and eat up, you don’t need to change your calories on non-training days as your body uses the extra fuel to recover and grow (woohoo!)

4. Get enough Z’s

Sleep is more important for muscle gains than you might initially think.

While we sleep, growth hormone is produced and protein synthesis occurs (especially if a slow absorbing protein like Micellar Casein is used before bed), these processes are crucial for muscle recovery and growth. Not to mention our brain cells are recharged and our energy levels replenished.

Sleep does wonders and it plays an important role in muscle gains, get at least 8 hours and you’ll be thanking us later.

5. Supplement with Muscle Food 101

When you’re looking to grow some serious mass, Muscle Food 101 is your best bud.

Shakes are great to get fuel into your body and your premium gainer Muscle Food 101 is the ideal choice when it comes to bulking up.

It mixes easily in water or milk, tastes super delicious and is really convenient for busy people especially if you find it hard to eat whole food meals throughout the day or at work. One or two serves of Muscle Food 101 each day in between complete meals is a top way to get big.

It offers a 2-1 ratio of carbs and protein to promote growth and recovery, added MCT oils for improved performance and a wide array of amino acids that’ll work to boost recovery and build muscle.

Plus, it’s light on the stomach when compared to other gainers on the market (and tastes seriously good, you won’t have any trouble getting it down) which is great when you need to get a lot of calories in.

There you go, our top 5 tips for a successful bulk.

Stick to these and you’ll be on your way to building serious muscle mass so you can take your training (and physique) to a whole new level.

Be sure to grab yourself some Muscle Food 101, if you’re keen to give it a try by requesting a free sample and we’ll send a tester your way.

We’d also recommend having a browse of our Gains & Growth category if you’re after additional supplementation.

Further to that our friendly customer service team can answer any questions you have about muscle gains and supplementation, simply hit them up!