Foods That Build Muscle - Breakfast

You've undoubtedly heard it said before, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. When you're trying to build lean muscle, the foods you consume become even more important. This piece will focus on what foods you can consume for this critical meal that will give you the results you want.

Too many people who are trying to build muscle follow what I consider unrealistic nutritional guidelines. Nutrition is the critical component for seeing the results you want from your works outs. The best workout regiment in the world won't expose your six pack abs unless you're giving your body the nutritional intake it requires to build lean quality muscle. For you to experience any results, or long term results, you must follow a nutritional regiment that is realistic and doable.

A realistic nutritional regiment will be something you can commit to over the course of time. It must consist of foods you enjoy eating, food that are readily available and it must not require expertise in the kitchen to put together. If any of these three elements are missing, you're chances of straying away from your nutritional plan increases. You will only build muscle from a nutritional regiment you can actually follow.

I'm not suggesting you slack off on what you and only eat the foods you enjoy eating. Building muscle is about making the right food choices, which for most means making modifications in what they decide to eat, but does not have to mean eating only vegetables or cutting out entire food groups!

Here are a list of what I consider muscle building staples, foods you should have on you at all times for your breakfast options:

- Eggs/Egg whites
- Oatmeal
- Skim or low fat milk
- Turkey Bacon
- Cinnamon
- Cereal
- Protien Shake
- Fruit
- Potatoes
- Waffels

At first glance you might be surprised I have some of the foods listed here that I do. Good! I want to be clear that eating to build muscle doesn't mean you have to starve your self by not eating carbs or eating foods you don't like. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Balance is key here. This is the meal that will get your day started so its important to have the right combination of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. I don't believe in calorie counting either. It doesn't fit into my requirement of something that is sustainable and realistic. Most importantly, counting calories misses the point. If you're giving your body the right kind of foods to build muscle, you can consume without worrying so much about the quantity.

Generally speaking my breakfast consists of 3-4 scrambled eggs (1 yoke and three whites), 3 strips of turkey bacon, one pack of instant oatmeal, a glass of skim milk and my omega-3 supplement.

Remember building muscle is a simple process, don't overcomplicate it.

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What Most Forget About To Build Muscle

Introduction:

With the huge span of fitness topics out there from nutrition to stretching it is easy to forget some of the fundamental elements that enable a person to really build muscle. This article will deal with the challenge you face every time you step inside that gym... the challenge of pushing limits. Before you read on let me just say that while no one is expected to break fitness barriers every single day (in fact trying to would prove bad for you) it is essential to build upon strength. In this article we will be discussing periodization training and how to best use it.

Periodization: Manipulating Your Muscles

So first things first, what exactly is periodization? Periodization is a concept developed and best represented by an author by the name of Tudor Bompa. It deals with a training program that has been around since Greek Olympic times; however, it has been often improvised into the style we hear about today. Periodization has to do with decreasing and increasing volume (reps x sets) and intensity (percentage of weight lifted based on a 1 rep max). This method is all about maximizing recovery of particular muscle fibers.

Another way to think about periodization is to think of it like cross-training except just for lifting weights. You sort of "cross-train" your muscles by changing the volume and intensity and by doing this you make sure that all muscle fibers are worked thoroughly at some point during the training process without idling becoming used to your workout.

Periodization Stage 1:

It is best to build a strong foundation of muscle endurance and fitness before lifting any really heavy weights. To do this you will have to weight lift using more volume. Usually a template of 4 sets with 10 repetitions will do nicely, and do about 65-70% of your maximum lifting capacity with whatever exercise you choose. Without this first stage it will be much more difficult to lift at full capacity and build strength fully in later stages.

Periodization Stage 2:

After about 4-5 weeks of this hypertrophy (high repetition) stage you will be moving on to a more intensive weight lifting stage. This will include heavier weights as well as fewer repetitions. During this second phase it is time to start building strength and power, usually an intensity of 80-90% of lifting capacity for each exercise. Do exercises of 4-5 sets with 6-8 repetitions.

One of my favorite training routines to merge into my workouts is the 5x5 (5 sets, 5 repetitions). This is a great repetition and set range for stage two. The main thing to remember when on this part of your training cycle is to struggle with the heavy weight but still manage to complete most or all sets.

Periodization Stage 3:

So it's been a couple of months now and you are seeing the fruits of your labor provided you eat right and get enough recovery and now it's time to see how much you can lift. This phase is all about lifting as much weight as possible. This phase typically has a set range of 5-6 with repetition range of 3-4.

During this stage it is important to be very "explosive" with your lifts and this means doing them quickly and correctly. The explosive aspect of this phase will involve muscle fibers you have yet to really work. By doing this you will help increase the effectiveness that the neurons in your body have at controlling your muscles. So if you do a sport this is a very good phase for increasing functional strength.

Great! But Then What?

The important thing is to keep changing the way you work your muscles. After the third stage you should go back to doing something like stage one. The way this works is that now you'll be able to lift more weight than when you started stage one. So once you restart at stage one, your 65-70% lifting capacity will now be greater.

Don't Forget Recovery!

Even if you make a great workout program and follow it exactly, it could still get you nowhere if you do not recover properly. Recovery is extremely important to gaining muscle. Why? Because it is truly the only time you CAN gain muscle. When you lift you are actually breaking down muscle, not building it.

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