In order to add more lean muscle mass, the vast majority of hard-gainers need to consume at least 20 calories for each pound of bodyweight. Now, if you are consuming all of this in the form of fruits, vegetables, cooked oatmeal, egg whites, then life is going to be a struggle for you. They are healthy foods, that’s no doubt, but for the hard-gainer, they are not the ideal. Instead, opt for calorie-dense foods, like dried fruit, raw oatmeal, steak, pureed vegetables.
Less volume is normally better for a hard-gainer. So, leave out the fluff and focus on heavy weight goals instead. Go for compound moves for maximum muscle mass gains.
For best results, keep cardio to 20 – 30 minutes worth of low or moderate intensity. All it takes is a couple or three cardio sessions in the week in order to retain a healthy heart. What’s more, it will help to improve muscle cell nutrient delivery, and can actually improve recovery time.
Really, I can’t say enough about this. I am not someone who has time to cook fresh protein packed meals all day long at home. From my experience as someone who works upwards of 70-80 hours a week, I have come to the firm belief that unless you think ahead, you will be stuck without your proper meals. You will rush out the door the next day on your way to work unprepared, and at the mercy of your own voracious appetite. You will have to stop for some fast food more times than once on that day. I believe that this one factor will make or break you in your journey.
If you have a specific diet, you’ll have to take this into consideration when deciding on a protein powder. For instance, if you’re a vegan, you should avoid whey and egg protein powder and select soy. On the other hand, men may want to be careful about using soy due to its apparent impact on the male system.
While it is often overlooked, diet is critical if you wish to gain weight in a healthy manner. Often, you will need to increase your calorie intake but you want to avoid is putting on “slop weight”. This is bodybuilder lingo for packing on a ton of unnecessary fat along with lean muscle. This happens when you eat a lot of red meat that is loaded in fat, consume dairy in excess, or just eat anything in order to acquire extra calories. If you do this while working out, you will add muscle to your frame. However, you will also add a ton of fat that will be of no benefit. That’s not how to gain weight healthfully.
With a whopping 640 calories and 29g of fat for just a small pizza measuring 6″ in diameter, this is a surprising food and just makes its way into the top 10. Pizza Hut may not be one of the first few names you think of when thinking fast food, but it should be. Most people don’t think pizza, in general, is classified as fast food, simply because it isn’t made that fast, but as you could see, there’s even a buffet of foods at your McDonald’s and Burger Kings which would be a smarter choice.