How Much Protein Needed to Build Muscle?

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Here's an easy formula to help you determine how much protein to take to build new muscle. There's a VERY basic way that bodybuilders / power-lifters used to use to determine how much protein their bodies required, but it was not very accurate and could be dangerous if they took extremely high levels of protein.

The old formula was to simply multiply your body-weight (in pounds) by 2. They said this was the number of grams of protein you'd require.

The accurate way to determine protein requirements is to use this formula:
Multiply your total body weight by your body-fat %.
Subtract the number of pounds of body-fat from total body-weight.
This number is your total Lean Body Mass (LBM)
Multiply LBM (x) 1.818
This is the exact protein requirement of your body for your total LBM.

Example: I'm a 240 pound bodybuilder, currently at approximately 15% body-fat.

240 pounds (x) 15% (=) 36 pounds of body-fat.
240 pounds (-) 36 pounds
LBM (=) 204 pounds
204 (x) 1.818
Daily Protein Requirement (=) 370.872 grams.

Now in contrast, if I had used the old method and multiplied my body-weight (x) 2, here's what it would have looked like:

240 pounds (x) 2 (=) 480grams of protein per day. As you can see, that is way too much protein and could side effects like kidney problems.

It is typically very difficult to get enough protein since our diets are typically carbohydrate based, but natural protein sources like chicken, fish, meat, beans etc. can be a good base. There are a lot of varieties of protein supplements that work very well, including: 100% Casein Protein, 100% Egg Protein, 100% Whey Gold Standard.

Foods That Build Muscle

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To build muscle, you need food for energy and for muscle building. It doesn't matter how hard you work out, if you don't give your body the foods it needs for energy and muscle building, your workouts will be useless.

The Energy Foods - Carbohydrates

You have to give your body fuel to burn if you want your workouts to be effective. If you don't have enough fuel, you will lose momentum quickly. In this manner, your body works much like a car. What happens when your car runs out of fuel? It stops. The same is true for your body.

Even if you are able to continue moving, the processes of the body will not be able to do their job.
Eat a lot of complex carbohydrates a couple of hours before a muscle building workout. These include foods like potatoes, pasta, whole grain breads and vegetables. If you are looking to put on a lot of muscle, your body will need a lot of fuel. After your workout, stock up again by eating some carbs with your protein.

The Muscle Builders - Protein

It is protein that is utilized by the body for building muscle. You must have a certain amount of protein every day just to keep the muscle you have. When you are trying to put on muscle mass, you will need more protein.

Protein should be eaten AFTER a workout. This is because it is after your workout that your muscles begin the building up process. Muscles build up by repairing the "damage" you do to them by lifting heavy weights. By eating protein rich foods after a workout, you are giving your body what it needs to build the muscle you want. Good sources of protein come from red meat, chicken, turkey, fish, cheese and eggs, nuts, beans and yogurt. Eat some carbohydrates with your protein to replenish your glycogen stores. If glycogen stores are depleted, the body uses the protein in its place. You don't want that - you want the protein to go where it is meant to go - to building muscle.

What Food to Eat to Gain Muscle

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Imagine how good you will feel when you know what food to eat to gain muscle. As you read each word of this article I will tell you what the best foods to eat are and why.

Gaining muscle should start with the right diet, many people overlook eating the right foods and they end up failing, now as your reading this article that wont happen to you!

First off im sure you'll find it helpful to know that you should aim to drink between 8-9 glasses of water a day, this is important as it will keep you hydrated and will help to flush out the harmful toxins in your body. I also recommend drinking 2-3 protein shakes a day too. You can buy protein shakes from most supermarket, health food shops, gyms and on the internet.

Now you probably already know that you should not eat junk food, cutting out all junk and processed foods is a must if you want to build muscle because junk food will just make you fat, so cut it out!

Instead you should eat foods that are high in protein and high in carbohydrates. The protein is important because it helps to rebuild your body after the damage you do from exercise and carbohydrates are important because that give you plenty of energy you need to lift weight. The following is a list of foods that are high in protein and carbohydrates, I suggest creating yourself a menu full of these foods for each day of the week. You should aim to eat 3-4 meals a day from your new menu, now I know 3-4 sounds a lot but you need to eat a lot more to build muscle.

Some great foods that are high in protein are-

Chicken
Red meat
Nuts
Fish
Cheese
Egg whites

Some great foods high in carbohydrates are-

Oatmeal
Rice
Vegetables
Fruits
Potatoes
Cereals that contain grains

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