What if I told you that you could retain or even gain more muscle mass and strength with less training? The secret lies in your nutrition.
But ignoring nutrition isn't an option. Knowing how nutrition works will help you utilize it for your fitness and strength gains. This works for anyone and everyone, for general fitness maintenance or muscle mass gain.
here is my list of the top ten foods to help you gain more muscle mass and strength.
Eggs
Eggs have been vilified for years as artery-clogging foods. But further research into the role of dietary cholesterol and heart disease shows that for most people, the two are not linked. Eggs have since returned to the spotlight as a health food, especially for building serious muscle. The cholesterol found in eggs yolks serves at the scaffolding for steroid hormones, and the ½ a gram of leucine in each egg is like throwing gasoline on your muscle-building fire.
Lean Beef
Beef is important for building lean muscle due to its protein content, cholesterol, zinc, B vitamins and iron content. Beef from grass-fed cattle have much higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) than conventionally raised cattle, which gives you a boost in shedding bodyfat and building lean muscle.
Skinless Chicken
Like beef, chicken is an excellent source of high quality protein, which is important for muscle maintenance and repair, bone health, and weight maintenance. And of course, there are so many ways you can cook and prepare chicken. Go down to the store and you can easily find chicken meat cut into single serving sizes that can be seasoned and quickly cooked.
Cottage Cheese
It may sound surprising, but most serious bodybuilders include cottage cheese among their top muscle-building foods. To understand why, simply read the label of your typical low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese. Just 1/2 cup of low-fat cottage cheese packs a whopping 14 grams of protein in only 80 calories with less than two grams of fat. Trust us, this one’s a winner.
Tuna
Tuna is ultra-rich in protein, and very lean, especially when compared to terrestrial animal protein. If you’re buying tuna steaks, though, aim for sustainably fished tuna, since they are a heavily fished species. On a budget? A single 5-oz can of chunk white tuna (actually albacore, a tuna relative) contains 30 grams of protein.
Apples
The specific polyphenols in apples help to increase muscle strength and prevent muscle fatigue, allowing you to train harder for longer.
Other research also shows that these polyphenols can increase fat burning as well. That's why it's a good idea to make apples a pre-workout carb source.
Whey Protein
There is a reason why whey protein supplements are the most popular supplement in the fitness industry: they provide a fast and convenient source of protein at an affordable price. Bodybuilders normally use them when they wake up, right after their workout, and mixed with some of their meals. For the rest of us, a scoop in our shakers right after our workouts can be very effective for muscle mass gains. It’s important that you still get high quality protein from whole foods, and use whey protein as a boost.
Whole Grains
Whole grains digest more efficiently and provide more nutrients than refined grains. This promotes sustained energy levels and overall health. In particular, brown rice can help boost your growth hormone levels, which are critical for encouraging lean muscle growth, fat loss, and strength gains.
Healthy Fats
I know the thought of consuming fat makes some of you shudder, but good fats are essential for muscle growth. In fact, they play an essential role in hormone production (testosterone and growth hormones), which helps drive muscle growth and strength gains. In addition, fats are needed for many important maintenance functions. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are the good fats. You can find them in salmon, other fishes, nuts, leafy veggies, oils such as flaxseed, avocados, and seeds. They are also all rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
healthy fats
Fats are vitally important for bodybuilders, as they aid with growth and development and mineral absorption and act as a source of energy. Healthy fats are monounsaturated fats, such as the kind found in nuts, olive oil and avocado, as well as polyunsaturated fat found in oily fish and seeds. An adequate intake of healthy fats is critical in your bodybuilding diet, but so is the timing of your fat consumption.