Then, when you enter the gym, focus on your form. Two mini-meals between three basic meals. That way, he says, you won’t feel pressured to eat unhealthy foods or skip meals. “Make sure chicken breasts, (and) meats, are no larger than your palm, and that pastas are no larger than your fists,” a personal trainer to countless celebrities and professional athletes. He also suggests using “smaller bowls, plates, and cups” because studies show people “serve themselves 20-40% more food when they’re using larger plates.” Here’s how to estimate portion sizes.
Everything you consume should have substantial nutritional value. Perform compound movements and train with weights on average around four times a week. With activity levels decreasing throughout the day, he advises to “eat less the day goes on.”
Control your portion sizes
You’ll be eating more often, so paying attention to portions is extremely important. Make sure you're eating healthy
Ask almost any personal trainer. They’ll tell you that regardless of your training goals, healthy eating is the backbone. Food is what fuels your body to reach your goals, and without proper nutrition through quality foods, you’re likely to stall. First, increase your caloric and complete protein intake, so your body has enough building blocks to get bigger. Check out 10 of our favorite simple meal-prep recipes.
Eat more clean food
Eating only three daily meals? Not a great idea. “You want the most nutritional bang for your buck,”. Maintain a balanced diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, complete proteins, and healthy fats like fish oils and flaxseeds.
Prepare ahead
Preparing meals in advance gives you the best chance to accomplish your nutrition goals, and fitness. Remember, muscle tissue grows out of the gym when you’re giving your body time to relax and recover following your workouts. “Everything you eat should serve some sort of nutritional purpose in your body, fuel your workouts, and (be) geared toward optimizing your body.”
Understand the basics of building muscle
Talk to any personal trainer and they’ll tell you there are certain muscle-building basics. “Half the people I deal with aren’t losing weight because they don’t eat enough,” Never underestimate the importance of rest.
“If you’re failing at 20 seconds, you know that weight was too heavy.”
Work your full range of motion
Don’t take any shortcuts. “Your muscles will do more work per rep, and it will result in your breaking down more tissue by the end of the workout.”
Carefully consider cardio
If getting huge is your goal, then throttle back on your cardio workouts, chances are, you’ll be burning far too many calories
Wondering how to get the most out of lifting weights? “Use a weight that will have you failing on the set between the 30- and 40-second mark,” “Aim for the largest range of motion you can achieve in your exercises,” So what should you do if you still want to get in some cardio? If you’re aiming to burn fat, of course, then focus on getting enough protein every day (usually one gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight), while still keeping your overall caloric intake low.
Time under tension causes muscle to grow.
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