It’s that time of year again. The sun doesn’t have it’s usual bite, the waters cold, and with each passing day you find yourself looking for warmer and warmer clothes. Summer is over and that means one thing – it’s time to grow some muscle, it’s time for bulking season. But how do you grow those muscles? There are three fundamentals for growth of muscle;
1. TYPE OF TRAINING
In order for muscles to achieve growth, they need to be subjected to either mechanical tension, metabolic stress or muscle damage. This is best achieved through resistance training and, more specifically, hypertrophy training.
2. REST/SLEEP
A proper rest period and sleep routine are required in order for muscles to have ample time for recovery. After the muscle is ‘damaged’ during resistance training the cells on the outside of the muscle fibre become active and begin to repair the muscle by joining together which increases the muscle fibre (growth). Ideally you should aim for 8 hours of quality sleep each day and minimum 48 hours rest before training a muscle group again.
3. FOOD
Food is the fuel for your body. Without adequate fuel your body can’t operate and when you put your body through intense exercise the demand for fuel skyrockets. For muscle growth, you need to intake more calories/kilojoules than what you body is burning off, this is known as a calorie/kilojoule surplus.
Food can be broken down into three macronutrients which are protein, carbohydrates and fats. Different body types require different amounts of each micronutrient. To find out how much of each macronutrient your body requires for muscle growth, come see us in store for an Evolt 360 body scan!
With those fundamentals sorted you will be on your way to muscle growth. The assist with or ensure that growth there are several supplements you can use;
MASS GAINERS
To put it simply mass gainers are an ease of delivery of calories/kilojoules. For muscle growth, your food is you best friend if you find you are struggling to reach your calorie/kilojoule surplus you can use a mass gainer as a quick and easy delivery of clean calories. Mass gainers can vary from lean gainers (400 calories/kilojoules per serve) to bulk gainers (1200 calories/kilojoules per serve). General rule is the higher the calorie/kilojoule the greater the carbohydrate to protein ratio.
We recommend: CYBORG SPORT Reboot CRS (lean mass gainer), OPTIMUM NUTRITION Pro Gainer (standard mass gainer) and OPTIMUM NUTRITION Serious Mass (heavy mass gainer)
CREATINE
The main stay of strength athletes all around the world. Creatine is the most researched sports supplement and is held in high regard by anybody who uses it. Creatine not only assists in muscle growth but it also enhances strength and improves athletic performance via increased cell hydration, reduced protein breakdown and improved cell signalling.
We recommend: TRUSTED NUTRITION Creatine
ZINC/MAGNESIUM
Zinc and Magnesium should be a staple in any gym goers daily routine. The list of benefits include;
- Improve sleep quality
- Improve athletic performance
- Boost immune system
- Assist in mood elevation
- Aid blood sugar control
We recommend: BODY SCIENCE ZMB6+
TESTOSTERONE BOOSTERS
Testosterone is a hormone naturally produced by both men and women (women produce approximately 1/10th of what men produce). In men, it is the main hormone responsible for sexual and reproductive development but also has a hand in fat distribution, red cell production and both the maintenance and increase of muscle strength and mass. There are a few ways to naturally increase your testosterone such as getting enough sleep, keeping body fat to a balanced level, reduce stress and staying active. There are also many supplements, herbs and vitamins which will assist in boosting testosterone levels such as;
- D-aspartic Acid
- Tribulus Terrestris
- Fenugreek
- Tongkat Ali
- Ashwagandha
- Vitamin D
We recommend: ATP SCIENCE Alpha Jupiter
Disclaimer: The above article is merely a guide and is in no way a recommendation or a treatment protocol for any health conditions or diseases. You should always consult with a qualified health care provider before changing your supplement, training or nutritional strategy. Supplementation should not be attempted by pregnant or breastfeeding women, anyone on prescription medication or children under the age of 15 unless advised by your qualified health care provider.
Author: Chad Streatfield
