Dietary Strategies to Maximise Muscle Growth

Dietary Strategies to Maximise Muscle Growth: The Ultimate Guide

Introduction

Building muscle isn’t just about lifting heavier weights or pushing through intense workouts. It’s also about properly fuelling your body. Nutrition plays a crucial role in ensuring your training efforts translate into muscle growth. While protein is the star of the show, other factors like Calories, carbs, fats, and micronutrients all contribute to the bigger picture. In this guide, I’ll break down the key dietary strategies you need to maximise muscle growth and optimise your training results.

1. Protein: The Cornerstone of Muscle Growth

Protein is, without doubt, the most important macronutrient when it comes to building muscle. It provides the essential amino acids your muscles need for repair and growth. If you’re serious about maximising muscle growth, aim for at least 1.2-1.6g of protein per kg of your body weight per day, as supported by research from Morton et al. (2017) and Phillips et al. (2016). If you can hit above 1.6g of protein per kg of your body weight, then go for it, but there will likely be some diminishing returns beyond this point.

Why is Protein So Important?

Protein stimulates muscle protein synthesis (MPS), the process that repairs and builds muscle tissue after your workouts. The more consistent you are with protein intake, the better your muscles can recover and grow. Aim for at least 0.3g of protein per kg of your body weight per meal. This helps spike MPS during each meal and supports ongoing recovery. Choose high-quality protein sources – skinless chicken, turkey breast, fish, lean beef, pork loin, eggs, protein bars, protein powder and Greek yoghurt.

2. Carbohydrates: Fuel your Training

Carbs often get a bad reputation, but when you’re in a muscle-building phase, they’re essential. Carbohydrates are your body’s preferred energy source during exercise. When you’re in a Calorie surplus, most of your additional Calories should come from carbs. Why? Because carbs fuel your workouts, help replenish glycogen stores in your muscles, and are protein-sparing, which means they help prevent muscle protein breakdown (MPB).

The Power of Carbs

Research from Burke et al. (2011) shows that a sufficient carbohydrate intake replenishes glycogen and improves exercise performance and endurance. Carbs are also less likely to be stored as body fat, so they’re an excellent choice to support your muscle growth goals. Include sources like oats, rice, potatoes, fruit and veg in your diet to ensure you’re getting enough energy to fuel your sessions and recovery.


3. Fats: Essential for Hormonal Health

Fats are often overlooked, but they play a critical role in maintaining hormone levels, especially those that are essential for muscle growth, like testosterone. Keeping fats at around 30% of your total Calorie intake supports optimal health and hormone function and allows for good dietary variety.


Why Are Fats Important?

Research by Hämäläinen et al. (1984) shows that low-fat diets can reduce levels of sex hormones, which could potentially hinder your progress. On the flip side, consuming too much fat can lead to an excessive Calorie intake, increasing the likelihood of fat gain, as dietary fats are the most Calorie-dense macronutrients, and our body finds it easy to convert excess dietary fats into adipose tissue (body fat). Stick to healthy fats like those found in fatty fish, nuts, seeds, and avocados to support your health and muscle growth without overdoing it.


4. Calories: Finding the Right Balance for Muscle Growth

When it comes to building muscle, your Calorie intake plays a significant role. While many people assume a Calorie surplus is essential for muscle growth, it’s important to understand that muscle can still be built in a Calorie deficit, especially for beginners or those returning to training. However, being in a slight Calorie surplus offers certain advantages, particularly when it comes to promoting recovery and reducing muscle protein breakdown (MPB). A surplus ensures that your body has enough energy to facilitate muscle growth.


Surplus vs. Deficit for Muscle Growth

In a Calorie surplus, the extra energy makes your body less likely to break down muscle tissue for fuel (anticatabolic effect). It also provides additional resources for muscle growth. However, being in a deficit doesn’t automatically mean you can’t build muscle. If protein intake is high and training intensity is optimal, muscle gain is still possible, though it may be slower and more dependent on the individual’s experience and training history.


How to Structure Your Calorie Intake

You can adjust your Calorie intake based on personal preferences and goals. Here are two effective strategies:

  1. Consistent Calories: Consuming the same number of Calories every day ensures a stable energy supply for muscle recovery and growth. This approach is simple and sustainable for many individuals, allowing them to stay consistent with their nutrition and training.

  2. Calorie Cycling: Alternatively, you could cycle your Calories depending on your activity level. On training days, you can eat more Calories – primarily from carbohydrates – to fuel performance. On rest days, you may reduce your intake slightly. This strategy offers flexibility and can be particularly useful for those looking to optimise their training.


5. Micronutrients: Supporting Health and Performance

While macronutrients like protein, carbohydrates, and fats are the primary drivers of muscle growth, micronutrients – vitamins and minerals – play a supportive role in optimising overall health, recovery, and performance. These nutrients contribute to processes like immune function, energy production, and tissue repair, all of which are important for maintaining consistent progress in your fitness journey.

The Role of Micronutrients

A diet rich in colourful fruits and vegetables ensures you’re getting a variety of essential vitamins and minerals. For example:

  • Green vegetables often contain beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, which supports cell function and overall health.

  • Orange and yellow fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin C, which contributes to collagen production for connective tissue health and acts as an antioxidant to reduce oxidative stress. Some of these foods also provide magnesium, a mineral that supports energy metabolism and muscle function.

  • Red foods, such as tomatoes and red peppers, contain lycopene, an antioxidant that helps protect cells from damage caused by free radicals.

While micronutrients don’t directly build muscle like protein or provide energy like carbohydrates, they are vital for keeping your body functioning optimally. A nutrient-dense diet not only supports recovery and immune health but also helps you maintain the consistency needed to perform your best in the gym.


6. Hydration: Don’t Overlook the Basics

Hydration is often overlooked, but it’s essential for overall performance. Even mild dehydration can contribute to fatigue and reduced strength, which may impact the quality of your workouts. While water itself doesn’t directly promote muscle growth, staying hydrated supports key processes like muscle contraction and nutrient transport, helping your body perform optimally.

How to Stay Hydrated

The easiest way to stay on top of your hydration is to carry a water bottle throughout the day. Sipping regularly, particularly during and after workouts, helps replace fluids lost through sweat. Staying hydrated allows you to perform at your best during training and aids in maintaining general health.


7. Supplements: Enhancing Your Progress

Supplements can give you an extra edge when it comes to building muscle. They aren’t a magic fix, but they can help fill in the gaps and support your goals. Here are a few key supplements that can support muscle growth:

  • Whey Protein
    Whey protein is one of the best sources of high-quality protein, perfect for post-workout recovery. It’s quickly absorbed and has the ideal amino acid profile to stimulate muscle growth. I recommend 30g of whey protein after training to help jump-start muscle protein synthesis. You can also mix it in with creatine.

  • Creatine
    Creatine is one of the most researched and effective supplements for strength, recovery, and endurance. Studies like Cramer et al. (2007) and Cooke et al. (2009) highlight its numerous benefits. Take 3-5g daily, preferably post-workout with carbs, to see the best results.

  • Multivitamin
    A daily multivitamin ensures you're covering all your micronutrient bases. It acts as a safety net, ensuring you don’t fall short on essential vitamins and minerals.

  • Omega-3 Fatty Acids
    Omega-3s, particularly EPA and DHA. Omega-3s are considered a ‘Nutraceutical’, so they have many health benefits, including benefitting muscle health – Moon & Bu (2023).

  • Vitamin D
    Blood testing is recommended to get specific recommendations. Vitamin D insufficiencies are very common, so this is definitely something we want to look into, as vitamin D has many important roles in the body, including an immune system role – Martens et al. (2020), bone health via aiding calcium absorption – Hill et al. (2013) and can potentially improve strength – Tomlinson et al. (2015). Ideally, take with fats for optimal absorption.

Conclusion

Maximising muscle growth requires a combination of strategic nutrition and effective supplementation. Protein should be your primary focus, but carbs, fats, and Calories all play crucial supporting roles. Add in a variety of micronutrients to stay healthy, and don’t forget about hydration. If you’re looking to take things further, supplements like whey protein, creatine, and Omega-3s can provide that extra edge. Stay consistent with these strategies, and you’ll be well on your way to achieving your muscle-building goals.