4 Reasons You’re Not Gaining Muscle & The 1 Solution Every Guy Needs (3/4)
What if we told you that this age old mentality of revolving bulking and cutting phases is actually disastrous for your long term health and only applies for professional bodybuilders?
Now we aren't saying that taking time to tone for a holiday and bulk during the winter is a bad thing, but we are saying it has to be done in a sustainable and intelligent manner.
Depending on our genetics and lifestyle we either gain weight quickly or lose weight quickly. Understanding this is paramount to the quality of our success in adding lean muscle and skipping the extra fat from sticking to us as we do so.
The real problem with bulking or cutting is that these cycles are too drastic in nature to yield any long-term results. This zig-zagging between extremes is obviously not sustainable.
So, how can we avoid this?
Well, you can build muscle in a healthy way if you follow a good macronutrient profile and consume nutrient-dense meals while promoting fat loss.
Not weight loss, fat loss.
You see, by finding your sweet spot of eating nutrient dense whole foods, activity and sleep, you will find that putting on muscle and stripping away stubborn belly fat becomes easier than if you were to just 'watch your calories' while eating whatever you like[10]. You can truly do both at once.
Your body only stores fat for two reasons. 1) in times of excess calories 2) abundance of toxins without the nutrient requirements to rid oneself of excess toxins.
Weight loss= Calorie deficit
Fat loss = ridding the body of a “need” to store & hold fat and/or toxins.
The big issue I have with these ‘low calorie, high volume food creations I see on my instagram page is that most of these influencers treat their bodies as if they don’t have any organs but muscle. Our bodies don’t just require macro nutrients (which is what a lot of these influencers focus on), but micronutrients as well.
Simply put, the bodybuilding society's focus on the macronutrients of protein, carbohydrate, and fat has led to a lack of understanding or emphasis on the importance of micronutrients and other vital they are to optimal growth and longevity.
If you dont care about longevity, RL isn’t the place for you.
Micronutrients are things like vitamins and minerals that are needed in *relatively* small amounts for optimal bodily function. They play key roles when it comes to sports and physical activity because of the way they improve energy metabolism and the rate of energy turnover in skeletal muscle during rigorous physical activity[11]. So it would be silly for a diet focused on muscle gain to NOT consider micronutrient intake.
Inadequate intake of vitamins and minerals can lead to a state called "subclinical deficiency". A subclinical deficiency is where there are not enough micronutrients in the system to cause symptoms of disease, but if left untreated, can and WILL lead to clinical malnutrition. Cmon’ lifters, are we just a gang of pirates sailing the high seas without the ability to eat fruit for more than 6 months? Eat an orange(Bell Pepper, Kiwi, or Strawberry) for Heaven-C-ake!
As an example of what a lack of micronutrients do to your ability to build muscle, this study here suggests that lack of vitamin D, calcium and other micronutrients is linked with reduced protein synthesis[12]. Always remember gentlemen that a good diet should be based around a plethora of vitamins and minerals and include property carbohydrates, fats, and protein ratios conducive to your athletic goals.
When you centre your diet around vitality and not just whether you're trying to bulk or cut, you end up staying lean and building muscle simultaneously.
If you need help learning what foods to focus on the #1 source for all vitamins and minerals except Vitamin C is Liver & Eggs. Liver King opinions aside, you’re better with’em than without.
For More nutrition guidance on your journey you can book a free discovery call or join the RLC Discord for 1:1 help.