If you want to gain weight and muscle mass, you must make changes in your diet and exercise in order to achieve your long-term goals. Healthier food choices and proper exercise can help you gain weight safely and build lean muscle mass. You don't need to be at an unhealthy weight or eat unhealthy foods. The right combination of calories and exercise will help you gain weight safely and build muscle mass.
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Part 1 of 4: Setting Goals
Step 1. See a doctor
Before starting an exercise program or drastically changing your diet, see your doctor to discuss your health.
- State your reasons for wanting to gain weight and muscle mass, and say what you would like to change in your lifestyle.
- Ask for a safe amount of increase for your age and gender. If you gain too much, you may fall into the overweight category.
Step 2. Set realistic goals
Everyone's body has different abilities. So, set realistic long-term goals.
- Goals should be measurable and specific, not just "gain weight" or "gain muscle." Try to set specific goals. Vague or impossible goals will be more difficult to achieve.
- Also, set a timeframe for long-term goals. For example, you want to gain 5 kg in three months.
- After that, make short-term goals to help achieve long-term goals. One way is to make weekly goals to keep commitments.
Step 3. Track your progress
Each time you set a goal, track its progress. This will motivate you and also serve as valuable feedback.
- Use a variety of measures to show progress. You can track your weight, body fat percentage, or body circumference.
- Tracking progress will help evaluate the success of your diet and exercise. For example, if you're not gaining weight, you may need to evaluate your calorie intake or how many calories you burn during exercise. With assessments or measurements every two weeks, you can get an accurate picture of the success of the program.
Step 4. Find a reliable partner
Find people to become partners you can rely on in this program. Lifestyle changes like this are quite difficult. A partner you can talk to will be able to keep you motivated or committed.
- Talk to a friend, family member, trainer/nutritionist, or co-worker. If you can see her weekly, ask if you can report her progress.
- You also have to take responsibility for yourself. After all, you must make these changes. While a partner can help, you need to stay focused.
Part 2 of 4: Eat to Gain Weight and Muscle Mass
Step 1. Talk to a nutritionist
A nutritionist can guide you to choose the right diet and foods in your program to build muscle and gain weight.
- Ask your doctor for a dietician's recommendation or search the internet for a local nutritionist. Many nutritionists specialize in weight gain and/or sports nutrition.
- Talk about your goals and ask for advice on how to achieve them. You will need to ask for food menus, cooking suggestions, and total calorie goals that must be met.
Step 2. Increase your calorie intake
To gain weight, you must increase your overall calorie intake. Increase your calorie intake to 250-500 calories a day. This usually results in a gain of 0.25 to 0.5 kg per week.
Adding more calories than that or eating unhealthy foods will help you gain weight, but they are generally unhealthy
Step 3. Choose calorie-dense foods
Increasing his daily calories may be difficult. You need to eat more and choose foods that are high in calories. If you have trouble meeting your daily calorie needs, try adding healthy, high-calorie foods.
- For example, full-fat dairy products, olive oil, avocado, nuts, and peanut butter.
- Add olive oil or butter to the food after it is prepared. Add avocado to lettuce or serve with scrambled eggs in the morning. Mix peanut butter in a protein shake or eat it as an afternoon snack.
- Avoid sugary junk food. Eating cakes, candy, donuts, and friends can indeed increase weight, but not in a healthy way.
Step 4. Get enough protein
If you're trying to gain weight and build muscle, you'll need to eat enough protein to support your goals. Lean protein (and vegetables) should be the cornerstone of your diet.
- The general recommendation is to consume 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
- However, some studies show that alone is not enough, especially if your goal is to build lean muscle mass. We recommend consuming about 1 gram of protein for every 0.5 kg of body weight. However, do not exceed that number.
- One serving of protein is about 75–125 grams. Adding a serving of lean protein to your diet and snacks will help you meet your minimal goals, maybe even a little higher than your minimal goals.
- Prioritize lean protein and moderate fat protein. Try poultry, eggs, low-fat or full-fat dairy products, medium-fat beef, lean pork, seafood, or legumes.
- Avoid high-fat, fried, or processed protein options. Fried foods, processed meats, or fast food are not healthy options and should not be consumed to aid weight gain.
Step 5. Eat healthy carbohydrates before and after exercise
Studies show that eating complex carbohydrates after exercise can help minimize muscle breakdown and increase muscle mass in the long run.
- Eat a carbohydrate-dense snack 30 to 60 minutes before exercising. It provides energy for muscles during exercise, maintains blood sugar levels, and supports recovery after exercise.
- Examples of healthy carbohydrates to eat after exercise are fruit, mashed potatoes, whole grain bread, dried fruit, or yogurt.
- Also, incorporate healthy sources of carbohydrates into other meals and snacks. Whole grains, fruit, legumes, and starchy vegetables are important sources of nutrition in the diet. Include a variety of these foods every day.
Step 6. Eat fruits and vegetables
Even if you focus more on protein and high-calorie foods, it's still important to eat enough fruits and vegetables every day.
- The recommended daily consumption of fruits and vegetables is five to nine servings. Eating fruit or vegetables with each meal or in a snack can help achieve this goal.
- One serving of fruit is approximately equal to cup or one slice. One serving of vegetables is roughly equal to 1 cup or 2 cups of leafy greens.
Step 7. Consider taking a protein supplement
Maybe you need to drink protein shakes to meet your daily protein needs and accelerate muscle building.
- You can drink protein shakes at any time. However, studies show that drinking a 20 gram protein shake before strength training increases protein synthesis.
- You can also use protein drinks to increase your overall calorie intake. Mix a protein drink with high-fat milk, fruit, peanut butter, or avocado.
Step 8. Have a food journal
A food journal is very helpful in trying to gain weight. You can see what you've eaten and how it affects your weight.
- Write down your food intake realistically. Buy a food scale and measuring cup (cup) to be more accurate. This tool is especially helpful when you want to determine how much you've eaten.
- When you're just starting out, it's difficult to implement a program as intended, especially if the changes you want are big enough. Combine it with an exercise journal, or buy a separate journal, to keep you aware of how much and how often you eat.
- Reopen your food journal if you are not gaining weight, losing weight, or gaining too much. Change diet as needed.
Part 3 of 4: Exercising to Support Weight Gain and Muscle Mass
Step 1. See a sports coach
After getting approval from your doctor, consider seeing a personal trainer. Your trainer can recommend different types of exercise that promote weight gain and fitness.
- Fitness professionals have qualifications that enable them to help you achieve your exercise goals.
- State your goals and ask how they can help you build muscle mass. You can even ask them to make a weekly plan.
- You can work with trainers in fitness centers or find consultant trainers who work independently in fitness centers and sports facilities.
Step 2. Work all major muscle groups
To increase muscle mass, you must work each and every muscle group.
- It is important that you strengthen all muscles including your core, lower body, upper body, arms, and chest.
- You can exercise three to four days. On those days, train major muscle groups in one day. Ideally, follow it with one day of rest.
- You can also do strength training most days if you choose to work a separate muscle group each day. Make sure you don't train the same muscle group two days in a row.
Step 3. Include rest days
While regular exercise is essential for gaining muscle mass, resting one to two days each week is equally important.
- Most muscle growth and strengthening actually occurs during the resting phase.
- If you don't include regular rest days, don't work the same muscle group two days in a row. For example, don't do arm and chest exercises on Mondays and Tuesdays. Try working your arms and chest on Monday and working your legs on Tuesday.
Step 4. Record your progress
Record the exercises you do in an exercise journal. This can help maintain motivation as well as be a guide.
- Keeping a journal will ensure that you gain weight when you exercise. In addition, you can also find out what day you do a particular exercise. This is important because you need rest days.
- In addition to keeping track of what you've done each day or week, look at how far you've come and how far you still have to work.
Part 4 of 4: Incorporating Specific Exercises to Increase Muscle Mass
Step 1. Perform heavy weight core exercises
There are several studies that suggest using heavy weights to maximize muscle mass and tone your core.
- You use your abdominal muscles every day. Due to frequent use, you must increase the weight or resistance exercise to increase muscle mass.
- There's no definitive answer as to whether you should work your abs with fewer or more reps. However, it is recommended to exercise until the muscles are exhausted.
- Make sure you work your abs slowly and in control.
- Don't forget to breathe!
Step 2. Work your upper body as well
To increase muscle mass in your upper body, you'll need to do a variety of exercises to work the muscles in your chest and arms. Use heavy weights and few reps for the following exercises:
- Overhead press
- Incline bench press
- Dips and pull-ups
- Bicep curl
Step 3. Work your lower body
To increase muscle mass in the lower body, it is recommended that you do isolation exercises first, followed by more vigorous strength training. Do some of the following exercises with heavy weights for moderate reps:
- Seated leg curl
- Leg extension
- Lunge
- Dumbbells step up
- Barbell squats
Step 4. Take it easy
Whenever you start a new exercise or strength training plan, start slowly.
- While it's recommended to start with heavy weights right away, it's best to opt for lighter weights while building strength and fitness.
- You'll also need to include more frequent rest days if you're a beginner. This is to help the muscles rest and recover properly.
- Plan for about two weeks of strength training and gradually increase the weight. After two weeks, you should be lifting heavy weights to gain significant muscle and weight. You can increase or decrease rest periods, but you must start exercising with heavy weights to gain the lean mass you desire.
