Muscle Gain

3 Months to Mass
Jim Stoppani, PhD, and Mark Thorpe
Photography by: John Kelly
Anyone with experience in the mass-gain department - and we mean muscle mass, not the lumpy kind that accumulates around your midsection - knows the biggest obstacle to getting big isn’t always in the gym. No one is saying heaving heavy weights is easy, but what’s even harder is making sure all that work isn’t fornaught. That means eating, then eating the same thing again, day after day.
Many mass-gain meal plans - or any diet, for that matter - seem to drag on with no end in sight as you cut into another chicken breast, masticate the last spoonful of your 47th bowl of oatmeal and chug yet another protein shake on the 60th day of your 12-week get-big sentence.
Our strategy, on the other hand, gives youoptions and changes things up in Month 2 and again in Month 3, depending on your progress, which is the key to this plan. Because nothing beats an eternally drab diet like seeing bona fide results.
 Introduction
The Fundamentals
Mass Plan A (Month 1)
Rest Day Meal Plan
Month 2
Month 3
Food For Thought
MASS PLAN A
MASS PLAN B
MASS PLAN C
REST DAY MEAL PLAN
The Fundamentals
While weprovide a few food alternatives (see “Diversify Your Meals” on page 196), here are some foods we highly recommend you eat every day during this program. For one, three whole eggs and three egg whites for breakfast are critical to mass gains. One study from Texas A&M (College Station) found that subjects who ate three whole eggs per day for 12 weeks while weight training almost doubled their musclemass gains and more than doubled their strength gains, compared to those who ate no more than one egg per day.
And salad for lunch, you ask? That’s right. Research shows a green salad with a meal can enhance blood flow to muscles during exercise. Of course, you can’t do without your whey protein. Taken before a workout, whey has been found to elevate energy levels while in the gym (allowing youto get more reps) and boost muscle growth after. Better still is mixing whey with casein postworkout. Researchers at Baylor University (Waco, Texas) found that this combination better stimulates muscle growth than whey alone. Before bed, casein protein is a must, particularly one containing micellar casein, which can take up to seven hours to digest. That means your body gets a slow and steadysource of amino acids through most of the night, preventing it from breaking down your muscles for their amino acids, which are then converted to fuel for your brain during sleep.
Walnuts, peanut butter, mixed nuts, avocados, salmon and olive oil are all important as well because they provide healthy fats that help your joints recover after grueling workouts. Keep unhealthy fats to a minimum.
We’renot breaking new ground here; the foundation of this plan is a fairly typical mass-gain diet. After the first month, you’ll assess your progress and either stay the course with the original meal plan (Mass Plan A) or switch to option B or C, depending on how much you’re gaining and where. Before you start, however, you’ll need to take measurements of your biceps, thighs and waist. Gains in theseareas will be the basis for your dietary changes each month
Introduction
The Fundamentals
Mass Plan A (Month 1)
Rest Day Meal Plan
Month 2
Month 3
Food For Thought
MASS PLAN A
MASS PLAN B
MASS PLAN C
REST DAY MEAL PLAN
Mass Plan A (Month 1)
With this plan, you’ll consume more carbs and protein, as well as more overall calories, on workout days than on rest days. Your fat intake,however, will be slightly lower on workout days since fat can interfere with the flow of blood to your muscles. Specifically, you’ll eat 20-21 calories per pound of bodyweight, or about 3,700 calories, per day. (Note: These diets are designed for a 180-pound guy but should suffice for those between 160 and 200 pounds. If you’re above or below this range, use relative amounts to adjust the food intake...