In previous articles, we look at several features that have to be training for maximum muscle development. But training is only part of the overall process.
Your muscle building program is not “complete” unless you have a good diet.

When it comes to building muscle, the first thing you have to worry about is your total caloric intake. You’ve heard it a million times, and true – gaining weight and losing weight is about calories in vs. calories out. If you consume more calories than you burn, then you will gain weight. If you burn more calories than you consume, then you will lose weight. It’s as simple as that.

Now, most people think that the equation slightly when trying to lose weight or keep from gaining fat. Usually worry that if they take in more calories than they burn, they will gain weight, and the weight will be fat. Now, for the most part, true. However, the same principles apply when it comes to put on muscle.

See, you can never put on more body weight (either muscle or fat) unless you are consuming enough calories. You never add 20 pounds of lean muscle and add an inch to your arms when you barely eating. Just not going to happen. It would be like trying to build a large office building with a single truckload of bricks. It is not only going to be enough.

So the first thing to make sure you are eating enough. You do not have to go crazy and eat 8,000 or 9,000 calories per day, as some of the bodybuilding magazines say. You can start by just adding 500 calories per day to your diet – to do much more than you probably think. And 500 calories is not much on a daily basis – would not be adding crazy amounts of food to what we consume.

If you are really small and has a fast metabolism, you could even go up to 1000 extra calories per day. (I have a rather extreme example that could continue I’m going to run until the end of this article.)
After making sure you’re getting enough calories, you need to make sure that a good number of calories come from protein.

The protein is essentially muscle. Proteins are made up of amino acids and amino acids that are known as the “building blocks of muscle.” So when you eat protein, you’re getting the same thing that will go directly toward building extra muscle. So make sure that your protein intake is high.

That does not mean you have to go completely overboard, however. Are there any recommendations out there who are nuts – 2 to 2.5 grams of protein per kilo of body weight, 400-500 grams of protein per day … wow. That’s crazy.