Muscle Building Supplements & Tips

Whether you’re just starting to get interested in muscle building, or you’ve been a heavy lifter for a while, no matter what your goal is, we want to help you succeed.

If you are focused on anything from how to gain muscle and lose fat, eating to gain muscle, fat loss and muscle gain or anything in between, keep reading as we take you through your muscle-building goals and how to achieve them in a healthy way with Naturecan Fitness Hong Kong.

What is Muscle Gain?

Muscle building is often a top priority when it comes to us making physique improvements. The more muscle you form, the more lean muscle mass you will build, increasing the definition of your muscles, along with adding bulk to your frame.

Yet, healthy muscle growth takes a lot of time and a long-term commitment to the natural process. We know, gaining muscle can seem daunting but with dedicated training and adequate consumption of foods and supplements, muscle building is very much possible for all.

What Do You Need to Build Muscle?

1. Eating to Gain Muscle

Physical activity and nutrition are key to gaining lean muscle. You must challenge your body through physical activity of course. But without adequate nutritional support, your progress can stall.

If your goal is to gain lean muscle, focus on exercising regularly and eating more calories each day from muscle-building food groups such as protein. However, carbohydrates and fats are also vital sources of energy.

2. Breakfast is King

Having an energy-packed breakfast will ensure you stay full until your next meal or snack. Furthermore, you tend to eat healthier if you start your day with a fulfilling breakfast.

Try start your day with egg-packed breakfasts such as scrambled eggs with smashed avocado, chicken sausages with poached egg on wholemeal toast, or vegan-friendly alternatives such as porridge with peanut-butter.

3. Incorporate Healthy Fats

These are found generally in plant foods such as seeds, nuts, olives, and avocados. They can be either polyunsaturated such as sunflower, soya, corn, and sesame oils/spreads or monounsaturated such as olive and rapeseed oils/spreads. Just a note that a standard low fat diet contains about 30% or less of its calories from fat.

Reducing intake of saturated fat and replacing it with a smaller amount of unsaturated fats may help to maintain normal blood cholesterol levels, remembering to include sources of essential fatty acids (omega-3 & 6).

4. Stay Hydrated

Fluid is so important for the body, principally for sports people as their loss of fluids is common through sweat during activity. Adults need to drink around 1.5-2 litres of fluid a day. Don’t forget that fluid needs can vary depending on various factors such as the amount of physical activity you may be doing.

It’s best to remember to drink regularly to keep thirst at bay, especially if you are into sport as regular drinking is as much part of the training as the diet and physical strength, which can impair muscle recovery.

Benefits of Muscle-Supporting Supplements & Food

If you regularly exercise, you’ll likely want to ensure you’re making the most out of it. Exercise allows us to gain muscle and strength, and having a healthy amount of muscle allows you to perform your best in everyday life and during exercise. Some benefits of a strong muscle mass include:

Performing movements without getting tired.
Helps maintain a healthy body mass by enhancing body composition.
May enhance mood and energy levels.
Improving posture.
Enhance stability and flexibility.

For maximising muscle gain, you must eat more calories than you burn, consume more protein than you naturally break down and ensure your exercise program challenges your muscles.

It's entirely possible to meet these three criteria without taking any supplements, we have certain Fitness & Supplements which may help you to meet your goal if you feel you aren’t meeting these in your diet alone. We've also hand picked 6 products below for you that are here to support your muscle gain goal!

*We would always recommend speaking with a healthcare professional before taking any supplements.*

Additional Tips for Muscle Building

Adjust Your Food Intake

Training volume and intensity can vary from day-to-day. Fuel up on carbohydrates as they are vital for your best performance. Protein is required for building and repairing muscles. Muscle is gained through a combination of resistance training and a diet that also contains enough energy and carbohydrates.

Choose the Right Weights

The weight you choose to use should leave you at or near failure on your specified number of repetitions and sets. When it comes to training that same muscle group and you decide it is time to up your weights as it seems easier, then you know your muscle mass is increasing as you feel so much stronger.

Pick Your Best Exercises

For example, to build bigger biceps, try bicep exercises, such as a bicep curl, or a compound movement, such as a pull-up. Whether you play rugby, CrossFit or pilates. Building muscle doesn’t just happen in the gym, have fun and find your passions along the way!

Avoid Overtraining

A good rule of thumb is to perform 3 sets of 3–5 compound movements, followed by 3 sets of 1–2 isolation movements per workout. Try switching up body groups on alternative days to allow them to rest and so you can perform your best.