Week 198 :: What Is The Best 12-Week Diet Plan For Muscle Gain?

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TOPIC: What Is The Best 12-Week Diet Plan For Muscle Gain?

For the week of: April 15th - April 21st
Tuesday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut (Mountain Time, US & Canada).

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A proper training regimen is only as effective as your diet allows it to be. One of the biggest factors to gaining quick muscle is diet.

What is the best 12-week diet plan for muscle gain?

What is a reasonable amount of muscle to gain in 12 weeks?

What are some important tips for someone who wants to gain muscle, but minimize unnecessary fat gains?

* IMPORTANT: Please make sure your responses are original and not copied from previous topics.

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[History in Effect]

Many people in the industry after losing weight want to embark on a new phase of body sculpting. Gaining muscle is one of the hardest thing to do. You have to be ready not just training wise, but also when it comes to nutrition. I will lay out the nutritional basics that will help maximize muscle growth since it will help training. Keep in mind this will accompany your training and feed those tired muscles.


What is the best 12-week diet plan for muscle gain?

Stage 1 Nutrition

What is the first thing you do before going to workout and after working out? You eat good quality food. Why? You want to recover and grow. Food is good, but great clean food separates the frauds from the real deals. You got to eat a lot of food I'm talking about 4-6 meals a day. When I was growing up, eating three meals was a stretch. I would often be hungry between meals, but I made it through. Now, that I am a lot bigger...I got to feed these aching pains. For me, I take in 4-6 quality meals. You probably wondering what is a typical meal for me. Well, here is a sample meal I might eat including drinks:

6-8 oz of turkey
1/2 cup of whole wheat pasta
handful of almonds
spinach leaves with olive oil

This meal above covers my protein which is good for recovery. The carbs in the pasta provided the energy for workout. Fats from almonds and olive oil keep my body functioning at peak shape. I can eat a meal like this 4-5 times in a day, but these items can be substituted and interchange. Here is a list of protein, carbs, and fats I like to use.( some of these have been duplicated in previous articles by me)

Carbs: pasta, oats, grits, brown rice, yams, sweet potatoes, bananas, ezekiel bread

Protein: whole eggs, egg whites, salmon, turkey, chicken, lean cuts of beef, steak, tilapia, orange roughy

Fats: Natty peanut butter, almonds, olive oil, udo's oil

Keeping your muscles fed is the key to muscle growth and eating a meal like mines 5 times a day gets my muscles going.

Stage 2 Supplements

Ladies and Gentleman, when it seems the days are over to building muscle. You add in the wrinkle called supplements. Supplements are intended to further your goals whether be gaining mass or muscle gain. Before you began taking these products, make sure you understand what you are taking. Choose quality over cheap price. If that can not be done, choose solid protein foods.

Protein
You want to grow, you need your protein. The higher the quality of the protein, the more growth you will see in your body. This translates into new muscle growth. For people, who don't have a large sum of money. I suggest you buy whey protein. You can take it anytime during the day and it will be sufficient for growth. A good whey protein is one with a great taste,superior amino acid profile, and sits well in your stomach. Optimum Nutrition is a great brand.

Now, if you rolling in money then you should also invest in casein protein. Casein protein digests a lot slower than whey does and its suitable to drink before going to bed. Other protein sources I use include egg and soy. When I want to mix things up to get more essential amino acids, I choose egg protein. If your a vegetarian, then soy protein is for you. Blended proteins are also another segment of protein to consider if you want to get the best in once of many different protein sources. Xtreme Formulations Ultra Peptide 2.0 is a good blended protein. These protein also contains glutamine, so your body will be building muscle at an optimal rate.

Creatine
I had my first experience with creatine at age 16 and I haven't looked back. Creatine can help you gain weight like no other, but working out heavy will insure that its muscle gain and not water. "Creatine aids in the turnover of adenosine triphoshate(ATP), which is the compound in your muscle cells that generates muscle power"( Ironman's Ultimate Guide to Bodybuilding, pg 4). Creatine has my muscles pumped and my muscles love creatine. I take at least 3 grams of creatine monohydrate a day when I use it. There is no need to load creatine unless you want it in your muscles faster.

Supplements are great things when taken the right way. Don't listen to advertising, but instead do research. Supplementing and training will build muscle and keep bodyfat low.


What is a reasonable amount of muscle to gain in 12 weeks?

I feel the best time to experience the most muscle gain on average is when you first start lifting. Your body is not use to lifting weights and so it it constantly been challenged. So how much can you expect to gain:

However, even if we are dedicated (some may call it obsessed) and diligent about our nutrition, with proper training and recuperation practices, we still would not be able to add more than 1 pound of muscle in a week. That's right, only one pound a week--and this is assuming you've had a darn good week both inside and outside the gym!

(Source:http://bodybuilding.com/fun/maki2.htm)

Gaining quality muscle is something that take times and building more than ten pounds in a year is highly unlikely for the ordinary joe. I am happy to gain at least 5 pounds of muscle in a year. People who train a lot and eat a lot( bodybuilders) are the ones who can gain muscle weight as opposed to ordinary Joes.

What are some important tips for someone who wants to gain muscle, but minimize unnecessary fat gains?

1. Stay Anabolic and Sleep. You need sleep to recuperate from a long day and rigorous exercise. 8 to 10 hours of quality sleep over the long run does make a distinctive different in muscle gained.

2. Don't give up cardio. You might be taken in so much food that you want to die, but doing some cardio will allow you to keep fat a way longer and build muscle. More than 30 minutes of hardcore intensity in a week is probably too much and you will probably not gain that muscle you need.

3. Supplements are not the greatest gift to man or woman.. Taking supplements are not the magical pills to succeed, but they enhance your ability to look great. You can't just take creatine and not workout because you will end up extremely blocky and bulky. Nobody likes that.

[steveironpump]

Nutrition is probably the most important aspect of trying to build muscle. It does not matter how good your weight training program is. If your nutrition is poor, then you will not build large amounts of muscle.

When talking about nutrition, there are 3 main macronutrients to be concerned with:

1) Protein

Dietary protein breaks down into amino acids, which serve as the "building blocks" for every tissue in the body including muscle tissue. Without enough protein in your diet, you body will break down muscle that you already have in order to fill the need for amino acids. It can basically be concluded that protein = muscle.

At the same time, not all protein is the same. Dietary proteins vary based on their amino acid profile, and their rate of digestion in the body. I will not go into detail about amino acid profiles because it is really not that important. All you need to know about amino acid profiles is that turkey will make you really tired because it has an excess of tryptophan, an amino acid that relaxes the body.

In terms of rates of digestion, proteins from different kinds of foods all digest at different rates. Whey protein shakes digest extremely fast and only take about 30 minutes to digest. Egg whites digest in a hour. Lean white meats like turkey and chicken digest in about 3 hours or so. Fish digests at a little faster rate than chicken or turkey. Beef and steak take longer to digest than just about everything else. They usually take 5-6 hours to clear your system completely. Milk protein contains casein protein, which digests slower that typical whey protein. However, milk protein digests faster than meat protein since it is in liquid form. I would say that milk protein would take roughly an hour and a half to digest. Understanding how rates of digestion will come into play when we lay out a nutrition plan.

2) Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are your body's main source of energy. The body is able to rapidly break down carbohydrates and absorb them in the form of glucose. Glucose can then be easily broken down into ATP, which is then used by the body. ATP allows amino acids to be transported throughout the body. Adequate carbohydrates are essential for maintaining energy levels. As carbohydrates are converted to glucose, the liver releases a hormone called "insulin" that allows the body to absorb glucose.

Just like proteins, all carbohydrates are not the same. Carbohydrates differ in the rate at which the body converts them to glucose. This is called their "glycemic index." Carbohydrates that rapidly convert to glucose are said to have a high glycemic index, while slower-digesting carbohydrates are said to have a low glycemic index. Here is a quick ranking list of glycemic indexes of carbohydrates from highest to lowest:

sucrose (table sugar) > fructose (fruits) > rice > potatoes > vegetables > white breads and pastas > whole grains

3) Fats

Dietary fats serve three main purposes. First of all, they can be used as energy in the presence of oxygen. Secondly, dietary fats are used by the body to synthesize important hormones like testosterone and estrogen. Lastly, fats are needed to form phospholipid bilayers, an essential component of just about every single cell in the body.

There are also different kinds of fats as well. Without getting into the details of organic chemistry, I will just explain this on a surface level. Basically, there are two main categories of fats, saturated and unsaturated fats. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and become more solid based on their degree of saturation. Highly saturated fats are terrible for your health and can cause a miriad of cardiovascular issues. Unsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temperature and are always healthier for you. The only liquid fats to avoid are vegetable oil, palm oil, and coconut oil as these contain high concentrations of saturated fats.

Nutrient Timing

Now that you understand the basic macronutrients, we will discuss the most important aspect of creating a solid nutrition plan: nutrient timing. Nutrient timing basically refers to your food-eating schedule. Here is where we start to develop a solid plan of attack. The main principle behind proper nutrient timing is giving your body the right macronutrients as your body needs them.

Before a workout, you will want to make sure that your body has enough energy to last you throughout the workout. You will also want to make sure that your body has enough amino acids available to last the entire length of the workout. At the same, time you want something light that will not make you feel sick while you are working out. Therefore, you will want a protein shake with some form of a fast-absorbing carbohydrate like sugar. This will also cause a spike in your insulin levels, which will allow your body to recover more efficiently in between sets.

After your workout, you will want to do the same thing. Give your body a quick burst of protein and carbohydrates to help it begin the road to recovery.

Within the next 3 hours after your workout, you will want to consume about 1/3 of your total protein and carbohydrates for the day. This will give you body plenty of macronutrients to repair and rebuild itself. Remember, you do not grow in the gym. You grow by recovering properly in the time period after you leave the gym.

We also want to ensure that there is amino acids available in the body at every given point in time during the day. Therefore, we will want to eat at least every 2 hours while alternating between fast and slow absorbing macronutrients.

Eat your fats several hours after your workout. If you eat them too close to your workout, you will feel sick.

Macronutrient Ratios and Quantities

Follow a 40:40:20 plan. This means that 40% of your calories come from protein, 40% from carbohydrates, and 20% from fats. I could give you all the details about why this ratio is ideal, but that would require you to read a good 20 pages of research that has been published on this topic. Just know that every major bodybuilder follows these guidlines.

As far as how many calories to cosume, take your body weight (assuming most of it is lean body mass) and multiply it by 17.5 to figure out how many calories you should consume. This means that a 200 lb person should consume 3500 calories. This number is only a guidline and may need some tweaking on your part since every person's body is different. It's a good ballpark estimate though.

Convert calories to grams: protein - 4 calories/gram; carbohydrates - 4 calories/gram; fats - 9 calories/gram.

Using the example of a 200 lbs person, this would calculate out to 350 g of protein, 350 g of carbohydrates, and 78 g of fats.

Let's say that we want to eat 7 meals in a given day. This would be 50 g of protein and 50 g of carbohydrates in every meal. Fats can be spread out in the evening meals.

Therefore, a meal plan would look something like this:

Breakfast: 8 oz chicken (50g protein)
1 big whole grain bagel (50g carbs)

Pre-Workout: 2 scoops of whey protein (50g protein)
2 scoops of waximaize (50g carbohydrates)

Post-Workout: 2 scoops of whey protein (50g protein)
2 scoops of waximaize (50g carbohydrates)

1 hr later: 8 oz steak (50g protein)
1/2 cup rice (50 carbohydrates)

2 1/2 hrs later: 2 scoops of whey protein (50g protein)
1/2 cup of maltodextrin (50g carbohydrates)
1 Handful of penuts (25g fat, 12g protein, 10g carbohydrates)

Dinner: 6 oz fish cooked in olive oil (40g protein, 25g fat)
Triple-Layer Penut Butter Sandwich (50g carbohydrates, 10g fat)

Before Bed: Two scoops casein protein (50g protein)
2 Cups Mixed Veggies (30g carbohydrates)

*Extra fat will be in lean meats and protein shakes

There is a sample nutrition plan that fits the guidlines that we outlined earlier. If you train right and follow a plan like this, I guarantee that you will see tremendous results.

Supplements

The only supplements you will need are protein shakes, amino acids, multivatmins, and carbohydrate powder, which I consider to be the same as food. Trust me, your nutrition is going to have a far bigger impact on your results than any latest "secret" supplement formula being sold at the local GNC. No supplement will ever be able to replace the importance of solid training and nutrition.

Realistically, you can expect to gain 10-15 lbs of lean body mass in 12 weeks if your training, nutrition, and sleep are all taken care of properly.

If you want to keep the amount of body fat that you body is storing under control during this process, make sure you eat cleanly. Poor nutrition will cause your body to store more fat than you want to while trying to bulk up. It may help to implement some short, intense cardio 3-5 days a week to burn some extra fat. If you do this, then make sure you do your cardiovascular activity long after finishing your weight training to prevent your body from losing muscle. You will also have to adjust your nutrition plan around this cardio activity to protect your muscle and promote optimal fat loss. Cardio on weekends is not a bad idea either.

Hopefully, this outlines just about everything you need to know from the nutrition standpoint in order to build as much muscle as possible in a 12-week period. Good luck.

[jasonr1982]

I won't get too elaborate here, but will cover some information that is often negated in numerous arenas of bodybuiding: Carbing up will NOT help you gain lean muscle! Thats right! In fact, I believe that carb intake should be the same year around, and should pyramid down throughout the day. Breakfast is a good time to get most of your day's carbs from fresh fruit and oatmeal or Eziekiel bread/ cereal. 2nd meal/ snack can include some dried fruit, and maybe some brown rice for lunch. But after that, unless going to the gym later in the day, high carbohydrate intake is just not necessary. If you are an ecto- hardgainer, please beleive what I am about to tell you- loading up on maltodextrin, "waxymaize", or other junk-carbs will lead you to the physique of a pregnant snake! So if thats what you want, then keep choking down nasty weight gainer formulas. But to build quality, lean mass, try a handfull of macadamia nuts or walnuts with your protein shake, and drizzle some E.V.O.O. on your veggies and lean meats. On the subject of fat- avoid flax oil for the same reason you would avoid soy- it is estrogen-ladin garbage! Get your omega 3s from fish oil or better yet fresh fish, and eat more protein from food than powder. Everything else I have to say, you probably heard 1000 times already, and will keep hearing over and over again...

[drewsov]

Let's be honest. If you are reading this article, you've probably read a hundred others like it. Like me, your looking for that perfect plan that may actually (finally) work for you. All the other articles seem to rehash the same message. High protein (1.5 - 2.0g/lb of body weight), low carbs and low fat, but high calories (your body weight x 20 or something similar). What works the best for one person probably won't work the best for everybody else. Why? Genetics. Yes I know, we've all heard it before, and we usually tend to read right over it thinking it is all "fine print", an escape clause if you will. However, genetics play a huge roll in how we use our daily intake.

I'm a hard gainer. I've tried numerous different plans before, and they work a little bit, but never deliver on the promise of huge gains of pure muscle in X amount of time. I'll gain some weight, but it usually seems to be more fat than muscle, or water weight that comes off easy and quick.

Anyway, my message has more to do with the back-office side of muscle gain. The part that you can read between the lines and figure out on your own, but nobody ever seems to talk about. I'm taking about the financial aspect of muscle gain.

Read over any plan and you will see typically the same things: 6-8 meals a day, protein shakes, energy drinks, gym memberships, etc. These things aren't cheap. Sure you can sit back and eat McDonald's value meals all the time and you'll gain weight, but not the weight you want to gain. You want to gain quality muscle. In order to do that, you need to eat multiple meals a day, with each meal having copious amounts of food, high quality food, and that doesn't come cheap.

Eggs, chicken, tuna, salmon, lean red meat, turkey, fruits, veggies, protein shakes, supplements, quality breads, condiments, oils, monthly gym fees, etc. These things all add up and they add up quick. Over 12 weeks, this can take a serious toll on your wallet. Personally, I think this is a big factor why a lot of people are unable to stick to a 12 week plan or even attempt one. The cost is very intimidating. As a result, people search for a short cut around the cost and in the end it comes back to bite them.

So make yourself a budget. Start saving money. Do your research. Find a plan that you would like to try and then figure out how much it is going to cost you. Over 12 weeks, how many dozen eggs will you have to buy? How many containers of protein and supplements? How much lettuce, condiments, meats, etc? Which you have a total number of these things (quantity, ounces/pounds, etc), figure out what the total amount of money you will need to spend on them is going to set you back. Then divide that number by 12 weeks (or however many weeks the plan may be) for your weekly cost. If it is something you can afford now, then give it a shot. If you don't have the money for it, start saving. You don't want to give up half way through the plan because you can't afford it. That will be wasted time and money, causing you frustration and helping you to lose site of your goal.

So let's be honest, gaining muscle isn't cheap. But with a budget in mind and money set aside, you can finally stick to a plan and/or try several plans until you find one that actually works for you. I can't tell you which plan that is, you'll need to do trial and error and find out which one or which ones work best. But being armed with the knowledge of what it will cost you will help you stay with a plan through the end.

[TheUnderdog]

thought I would give it a shot this week. I am right in the middle of trying to make some lean gains. Here is a writeup of what I am aiming to do and my thoughts surrounding the subject:

Intro
Before beginning any diet program to either gain muscle or lose fat it is important to understand what your caloric intake should be to achieve your goals. In this case, we are trying to build muscle mass, so we know we need to be taking in a higher caloric content than we are burning to ensure the muscles are being properly fed and to optimize our bodies for adequate muscle recovery and growth.
To determine our caloric intake I would start by determining what my basal metabolic rate (BMR) is. BMR is the total number of calories you would burn if you did no physical activity during the day. Many calculators like the one explained here do a fine job:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/issa64.htm

From here we make sure we are factoring in our daily activity levels and caloric expenditure in the gym both strength training and cardio. Once I have my daily maintenance for caloric intake I then need to determine a caloric target over that mark. At this point I would like to incorporate an example to illustrate the points more clearly. Let?s say we have a 170lb male @ 10% body fat. And after using calculators or BMR formulas we determine that the maintenance level is 3000 calories. To gain mass I know I am going to have to be taking in over 3k calories a day. Rather than give a specific percentage over or a specific number of calories over that mark I would recommend you start slightly over maintenance and then adjust each week either higher or lower as you see your results coming in.

At this point it is important to mention that it is also important to identify some starting baseline. This is important as we want to have some mechanism to track progress to know when adjustments are necessary. I personally like a combination of scale weight, body fat percentage, and measurements of body parts. I also think taking pictures is an oustanding way to track progress as well and would highly recommend this.

At this point we then need to determine how we are going to construct the diet to hit this calorie mark. Now this gets into the heated area of conversation. Some schools of thought will say to utilize a 60% carbs, 30% protein, and 10% fats...while others will say 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fats. Even others will say IsoCaloric (33/33/33) is the path to glory. I personally believe each person is so individual in their response that you cannot incorporate a one size fits all approach. Unfortunately we must engage in some trial and error. Either way, I do believe a high carb, high protein, low fat diet is the most sensible and healthiest approach. I do believe it is vital to be consuming at a minimum 1-1.2g of protein per bodyweight, and some would argue even higher. Rather than give a specific ratio, I think it?s more important to reiterate to baseline and adjust your diet throughout your program to ensure you are achieving results.

What is the best 12-week diet plan for muscle gain?
Once you know your caloric marks you need to hit and you have a good ratio figured out to divide your macronutrients total you can then determine your diet plan.

For our example lets say we are aiming for 3500 cals and we implement a 30% protein, 50% carbs, 20% fats ratio. This means we need:

1050 calories (262g) from protein
1750 calories (438g) from carbs
700 calories (77.7g) from fats

I would then distribute this food amongst 6-8 meals a day! Its important to eat numerous meals as we want to keep our metabolism up and we also want to feed those muscles throughout the day. One thing I think is critically important when determining what you are going to eat and how much in these 6-8 meals is nutrient timing. Let me elaborate:

When we are bulking there are some key windows of time when I want to make sure I am optimizing my anabolic windows. Specifically let?s talk about preworkout, post workout, and what I call post-post workout. In all three of these windows I want to load a high amount of my carbs that I will be using during the day. Lets discuss each of the three briefly:

PreWorkout During this time I want some good carbs that are in the moderate range in the glycemic index. I want these to ensure I can go as hard and heavy as possible in my workout. Good options for this would be oats, sweet potato, cream of wheat, brown rice, wheat pasta, and even fruits. Fruits are a little higher on the glycemic index but still I find fruits like bananas, apples, and berries are a great preworkout fruit.

PostWorkout Immediately following the workout our anabolic window is at its max. To me its vital to capitalize on this with a fast digesting carb and protein. Protein shakes are a no brainer here. I have seen immense results using fast digesting carbs like dextrose or waxy maize combined with Whey protein. BodyBuilding.com sells many products that fit this bill with both high carbs and high protein such as:

Universal Torrent - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/univ/torr.html
Optimum 2:1:1 Recovery - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/recovery.html
Xtreme Formulations Relentless - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/xf/relent.html

Post-Post Workout I think often an overlooked window of opportunity is about 1-2 hours post your post workout shake. Your body is still in an anabolic state at this time so I think its important at this point to get some whole foods in. For this meal I like to include plenty of carbs and protein. Brown rice and chicken or turkey and sweet potato, or egg whites and oats are bodybuilder staples for a meal at this time

I also want to mention two other times of day that are important for nutrient timing. One is prior to sleep and the other is when we wake up. I personally have seen much improved recovery and muscle growth when eating slow digesting proteins prior to sleep. The body still needs nutrients to repair those muscls while we are sleeping. Cottage Cheese or Casein proteins are excellent choices prior to our nighttime slumber. I have found casein protein products to be invaluable:

Dymatize Elite 12 hour protein - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/dym/elite12.html
Xtreme Formulations Ultra Peptide 2.0 - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/xf/ultrapeptide2.html

When we wake up our bodies are in a fasted state, so its also important to get food in as quickly as possible. For this I like to again employ whey protein for its fast digestion rate.

Equally important as food timing is food choices. On any diet plan I feel it is important that we are making smart and healthy food choices. With 438g of carbs to work with during the day I could easily meet those numbers by just drinking protein shakes and drinking sodas but this would neither be productive or healthy. Instead I want to make the point that it is important that we select whole foods as often as possible and healthy foods. Lets breakdown what possibilities are for healthy food choices in each of the three macronutrient categories

Proteins - Chicken breasts, low fat cuts or ground Turkey, bison, Low fat beef cuts or ground, egg whites, and fish

Carbohydrates - Brown rice, whole grains, black beans, oats, cream of wheat, wheat pasta, sweet potato, and as many green vegetables as you can get in. (Although green veggies are now caloric dense you should consume them for there trace and micronutrients to stay healthy) I also believe it?s important to eat berries for their antioxidant and nutrient qualities.

Fats - nuts, olive oil, fish oils

So now to tie this together -- I would be remiss to not at least include an example of what a diet would look like incorporating the recommendations. This would be a sample diet of our individual aiming for 3500 calories with 50% carbs, 30% protein, and 20% fats:

Meal 1 (Upon Waking up)
ON 100% Whey with a cup of skim Milk

Meal 2
1 cup of eggwhites cooked with veggies
2 slices whole grain toast
1\2 cup blueberries

Meal 3
1.5 cups of brown rice
1 can of albacore tuna in water
1\2 cup broccoli

Meal 4 (walking into the gym)
1 banana

Meal 5 (immediately following workout)
Universal Torrent

Meal 6 (1 hour following post workout)
6 oz chicken breast
8oz sweet potatoe
1\2 cup broccoli
1\2 cup blueberries

Meal 7
1 cup black beans
1 whole grain pita
6 oz chicken

Meal 8
4oz Choice Sirloin
Green salad and veggies with 1TBS olive oil and 1 TBS red wine vinegar
1 cup whole grain pasta or long grain rice

Meal 9 (Prior to bed)
1 scoops dymatize elite
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup blueberries

*snack on 2oz almonds throughout day

This meal plan I calculated as roughly around:
~3400 calories 75g fats, 380g carbs, 300g protein

Lots of food isn't it?

What is a reasonable amount of muscle to gain in 12 weeks?
This is a tricky question to answer because people will respond differently depending on many factors. Some hard gainers will really need to shovel in the food while some endomorphs could easily gain. Typically one should expect to gain 1lb of muscle for each week. So if all factors were right a reasonable expectation for 12 weeks would be 8-12lbs of muscle and a few lbs of fat may come with that depending how clean the diet was.

What are some important tips for someone who wants to gain muscle, but minimize unnecessary fat gains?
To properly gain muscle I think there are a few keys:
1 - keep the diet clean. The cleaner the diet is the leaner the gains will be. If your taking in tons of bad fats with all those carbs or if you are loading up on the simple sugars you can expect to pack on some fat lbs with that muscle.
2 - don't go crazy with the cardio... I think its important to maintain some cardio while bulking but doing long extended bouts of it are going to defeat your goals.
3 - rest and recovery - I think getting adequate sleep is vital. Muscles recover greatly during sleep so its important to ensure you are getting proper rest. Lack of sleep will hamper your gains.
4 - make sure your workout program is properly challenging you and your entire body. Make sure you are utilizing a workout program that contains compound lifts and lift heavy!
5 - Measure yourself!!! Keep track of your progress - remember to adjust the diet as you see the results come in or lack thereof!

Sources
I want to point out or rather give due credit to two very good resources I have used to educate myself on this subject.

Two books:
Nutrient Timing: The Future of Sports Nutrition by John Ivy and Robert Portman
and
Better Than Steroids by Dr. Warren Willey

Both I would recommend to anyone.
Happy Lifting!

[soundcheck129]

A proper training regimen is only as effective as your diet allows it to be. One of the biggest factors to gaining quick muscle is diet.

It's a phrase every bodybuilder, regardless of experience level, has heard before - you've got to eat big to get big. Many struggle with the concept, but the undeniable key to putting on mass is to maintain a caloric surplus. It may seem unfair, but all of the sweat and soreness you produce in the gym won't do anything for you if your diet is inadequate. The good news is that a diet designed to gain muscle doesn't have to be a very strict one and it may even be a lot of fun.

What is the best 12-week diet plan for muscle gain?

Every individual is different, so there is no "one size fits all" nutrition plan that will guarantee great results for everyone who tries it. Thankfully, there are ways to help you figure out what you should be eating. I've found this calculator to be a great tool - it takes into account your weight, gender, body fat percentage, diet and activity level to produce an estimate of how many calories your body burns each day. Once you get this number, you can easily figure out how much you need to be eating to grow.

Berardi's Massive Eating calculator has helped me figure out how many calories to consume in order to gain muscle, and I'm sure you'll find it helpful as well. Insufficient caloric intake is probably the most common problem hindering those wishing to add size, so the importance of eating enough can't be overstated.

But remember that this number is an estimate, and your caloric needs might be different.

If you choose not to use Berardi's calculator, that's fine - there are plenty of other ways to estimate your maintenance level of calories. If you do use another method, remember that you have to eat above this level in order to gain mass. I'd recommend consuming 500 calories above maintenance to spur growth. This should give your body enough fuel for intense workouts as well as recovery, while being modest enough to prevent excessive fat gain.

What to Eat
You probably know that protein is made up amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscle, so you'll need to consume adequate levels to gain muscle. But there's no reason to go overboard - your body can only produce so much muscle, and eating loads of protein isn't going to change that. Besides, eating too much protein means you're short-changing some other source of nutrients, either carbohydrates or fats, and that can negatively affect your health. The standard split is 40/40/20 (P/C/F), and that seems to work well for most; I prefer to up the fats a bit, but that's a personal choice.

As for what foods to eat...I'll leave the 'clean vs dirty' debate for another time, but generally, complex carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, unsaturated fats and lean meats tend to be more nutrient-dense and keep your insulin levels in check, preventing you from extreme highs and lows in energy levels. That doesn't mean you can't eat things that aren't "healthy," though, just keep overall calorie levels in mind. Additionally, saturated fats and red meat have also been shown to boost testosterone levels, so you shouldn't avoid them completely.

So keep in mind that the following list contains only suggestions, not mandates:

Protein Sources:
Eggs
Fish - Tilapia, Salmon, Tuna
Chicken and Turkey
Bison
Pork
Lean Beef
Protein Powder

Carbohydrates:
Potatoes
Broccoli
Oats
Whole wheat bread and pasta
Beans

Fats:
Flax Seeds
Nuts - Almonds, Peanuts, Cashews
Nut Butters
Olive Oil
Sunflower Seeds

As you may be eating a lot more than you're used to, it may be easier to split your daily calories into 5-7 meals, consumed every 2-3 hours. Try to make sure you get carbohydrates, protein and fat into each meal.

Because you have twelve weeks, you should consult the mirror and the scale every week to gauge your progress. If you're not gaining enough, raise calories, and if you see yourself gaining too much fat, drop them a bit. If you want to, you can try switching your meal plan up every four weeks; see if lowering carbohydrates and raising fats, or lowering protein and raising carbohydrates makes a difference. You can also rotate your main source of protein/carbohydrates/fats just to keep from getting bored. You may find that your body reacts better to certain types of food, so being flexible is a good idea.

Workout Schedule
Keep in mind though, that even a virtually flawless diet won't do you any good without hard work in the gym. Twelve weeks is a long time to stick with the same routine, so I'd recommend switching halfway through. Here is a plan you could use; focus on compound lifts and keep the intensity high:

Weeks 1-6
M: Push
T: Pull
W: Off/Cardio
Th: Push
F: Pull
S: Off/Cardio
Sun: Off

Weeks 7-12
M: Full Body A
T: Off/Cardio
W: Full Body B
Th: Off/Cardio
F: Upper
S: Lower
Sun: Off

Supplements
A beginner probably won't need many supplements to spur growth, but whey protein and creatine are considered pretty standard. You may also want to look into casein protein or a blend for night time, and CLA to keep fat gains to a minimum. And if you find it hard to consume sufficient calories through whole foods, there is no shame in buying a weight gainer - and they're pretty tasty as well!

Immediately after your workout, you may want to opt for a recovery product such as Universal's Torrent, Myogenix's Aftershock, Controlled Labs' Golden Finish or my personal favorite, Myonova's Cytofuse; these combine easily digestible carbohydrates and protein for optimal recovery.


What is a reasonable amount of muscle to gain in 12 weeks?

This depends on your level of experience - somewhat surprisingly, if an experienced lifter and an absolute beginner with identical genetics and identical workout plans and diets went head-to-head for 12 weeks, the beginner would probably gain more - a phenomenon casually referred to as "noob gains." However, most lifters can reasonably expect to gain .5-1 pound per week, resulting in 6-12 pounds of muscle overall. You may gain more weight than this, but that's because you will likely gain water weight and a bit of fat. This may not seem like much, but you will notice the difference.

What are some important tips for someone who wants to gain muscle, but minimize unnecessary fat gains?

Keeping fat gains at bay isn't nearly as complicated as some would have you believe. You've probably seen pictures of pros during the off-season, blowing up on a dirty bulk - but that doesn't have to be you. Here are some tips to keep your gains lean:

1. Keep the Intensity Up - I don't care whether you're doing wrist curls or deadlifts, you should be giving each rep everything you have for the duration of your workout. You have 23 other hours to relax, so leave everything in the gym.
2. A Gaining Phase is Not a Gorging Phase - Although the point is to have a caloric surplus, this doesn't mean you should be eating all of your meals at buffets. You should be aware of how much you are eating, and keep it in check. Eat enough for muscle growth but not too much.
3. Cardio is Key - Yes, I hate cardio too, but I do it. Not only is it beneficial for long-term health, but it keeps you in great shape for sports. I like to do HIIT because it is more efficient, which means I can burn more fat in less time and get on with my day.
4. Consider a Supplement - Supplements aren't magical, but they can produce help you out if your diet and training is in check. ZMA and CLA have been shown to promote lean gains, and a multivitamin is always a good idea to make sure your body is getting the vitamins and minerals it needs to process all of your food correctly and efficiently.
5. Carbohydrate Cycling - I haven't used this technique, but some swear by it. You split up your week into high, medium and low carbohydrate days according to your relative activity levels. To compensate for lower carbohydrate intake, you have a higher fat intake on those days, making sure your carbohydrates are clustered around workouts.
6. Be Flexible - Remember that nothing is written in stone - you can alter your diet or training if you're seeing too much fat. Consult the mirror and if you're unsatisfied at any time, do something about it!

[South519]

1 big-mac and a cup full of sugar every hour will probably gain you the most muscle (and fat).

[ramjnkgha]

its such a good information