How fast can I gain lean body mass?

The million dollar question many people want to know... , " how fast can I gain Lean Body Mass?" (LBM). First it helps to understand what LBM represents. LBM represents anything that is not fat in our body. Muscle tissue, fascia, bone tissue, arteries, organs etc. all make up LBM. Plain and simple, body fat makes up the rest. Yes our bodies do have different kinds of fat that make up our total body fat. More on that topic another day.

Most research, both scientific and anecdotal, seems to suggest for a novice weight lifter approximately 1 lb. of LBM can be gained per week for the first 12-16 weeks of periodized training. Periodization is a method of program design and organization that breaks up training into hypertrophy, strength, power and active recovery phases.

I have seen in my 16 plus years of experience, some people do better than this and others not as well. A good training plan goes a long way. However, proper nutrition makes an even greater impact on the results of a strength training program. The following are good points regarding every day nutrition:

1) Eat and drink within 1 hour of waking up. It does not matter if this is early in the am or pm with your schedule.
2) Make sure your eating enough calories for your body needs. I highly recommend getting your resting metabolic rate measured and use that to guide your caloric intake. Keep in mind most leaner individuals will require more carbohydrates to maintain LBM.
3) The minimum amount of protein required is around 1.4 grams per kilogram of body wt. Try to spread the amount out evenly through the day!
4) Avoid junk food. Allow 2-3 freebies per day in this category and realize that this is only pleasing your mind. Pop, chips, candy, and other processed sugars do not aid in your goal and in excess, will be detrimental.
5) Maintain hydration. A quick method to determine fluid intake is to divide your body weight by 2 and that equals the fluid oz. of water, milk, juice you should consume.
6)Finally, eat within 30-45 min of exercise. This should include 6-10gms of protein and 30-60 gms of carbohydrates.

Supplements can aid those with busy schedules in reaching there goals. Utilizing whole foods will always be a more effective way of reaching your nutrition goals!