We all have our reasons for wanting to work out and develop lean muscle mass. Athletes are interested in muscle building to enhance their performance. Bodybuilders want muscle growth for that podium-finish physique. For us regular people, it can be as simple as wanting to lose weight and look lean.
You have probably heard that you must be including strength training into your exercise routines to lose weight and build lean muscles. However, hitting the gym and lifting weights may feel much more intimidating than taking a walk or jogging around your neighborhood.
While having a solid strength training routine would help you get muscle gains within weeks to several months, did you know that nutrition can be helpful too to not stall your progress? The health benefits of being muscular go beyond just improving your physical appearance! Read on to know more about the basics of increasing your muscle mass and what foods can fuel a strong body.
How Do Muscles Grow?
There are 3 kinds of muscles – skeletal, smooth, and cardiac. However, when we are talking about muscle mass, we typically refer to skeletal muscles. They are the most adaptable tissue in the body (1). When you perform extreme exercises such as weight lifting, your muscle fibers undergo a trauma or muscle injury. This type of muscle injury will cause satellite cells surrounding the muscle fibers to become activated. They will attempt to repair the damage by joining together and, as a result, increasing their size.
Some hormones can actually help grow your muscles too! They control the satellite cells and do the following:
- Send cells to your muscles after a workout
- Form new blood capillaries
- Repair muscle cells
- Manage muscle mass
For example, resistance exercises can help your body release growth hormones from the pituitary gland. The amount being released greatly depends on the intensity of the exercise done. Growth hormones, in turn, will trigger your metabolism and help convert amino acids into protein to bulk up your muscles.
How Much Muscle Should You Gain?
Muscle mass is quite hard to measure. It will also depend on several factors such as height, ethnicity, and fitness level. While there is only limited data on recommended muscle mass percentages, a reliable study recommends the following (2):
For men:
| Age | Muscle Mass Percentage |
| 18-35 | 40-44% |
| 36-55 | 36-40% |
| 56-75 | 32-35% |
| 76-85 | <31% |
For women:
| Age | Muscle Mass Percentage |
| 18-35 | 31-33% |
| 36-55 | 29-31% |
| 56-75 | 27-30% |
| 76-85 | <26% |
If you have high muscle mass, you have more muscles than is typical for your age and gender. Having a greater muscle mass has both positive and negative health effects. As we get older, we naturally lose muscle mass. This condition is known as sarcopenia often begins at age 30. This diminishes physical function and increases your risk of injury. The usual rate of 3-5% decrease in muscle mass every day can be slowed down by getting a higher muscle mass.
With more skeletal muscles, your metabolism will likewise be improved. Unlike fat, skeletal muscles can help you burn more calories at rest. Additionally, greater muscle mass is associated with longevity. Older people with more muscle mass tend to live longer than those with less (3).
However, some people complain of reduced flexibility and difficulty running or jumping. You will also be required to eat more calories to feel full, which can be expensive and inconvenient.
Having a lower-than-average muscle mass is neither a good thing. It can speed up age-related muscle loss, increase the risk of injury, and reduce physical ability. Metabolic syndrome, diabetes, osteoporosis, poor chronic disease outcome, and early death are also associated with having low skeletal muscle mass.
The best thing is to do is to maintain the recommended percentage!
Other Health Benefits of Gaining Lean Muscle Mass
Regardless of the reasons, evidence has made it very clear that building lean muscle mass has health benefits far beyond beauty and performance. It is, in fact, critical for building a healthy life long-term.
1. It Fights Obesity
In a world where more than 2/3 of US adults are either overweight or obese (4), it is quite hard to avoid ads that guarantee weight loss in a few weeks or a new workout routine that promises to shred fat off of your frame. I am sure you have also heard about a new diet that promises to boost your metabolism to burn more fat? However, the majority of these shortcut approaches do not address the main issue that’s causing weight gain – calories in versus calories out.
Energy imbalance, which can be referred to as consuming more calories than your body needs, can cause you to gain extra fat and weight. Energy intake refers to the count of calories you consume through your diet. This is what most people think of when they think about calorie reduction. However, it is with energy expenditure that you can really make a huge effect on balancing your calories in and calories out.
Lean muscle mass is associated with your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the number of calories you burn at rest. The higher your lean muscle mass is, the more energy expenditure you’ll have while doing nothing. This helps avoid calorie imbalances, and of course, obesity.
2. It Protects Against Diseases
When you are sick, your body becomes stressed. Your immune system gets kicked into high gear! When that happens, your nutritional needs change. To contribute towards recovery, your body will require more protein. Diet alone will not be able to supply the amount of protein needed to defend against diseases. Where else can you get protein? You can have enough from your reserves through your lean muscle mass!
For example, a burn victim will need more protein, approximately 4 grams per kilogram of body weight, which is 4 times the normal daily intake! This likewise exceeds the demands put on the body during fasting, which is when muscle breakdown occurs. The same is true for cancer patients. On cancer patients who had a decreased level of protein, the rate of recurrence increased.
In both scenarios, the ability to survive these serious health conditions ultimately came down to how much lean muscle mass every patient had to start with, and how much their bodies have lost due to the increase in demand.
Your lean muscle mass acts as protein reserves that your body can draw off when the immune system is compromised! If you have built enough through diet and exercise, your body will have a much easier time fighting off infections and diseases.
3. It Produces Strong Bones
One common problem that older people have as they age is the development of osteoporosis or frailty in general. These can put older people at serious risk of falls and other bone injuries. Sometimes, these falls can be so severe causing permanent disability.
What can help preserve bone density and bone mass later in life? Your sufficient and healthy amounts of lean muscle mass! Evidence showed that lower amounts of skeletal muscle mass were associated with weaker and thinner bones in older men (5).
To protect against weak bones, developing and maintaining sufficient skeletal muscle mass is key!
4. It Prevents Type 2 Diabetes
Insulin resistance happens when the body isn’t successful in clearing the blood of excess glucose due to the presence of fatty free acids. Once these free fatty acids are released into the body, you’ll form more fat mass, which interferes with insulin’s ability to remove excess amount of glucose from the blood. If this resistance becomes significant over time, type 2 DM may develop.
Again, developing a sufficient amount of lean muscle mass can help prevent the onset of insulin resistance and type 2 DM. And because this condition can strike anyone at any age, ensuring that your percentage is sufficient is extremely important. Evidence showed that for every 10% increase in skeletal muscle mass, you can decrease insulin resistance by 11% (6). For people without diabetes, the reductions were even more significant.
As mentioned earlier, developing lean muscle mass also has the added benefit of increasing your BMR, which will also help increase your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). When combined with a healthy diet and exercise, it will cause a fat mass reduction. There will be less release of fatty free acids, making it simpler for the body to clear excess glucose and deliver it into muscle cells.
How to Gain Muscle Mass?
Even if muscle mass declines with aging, it is never too late to build lean muscles through exercise and diet! As mentioned previously, the best way to build muscle mass is through strength or weight training. They strengthen your muscles by forcing them to work against resistance. You can do bodyweight routines like pushups, Pilates, and HIIT. You can also use accessories like dumbbells, resistance bands, and other weight machines.
It is best to do 2 or 3 strength training sessions weekly. Cardio is still important though. Aerobic exercises such as walking, jogging, or dancing will help support muscle growth and slow down age-related muscle loss.
Gaining and keeping muscle mass will also depend on nutrition! This includes eating enough nutrient-packed calories to fuel your body. Protein will help build and repair muscles. The amount of protein you will need will depend on your level of activity. Generally, 10-35% of your daily calories must come from protein.
1. Eggs
Who doesn’t love eggs for breakfast? Aside from having high-quality proteins, it contains healthy fats and nutrients such as the B vitamins and choline too (7)! Proteins are made up of amino acids and eggs are particularly rich in leucine, which is important for muscle gain (8). B vitamins are also very important for several bodily processes, including energy production (9, 10).
2. Salmon
Salmon is not only an excellent choice for heart health, but it is for muscle building too! Did you know that a 3-ounce serving of salmon contains approximately 17 grams of protein, 2 grams of omega 3-fatty acids, and several important B vitamins (11)? Omega-3 fatty acids also play a huge role in muscular health and may even help increase muscle gain during workouts (12).
3. Chicken Breast
Chicken breast is considered a staple for gaining muscle mass. They are packed with protein! A 3-ounce serving contains a whopping 26 grams of high-quality protein. They also have generous amounts of niacin and vitamin B6, which are particularly important for active men and women (13).
What’s more, evidence showed that protein-rich diets containing chicken are effective for weight loss (14).
4. Greek Yogurt
Dairy does not only contain high-quality protein, but also a good mixture of whey and casein proteins. Evidence showed that people had increases in lean muscle mass when they consume both of these fast-digesting and slow-digesting proteins (15).
However, not all dairy is created equal. Greek yogurt often contains twice the amount of protein as regular yogurt (16, 17). While this is perfect for snacks, eating it after an exercise or before bed may be helpful due to its mixture of proteins (15, 18).
5. Lean Beef
Beef is also packed with high-quality protein, as well as the B vitamins, minerals, and creatine (19, 20). Evidence even showed that consuming lean red meat can increase the amount of lean muscle mass gained with weight training (21). However, even if you are trying to build muscles, you must choose beef that doesn’t provide too many extra calories.
For example, instead of getting 3 ounces of 70% lean ground beef, which has 28 calories and 15 grams of fat, why not consume 95% lean ground beef of the same amount? It contains slightly more protein and only 145 calories and 5 grams of fat (22, 23).
6. Shrimps
Did you know that shrimps are almost pure protein? A 3-ounce serving contains 10 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat, and no carbs (24)! While healthy carbs and fats are also important for your health, adding some shrimp is a simple way to consume muscle-building protein with fewer calories.
Like other animal proteins, shrimps contain high amounts of leucine, which is important for optimal muscle growth (24, 25).
7. Soybeans
Cooking half a cup of soybeans will give you 14 grams of protein, healthy unsaturated fats, and many vitamins and minerals. They are excellent sources of iron, vitamin K, and phosphorus (26). Iron is particularly important in transporting and storing oxygen in the blood and muscles. Iron deficiency can impair these important functions (27, 28).
8. Cottage Cheese
A single cup of low-fat cottage cheese is packed with 28 grams of protein, as well as a healthy dose of amino acid leucine (29). Similar to other dairy products, this can be purchased with varying fat contents. Creamed cottage cheese contains more calories, which you would want to avoid.
9. Quinoa
While protein-rich foods come on top of the list when building lean muscle mass, it is also very important to have the fuel to stay active. Foods with carbohydrates can help supply enough energy (30). Cooked quinoa contains approximately 40 grams of carbs per cup, as well as 8 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, magnesium, and phosphorus (31).
Magnesium is specifically important to keep your muscles and nerves functioning well (32).
10. Scallops
Like shrimps and lean poultry, scallops contain a good amount of protein with less fat. If you intend to add protein to your diet minus the calories, these are an excellent choice! Three-ounces of scallops can offer you 20 grams of protein and less than 100 calories (33).
11. Peanuts
For sure, you have snacked on peanuts! They contain a good mix of protein, carbs, and fat. In fact, a half-cup serving has 17 grams of protein, 16 grams of carbs, and good amounts of healthy unsaturated fats (34). They also contain high amounts of leucine and several other plant products.
If you are having difficulty getting enough calories to drive your muscle gain, snacking on peanuts could be a good way to get some extra calories and nutrients.
12. Buckwheat
Buckwheat can be crushed into a powder and used as a substitute for traditional flours. Half a cup of buckwheat flour contains approximately 8 grams of protein, as well as fiber and other carbs. This has become a popular health food because of its impressive vitamin and mineral content, which can help you stay healthy to sustain muscle-building exercises. It’s an excellent source of B vitamins, magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese (35).
13. Tofu
Tofu is a favorite meat substitute. Made from soy milk, it’s an excellent source of protein, carbs, fat, and calcium, which is important for bone health and proper muscle function (36). Soy protein, which is present in foods like soybeans and tofu, is considered to be one of the highest quality of plant proteins (37). For all these reasons, tofu is a great option for vegans and vegetarians!
14. Pork Tenderloin
Who doesn’t eat pork? It’s widely consumed across the world! Pork tenderloin is a lean cut of meat that contains 18 grams of protein and only 2 grams of fat per 3 ounces (38). Evidence showed that pork has similar effects to other muscle-building foods like chicken and beef (39).
15. Bison
Similarly to beef, this can offer you 22 grams of protein per 3-ounce serving (40). In fact, one study showed that bison is better than beef in terms of reducing heart disease risks (41). So, if you are having some heart health issues but still want to eat red meat to help increase your muscle mass and size, take bison!
Key Takeaway
Aside from exercise, several foods and supplements can help you gain lean muscles. Most of them are protein-rich, which allows your muscles to heal and grow after you have been active. However, you must not completely rule out carbs and fats as you need fuel to sustain your regular activities.
What’s more, most of the foods listed above also contain the vitamins and minerals needed by your body to work at its best!
References:
(1) https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/musclesgrowLK.html
(2) https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/jappl.2000.89.1.81
(3) https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(14)00138-7/fulltext
(4) https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity
(5) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15824844
(6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21778224%20
(7) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/111/2
(8) https://journals.lww.com/nutritiontodayonline/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2009&issue=01000&article=00013&type=abstract
(9) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26828517
(10) https://medlineplus.gov/bvitamins.html
(11) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/finfish-and-shellfish-products/4102/2
(12) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25285409
(13) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/703/2
(14) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20809267
(15) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16937979
(16) https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/?query=ndbNumber:1256
(17) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/107/2
(18) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28536184
(19) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beef-products/6194/2
(20) https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z
(21) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24477043
(22) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beef-products/8003/2
(23) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beef-products/6189/2
(24) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/finfish-and-shellfish-products/4174/2
(25) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24791918
(26) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4376/2
(27) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24868988
(28) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25017111
(29) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/15/2
(30) https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0189-4
(31) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/10352/2
(32) https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-Consumer/
(33) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/finfish-and-shellfish-products/7741/2
(34) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4448/2
(35) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/5684/2
(36) https://medlineplus.gov/calcium.html
(37) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26400436
(38) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/pork-products/10293/2
(39) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24534884
(40) https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/lamb-veal-and-game-products/10627/2
