The basic foundation for a healthy individual starts from his foetal stage with proper and healthy nutrition derived from his or her mother. Hence, a pregnant woman’s diet stands atop all diets.

Your food shall be your medicine. Ayurveda has postulated the rold of food and especially nutritive foods for maintaining health as well as cure of diseases. Nutrients are necessary for the proper functioning of mental, physical, metabolic, chemical and hormonal activities. The body is like a machine that will repair and rebuild itself provided proper nutrition is provided by way of food.

Sumptous nutrition is available in fruits and vegetables. Fruits have the capacity to give all that a body needs. How to consume? What to consume? Which fruit helps in which way? The answers to these questions can be found in our Nutrition and Healthy Diet Section

Free Diet Menu 1

Meal 1

• Protein powder shake with 1 tbsp of flax seed oil. One scoop of protein mixed with fat free or skim milk;
• ½ cup of strawberries;
• 1 tbsp of oat bran

You can usually get a good protein powder at your local health food stores. I suggest you try and get a fast acting protein such as whey powder. Optimum Nutrition is a popular brand and is quite good. Simply add the skim milk, protein powder, oat bran, and strawberries to a blender and mix.

Meal 2

• 3 oz of cooked ham with one pack of instant oatmeal;
• 2 glasses of water

Meal 3

• 3 oz of lean roast beef slices and 1 slice of low fat cheese;
• 2 slices of whole wheat bread;
• ½ cup of low fat cottage cheese;
• 2 glasses of water

Meal 4

• 3 tbsp of mixed nuts;
• 3 tbsp of dried fruit;
• ½ cup of fat free yogurt

Meal 5

• ½ cup of cooked brown rice;
• 1 cup of mixed vegetables;
• 3 oz of grilled chicken breast;
• 1 tsp of olive oil;
• 2 glasses of water

I simply add a bit of Mrs. Dashes all season mix to the chicken and cooked in a pan with the olive oil. Remember, to cook the rice first and set aside while your cooking the chicken. For the vegetables, I use Green Giants mixed vegetables.

Meal 6

• ½ cup of fat free frozen yogurt;
• ½ cup of strawberries;

Free Diet Menu 2

Meal 1

• Protein powder shake with 1 tbsp of flax seed oil. One scoop of protein mixed with fat free or skim milk;
• ½ cup of strawberries;
• 1 tbsp of oat bran

You can usually get a good protein powder at your local health food stores. I suggest you try and get a fast acting protein such as whey powder. Optimum Nutrition is a popular brand and is quite good. Simply add the skim milk, protein powder, oat bran, and strawberries to a blender and mix.

Meal 2

• ½ cup of fat free pudding topped with ½ sliced banana;
• 2 tsp chopped nuts;
• 2 glasses of water

Meal 3

• 1 large whole wheat tortilla;
• ½ cup of fat free refried beans;
• ½ cup of fat free shredded cheese;
• ½ cup of lettuce;
• 2 tbsp of sliced green onions;
• 2 tbsp of low fat sour cream;
• 2 tbsp of salsa;
• 2 cups of water

Add beans, cheese, onions, and lettuce to the tortilla and roll up. Top off with sour cream and salsa.

Meal 4

• ½ cup of cottage cheese;
• ½ can of mandarins;
• 1 cup of water

Mix mandarins with cottage cheese.

Meal 5

• 4 oz lake trout;
• 1 small baked potato;
• 1 tbsp of fat free sour cream;
• 1 cup of cooked asparagus;
• 1 tbsp of onion;
• 1 tsp of grated Parmesan cheese;
• dash of lemon juice;
• 1 cup of broccoli;
• 1 cup of water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash trout and lay on a slice of tinfoil. Add lemon and sprinkle cheese over trout. Add pepper and wrap trout in the tinfoil. Place trout on a cooking tray and put into over for 20-30 minutes. Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces and wash. Put broccoli into a small cooking pot along with garlic and 1/4 cup of cold water. Heat until the water boils and reduce heat and simmer cover for 5-8 minutes. Serve trout, broccoli

Meal 6

• 1 slice of whole grain toast spread with 1 tbsp peanut butter;
• ½ banana;

Free Diet Menu 3

Meal 1

• Protein powder shake with 1 tbsp of flax seed oil. One scoop of protein mixed with fat free or skim milk;
• ½ cup of strawberries;
• 1 tbsp of oat bran

You can usually get a good protein powder at your local health food stores. I suggest you try and get a fast acting protein such as whey powder. Optimum Nutrition is a popular brand and is quite good. Simply add the skim milk, protein powder, oat bran, and strawberries to a blender and mix.

Meal 2

• ½ cup fat free yogurt;
• 1 apple;

Meal 3

• 1 can water packed tuna (Not vegetable oil);
• ½ tsp of parsley;
• Dash of lemon juice;
• 2 tbsp of low fat mayo;
• ½ whole wheat pita;
• 1 celery stalk, chopped;
• 1 cup of low fat yogurt;
• 1 cup of water

Mix tuna, celery, lemon juice, and mayo. Stir until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Top with parsley. Spread the mixture onto pita and serve with yogurt and water.

Meal 4

• ½ cup of fat free pudding topped with ½ sliced banana;
• 2 tsp chopped nuts;
• 2 glasses of water

Meal 5

• 2 tbsp fat free mayo;
• 1 ½ tbsp mustard;
• 1 medium red apple- cut into strips;
• ½ tsp lemon juice;
• 2 whole wheat tortillas- large;
• 4 romaine lettuce leaves;
• 4 oz turkey breast-sliced;
• 2 thin green onions or chives;
• 1/4 cup grated carrot;
• 1 cup of water

Combine mayonnaise and mustard. In a small bowl, toss apple with lemon juice. Spread a generous tbsp mayo mixture over each tortilla, layer a lettuce leaf and 2 oz turkey on top. Place 1 green onion 2 tbsp grated carrot and one quarter on apple strips at one end of tortilla. Roll up, jelly roll fashion secure with wooden pick, if necessary.

Meal 6

• ½ cup low fat cottage cheese;
• 1 apple.

Remember, this 3 day menus is meant to give you an idea of what you need to eat in order to get rid of those love handles. What you will have to do is decide on a menu that is good for you and contains a variety of foods with plenty of well balanced nutrients.

Often, people feel they need to lose a drastic amount of weight, when in fact their weight is at a healthy level.

The best advice is to visit your Physician who can perform a complete physical and let you know if he or she has any concerns with your weight. Often, we can have a misguided image as to what is healthy weight due to the extreme slim images we are bombarded with in the media each day. In fact, the average North American women are five feet 4 inches and weighs 138 pounds.

Consider taking your body mass index (BMI), which can help you determine if your weight is within a healthy range. Below is a BMI chart and directions on how to determine your own BMI.

· The chart on the next page has completed the math formulas and metric conversions. To use this table, find your appropriate height in inches in the left hand column. Most across the row to the given weight. The number at the top of the column is your BMI for your height and weight.

o If your BMI is less than 19, you are considered underweight, which can have negative health implications.

o If your BMI is 19-24.9, you’re in the normal range.

o If your BMI is 25 – 29.9, you are considered overweight and have an increased risk of associated disease.

o If your BMI is 30 – 34.9, you are considered in the obese range and have a high risk of associated disease.

o If your BMI is 35 – 39.9, you are considered in the obese range and have a very high risk of associated disease.

o If your BMI is over 40, you are classified as obese with an extremely high risk of associated disease.

Body Mass Index

As active weight trainers, we are bombarded with different views and advertisements as to the kinds of protein we needand how much protein we need to consume.

When it comes to protein, two of the most critical issues we face is how much protein to consume and what sources to rely on. Protein is the primary food element of the human body, and is of special importance to the active weight trainer.

Of the food intake that the body needs, protein is of primary importance. The only thing that your body needs more thanprotein is water.

Every person needs quality food high in protein, especially the active weight trainer who is trying to build his/her body.

You see, when the body is in a growth state, it needs protein desperately and guess what, we are in a growth state simply by training day in and day out!

Simply put, you need quality food high in protein and enough of it to build quality muscle. However, how do you know how much protein do you need to take for optimum growth?

According to the RDA, it is recommended that you get 1 gram of protein for every 2 pounds of bodyweight. This recommendation is for the average person, who is sedentary and of course, someone who is training to build muscleis not sedentary. Recent data indicates that active people need much more protein.

The active weight trainer trying to build his/her body needs more protein than the average person. Therefore, 1 gramof protein per pound of body weight is sufficient to cover your protein basis. Of course, you will need to experiementa little to determine how much protein you need for your body.

To find out how much protein you need to build muscle, simply take your bodyweight and multipy it by 1. For example,if you weight 175 pounds, multiply that by one and you get 175 grams of protein per day for building muscle.

Theimportant thing to remember is to experiment a little to find out if this is your optimum protein intake. It mightbe a little more or a little less.

Building muscle requires food high in protein because as acvite weight trainers, we are trying to add strength andbuild muscle. In comparison to other atheletes, we need even more protein because we are trying to add lean tissueas opposed to maintaining a muscle base.

You see, a regular athelete is just taking enough protein to maintain his/her muscle structure. The main focus here is on complex carbs but a person who is building the body has a muchdifferent focus and that is to build the body. To do this, we need much more protein.

Simply put, to build bigger muscles, you need to eat alot of high quality food high in protein.

Let’s take a look at some high quality food high in protein.

Food high in protein - Pure Protein Sources

These types of protein sources are thought to be as close to pure protein sources as you can get. The percentage ofcalories from these types of foods high in protein are quite high.

These types of pure protein sources can be eatenby active bodybuilders, weight trainers and atheletes all the time. Athletes who are trying to shed bodyfat should get the most of their protein from sources that are 70% or higher in calories from protein.

For those of us who are trying to build muscle, we can eat as much of these foods high in protein as we want, providedthat we consume plenty of calories from other sources.

Remember, it’s not only protein that you need to build muscle.It’s hard to take in adequate calories for adding muscle if you eat too much lean protein - it fills you up.

You need quality fuel from complex carbs and fat to complete the nutrition cycle. Muscle growth depends not onlyon protein consumption but also total calories consumed.

Pure Protein Sources

Food high in protein - High Protein Sources

These types of foods high in protein are great for adding mass and strength because they offer a generous amountof protein and also contain enough fat to boost total caloric intake.

By boosting overall caloric intake, thesetypes of protein sources will help you add the necessary mass to lift those heavy poundages. When your trying toincrease your bodyweight and overall muscle mass, you need to consume alot of quality calories (especially for youhard gainers out there).

These types of food high in protein include a wide range of percentage of calories from protein. However, you willhave to be careful because some of these protein sources contain more calories from fat than protein.

High Protein Sources

Food high in protein - Quality Protein Sources

These types of foods high in protein are excellent choices for most people trying to build muscle.

These protein sourcesare loaded with healthy fats, such as omega 3’s and omega 6’s which are notoriously missing from most diets. Alot ofactive weight trainers and bodybuilders shy away from these types of protein because they fear that they will add morebody fat.

In fact, you should be consuming more healty fats and reduce the consumption of processed carbs such assugars and bleached flour.

What if your on a diet? You can certainly benefit from some of these foods high in protein. The omega 3’s found insome of these foods may help your body store carbs as muscle glycogen - muscle fuel. These foods high in proteinare a great source of muscle building food.

Quality Protein Sources

Food high in protein - Milk Proteins

We’ve all heard that milk products are fatty and should be avoided if your trying to lose weight.

Milk productssuch as cheese, yogurt, skim milk are thought to contribute more to weight gain than weight loss. In reality,calcium in dairy foods actually trigger hormonal support to facilitate fat loss during a reduced calorie diet.

Active weight trainers should try and incorporate plenty of fat free dairy products in their diets - even a fatloss diet.

If your trying to bulk up, low fat milk, cheese, and yogurt are great choices because they’re loaded withquality protein and calcium.

Milk Protein Sources

Food high in protein - Plant Proteins

Plant proteins have not been traditionally know to contain loads of protein. Personally, I don’t use vegetablesand legumes as my primary protein source, however, that’s not to say that vegetables don’t contain quality protein.In fact, many vegetables do contain protein, and some have a substantial amount.

The great thing about these foods high in protein is that not only do they contain high quality protein but they’re also high in fibre. As we know, fibre is that fantastic substance that keeps the nutrients flowing by helping the digestive process.

Day 1

Immediately upon waking up
2 glasses of water with 5 to 10 grams glutamine

Breakfast
1 cup of oatmeal (cooked) with 1 tbsp of raisins. Ham and cheese 4 egg white omelet. 1 cup of water. Immediately afterwards, have one vitamin/mineral tablet. I recommend Universal’s Animal Pack.

Snack
Protein drink. I recommend Cyto Sport Muscle Milk, Dorian Yates Pro Peptide, EAS 100% Whey. For weight gainers, try using Cyto Sport’s Cytogainer.

Lunch
Grilled chicken breast with one baked potato. 1 cup of steamed veggies. 1 tbsp of low fat sour cream for potato.

Mid Afternoon Snack

1 protein bar. Recommend MuscleTech Meso Tech or EAS Myoplex Deluxe.

Pre Workout Nutrition
1 Endothil CR tab and creatine drink. I strongly recommend Dymatize Xpand or Nutrabolics NOZ.

Workout

Post Workout Nutrition
1 serving Cyto Sport Cytogainer

Dinner
Chicken Teriyaki

• 4 oz skinless chicken breasts
• 1/3 cup low sodium teriyaki sauce
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/3 tsp ginger
• ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ cup small broccoli florets
• 1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts
• 1/4 cup rice (cooked)

Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/4″ pieces; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, combine teriyaki sauce, orange juice, cornstarch, and ginger; set aside. In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat. Add the chicken pieces and stir fry until they are lightly browned, about 3-7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a bowl, leaving the drippings in the skillet. Reduce the heat to moderate. Add broccoli to the skillet and stir fry for 3-5 minutes. Stir the teriyaki mixture and pour it into the skillet with the broccoli. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until it is thickened and bubbly, about 2-4 minutes. Add water chestnuts and the cooked chicken. Continue cooking until heated through, serve over cooked rice.

Bedtime
1 protein drink. I recommend Cyto Sport Muscle Milk, Dorian Yates Pro Peptide, EAS 100% Whey. For weight gainers, try using Cyto Sport’s Cytogainer.

Day 2

Immediately upon waking up
2 glasses of water with 5 to 10 grams glutamine

Breakfast
2 slices of whole wheat toast with 1 tsp of butter and scrambled eggs (5 to 6 egg whites and two egg yolks with 1 tbsp of low fat cheddar cheese). Have with one glass of water. Immediately afterwards, have one vitamin/mineral tablet. I recommend Universal’s Animal Pack.

Snack
Protein drink. I recommend Cyto Sport Muscle Milk, Dorian Yates Pro Peptide, EAS 100% Whey. For weight gainers, try using Cyto Sport’s Cytogainer.

Lunch
Chicken stir fry.

• 4 ounce chicken breast cut into strips
• ½ cup peppers
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 1/4 cup onions
• 1 tsp Braggs sauce
• 1 cup cooked brown rice

Stir fry chicken, peppers, mushrooms, and onions. Saute with Braggs sauce. Serve with brown rice.

Mid Afternoon Snack
1 protein bar. Recommend MuscleTech Meso Tech or EAS Myoplex Deluxe.

Pre Workout Nutrition
1 Endothil CR tab and creatine drink. I strongly recommend Dymatize Xpand or Nutrabolics NOZ.

Workout

Post Workout Nutrition
1 serving Cyto Sport Cytogainer

Dinner
Rainbow Trout

• 4 ounces of rainbow trout
• 1/4 cup onions
• Dash pepper
• 1 tbsp Parmesan-dried
• ½ cup brown rice
• 7 oz broccoli florets
• ½ cup corn
• 1 clove garlic- divide into individual parts
• 1 cube vegetable base
• 1 ½ cup cold water
• 1 cup of 1% milk

Pour rice into medium sized cooking pot and add water and soup base. Heat until the water boils and then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and do not stir. Set timer for 30-40 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash trout and lay on a slice of tinfoil. Add lemon and sprinkle cheese over trout. Add pepper and wrap trout in the tinfoil. Place trout on a cooking tray and put into over for 20-30 minutes. Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces and wash. Put broccoli into a small cooking pot along with garlic and 1/4 cup of cold water. Heat until the water boils and reduce heat and simmer cover for 5-8 minutes. Serve trout, broccoli and rice hot.

Bedtime
1 protein drink. I recommend Cyto Sport Muscle Milk, Dorian Yates Pro Peptide, EAS 100% Whey. For weight gainers, try using Cyto Sport’s Cytogainer.

Day 3

Immediately upon waking up
2 glasses of water with 5 to 10 grams glutamine

Breakfast
Western omelet (6 egg whites, 2 yolks, diced ham, onions, peppers, and 1 tbsp low fat cheddar cheese). Have with one glass of water. Immediately afterwards, have one vitamin/mineral tablet. I recommend Universal’s Animal Pack.

Snack
Protein drink. I recommend Cyto Sport Muscle Milk, Dorian Yates Pro Peptide, EAS 100% Whey. For weight gainers, try using Cyto Sport’s Cytogainer.

Lunch
Turkey sandwich on rye.

• 4 ounces sliced turkey breast
• 2 lettuce leaves
• 2 slices low fat cheddar
• 1 tbsp mustard

Serve sandwich with 2 cups caesar salad. Have with one glass of water.

Mid Afternoon Snack

1 protein bar. Recommend MuscleTech Meso Tech or EAS Myoplex Deluxe.

Pre Workout Nutrition
1 Endothil CR tab and creatine drink. I strongly recommend Dymatize Xpand or Nutrabolics NOZ.

Workout

Post Workout Nutrition
1 serving Cyto Sport Cytogainer

Dinner
Beef stroganoff

• 1 cup of whole wheat spaghetti or linguine
• 16 oz beef, thawed. You can also use extra lean ground beef or extra lean ground turkey
• 2 tsp olive oil
• ½ cup onion
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 6 tbsp fat free sour cream
• 6 oz water
• 1 tsp chopped parsley
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp mayonnaise

Cook and drain spaghetti and set aside. You can also cook your beef while the spaghetti is boiling.

Cut beef into long, thin strips.

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Saute onion, mushrooms, black pepper, parsley, nutmeg, and garlic. Add beef and mayonnaise. Add water to dilute. Stir the mixture around to mix the mayonnaise. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until beef is tender. Add sour cream. Stir well. Pour over spaghetti.

Bedtime
1 protein drink. I recommend Cyto Sport Muscle Milk, Dorian Yates Pro Peptide, EAS 100% Whey. For weight gainers, try using Cyto Sport’s Cytogainer.

Day 4

Immediately upon waking up
2 glasses of water with 5 to 10 grams glutamine

Breakfast
1 cup egg whites, cooked, sweetened with Splenda and cinnamon. 1 cup cooked oatmeal with 1 tbsp of raisins mixed in. 15 to 20 roasted almonds. Have with one glass of water. Immediately afterwards, have one vitamin/mineral tablet. I recommend Universal’s Animal Pack.

Snack
Protein drink. I recommend Cyto Sport Muscle Milk, Dorian Yates Pro Peptide, EAS 100% Whey. For weight gainers, try using Cyto Sport’s Cytogainer.

Lunch
5 ounces of salmon, broiled. 1 cup cooked whole wheat pasta mixed with 1 cup cooked broccoli, seasoned with garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. Have with one glass of water.

Mid Afternoon Snack

1 protein bar. Recommend MuscleTech Meso Tech or EAS Myoplex Deluxe.

Pre Workout Nutrition

1 Endothil CR tab and creatine drink. I strongly recommend Dymatize Xpand or Nutrabolics NOZ.

Workout

Post Workout Nutrition

1 serving Cyto Sport Cytogainer

Dinner
Chicken in peach sauce:

• 2 small peaches - canned will also do (1/2 can with the syrup drained)
• 2 skinless chicken breasts
• margarine
• pepper
• thyme
• parsley
• rose wine
• fat free mayo
• 1 cup brown rice
• Spring salad

Skin and dice peaches. (You can also use canned peaches).

Cook chicken breasts in a pan. Add peaches, pepper, thyme, and parsley. Saute until smooth. Add rose wine and mayo. Gently simmer for a few minutes. Serve over chicken. Serve with a spring salad and brown rice.

Bedtime
1 protein drink. I recommend Cyto Sport Muscle Milk, Dorian Yates Pro Peptide, EAS 100% Whey. For weight gainers, try using Cyto Sport’s Cytogainer.

Day 5

Immediately upon waking up
2 glasses of water with 5 to 10 grams glutamine

Breakfast
1 cup oatmeal crisp cereal with 1% milk. Ham and cheese 4 egg white omelet Immediately afterwards, have one vitamin/mineral tablet. I recommend Universal’s Animal Pack.

Snack
Protein drink. I recommend Cyto Sport Muscle Milk, Dorian Yates Pro Peptide, EAS 100% Whey. For weight gainers, try using Cyto Sport’s Cytogainer.

Lunch
Grilled chicken breast with one baked potato. 1 cup of steamed veggies. 1 tbsp of low fat sour cream for potato.

Mid Afternoon Snack

1 protein bar. Recommend MuscleTech Meso Tech or EAS Myoplex Deluxe.

Pre Workout Nutrition

1 Endothil CR tab and creatine drink. I strongly recommend Dymatize Xpand or Nutrabolics NOZ.

Workout

Post Workout Nutrition

1 serving Cyto Sport Cytogainer

Dinner
Spaghetti

• 4 oz lean beef
• 1 cup spaghetti
• 1 slice whole wheat bread
• 1/4 cup pasta sauce
• 1/4 onion- sliced
• ½ cup mushrooms
• 1 tsp light margarine

Bedtime
1 protein drink. I recommend Cyto Sport Muscle Milk, Dorian Yates Pro Peptide, EAS 100% Whey. For weight gainers, try using Cyto Sport’s Cytogainer.

Adding lean, hard muscle mass is no easy task. It takes hard work, dedication, discipline, desire, and an openness to learn the real aspects to improving your body.

Hard and intense training is one half of the key to adding lean muscle mass. Now, I’m sure most of you reading this page understand that training is not where you grow.

In fact, weight training actually tears down the muscle tissue and breaks the body down. Training is often mistaken with growth. Which of course, it’s not.

The real growth happens afterwards. That is, what you do from the moment you stop training until your next training session will dictate how much muscle mass you gain. Remember this, it is the recovery period from training that leads to muscle growth - Not the actual training itself.

You must understand this concept if you ever want to add muscle mass. You see, when it comes to weight training, your body works is cycles. The body encounters a stress point, such as weight training, and based on this stress, the body builds and breaks down in a sequence or cycles.

If you can learn how to reduce the amount of muscle breakdown from weight training, you can capitalize on these cycles and keep your body in a constant state of growth. What I’d like to do is give you some key strategies on how you can greatly improve your recovery periods, and keep your body growing.

How To Add Muscle Mass From Recovery Periods

1) Have One Whey Protein Drink With 5 Grams Of Glutamine As You Wake Up

This one is a must. As soon as you wake up in the morning, stumble over to your kitchen and mix yourself up a whey (Isolate if possible) drink mixed with 5 grams of glutamine. Your body is in starvation mode and desperately needs protein in order kick start the growth process. If you can, try adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of honey with your drink. This way, you can get some carbs into your nutrient starved body.

Also, glutamine is a much needed nutrient at this point. If you can shuttle some glutamine into your muscles, first thing in the morning, you can help stop the muscle breakdown process and get your body back into growth mode.

Here’s a drink I use:

Here’s a great breakfast protein smoothie for you to try.

• 1 scoop of orange creamsicle protein powder (NxCare ISO xp);
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of low fat, vanilla yogurt;
• 1 cup of 1% milk;
• ½ cup of orange juice;
• 4 to 6 ice cubes.

Add all the ingredients to a blender and mix. Try and blend the mix until all the ice cubes are chopped up, usually about 30 to 40 seconds.

This is a fantastic breakfast “wake up” protein drink to get your body growing. Give it a shot, I’m sure you’ll love it.

2) Eat A High Protein, High Complex Carb Breakfast

This is so important. Approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour, after you’ve taken your morning protein drink, have a high protein, high carb breakfast. What you want to do here is give your body the magic of food synergy that only quality foods can provide.

Oatmeal provides slow burning carbs to give you energy, which greatly benefits recovery in the long run. Think of this breakfast as giving your body “time released” recovery throughout the day. Here’s a sample breakfast:

One cup of oatmeal, 8 to 10 egg whites, one scoop of protein powder and 1 tablespoon of raisins. Have with one or two toasts with light butter. One glass of orange or apple juice.

3) Have A Pre-Workout Shake

Do yourself a huge favour, have a pre workout shake 40 minutes to 1 hour before your workout. Believe me, taking in a pre workout shake is one of the most critical things you can do to enhance your growth and recovery. If you want to get some body mass, your gonna have to take in a pre workout shake.

By filling up on amino acids and some carbs prior to your workout, you ensure that your internal gas tank is filled with quality, high grade octane and premium building material. This is especially important if you’re body is low on nutrients because the workout will force you to use protein for fuel - And you never, ever want to do this!

Try adding 40 grams of whey protein and have one banana prior to your workout. If you can, try having a small bowl of oatmeal - You’ll see what I’m talking about if you try this before your intenst workouts over the next week or so!

Here’s a simple pre workout shake to try:

• 1 Banana
• 8 ounces of skim milk
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 2 scoops of whey protein powder

Mix it all up in a blender and you have yourself a power protein drink. Remember, if you can, try and fit in a small bowl of oatmeal. If you can’t, try using Prolab’s Mass Matrix Complex which uses 40 grams of complex carbs from oat flour. It also uses 40 grams of whey protein powder. This sounds like a fantastic drink!

4) Have A Glutamine And Creatine Drink Before A Workout

Approximately 10 minutes before your workout, try having a glutamine and creatine drink. It has taken me a bit of practice but I personally found that this works best (for me), right before a workout. I personally use NOZ supecharged (Lemon lime flavour!), or Dymatize Xpand (Cherry limonade flavour). I have gotten mind blowing results from this combination. By stuffing your muscles full of creatine and glutamine, you keep your muscles cells filled with fluid.

Now, if you can afford it, I strongly recommend that you also take some Endothil CR. I’ve used this supplement for over 5 months and I am blown away by the results.

5) Drink A Post Workout Shake

This goes without saying. If you’re not having a post workout shake, you are basically cutting your results in half. Yes, I’m sure of it! This is the absolute best time to have a whey protein drink for the most dramatic results.

Ingesting protein right after a hard workout will be your window of opportunity and the most optimal time to ingest protein.

I cannot stress the importance of ingesting protein upon completion of your workouts.

Why? This is your golden opportunity for building muscle, and trust me, this will help you put you on the road to building hard, strong muscles.

You see, after you have had a gruelling workout, your body is in a state of havoc. The body is starting the repair and growth process of muscle tissue. You can greatly enhance this recovery process by consuming protein after your workout.

Research has shown that you can get a head start on this recovery process by ingesting at least .5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight along with a high glycemic carbohydrate such as maltodextrin, dextrose, or sucrose within 30 minutes of working out.

Why carbohydrates with protein? When carbohydrates is taken with protein, there’s a blast of insulin. Insulin kicks the body’s glycogen making machine into high gear.

Glycogen is considered the principal storage form of glucose and is found mainly in liver and muscle. Glucose supplies the tissues with energy and are found principally in the liver, and muscle as glycogen.

Therefore, insulin will speed up the movement of glucose and amino acids into cells which is what you definitely want and secondly, it activates a special enzyme which is essential for glycogen synthesis.

If you are serious about adding hard, lean muscle mass to your body, you will not forego your post workout protein drink.

Try this post workout drink:

Power Drink

1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1 scoop(2oz) vanilla protein powder- 22 grams protein (Whey isolate if possible)
1 tbsp honey
1 ½ cup low fat or 1% milk
1 cup orange juice

If you want to get bulk whey isolate for the cheapest price anywhere, try going to the following address:

http://www.bulkfoods.com

You can get about 5 pounds of whey isolate for about 40$ compared to $90 at your local GNC.

6) Take At Least 5 Grams Of Creatine With Your Post Workout Shake

In addition to your post workout shake, you should add 5 to 10 grams of creatine. Personally, I’d add 5 grams of tri creatine malate. For some reason, I get awesome results with this kind of creatine. Taking creatine with your post workout shake has two main advantages. Firstly, exercises muscles takes up creatine so much better, so less is wasted. Secondly, the insulin spike you get after ingesting a high carb, post workout shake will not only shuttle a high level of carbs and protein into the muscle but creatine as well. The result is more creatine in each muscle fibre at saturation and a bigger, tighter muscle.

7) If You Can, Try Adding More Leucine To Your Post Workout Shake

Leucine has been shown to help in the muscle recovery process. If you can get more leucine into the muscle immediately after your workouts, the better off you’ll be in terms of your recovery period. Lately, more and more supplement companies are catching on to this fact and are adding more leucine to their formulas. I’m sure you are all familiar with Muscle Tech’s Anator P-70.

This supplement’s main active ingredient is Leucine and at 7.2 grams per serving, it’s at about the right proportion for optimal growth. However, for anyone over 200 pounds, this is simply not enough. Personally, I’d like to see at least 15 grams + of leucine per serving.

You can usually get bulk leucine or branched chain amino acids for pretty cheap. Try going to www.bulknutrition.com for more selection.

Take Antioxidants

I think taking antioxidants is important for two reasons. Firstly, hard weight training creates free radicals that destroys muscle tissue. If you can take some antioxidants immediately after training, you can help “scoop up” these free radicals and help prevent damage to your muscle cells. Secondly, after training, your body is very open to viruses that cause sickness. Since your body is at it’s most weakest after training, you need to reinforce your defences with antioxidants. You can’t train if you’re sick so keep your body and immune system strong with antioxidants.

9) Have A Complex Carb And Long Sustaining Protein Drink Before Bed

What you want to do here is give your body, slow acting nutrients that will help prevent the hormone, cortisol from doing it’s job on your body. Cortisol will help with the muscle breakdown process and will increase over the course of the night. You want to keep cortisol levels down to a minimum and the only way to do this is to keep nutrients flowing into the muscle cells. Try having a small bowl of slow acting oats with a casein based protein drink before you go to bed.

Try Dorian Yates’ Pro Peptide which uses micellar casein as it’s main protein source. Have one serving of this drink with a small bowl of oatmeal.

Each tip outlined here will greatly enhance your recovery periods and therefore, more muscle mass and strength. If you can, try implementing all of the above noted recommendations, if you can’t, try to follow as many as you can.