Whey Protein - Build Muscle Mass Faster By Using Protein Powder The Right Way

One of the biggest mistakes many new bodybuilders makes is that they don't pay attention to their muscle building nutrition with the same detail, desire and determination with which they pay attention to their weight training program.

You constantly see people throw out numbers such as 'your weight training program is 85% of your results' or that 'muscle building diets are 95% of your results.'

I've always rolled my eyes at these sorts of statements and found them rather silly.

No one can know for sure how to break this down.

But I can tell you this, if you neglect (or ignore completely) one or the other, whether it be your training or your nutrition, your results will only be a fraction of what they could be!

Look, you bust your ass in the gym, pounding away at huge weights in the big exercises with animalistic intensity.

Don’t screw it up by neglecting to be as dedicated to your nutrition program.

So let's talk about the importance of whey protein and your nutrition plan.

If you don't think nutrition is that important think of it this way, no one will ever gain muscle without food.

In its simplest form, nutrition to build muscle mass is just a matter of eating. But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot to learn.

Stuffing your face with the wrong type of food, or just eating 1 or 2 large meals a day isn't the way to gain muscle. You'll end up gaining weight all right. You’ll be fat. And you're not bodybuilding to get fat.

So here’s the question every dedicated lifter wants to know.

What's the best muscle building supplement available today?

You might not like the answer. It's not sexy, it's not new, and it's not touted as a steroid replacement.

Your number one supplement should be a high quality whey protein powder.

I know you probably already know this. But it’s worth repeating because I get a ton of questions from people wanting to know what is the best new miracle steroid-like supplement they can buy.

And they aren’t getting enough quality protein. Before buying any other supplements, make sure you are always taking in a high quality whey protein powder.

If you want to make outstanding muscle building progress, you must put together a solid weight training program, train with a high level of intensity, add poundage to your exercises as often as possible, eat six high protein meals every day.

Then you need to make sure you are out of the gym often enough to recover from your workouts so that your muscles have time to recover and grow.

Protein powders make it extremely easy and convenient to eat six meals a day and to get enough quality protein into your body.

Using protein powders and hakes will make it easier for you to consume enough calories and protein each day, as well as making it much more convenient to have 6 meals a day.

Who has time to prepare six meals a day? Not anybody I know, that's for sure.

Here's a sample weight gain drink you can make up and use in your muscle building diets (continued below):

100 grams of your favorite protein powder - my favorite is Prograde Protein.

• 2 quarts of whole or 2% Milk
• 2 cups of skim milk powder
• 2 cups of chocolate ice cream
• 4 tablespoons of peanut butter
• 1 banana

Mix in a blender and drink throughout the day, in addition to your regular food meals.

You may need to add or subtract ingredients based on individual taste preferences and number of calories needed.

When I was younger, more active, and had a metabolism like a furnace, I needed all the quality muscle building calories I could get. And whey protein powder and shakes like this were the only way to get them.

For us skinny guys, our body will easily burn off any muscle we build unless we do things right and that means eating at least 6 high protein meals every single day, and more if you can do it.

You should eat every 2 or 3 hours and if you have a really fast metabolism it wouldn't hurt to down a whey protein shake in the middle of the night if you happen to wake up to pee.

When you have your post-workout protein shake to build muscle mass, throw in a serving of creatine as well.

High quality whey protein, aka, 'the real muscle building supplement' should be the center point of all your meals.

Intense exercise increases demand for protein, which supports muscle repair and growth.

When you weight train and you're looking to pack on pounds of quality muscle mass, you should try to eat a minimum of 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight.

If you weight 150 pounds, try and take in at least 225 grams of protein each and every day.

I know this sounds like a lot and you could probably do okay with 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. But if you find it really difficult to build muscle, this extra protein can help.

You don't have to have carbs or fat at every meal, but you must have protein.

When I say protein, I am referring to high quality protein derived from animal sources.

For getting bigger and stronger, the only protein you need to be concerned with are those found in whey, casein (cottage cheese), eggs, beef, poultry, and fish.

Throw in a high quality creatine product and you are good to go. Stick with the dual muscle building protein / creatine stack for massive muscle mass gains.

A crucial time to get a lot of high quality whey protein powder is right after your intense weight training session.

Here’s a version of my favorite post-workout whey protein shake.

• 1 1/2 cups of Orange Juice

• 40 grams of whey protein (I use vanilla, strawberry or banana with orange juice)

• 1 serving Creatine

• 1 cup frozen fruit (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries)

There are also a number of good post-workout whey protein formulations available now.

Click here to check out my favorite post workout protein formulations

You can alter this any number of ways to suit your taste buds. You could add banana, or even some yogurt, which will also make the shake a little thicker in its consistency.

One thing I've found that has helped my progress is to add a few more calories than I normally would and then drink part of the smoothie right before my weight training workout.

Or even sip some of it during my workout so my muscles are constantly getting the nutrients they need, both to power my workout and to recover from it.

If you want to add massive slabs of quality muscle mass to your body and do it as fast as possible, you have to get your protein.

There is no excuse to skimp in this area. You need plenty of protein. Nowadays, most whey protein powders taste great and many are pretty inexpensive when compared to food.

Mix your whey protein powder in whole milk or even half and half (except right after a workout).

Why? Quick muscle building! Whole milk and half and half have fat. You need fat to build muscle mass. It raises your testosterone, among other things. And you also get concentrated calories.

Continue Reading Part II - Whey Protein - Build Muscle Mass Faster By Using A Protein Powder Supplement The Right Way