The Eating For Maximum Muscle Gains Program

Note: Jeff McCarrell, President and Co-Founder of Nutrex Research, Inc., has been involved in the Sports Nutrition industry for nearly 15 years.

The Nutrex Training Program, which was developed by the Nutrex Research Group and which is featured on this web site right here is without a doubt the most modern and probably the most effective training program for rapid muscle growth. However, maximum results can only be expected if the athlete also supplies his body with the proper building materials in sufficient quantities.

By building materials, we mean the consumption of high quality nutrients. It would be foolish to put considerable effort into intense workouts while neglecting your body's nutritional needs. You are as likely to build a skyscraper out of rubbish, as you are to build a muscular body from beer and pizza. Taking powerful growth promoting products like 1-TU or Vitargo-CGL for instance will further increase the body's nutritional demands significantly. The muscle cells are able to absorb more protein, and the utilization of glucose is significantly altered.

The athlete is thus well advised to avoid any short cuts in his nutritional program, and to adhere to the following guidelines that were developed by the sports scientists of the Nutrex Research Group.

A vital pre-requisite to achieve impressive gains in muscle size is to supply your body with the right nutrients at the proper time. It makes a big difference in your nutritional game plan in what kind of activities you are engaged during a certain time of your day. For instance, the nutritional needs of your body are entirely different before a workout as compared to what they are when you wake up in the morning or before you go to sleep. The current physiological and hormonal conditions that exist in the human organism at a specific time of day or in specific situations dictate the quantity and quality of food that must be consumed to achieve the optimal effect.

Furthermore, it is important to differentiate whether an athlete has a low or a high percentage of body fat at the beginning of a muscle-building program. It is logical that an athlete with little body fat who is interested primarily in weight gain and muscles growth must structure his nutritional plan differently than an athlete who is overweight but also wants to gain high-quality muscle tissue while controlling or even reducing his body fat.

The Eating for Maximum Muscle Growth Program takes these important nutritional and physiological factors into account, and divides them into two basic categories. Plan 1 down below was designed for athletes who have a low body fat percentage and whose primary goal is gaining more bodyweight in the form of solid muscle. Plan 2 focuses on the needs of athletes who also want to gain muscle, but who need to lower their body fat simultaneously. Both plan 1 and plan 2 are further subdivided according to the different nutritional and physiological needs of the body during workout days and non-workout days.

Plan 1: Nutrex Eating Program For Athletes With Low Body Fat (Less Than 15%)

Athletes with a relatively low body fat level, i.e., less than 15%, should follow the nutritional program below. Plan 1.1 details a complete daily example for workout days, while Plan 1.2 demonstrates what should be eaten on non-workout days.

Plan 1.1: Nutrex Eating Program for Athletes

Athletes with less than 15% body fat

Drink at least one gallon of water per day.

Please note: This sample meal plan is designed for someone who weighs 220 lbs. Depending on your bodyweight you must make some adjustments in regards to the overall food intake and subsequently the size of each meal to fit your own personal needs. To get an exact figure use the following guidelines to determine your overall daily requirements for plan 1.1:

The Calculations:

Calories: 18 calories per lbs./bodyweight
Protein: 1.2 grams per lbs./bodyweight
Carbohydrates: 2.1 grams per lbs./bodyweight
Fats: 0.5 grams per lbs./bodyweight

This program supplies sufficient nutrients and calories to ensure rapid muscle growth. The high protein and carbohydrate intake, which is distributed over 6 meals, guarantees a constant, high insulin level and thus a continuous supply of nutrients to the muscle cells. Note that meal 1 is the most carbohydrate and calorie-dense meal of the day. ince glycogen stores in the muscle cells are severely depleted after multiple hours of fasting during the night, it is vital to replenish them as quickly as possible in order to set the stage for maximum muscle growth and to ensure that the body has enough energy for the evening workout.

To further prime your metabolism for a maximum muscle building effect we want to start our day by supplying our muscle cells with the powerful 1-testosterone undecanoate substrate, for short 1-TU. 1-TU signals your muscle cells to take up more nutrients and to incorporate them as new contractile muscle tissue.

Meal 2 simply consists of a protein drink. Instead of using a pure whey protein product, a protein powder consisting of multiple protein sources, i.e. whey protein, calcium caseinate and egg albumen should be selected. Mixed proteins retain a higher level of amino acids in the blood for a longer period of time than pure whey protein does, and are thus far better for building muscle. Meal 3 provides the body with additional complex carbohydrates and with one of the best sources of muscle building material there is, namely red meat (beef). Anyone who plans on putting weight and muscle fast can't afford to avoid this excellent muscle building source. We also want to add another capsule of 1-TU to further boost nutrient uptake by the muscles and to increase our levels of anabolic, growth-promoting hormones.

Meal 4 should be consumed about an hour before working out and provides the necessary energy for the upcoming workout without overloading the stomach. Easily digestible protein powder and instant oatmeal are ideal for this.

Meal 5 is your post-workout meal and plays a crucial role in determining how fast you recover and hence how long it takes to initiate muscle growth. If you do everything right, ie. you take full advantage of the two hour nutrient window following an intense training session, your muscle cells will end up in a super-hydrated, anabolic growth occuring stage within a matter of hours.

The immediate re-loading of muscular glycogen stores in conjunction with driving creatine into the muscles has to be a top priority over everything else, even protein consumption. First you need to replenish energy through glycogen and creatine loading and then you need to supply the building blocks of muscle, namely protein. It can't be the other way around. That's why you should consume one serving of Vitargo-CGL immediately following your workout. Vitargo-CGL is a precision blend of creatine with a new revolutionary sugar-free high molecular weight carbohydrate, which has been shown in scientific studies to outperfom all other carbohydrates when it comes to loading creatine and glycogen into your muscles.

About 45 minutes later we recommend a high-quality-easy-to-stomach protein source together with more carbohydrates to stabilize blood sugar levels and to further increase the influx of nutrients into the muscles. Go with Prolab's new Lean Mass Matrix, which is a vastly superior meal supplement since it doesn't rely on cheap maltodextrin or dextrose for its carbohydrate content.

The sixth and final meal, which should be eaten 30 minutes before going to sleep, plays an extremely important role in this program. As we know, muscle growth occurs during periods of rest, especially during sleep. Since protein is the basic building material of the muscle cells, a sufficient supply of protein must be available to the body for as long as possible during sleep in order for optimum growth to occur. The consistency of a specific protein source and it's fat content have a considerable influence on the digestion period and determine how long it takes before that protein is available to the muscle cells as a building material.

The more solid a protein source is in its appearance and the higher its fat content is, the longer it takes for digestion process to be completed. A careful selection or combination of different fast and slow digestible protein sources shortly before going to sleep provides a constant protein supply throughout almost the entire night. This is why Meal 6 comprises a combination of ground beef, medium-fat cheese and whole eggs. This nightly protein supply strategy, developed by the Nutrex Research Group, is extremely effective and vastly superior to the current crop of commercially available nighttime protein powder gimmicks. The impressive test results and the astounding rate of muscle growth seen in many of our test athletes clearly demonstrate how important it is to supply the body with protein for as long as possible throughout the night.

Someone who merely has a protein drink before going to sleep will never attain the same anabolic, muscle-building effect attributed to the nightly protein supply strategy, since all protein is digested within 2-4 hours at the latest, and no more protein fractions are available for muscle building purposes during the remainder of the sleep period. Adding your third and last gelcap of 1-TU to this mix will keep your anabolic hormones elevated throughout the night, which triggers your muscle cells to incorporate extra protein for even faster growth. While the night time protein strategy basically supplies the building blocks, 1-TU is sending your muscles the message to fully utilize them via the hormonal pathway.

Plan 1.2. Eating On Non-Workout Days

Athletes with less than 15% body fat

Drink at least one gallon of water per day.

Please note: This sample meal plan is designed for someone who weighs 220 lbs. Depending on your bodyweight you must make some adjustments in regards to the overall food intake and subsequently the size of each meal to fit your own personal needs. To get an exact figure please use the following guidelines to determine your overall daily requirements for plan 1.2. You will notice that these figures differ somewhat from the previous plan 1.1:

The Calculations:

Calories: 15 calories per lbs./bodyweight
Protein: 1 gram per lbs./bodyweight
Carbohydrates: 1.4 grams per lbs./bodyweight
Fats: 0.5 grams per lbs./bodyweight

There are several differences between the nutritional plan for non-workout days and workout days. Since no additional energy is required for training with heavy weights on non-workout days, the pre-workout and post-workout meals are combined into one regular meal. This reduces the number of daily meals from six to five, and goes hand in hand with a reduction of the overall caloric intake. It is mostly carbohydrates that are limited in order to suit the reduced energy needs of the body.

However, even on non-workout days protein intake remains at a rather high level in order to foster maximum muscle growth. On non-workout days, fat consumption should also be relatively high, since experience has shown that people with a low body fat level recover better and faster if the fat intake comprises at least one-third of their daily caloric intake. For this reason, approximately 120 g of fat should be consumed on non-workout days, which is the equivalent of 1100 calories. It is also important to follow the nightly protein supply strategy on non-workout days.

A combination of various fast and slow digestible protein sources (ground beef, medium-fat cheese, whole eggs) should again be consumed for this purpose shortly before going to sleep. It must also be noted, that athletes who have a low percentage of body fat and want to gain size and strength must ensure that they eat all meals regularly and consistently. Rapid muscle growth can only occur if the athlete allows for a steady supply of high-quality nutrients.

In regards to supplementation we still want to take 1 gelcap of 1-TU threes times a day to keep our levels of anabolic, muscle-building hormones elevated. 1-TU works best once it has reached a steady state in your bloodstream. So, keep the dosage at three gelcaps, even on non-workout days.

We also want to stay with one serving of Vitargo-CGL per day to further speed up recovery and to aggressively expand our muscle cell volume via creatine and glycogen induced super-hydration. Since muscular glycogen stores have been decreased during the overnight fast it is best to consume Vitargo-CGL immediately upon arising on non-workout days. Knowing that insulin sensitivity is also at its peak, we do have a perfect environment for loading mass amounts of creatine and glycogen into the muscle cells.

Plan 2: Nutrex Eating Program For Athletes With High Body Fat (More Than 15%)

Athletes with a relatively high percentage of body fat, i.e., more than 15%, should follow the nutritional program, which is outlined below. This program is very effective for building high-quality muscle tissue while losing body fat simultaneously. Plan 2.1 is a great example for workout days, while plan 2.2 shows what should be eaten on non-workout days.

Plan 2.1. Nutrex Eating Program for Athletes

Athletes with more than 15% body fat

Drink at least one gallon of water per day.

Please note: This sample meal plan is designed for someone who weighs 220 lbs. Depending on your bodyweight you must make some adjustments in regards to the overall food intake and subsequently the size of each meal to fit your own personal needs. To get an exact figure please use the following guidelines to determine your overall daily requirements for plan 2.1.

The Calculations:

Calories: 12.5 calories per lbs./bodyweight
Protein: 1 gram per lbs./bodyweight
Carbohydrates: 1.3 grams per lbs./bodyweight
Fats: 0.3 grams per lbs./bodyweight

Athletes with a higher level of body fat, who want to gain muscle while simultaneously reducing their body fat must learn how to control their body's insulin activity. Insulin is an important transport hormone that promotes the incorporation of nutrients into the muscle cells, and thus possesses an anabolic, muscle-building effect. However, insulin is also anti-lipolytic, i.e., it not only impedes the breakdown of existing fat, it also provokes additional fat storage. The key to success is a nutritional program that stimulates the right amount of insulin at the right time. This means, that athletes with a higher body fat level have to strictly control their consumption of carbohydrates since they are primarily responsible for the release of insulin.

Proper planning of your first meal of the day is extremely important. Since nothing has been eaten for 820 hours between your last meal of the previous evening and breakfast the next morning, your body is in a ketogenic state conducive to breaking down fat. This situation is characterized by low insulin and blood sugar levels. Generally, most athletes eat foods rich in carbohydrates when they wake up, such as oatmeal, whole wheat bread, fruit juices etc. However, this triggers a massive insulin release thus interrupting the fat-burning process that was in full effect throughout the night. For athletes who want to gain weight, this is without a doubt a good thing, but for those who carry too much body fat and need to get leaner, this has to be avoided at all costs.

Consequently, the first meal of the day for athletes with higher body fat levels should consist of simply protein and fat and virtually no carbohydrates. For example, an ideal meal would be an egg-cheese omelette. Its protein content provides muscle cells with the required building blocks (amino acids), and the fat content conveys a feeling of satiation to the stomach as well as the appetite center in the brain without triggering an insulin release. The fat burning process, which was started during the night is thus not interrupted, and your body continues to burn fat in spite of the intake of nutrients.

To further intensify the break down of fat cells we do want to implement the powerful fat-burner Lipo-6. Since Lipo-6 is the first and only formula to attack all six fat loss receptors simultaneously it should be your preferred choice. Two capsules will help to release large amounts of free fatty acids from stored fat into the bloodstream where they will either be transported to your muscles and burnt as energy or utilized to generate heat. We also strongly suggest to add in 1 gelcap of 1-TU with breakfast to assist in preserving vital muscle tissue during periods of dieting. If taken properly, ie. 3 gelcaps of 1-TU per day, this highly anabolic compound will even stimulate new muscle growth on a restricted diet.

The second meal consists almost exclusively of protein in the form of a protein drink. This guarantees a continuation of the fat burning process up to mid-day. Since working out is still in the distant future to this point - according to the training plan, your workout does not occur until evening - your body does subsequently not need any energy-supplying carbohydrates in the first half of the day.

The first meal containing carbohydrates is the third meal, toward mid-day. It is important to consume only complex carbohydrates, such as rice, in order to elicit a slow, steady rise in insulin. This helps to avoid a sudden reversal of the insulin situation and a subsequent body fat gain. Instead it supplies energy (glycogen) to the muscle cells and thus creates the pre-requisite for you to train with adequate intensity in the evening. We also want to take our 2nd gelcap of 1-TU for the day to keep anabolic hormone levels at a steady state.

The fourth meal should be taken one hour before working out. It provides additional energy in the form of complex carbohydrates (oatmeal) and it helps to replenish glycogen stores in the muscle cells. Since blood sugar levels generally do not fluctuate much from the intake of complex carbohydrates, and since your glycogen stores are now severely depleted as a result of the low carbohydrate consumption, you don't have to worry about these carbohydrates being stored as fat. On the contrary, all carbohydrates are converted to muscle glycogen, a vital source of energy. This is also the perfect time to add in your 2nd and last serving of Lipo-6. Aside from keeping the fat-burning furnace going, Lipo-6 will serve as a calorie-free pre-workout stimulant, which will increase your mental alertness to allow for maximum training intensity.

Your final carbohydrate meal comes right after your workout in the form of Vitargo-CGL to quickly replenish depleted muscle glycogen stores and to speed up recovery while simultaneously increasing muscle cell volume through creatine and glycogen induced super-hydration. About 30 minutes later we will have some sustained release protein in the form of cottage cheese to stabilize blood sugar and amino acid levels and to bridge over the time to our last meal of the day.

The sixth and final meal is consumed half an hour before going to sleep, and consists of different food sources that contain slowly-digestible protein and fat (ground beef, medium-fat cheese, whole egg). This guarantees that the body is supplied with an adequate amount of muscle-building protein for as long as possible during the night, (see detailed explanation regarding the nightly protein supply strategy under plan 1.1). Since no carbohydrates are consumed during this meal, the body does not release much insulin, and the nightly fat-burning process can get on its way.

Adding your third and last gelcap of 1-TU to this mix will keep your anabolic hormones elevated throughout the night, which triggers your muscle cells to incorporate extra protein for even faster growth. While the night time protein strategy basically supplies the building blocks for muscle fiber growth and also helps to keep your insulin levels low to accelerate the release of free fatty acids into the bloodstream, 1-TU is signaling your muscles via the hormonal pathway grow in size.

This overall strategy of controlling insulin activity, developed by the Nutrex Research Group, is an excellent method for athletes who have a high percentage of body fat, but want to lose fat while building quality muscle at the same time.

Plan 2.2 Eating On Non-Workout Days

Athletes with more than 15% body fat

Drink at least one gallon of water per day.

Please note: This sample meal plan is designed for someone who weighs 220 lbs. Depending on your bodyweight you must make some adjustments in regards to the overall food intake and subsequently the size of each meal to fit your own personal needs. To get an exact figure please use the following guidelines to determine your overall daily requirements for plan 2.1. You will notice that these figures differ somewhat from the previous plan 2.1:

The Calculations:

Calories: 10.5 calories per lbs./bodyweight
Protein: 0.8 grams per lbs./bodyweight
Carbohydrates: 0.9 grams per lbs./bodyweight
Fats: 0.3 grams per lbs./bodyweight

The nutritional program for non-workout days differs only slightly from the one for workout days. The post-workout meal is omitted, which decreases the number of daily meals from six to five and we don't need the glycogen and creatine loading properties of Vitargo-CGL on non-workout days while we diet. However, it is strongly recommended to keep taking 1-TU and Lipo-6 during this cycle to ensure maximum fat-burning and muscle-building results.

The total number of calories, protein, and carbohydrates is respectively reduced, since the body has a lower energy demand on non-workout days. Otherwise, the same principles apply as previously explained while discussing the nutrition plan for workout days.