Protect Your Mass: Options For Lean Muscle

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The best options for developing lean muscles is to intensify your workouts, increase lifting and add more time to daily workouts thinking it would speed up your fitness goals, and protect your muscle mass

Your efforts will be for naught if you fail to take notice of steps to protecting your muscle mass and it may take some effort to ensure that muscle gain is not only limited to the gym.

For many CrossFit enthusiasts, the need to be physically fit also relates to the body’s need to stay healthy and nutrition is a very important aspect the needs to be considered by every CrossFit practitioner.

Protecting Your Muscle Mass With Proper Nutrition

Protein is a key contributor in protecting the muscles mass and gaining it for the body. Simply put, it is the protein storehouse for the body. In order to develop muscle mass, the body needs a certain amount of protein to be able to add gains or ‘feed’ it. Consuming less amount of protein than needed, the body starts to consume protein from muscle tissue, which could affect your performance on your next Workout of the Day (WOD).

The good news is, it is easy to track the amount of proteins you consume and it may take a little bit of work at first by having to read through food labels and doing some calculations but as time goes, you develop the habit if doing it and the calculations can be done with your eyes closed.

Protein requirement for the body

As standard, experts agree that the body needs 1 gram of protein for every pound of bodyweight per day, so in order to maintain healthy protein levels, a 150 pound person may need to have 150 grams of protein consumed per day.

Knowing the right amount of proteins that you find in your day-to-day meals is important so you may know what type of foods to eat and at what amounts.

Meal preparation and planning is important so you do not get to miss out on essential nutritional values for your body.

Here are some of the most common food products with their protein contents;

• A quarter pound of beef burger has 20-25 grams of protein
• An order of standard-cut sirloin steak can give you 25-20 grams of protein
• An egg contains 6 grams of protein
• Three tablespoons of hummus has 4 grams of protein
• A serving portion of beef jerky has 15-20 grams of protein
• A glass of whey protein shake has around 25-30 grams of protein
• One breast of lean chicken can provide you with 25-20 grams of protein.
• One standard fillet size of commercial salmon contains 20-25 grams of protein
• A handful of nuts have about 7 grams of protein.
• An egg contains 6 grams of protein

Protein supplements can also be a good source of protein, especially for those who actively work-out. Among the most popular ones are whey proteins, branched chain amino acids, protein powders and protein shakes, among others.

Make sure to get good quality proteins from reliable brands when it comes to protein supplements, so a little amount of research is important to get you the information you need for supplements that can ensure you are protecting your muscle mass.

Below is a good diet guide to help you plan and implement your programs.

Option A

• Meal 1: 3 medium-sized buckwheat pancakes mixed with 1 scoop of  protein powder
• Meal 2: 1 cup of Greek yogurt mixed with 2 oz. of granola
• Meal 3: 6 oz. of fajita-style steak strips and two wheat tortillas, onions, peppers and olive oil
• Meal 4: (pre workout) 1 cup of cottage cheese, 1 medium apple
• Meal 5: (post workout) 1 scoop of whey protein powder.
• Meal 6: 6 oz. of lean ground beef made into hamburger, whole wheat bun, low-fat cheese, 3 cups of mixed vegetables and 1 cup of strawberries

Option B

• Meal 1: ¾ cup of oatmeal (dry) mixed with either skim milk or water, 2 eggs scrambled
• Meal 2: 1 scoop of whey protein powder, 2 oz. of almonds
• Meal 3: 2 slices of whole wheat bread, 2 slices of low-fat cheese, 6 oz. of turkey deli meat, lettuce, tomato,  1 medium banana
• Meal 4: (pre workout) 1 scoop of whey protein powder, 1 medium apple
• Meal 5: (post workout) 1 scoop of whey protein powder.
• Meal 6: 6 oz. tilapia, ½ cup wild rice (dry), small side salad with olive oil and vinegar

Option C

• Meal 1: 2 slices of whole wheat toast with 3 tablespoons of natural peanut or almond butter, 2 cups of Greek yogurt
• Meal 2: 4  to 6 oz. of beef jerky, 1 oz. of walnuts
• Meal 3: Medium salad with 6 oz. of shredded chicken and ¼ cup of sunflower seeds, 1 medium sweet potato
• Meal 4: (pre workout) 3 egg whites and 1 whole egg, ½ cup of blueberries
• Meal 5: (post workout) 1 scoop of whey protein powder.
• Meal 6: 6 oz. of lean ground beef, tomato sauce, 2 oz. of whole wheat pasta (dry ), small side salad

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