Want to build lean muscle?

Those warm summer days are fast approaching, which means we're getting to the time of year where everyone sheds a few layers of clothing and lets it all hang loose (a little too loose in some cases though!). For those of you who have spent the winter in the gym, honing your body, it's a great time to show the world your new Explosive physique. But for those of you who are less excited by the prospect of doning a pair of Speedos and strutting your funky stuff - have no fear, help is at hand. We at Explosive Nutrition have produced the following introductory guide to get the ball rolling. This contains everything you need to know to start working towards building up your lean muscle mass, toning your physique, and stripping away the unwanted fat, leaving you with an Explosive physique that will attract attention (for all the right reasons) on the beaches...!

The process of packing on some serious muscle can seem intimidating at the start, but it really doesn’t have to be. Just like with dieting, success depends on following a few key basic rules, and having some degree of knowledge about how the human body reacts to exercise and nutrition. So here are the key steps on the road to a ripped body...

Tip – don’t expect results in the first couple of weeks, if it was that easy we’d all have six-packs! It can take between 8-12 weeks for decent results to come through, so persevere and you will be rewarded. Getting started is the hardest part – once you get in to a routine it’s a doddle...

Step 1. Protein, protein, protein

It’s not all about pumping iron you know! The first fundamental mistake a lot of people make is failing to appreciate the importance of protein in the pursuit of a buff body. Your muscles are basically made of protein, so if you’re looking to increase the size and definition of muscle, you won’t get too far without it. Unfortunately, the majority of us don’t get nearly enough of this vital nutrient through our diets alone.

A protein deficiency will lead to loss of muscle tissue and tone, slower recovery after exercise and a general lack of energy (plus it can also result in a weakened immune system). So no matter how much you work out in the gym, if you ignore your nutritional needs, you won’t make any real progress.

A healthy diet can’t afford to ignore protein rich foods such as chicken, fish, eggs and dairy. But as already mentioned, your body needs a lot of good quality protein to build and repair muscles. Protein shakes offer a cheap and easy way to help meet this need, and are by far one of the most effective supplements you can invest in. What’s more, the efficiency of most other supplements relies on your already having a protein-rich diet. So get your protein intake optimised from the beginning, in order to maximise the overall efficiency of your exercise regime.

If you’re in a rush, or don’t want the hassle of dealing with multiple supplements than you can instead opt for an All-In-One (AIO) supplement. These do exactly what they say on the tin – they contain everything you need to work out effectively and keep your nutrition in check. Read our latest blog on AIOs here.

There is a great variety of protein-supplements available (check out these), but by far the most popular and effective are protein shakes containing high-quality whey protein isolates, like these:

Or make life easier for yourself and use one of these best-selling All-In-One supplements:

Tip – Maximise your protein levels! An average male should consume at least 1g of protein, per lb of body weight, every day (women should consume 0.8g per lb). So a 12st man should be ingesting at least 168g of protein daily (and that’s without taking into account the increased protein demand that comes from exercise!). This would be the equivalent of eating at least five chicken breasts every day, hence why athletes and bodybuilders find it easier and cheaper to use a high quality protein shake instead...

Step 2. Pre-workout preparation

Don’t just go cannoning into your gym like a child at Christmas. Take the time to prepare your body for intense exercise. Drink plenty of water before, during and after a workout, and always do a brief warm-up. Plus, why not invest in a pre-workout booster to ignite your performance, focus and energy?

Also, if you’re looking to increase your muscle mass, you’re going to have adjust your calorific intake accordingly. You’ll need up to an extra 500 calories daily in order to increase mass in the face of intense exercise. But it’s not just about increasing calories, it’s about getting the right type of calories. Meal replacements or Weight-gainer supplements offer an easy and healthy way to increase your calorific intake without resorting to fatty or carb-heavy foods. Eating small quantities at more regular intervals (every two to three hours) is the key to success.

There are some incredibly effective supplements available that will boost your workout up to the next level, allowing you to get the most from your exercise, delaying the onset of fatigue and keeping your muscles pumping harder, for longer. One of the main ways these pre-workout supplements help is by significantly increasing your Nitric Oxide levels. In doing so, they open up the blood vessels that fuel your muscles, engorging them with nutrient rich blood that will help you push up to and beyond your normal limits.

The best pre-workout boosters include the following:

The best meal replacement/weight-gain products for increasing calorific intake include:

Tip – Don’t be put off by the word ‘anabolic’. Newcomers to the world of supplements may be forgiven for assuming that this has something to do with illegal steroids. In fact, the word anabolic simply refers to the ‘building up’ of something – in this case, the growth of muscle tissues in the human body. Conversely, the word catabolic refers to the ‘break down’ of something. We’ll discuss avoiding muscle catabolism later on...

Step 3. Gym’ll fix it!

There’s no doubt that for all-round body-improving, muscle-building exercise, you can’t beat a good session in the gym. Working your muscles in this intense fashion causes them to naturally break down. Your body then over-compensates for this, replacing them with larger, stronger muscles than before. This repetition of breaking down and building up forms the basis of all training. As previously mentioned though, you can’t build without the right materials. Your body needs access to protein, water, good quality calories and other nutrients to complete this process.

If you’re a newcomer to the gym, don’t plough headlong into the routine of a bodybuilder. Stick to fairly basic exercises, which will strengthen the key muscle groups needed for more advanced exercises at later date. And as with so many things (food, work, your love-life) variety is key! Change how you exercise all the time – different muscles in different orders. Plus let your muscles recover for at least 72 hours between intense sessions. Two to three visits to the gym each week is sufficient to yield good results. And you only need to be working for between 45 and 60 mins really. It should be a short and intense workout with very little gaps in between. Dragging the same amount of exercises out over two hours is much less effective in the long run.

Aim to do around 3 sets of 10 reps for each exercise, increasing the weight for each set if need be. Target the body parts that seem weaker, such as your calves or shoulders. Get your breathing routine sorted out, too. Be sure to breath in and out with each lift or drop – never hold your breath. Avoid locking your muscles at the pinnacle of a lift, instead, maintain constant tension on the muscle. And finally, don’t forget your legs!

Working out can take a heavy toll on your body, but these low-priced gym belts, straps and gloves can help you keep pumping harder for longer:

Tip – Leave your ego at home! All too often, people are trying to lift weights that are too big from them, under the illusion that it’ll speed up their progress. This couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s the form and composure of the movement that dictates muscle growth, not the overall weight of the lift. If you’re struggling to manage 10 defined reps, you’re lifting too much. If you’re finding it a breeze, then you’re not lifting enough. Experiment to work out what weight you should be lifting for each set of exercises.

Step 4. It’s all in the recovery

Working out in the gym builds muscles, right? Wrong! Lifting weights and doing strenuous exercise actually damages and degrades your muscle tissues. It’s the subsequent recovery that builds muscles back up again (hopefully making them larger than they were beforehand). This process of recovery is heavily influenced by your nutritional status. If you’re lacking in certain key nutrients, the recovery process is inefficient, and your degraded muscles will be left unrepaired.

What’s more, following a workout, your body enters a state of catabolism, whereby muscles can actually be further degraded as the body attempts to replenish its energy stores. Muscles contain a great source of amino acids and energy that the body can quite easily exploit in times of need. Stop this from happening by refuelling properly after a workout, using amino acids, protein and Creatine.

Creatine is a fantastic supplement, that has been popular for many decades. It is also a supplement that can yield some of the fastest results. You can feel an increase in strength and mass within a matter of weeks if you use a quality Creatine product properly. Also, by taking Creatine directly after a workout, you maximise the efficiency of muscle recovery. You can read more about the wonders of Creatine in our extensive blog post.

Optimise your post workout recovery by using these best-selling recovery products:

Creatine is one of the most effective supplements in the muscle-building arsenal. Make one of these popular Creatine products part of your recovery process to maximise your muscle gains:

Tip: After you workout, there is a 'window of opportunity' for recovery – basically you need to be taking recovery supplements and Creatine within an hour of stopping exercise, as this is the period when the body is most crying out for these nutrients/compounds.

Step 5. Fight your flab, boost your beans!

What’s the point in doing all this exercise if you’re going to bury it under a beer belly and a set of man-boobs? Fat hides muscle – fact! So get rid of the fat to show off the new lean, toned muscles that you’ve been working on. By using a fat burning supplement, you can mobilise fat stores more readily during exercise, burning off unwanted body fat. Furthermore, this is beneficial as a body burning fat for energy is less likely to breakdown muscle tissues for energy instead.

Another group of supplements than can prove extremely useful when building lean muscle mass are the testosterone boosters. These herbal compounds naturally enhance your testosterone levels, which in turn can improve your performance in the gym and keep your body in the anabolic state needed for massive muscle growth. If you’re new to all this and unsure about what these supplements are and how they work, then check out our blog on testosterone boosters here to find out more...

Check out these bestselling fat burners – guaranteed to strip off unwanted flab, leaving behind your Explosive new muscle tone for all to see:

Knock your workout up a notch with one of these massively effective testosterone boosters:

Tip: Both fat burners and testosterone boosters are only effective if integrated into an already effective regime of exercising and dieting. You can’t just knock back a couple of pills and expect to lose weight and gain muscle (if only). The popularity of these products lies in the ability to enhance and seriously amplify the natural weight loss and muscle building processes.

Step 6. Planning and Perseverance

Perhaps the most important of all the steps (despite the fact it doesn’t involve buying anything from us!). Planning and perseverance are far and away two of the most important elements when sculpting a new physique. It’s not going to happen overnight, so you’re going to have to be patient. Your chances of success will be significantly improved if you work towards realistic short term goals – i.e. ‘workout for at least three hours this week’, ‘avoid eating certain foods all week’. Each time you achieve one of these goals, you’ll get a confidence boost, which should help to keep you on track for your ultimate long term goal.

Tip: Why not keep a journal of the routines you’re using, and the weights you’re lifting. This way you can observe how you’re improving over the weeks, and select key areas that need improving – both in terms of the weights you’re lifting, and the types of exercises you’re doing.