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Titled: How to Avoid the Number One Mistake in Building Muscle Mass Get the Weight Training category RSS Feed

How to Avoid the Number One Mistake in Building Muscle Mass

Article Summary: Most ambitious bodybuilders and weight trainers will learn everything there is to know about weight lifting and do whatever it takes in the gym for results. They will work their butts off pumping iron and endure pain that the common man would coward from. However, one of the major causes of failure for even these overzealous trainees is not having a proper diet plan for building muscle mass.

Most ambitious bodybuilders and weight trainers will learn everything there is to know about weight lifting and do whatever it takes in the gym for results. They will work their butts off pumping iron and endure pain that the common man would coward from. However, one of the major causes of failure for even these overzealous trainees is not having a proper diet plan for building muscle mass.

They might intend to eat correctly, but they just can't get around keeping it consistent. I know because this is something that I battled with myself for a long time. When I finally sat down and got serious, I finally got to the core of why most weight trainers fail in this department: improper planning. Many of us continue to make "that's it, from now on I'm going to start eating right" decisions all too often, and we may even get started doing so for a couple days. But, if we don't construct a diet plan for building muscle mass on a day to day basis, this can be a plan for disaster for most of us.

The reason why we need to plan our meals before each day is because this is the best way to battle any of the major obstacles that keep us from being consistent. Obstacles such as hunger, finding yourself in a situation where you don't have any food prepared for several hours, such as school, work, a long car ride, temptations to eat fast food, and many others.

Hunger is one of the most intense and painful signals our body can give, and by not properly planning our meals we are setting ourselves up for failure. Along with sleep and water, eating is an absolute vital necessity for survival. And since our bodies are designed to alert us when one of these are lacking, it does so very intensely.

This explains why our desire to drink when we are thirsty, sleep when we are tired, and of course eat when we are hungry is so intense, and at this point you will often find yourself giving in to something not productive for gaining mass. The pains from lack of these are too intense to bear for too long. It will be very easy for us to fall into temptation of eating something that is not healthy and beneficial if you don't learn to plan our meals properly and consistently.

On top of that our bodies are also designed for one single purpose: survival. Your body is designed to keep you alive and healthy, and it is important to understand that building muscle mass is definitely not its "default" or primary function. That is why it is important that you have a proper diet plan for building muscle mass and that you plan your meals on a day to day basis.

The better planned and prepared you are, the easier it will be to stay consistent with your diet. And the best part is that after we have created this habit after a few weeks, it will be just as easy to eat CORRECTLY as it was to just eat whatever was available; in other words, you are using the power of habit to your ADVANTAGE instead of disadvantage!

Follow some of these guidelines that will help you plan out your meals properly: First, plan on paper! Write in a journal your daily meals, at least a few hours in advance before your next meal, preferably the night before. Next, prepare your meals the night before and store them in separate plastic containers if possible so when your meal time comes it will be ready to go.

When you go grocery shopping go with a specific intent for your meals so you can plan out your week in advance, and I suggest you invest in some meal replacement shakes in case you have a busy schedule and are rarely at home - never leave home without a meal handy just in case! The last small piece of advice I can give you is to make a list of all of your favorite meals for each category in the day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and try to list at least four healthy meals for each category. This way you can plan your meals and have something different each day that is still pleasurable to eat.

Remember, if you fail to plan then you can plan to fail. Don't make the mistake of so many people by working out hard and consistently, only to cheat yourself and your results by improper planning of your diet. It still takes some brains if you want to build the brawn!

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:
Derek Manuel
Derek Manuel is the author of the best-selling How to Gain Weight and Build Muscle for Hardgainers. If you want to learn how you too can gain 20 to 30 pounds of solid muscle in as short as 8 weeks, or if you just want more quality information on how to gain weight and build muscle, please visit http://www.hardgainers-weight-tips.com