How do you build muscle through your diet and sleep? This is week two, February 16, 2020, of my muscle gain journey. It was a mixed bag of tea for me this week. I used my Saturday workout to measure my results. I was able to increase my lifts with minor setbacks. The goal was to improve each lift by 5 pounds. With the squat and deadlift, I was able to increase my lifts by 10 pounds. I gambled and was ambitious on some lifts. It caught up with me on a couple of lifts. The areas I could not meet my target reps were the bench press and the shoulder press. Those lifts remain to stagnate until I reach the targeted reps.
I have prior injuries with my shoulder (torn rotator cuff) and lower back (surgically repaired). Building muscle through your diet and sleep is not magic; it is science. Also, I skipped the leg press on Tuesday because I ran out of time, but it did not affect my Saturday results.
How to build muscle through your diet
I focused on my diet and sleep during week two to get the results I was looking for. With my diet, I placed a focus on increasing my calories and protein intake. Check this out: how do you use protein to build massive muscles. I set a goal of 2000 calories with 40% (800 calories) coming from protein. The rest of my calories came from fat (40%) and carbohydrates (20%). If you are going to build muscle through your diet, you must use calories and grams to measure your food.
The macros, calories, and body weight are tied together, so you also address the rest when you address one. To maintain body weight, calories should be 10 times body weight. Building muscle through your diet and sleep requires protein.
You should eat 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Protein is 4 calories per gram. Carbohydrates are 4 calories per gram. Fat is 9 calories per gram. It’s also important to remember that many foods have all three macronutrients in them. Since the grams and calories are related, they control the ratio of the macronutrients in your food.
How to build muscle through your sleep
I set my bedtime for 8 pm because I awake around 5 am. Check this out: sleep – track and analyze your sleep for a healthy lifestyle. The goal with sleep was to get more than 8 hours a night, especially on lifting days. By focusing on the amount of sleep and the time of sleep, you can build muscle. My workout for week two was:
Demographics: Age 52, Height 5-5, Weight 180 lbs
Tuesday’s Workout:
| Lift and Weight | Sets and Reps |
| Deadlift 370 | 8,6,4 |
| Bench Press 280 | 8,6,3 |
| Barbell, Squat 315. | 8,6,4 |
| Incline Bench 230 | 8,5,3 |
| Shoulder Press 160 | 8,6,4 |
| Machine Row 240 | 8,6,3 |
Thursday’s Workout:
| Lift and Weight | Sets and Reps |
| Pushups | 66, 25, 22 |
| Hanging Leg Raise | 40, 20, 20 |
| Dips | 20, 10,10 |
| Pull Up | 10,8,4 |
| Bicep Curl 60 | 10,10,10 |
| Leg Raise 260 | 10,10,10 |
| Hamstring Curl 130 | 10,6,4 |
Saturday’s Measurements:
| Lift and Weight | Sets and Reps |
| Deadlift 415 | 6 |
| Bench Press 300 | 5 |
| Barbell Squat 335 | 6 |
| Shoulder Press 195 | 4 |
| Machine Row 255. | 6 |
In conclusion, use your diet and sleep to build muscle by increasing your lifts.
On Saturday, the lifts that I could complete with six reps were the deadlift, squat, and machine row. The lifts that I could not achieve with six reps were the bench press and shoulder press. The amount of weight you lift is a measuring stick for how much muscle you can build. By getting enough sleep and eating a quality diet, you can build muscle with the right workout.
