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 could increase my lifts with minor setbacks.
The goal was to improve each lift by 5 pounds. I could increase my lifts by 10 pounds with the squat and deadlift. 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 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 focused on increasing my calorie 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 build muscle through your diet, you must use calories and grams to measure your food.
The macros, calories, and body weight go together, so you also address the rest when you address one. To maintain body weight, calories should be ten 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 four calories per gram. Carbohydrates are four calories per gram. Fat is nine calories per gram. It’s also important to remember that many foods have all three macronutrients. Since the grams and calories impact each other, 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: track and analyze your sleep for a healthy lifestyle. The goal with rest was to get over 8 hours a night, especially on lifting days. You can build muscle by focusing on the amount of sleep and the time of rest. 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
On Saturday, the lifts I could complete with six reps were the deadlift, squat, and machine row. I could not achieve the lifts with six reps with the bench press and shoulder press. The weight you lift is a measuring stick for how much muscle you can build. You can build muscle with the proper workout by getting enough sleep and eating a quality diet.
