When looking to increase the size and strength of muscles, most people rely heavily on creating a calorie surplus. This is basically where you consume more calories than you use, put simply and without going into detail on individual macro-nutrients. Thus, your body “fuel” enough for your muscles to repair and grow back. Unfortunately increasing muscle mass in this way often comes with the addition of unwanted body fat.
Another way to increase lean muscle mass without significantly increasing your percentage of body fat would be lean bulking. However, this requires your nutrition and supplementation to be more precise and is often more complicated.
To make things a little simpler, you need a supplement. But to make it sense, you have to read the three basic rules of lean bulking below.
Rule #1. Eat carbohydrates wisely
When lean bulking, you do not need to completely cut carbohydrates, rather eat carbs wisely. The best times to eat carbs when you are lean bulking would be the first thing in the morning because you fasted for 7 hours (during sleep) and therefore sugar levels in the blood are low and muscle glycogen levels are depleted.
Therefore, any carbohydrates you eat will be used to restore muscle glycogen levels which will then in turn be used to fuel your workouts (rather than being stored as fat). This same principle applies to after your workout when you actually need carbohydrates to create a peak insulin to shuttle while the protein content of your post workout shake your muscles. Also because you have worked your muscles are so exhausted, muscle glycogen and carbohydrates will only be used to restore it rather than being stored as fat.
Rule #2. Take leucine as your supplement
Try adding a tiny teaspoon (about 3 g) of leucine, an essential amino acid to your shake since studies show the higher levels of leucine in the blood, the higher the protein synthesis rate in your muscles.
In fact, other studies show leucine can help the absorption of all the other nutrients and proteins, so having this in your shake can help your body absorb all the other nutrients inside.
Rule #3. Manipulate your anabolic hormones naturally
One of the most effective ways to increase lean muscle mass without relying on a calorie surplus would be to manipulate your anabolic hormones naturally. This can be done by filling your diet with a natural testosterone booster as supplement that contains ingredients scientifically proven as D-aspartic acid, an amino acid that is formed mainly in the pituitary gland, hypothalamus, and testis.
D-aspartic acid plays an important role in the production of compounds associated with libido, tissue growth and the production of luteinizing hormone. It stimulates the production of signal molecules which in turn enhance the activity in your testes as well as your pituitary gland. From an athletic point of view, this allows your body to produce the compounds that help increase lean growth, strength, power and energy.
In one specific study, the researchers provided a group of men (aged 27-37) a daily dose of 3.12 grams of D-aspartic acid for twelve consecutive days. The level of compound growth in subjects who received the supplement increased 33% after the twelve days!
The results of this study have huge implications for those seeking to improve their athletic potential and also to improve the shape of their body with lean tissue.