Carb Cycling, the Secret to Lean Muscle Gains

ByRichard A Knight

What is Carb Cycling?

Carb cycling is a dietary method of altering your daily carb intake. It is primarily used for gaining muscle, and the idea is to consume a higher level of carbs on your training days in order to provide your body with a surplus of calories (a must for any form of muscle gain).

Benefits of Carb Cycling over traditional diets

In order for ANYONE to gain muscle, there must be a surplus of calorie intake (meaning you need to eat more calories than your body requires for day-to-day functionality). Without this surplus, your body doesn't have the resources to build muscle and can actually break down muscle if your calorie intake is below your personal "maintenance" intake.

Carb cycling is different from traditional muscle gaining diets in that it is designed to only provide a caloric surplus on training days, rather than all days of the week. Carb cycling reaps the benefits of taking in extra calories to gain muscle, but regulates the caloric surplus which can help limit fat gain and leave you with lean muscle growth.

Things to be careful of when Carb Cycling

Don't get the wrong impression, when carb cycling you are given certain days (training days) when you can increase your carb intake, but this must be performed in moderation. Running out and going on a carb or calorie binge will certainly work against your goals and could lead to an unwanted fat gain. You'll want to shoot for a 10 to 20 percent caloric surplus on training days to find that sweet spot. Adjustments should be made depending on your body type.

Example - if you're caloric maintenance level is 3000 calories per day, that is what you'll consume on your rest days. On training days you would consume between 3300 (10% surplus) and 3600 (20% surplus).

Another thing to be aware of during carb cycling are your food choices. There is a wide assortment of carbs out there, but there are healthy and not-so-healthy choices when it comes to carbs. Whole grains, vegetables and fruits, seeds and beans, and low fat dairy are all great healthy sources of carbs. Sweets, desserts, soda, pastries, and anything made with refined flour are not-so-healthy. You don't have to cut these completely out (unless your planning on competitive body building), but like with anything in life - moderation is key.

Not all people are created equal

As with any diet, carb cycling needs to be custom adapted to you - your body type and lifestyle. There's no cookie-cutter plan that works for everyone, but you should now have an idea of the framework to base your personal diet around.

Once you develop your plan, it's always best to re-evaluate your diet and goals every couple months. Make adjustments as necessary to ensure you're getting the most out of your diet as well as your training.

Carb Cycling Summary

For those of you who want the quick and dirty breakdown of carb cycling for muscle gain, here's the summarized low-down:

- Carb cycling is increasing your carb intake on training days to provide your body with a surplus of calories (necessary to gain muscle)

- Carb cycling gives you the benefits of a caloric surplus (muscle gain) but limits the negative side effects (fat gain)

- Don't go crazy with carb consumption. A little goes a long way...

- Be smart in making your carb choices

- Do - whole grains, fruit and vegetables, seeds and beans, and low fat dairy

- Don't - Sugars, sodas, candy, pastries, or anything with refined flour (white breads, pastas, etc..)

- Re-evaluate your progress and adjust your plan as necessary.

Richard Knight is a former skinny guy who gained 42 Lbs in 4 months and teaches average Joes how to build muscle. If your goal is to build lean muscle (without the traditional fat gains) then Richard highly recommends you check out programs that are specifically designed to accomplish this. If you don't know where to start, check out his Somanabolic Muscle Maximizer Review at: http://www.buildmusclechallenge.com/somanabolic-muscle-maximizer-review as a starting point of what to expect from these kinds of programs.

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Health and Fitness: Build-Muscle
Richard A Knight

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Knight, Richard A.".".13 Mar. 2012EzineArticles.com.22 Mar. 2012 .APA Style Citation:
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