WHAT DO YOU EAT TO GET BIG, PUMPED ARMS? FOLLOWING OUR TRAINING PROGRAM WILL PUT
you in the fast lane to muscle growth, but there’s one major speed bump you must navigate: your
nutrition. Knowing what to eat and how to supplement is where the rubber meets the road. Make
the right choices and you’ll get to your destination in no time. Go off the beaten path and you
become, well, roadkill. The rules are simple: It takes about 10 pounds of mass gain to add an
inch to your arms. But you can’t take the scenic route and just scarf down anything, or that tire
you see will be the spare around your waist. You want to gain muscle minus the bodyfat by filling
your tank with high-octane fuel that gives you just enough calories to boost muscle growth,
but not so many that you make gains in all the wrong areas. The two-month dietary road map
presented here steers you in the right direction by accounting for macronutrient profiles based
on your bodyweight, the best supplements to fast-track gains and a sample daily meal plan.
MONTH 1
Before you start, grab a tape measure and
take the following measurements: left
and right arms relaxed, left and right
arms flexed, and your waist (just over
the top of your belly button). Write
down those numbers where you can
refer back to them in a month. The arm
size, especially the flexed measurement,
will represent your progress in the mass
department. Your waist size will signify
changes in bodyfat and help you finetune
your diet.
The sample diet provided (see “Huge
Arms Sample Meal Plan, Month 1”)
is for a typical 180-pound bodybuilder.
If you’re within 20
pounds of this on either
side of the scale, the sample
diet menus will work
fine for you; if your weight is
off by more than that, simply
adjust the menus with per-pound
standards we provide for calories, protein,
carbohydrates and dietary fat.
>> Calories. Your No. 1 goal is to eat
enough so that you add muscle, not burn
it. To gain mass, you need to get in at least
20 calories per pound of bodyweight
while following this program. For the
180-pound male, that equates to a minimum
of about 3,600 calories per day.
>> Protein. Protein consumption is
paramount for gaining muscle on your
arms, or anywhere for that matter. Protein
is the most critical nutrient for the
bodybuilder as muscle is literally built
from individual amino acids. When
you eat a steak or chicken breast, you’re
eating muscle that your body breaks
down into smaller protein chains and
finally to individual aminos. They then
travel to your muscles where they’re
rejoined like bricks to build up your
muscles.
To ensure arm growth, you’ll need a
minimum of 1 gram and up to about 1.5
grams of protein per pound of bodyweight
per day. For the 180-pound bodybuilder,
that comes out to about 180–270
grams of protein daily. Good sources
include not only animal muscle tissue
such as lean beef, chicken and turkey
breast but also fish and dairy
sources including low-fat cottage
cheese, low-fat cheese
and low-fat yogurt. Consuming
whey protein right
before and after your workouts
will also put the pedal to the metal
for arm growth.
>> Carbs. While protein is essential for
muscle growth, carbohydrates provide
the energy that fuels your workouts. If
you want massive arms, you have to
make sure they’re crammed full of
muscle glycogen, the body’s stored
form of carbohydrate. Glycogen is not
only important for fueling the intense
workouts you’ll do as part of this highintensity
arm program but it literally
keeps your muscles full because it
draws water into the muscle tissue.
To ensure you maximize your muscle
glycogen levels, get at least 2 grams
of carbs per pound of bodyweight per
day. That’s at least 360 grams of carbs
daily for the 180-pounder. The majority
of those carbs should be of the slowdigesting
variety such as oatmeal,
whole grains, sweet potatoes and fruits
and vegetables, which will top off muscle
glycogen levels without adding
bodyfat. The one time you don’t want
slow-digesting carbs is with your postworkout
meal(s). Here you should
instead consume fast-digesting carbs
such as white bread, plain bagels, white
rice cakes or a sports drink that can be
drawn into glycogen-depleted muscle
cells while spiking insulin.
>> Fat. One common but important
misconception is the idea that to gain
muscle mass and minimize bodyfat you
need to keep fat intake low. Don’t make
that mistake. You need dietary fat,
especially healthy omega-3 fats and
monounsaturated fats, because they’re
important for maintaining testosterone
levels, a critical hormone directly connected
to muscle growth. The healthy
fats are also important to aid joint
recovery, which is critical when training
with heavy loads and gut-wrenching
intensity.
Sore joints and low testosterone levels
will put you in the slow lane to muscle
growth, so be sure to get plenty of
healthy fats from sources such as fatty
fish (salmon and trout), nuts, olive oil,
avocados and peanut butter. You should
consume 0.5–0.7 gram of fat per pound
of bodyweight (90–125 grams for the
180-pound male) daily.
MONTH 2
After your first four weeks on this plan,
reassess your diet and your progress.
Get out the tape measure and answer
these two questions:
1) Have your arms increased in size
by at least a half-inch when flexed?
2) Has your waist measurement
stayed the same or decreased?
If the answer is “yes” to both questions,
maintain the Month 1 diet for the
rest of the program. If you answered
“yes” to question 1 but “no” to question
2, cut back on the calories by reducing
some carbs and fat. In this case, follow
Month 2/Plan A for the last four
weeks. This alternate nutritional program
drops you down to about 17 calories
per pound of bodyweight per day
(or about 3,000 calories for the 180-
pounder, a reduction of about 600 calories
daily). It’s important that you keep
your protein intake pretty steady but
instead drop carbs to about 1.7 grams per
pound of bodyweight (or just over 300
grams for the 180-pounder) and trim
dietary fat to about 0.4 gram per pound
of bodyweight (or about 75 grams per
day for the 180-pounder).
If you answered “no” to question 1
but “yes” to question 2, you need to
increase your calories slightly. In this
case, follow Month 2/Plan B for the last
four weeks. This diet plan increases
calories to about 22 per pound of bodyweight
daily (that’s about 4,000 calories
each day for the 180-pounder), which is
accomplished by keeping protein and
fat fairly steady but boosting carbs to
around 2.5 grams per pound of bodyweight
(about 450 grams per day for the
180-pounder).
Hopefully you didn’t answer “no” to
both questions. If you did, however,
you need to reduce your calories somewhat
and honestly analyze how you’re
following both the nutritional and
training portions of the program. Follow
Month 2/Plan A, as well as the
Month 2 supplement plan, and then
redouble your training efforts, making
sure you’re hitting the gym with full
intensity, especially on arm days. Follow
the diet and supplement plans to
a T — veering off course is no way to
follow a road map.
HUGE ARMS SUPPLEMENTS
TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE GETTING THE NUTRIENTS YOU NEED TO GET ON THE
MUSCLE-GROWTH AUTOBAHN, INCLUDE THESE SUPPLEMENTS EACH MONTH
MONTH 1: Start with these basics to maximize arm growth throughout
the first month.
>> Whey Protein: Take immediately before and after workouts to quickly
deliver amino-acid building blocks to your muscles to maximize growth.
Whole foods won’t cut it here because they’re slower to digest. Whey protein
powder is one of the highest-quality proteins you can find and the fastestdigesting
protein you can get. Go with 20 grams (about 1 scoop) within the
30-minute window before your workout and 40 grams (about two scoops)
within the 30-minute window immediately afterward. Using 1–2 scoops also
makes a great snack between meals.
>> Casein Protein: Whereas whey protein digests quickly, casein doesn’t —
particularly good when you have to go many hours without eating. Despite
eating 7–8 small meals per day on this diet, you’re still going without food when
you sleep. In fact, it’s so long that your body breaks down your muscle fibers
during the night to fuel your brain and the rest of your nervous system. Taking
a casein protein shake (cottage cheese will have a similar effect) before bed
provides your body with amino acids to use as fuel, which prevents the breakdown
of muscle. The aminos that aren’t used for fuel go to your muscles to
encourage growth while you sleep. Go with 20–40 grams of casein protein
(1–2 scoops) mixed with water (not juice) immediately before bed.
>> Creatine: You’ve heard before that creatine increases muscle mass and
strength, but you may not realize it works by multiple mechanisms. Creatine
pulls more water into the muscle cells, making them much fuller. New
research shows it can also enhance the production of critical growth factors
that directly stimulate muscle growth. Get in 3–5 grams with your pre- and
postworkout shakes, as well as one dose with breakfast on your rest days.
>> Arginine: This amino acid is the main component in nitric oxide (NO) boosters,
because it’s readily converted in the body to NO. Taking an NO booster
that provides at least 3 grams of arginine 30–60 minutes before workouts
without food will increase NO levels and blood flow to muscles. This boosts
your muscle pump, making your arms fuller as well as delivering more nutrients,
hormones and oxygen to your muscles, giving them more energy during
your workout and aid recovery and growth afterward. Taking a dose before
breakfast will help keep NO levels up during the day. Another dose at night can
enhance growth-hormone levels. An NO booster with caffeine in the morning
is a great pick-me-up; the same combo also works well preworkout. Look for
an arginine supplement without added caffeine at bedtime, such
as straight-up L-arginine, and try for 5–9 grams.
>> Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs): This group of aminos
includes leucine, isoleucine and valine. Of the three, leucine
appears to be the most critical — research concludes it can
stimulate protein synthesis (the process in which muscle cells
build up muscle protein and therefore growth). Yet the
three work even better together to provide a host of
benefits: They further stimulate protein synthesis,
driving muscle growth and boosting the release of
insulin. This anabolic hormone stimulates muscle
growth and drives nutrients such as amino acids,
glucose (for restoring muscle glycogen after
workouts) and creatine into muscle cells.
Taking BCAAs after exercise blunts levels
of cortisol, a catabolic hormone that blocks
testosterone’s anabolic effects and leads to
increased muscle breakdown. Go with 3–5
grams of BCAAs with breakfast and with
your pre- and postworkout shakes.
MONTH 2: It’s time to kick it up a notch with your supplement regimen.
Change the dosing of your Month 1 supplements as follows and add two
specialty supplements to maximize the muscle-building effect.
>> Whey Protein: Continue using whey pre- and postworkout, as well as
a between-meals snack.
>> Casein: Stick with 1–2 scoops of casein before bed. If your arms aren’t
growing as fast as you’d like after one month, consider adding one scoop
of casein to your postworkout shake, so that you’re taking one scoop each
of whey and casein instead of two scoops of whey. One study found that
subjects who took whey plus casein protein after workouts gained more
muscle than those who used just whey protein in their postworkout shakes.
>> Arginine: Use the same dose for Month 2 unless your arm growth is on
the slow side. If so, consider boosting each dose beyond 5 grams.
>> BCAAs: During these final four weeks, up each dose of BCAAs to
5–10 grams.
>> Beta-ecdysterone: This plant phytochemical is a powerful anabolic
supplement that significantly boosts protein synthesis. Taking it in the final
four weeks of the Big Arms program can net you some extra skin-stretching
size on your bi’s and tri’s. For beta-ecdysterone to be effective for muscle
growth, you need to take a high enough dose multiple times daily: about
100 mg 3–6 times per day with meals.
>> Forskolin: This is an active component of the plant coleus forskohlii,
which can both boost fat-burning and increase testosterone levels.
Research has shown that forskolin activates the enzyme adenylate cyclase,
which then triggers numerous processes in the body such as fat loss and
testosterone production. In fact, a recent study showed that subjects
taking forskolin for 12 weeks significantly decreased bodyfat and increased
T levels. Taking a coleus forskohlii supplement standardized for 20–50 mg
of forskolin 2–3 times per day can provide a dual effect — boosting your
testosterone levels to aid arm growth and enhancing fat loss to keep your
arms big and chiseled. M&F
