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How to Calculate Daily Caloric Needs to Gain Muscle Mass Quickly

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Nutrition is of prime importance in all muscle gain programs. To build lean muscle mass you need to consume enough good calories each day of the week. To find out exactly how much, use the formula given in this article.

Muscle building programs revolve around optimizing daily caloric needs to your specific requirements. Eating more can make you gain fat, not muscle. And eating less can make you never gain the bulky muscles you wish to build. Here is the four part formula:

1) Calculate lean muscle mass: Get hold of a skin caliper and measure your body fat percent. For example let us assume it comes to 10%. If your weight is 140 lbs, it means that you have 14 lbs (10% of 140) of fat mass. Now subtract it from total body mass to calculate your lean muscle mass. In this example it works out to 140-14 = 126 lbs.

2) Find RMR (resting metabolic rate): RMR, the number calories a day you require to just keep on breathing, can be calculated by multiplying lean muscle mass by 10 and adding 500. In our example, it works out to 1760 calories (126 x 10 + 500).

3) Calculation of daily maintenance calorie intake: How many calories would you require to stay the same weight as you are now? Multiply your RMR by your Activity Index to find out. Activity index = 1.2 for sedentary lifestyles, 1.4 for moderate lifestyles and 1.6 for active lifestyles.

For example if you have a moderate lifestyle, you shall need (1760x1.4=) 2464 calories a day to weigh the same.

4) How much more to gain muscle?: Consume 500 more than the number of calories you have just calculated, which should be the optimum intake to gain muscle not fat. Cut 250 if you seem to be putting on fat and add 250 if you are not building muscles at a good rate.

Carry on for 15 days with the plan you have worked out and make an assessment thereafter. If you are also working out wisely in the gym and resting well, you can be a burly man in weeks.