Intro

Building lean muscle is one of the most common goals of regular gym goers, but it is ultimately one of the most difficult to achieve. Consuming enough calories to build muscle and not enough to elicit an accumulation of body fat requires an intricate balance of macronutrients. Within the diet, sufficient protein must be consumed to elicit muscle growth whilst carbohydrates are essential to fuel mixed and high intensity training sessions. From a training perspective, it is vital that cardiovascular exercise is combined with weight training to allow the body to strip excess body fat at the same time as building muscle tissue.With such an intricate balance of nutrition and exercise it is quite apparent that nutritional supplements can play a massive role in helping you to achieve that toned and chiselled look.

Your Diet

The key to a firm and toned body is to consume sufficient calories for muscle growth but not too many to promote body fat accumulation. This in itself is a difficult proposition which means your training routine must be as intricate as your diet plan. A toned appearance is much the result of low body fat, so a careful balance should be found (largely through trial and error) to ensure your diet promotes muscle growth and not fat accumulation. Try consuming low GI carbohydrates and limit the amount of fat that you consume.

Breakfast

• 2-3 slices of whole grain toast with 3 scrambled egg whites using MP Max Just Whites
• A handful of dried fruit
• 1 glass of fruit juice

Mid-morning snack

• Portion of fruit

Lunch

• A chicken breast or turkey steak
• 100g sweet potato
• Mixed leaf salad with olive oil dressing

Mid-afternoon snack

• 1 chicken, tuna, turkey or ham sandwich with whole grain bread

Evening meal

• Lean minced meat or turkey mince
• 100g (uncooked weight) whole grain pasta
• Tomato based sauce

Evening snack

• 150-200g low fat yoghurt
• Portion of fruit

This meal plan is suggested for an average male and should be adapted to meet your individual requirements. When planning your diet you should always take into account your current state of health, activity levels and any special dietary requirements. Please ensure you consume plenty of water throughout the day. We do not advocate or promote any specific diet or nutritional plan apart from a varied and healthy diet.

Supplements

The following supplements have been recognised as being suitable to help promote gains in Lean Muscle. These supplements should be taken alongside and in conjunction with the meal plan in the "Your Diet" section of Lean Muscle.

Breakfast

• Super Omega 3
• Alpha Men
• Mega Green Tea Extract
• HMB

Mid morning

• 1 serving of Total Milk and Whey

Mid-afternoon snack

• 1 Protein Flapjack
• A handful of a variety of Natural Nuts
• HMB

Pre workout

• 1 serving of Pulse

Post workout

• 1 serving of Recovery XS

Evening meal

• Super Omega 3
• Alpha Men
• HMB

Evening Snack

• 1 serving of Total Protein
• 50g Ultra Fine Oats

Training

Training for lean muscle generally involves a combination of both resistance and cardiovascular exercise. Resistance exercise will help increase the size and definition of the trained muscle, whilst cardiovascular training may help burn excess fat and enhance the toned look of the body.

This training programme is based on a frequency of 3 sessions per week. Attempt to have at least one day of rest after each session. Please seek the advice of a fitness professional regarding the correct form and technique of all the following exercises and ensure a thorough warm-up is performed before you start the programme and a thorough cool down is performed after the programme.

The weight you use on each exercise is dependant on your current level of fitness. The weight you select should be heavy enough so that the last repetition causes fatigue.

Day 1

Cardiovascular Exercise

Any cardiovascular exercise can be performed for a total of 15-20 minutes. Your cardiovascular exercise may be a single exercise or combination of running, swimming, cycling, rowing or cross-training. Work should be performed at around 70-80% maximum heart rate.

Day 2

Cardiovascular Exercise

Any cardiovascular exercise can be performed for a total of 15-20 minutes. This cardiovascular exercise may be a single exercise or combination of running, swimming, cycling, rowing or cross-training. Work should be performed at around 70-80% maximum heart rate.

Day 3

Cardiovascular Exercise

Any cardiovascular exercise can be performed for a total of 15-20 minutes. This cardiovascular exercise may be a single exercise or combination of running, swimming, cycling, rowing or cross-training. Work should be performed at around 70-80% maximum heart rate.

We highly recommend seeking the advice of a medical expert before commencing any exercise routine. This training programme should be viewed as a guide only and should be adapted to meet your individual requirements and current level of fitness.

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