The bench press is not enough!

Article by: Peter Simpson

Hitting the gym hard and punching out big bench press sets is not enough to build your chest muscles to their full potential! You need to be eating the right types of foods, at the right time. This article is going to discuss how the time when you eat certain foods effects your muscle development and your bench press.

First, you must understand that when you're down at your local gym bench pressing, you are not actually building up your chest muscles. In actual fact, you're doing the opposite, you're breaking them down. When you bench press you are effectively tearing your chest muscles apart. This is what makes you looked "pumped".

When your body is resting, your muscles are repairing. It's in this repairing phase that the muscle building takes place. So it's important that we feed our muscles when they need it the most. There are two critical times that you must feed your muscles.

When to feed your muscles

1. Straight after your workout

After your workout, a boost in protein and carbohydrates is needed to replace the protein and energy lost during the workout, and to start muscle repair immediately. This is arguably the most important time in the day that you need your muscle fuel. Your muscles are made up of protein and much of this protein is lost when you hit the gym.

2. Before you go to bed

The bulk of muscle growth happens while we're asleep. So it makes sense to give our chest muscles a healthy dose of protein before we go to bed. The protein will be absorbed by your muscles while you are sleeping and your muscles are repairing. (Make sure you only take protein before you go to bed, taking carbs may make you put on extra body fat)

The best ways to deliver protein to your muscles

Probably the best way to deliver protein and energy straight to your muscles (especially after a hard bench workout) is with a protein shake. A protein shake is a high-protein bodybuilding supplement (usually more than 90% protein, in powder form) that mixes with water to create a healthy drink.

Protein is the building blocks of muscle, and essential for muscle development. When you workout, your muscles need a constant supply of protein. Because the protein in a protein shake is consumed as a liquid, is absorbs much quicker into your body.

Summary...

So the idea is to plan your meals around your workout. Try to make sure you are eating high protein foods every day. Try to have a meal, or a protein shake after every bench press workout (or any workout). And try to have a protein shake before you go to sleep at night.

An essential part of building your chest is giving your chest muscles the fuel they need when they need it most. If you are not giving your muscles the right fuel, you're limiting your growth potential!