The WeighTrainer

The numbers below represent the daily caloric requirement for maintenance and to support maximum drug-free muscle growth with minimum bodyfat deposition. It is assumed that the highest scientifically verified rate of muscle gain in drug-free trainees, past the beginner stage, is 3.73 g per kg of lean body mass per week, and genetically gifted beginners may gain as much as 6.76 g/kg/week. Both of these maximum rates assume that the trainee's recent history includes mild malnutrition, overtraining and/or significant weight loss, in which cases the body may experience quick "rebound" gains when proper nutrition and training is established. Such conditions may occur in competitive bodybuilders immediately following contest dieting and training, and in beginners with a history of malnutrition or long-term dieting. Under more normal conditions muscle gain rate will be slower.

It is assumed, from the concensus of research, that 1.63 kcals are required for the deposition of 1 gram of skeletal muscle tissue in the body, and that this muscle gain will be accompanied by adipose gain in one-third the amount, with an energy cost of 7.91 kcals/g (assuming the body already has the necessary fat cells for fat storage). The energy cost of tissue synthesis is set at 0.15 kcal per kcal deposited. These numbers have been verified repeatedly in the research.

The amount of protein required to support this growth is given (as calculated from research involving drug-free bodybuilders), along with the amount of dietary fat to maximize testosterone production, and the dietary carbohydrates which make up the remainder of the diet.

Keep in mind that these rates of muscle gain are maximums under specific conditions and cannot be maintained for extended periods of time. The closer the trainee is to his maximum genetic potential the slower the rate of gain will be.