Bodybuilding requires the right foods, and experts have identified eight superfoods that pump you up without plumping you up. To build that perfect bod, you’ll still have to do the heavy lifting (literally), but these eight foods will give you a strong leg up. All eight are readily available, and some (like good old H2O) are not only common but inexpensive.

Superfood #1 – Eggs: The humble egg has the highest protein value of any food, including beef. “Calorie for calorie, you need less protein from eggs than you do from other sources to achieve the same muscle-building benefits,” said Jeff Volek, Ph.D., an exercise and nutrition researcher at the University of Connecticut. As a bonus, they’re also chock full of vitamins and minerals like vitamin E and zinc.

Superfood #2 – Almonds: Your muscles need a good natural source of alpha-tocopherol vitamin E, and almonds fill the bill. Volek says, “Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that can help prevent free-radical damage after heavy workouts.” In other words, vitamin E helps protect your muscles from injury so they can grow instead of spend time repairing themselves. As a bonus, vitamin E also lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 67 percent. And men can eat two handfuls a day without gaining weight, according to Toronto University study.

Superfood #3 – Salmon: You need something to help your body store new muscle-building protein faster than it breaks down the old, and salmon does double-duty in this regard. First of all, it’s a high-quality protein in and of itself. Second, it’s loaded with omega-3 fatty acids which, according to nutritionist Tom Incledon, “decrease muscle-protein breakdown after your workout, improving recovery.” It also reduces your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Superfood #4 – Yogurt: Just hold your nose and eat it, even if you don’t like it, because it’s one of the very best post-exercise foods. According to nutritionist Doug Kalman, “Yogurt is an ideal combination of protein and carbohydrates for exercise recovery and muscle growth.” He says to eat regular (not sugar-free) with fruit, because the extra carbohydrates will raise your levels of insulin, which helps reduce protein breakdown after exercise. Yogurt may even help keep unwanted weight off, according to Volek, because it contains CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) which helps reduce body fat.

Superfood # 5 – Beef: Yes, beef, Virginia – there is a Santa Claus after all. Beef is good for bodybuilders, according to Incledon, because it’s a major source of two crucial muscle-building nutrients, iron and zinc. Plus, he says, it’s also the number-one source of creatine, the body’s energy source for pumping iron. Look for lean cuts so you can develop maximum muscle and minimum fat.

Superfood #6 – Olive Oil: Besides being good for you in general (as part of the Mediterranean diet), according to Kalman the monounsaturated fat in olive oil prevents muscle breakdown and weakness. The extra-virgin variety has a higher level of vitamin E.

Superfood #7 – Water: “Stay hydrated” is no idle advice, especially for bodybuilders, since muscle is about 80 percent water. A German study showed that protein synthesis takes place at a much higher rate in muscle cells that are well hydrated, which means in everyday language that if your body’s dehydrated, you won’t build muscle as fast. The bonus here is that another study showed men who drink five or more full glasses of water a day are half as likely to have a fatal heart attack as men who drink two or less.

Superfood #8 – Coffee: Caffeine can help you pump more iron – a recent study showed that men who drank two and one half cups of coffee a couple of hours before exercising were able to sprint almost 10 percent longer than men who drank none. The researchers believe that caffeine directly stimulates muscles. Don’t drink coffee, however, if you have high blood pressure. And one last bonus: a Harvard study shows that coffee drinkers have a 30 percent lower risk of Parkinson’s than nondrinkers.

There are a whole lot of ways to build muscle. Unfortunately, many of these ways aren’t the smartest. Some of the most common methods billed as the fastest way to build muscle are actually just plain unsafe.

Some of the more common methods that claim to be the fastest way to build muscle include such things as use of steroids, muscle-building pills and supplements and so on. While these can work to build muscle, they (especially the steroids) can have a very negative impact on the body.

Steroids, for example, might, in fact, be the fastest way to build muscle, but they can damage vital organs permanently in the process. The tradeoff doesn’t seem worth it to enjoy the “benefits” of the fastest way to build muscle. The shakes and supplements, if they contain good proteins and healthy ingredients, can be a good way to go, but make sure the contents are known. If not, they are not the fastest way to build muscle effectively and safely. Plus, the shakes and supplements alone will not build muscle. A little work will need to be done, too.
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Learning how to build muscle isn’t really all that complicated. Unfortunately, many people make it out to be such. The truth is anyone can learn how to build muscle quickly and effectively if they’ll do the things their mother told them to as children. That’s right, eat right and get out and play!

The key to learning how to build muscle is being willing to feed the muscle the necessary nutrients while also working out those muscles in the process. Building muscle really requires only two major things: nutrients and weight training. That means taking the time to educate yourself on nutrition and training, not relying on some hyped-up “muscle-building” contraption or magic formula in a bottle.
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