It is also the primary reason why so many people are trying so hard in the gym only to see a small reward of muscle gain.

Are you one of them? If you are, it is high likely that the problem is not with your routines or workouts but rather your consumption of nutrition.

The great Larry Scott, the first ever Mr. Olympia in 1965 stated that body building is 90% what you eat. At that time, people thought that he was making an overstatement only for us to realize that he knew what he was talking about many years later.

Thus, knowing, it means that if you wish to build muscle successfully, you have to prioritize in your nutrition intake.

Here are 5 pitfalls to avoid on your nutrition intake:

1) Not Enough Protein

While pumping away and tearing away your muscle cells happens in the gym, muscles are formed outside of the gym. And since protein is a main source of building muscle, you must consume protein consistently as you are working out in the gym. Protein consumed must be lean and fat free for example: egg whites, fish, read meats, chicken breast and whey protein. It is ideal that for every pound of your body weight, that you consume one gram of protein.

2) Not Eating Frequently Enough.

Eat every 3 to 4 hours with small balance meals. Many think that it’s not important and they rather have 2 to 3 meals due to laziness. As mentioned earlier, discipline plays a big role in body building and will make a big difference on where you are and what you do. The reason why you should be eating frequently is that firstly, it will accelerate your metabolism rate, resulting in your body burning fat naturally. Secondly, protein cannot be stored in the body and will usually only last for 3 hours in your body. So by consuming protein frequently, there is a constant supply to build your muscles as your muscles recover.

3) Not Drinking Enough Water

Workouts in the gym can lead to dehydration easily. It is extremely important to replace the fluids that you lost during your training. As 67% of the body is made from water, your muscles will have a hard time repairing itself if they are dehydrated. At the same time, without enough water, your kidneys will also struggle to remove unwanted waste as a result of your increase intake of protein and other substance from your frequent meals per day. So drink as much water as possible starting from today.

4) Drinking Alcohol

One advice that all body builders speaks about is not to consume alcohol. Why? Alcohol contains 7 calorie per gram. Apart from fat which is 9 calorie per gram, alcohol is the second most calorie dense nutrient. By consuming alcohol, it will greatly affect your body’s capability to burn fat. Not only that it will quickly dehydrate your body and also reduce the productivity of testosterone. In conclusion, avoid alcohol at all cost.

5) Consuming Too Much Sugar

Arnold Schwarzenegger calls sugar the “white death". It suppresses the immune system of your body and has been shown to decrease the number of white cells in the body. Sugar can cause your blood to be also more acidic, which increases vulnerability to toxins, bacteria and viruses. While your body is busy repairing its muscle, anymore more unnecessary stress will cause your muscle building process slow down, thus avoid sugar too.

If you have a proper lifestyle and proper nutrition intake, it is safe to say that you have already won most of the battle to a healthier, and learner body you desire. In a way, you can force your body to gain muscles by working out in the gym, and the only missing ingredient you will need is fuel your body with the right nutrition regularly.