Making Gains

Part of living the superhero life is trying to look the part. That usually means losing fat and gaining muscle. What I'd like to do is go over heroic body appearance, some general nutrition, and choosing the right protein.

Heroic Body Appearance

The ideal heroic body is muscular with a body fat percentage typically between 17-25%, depending on what looks good. The shoulders are defined (aka "boulder shoulders") for sure, the waist is trim, legs and arms are muscular, and some superheroes (like Nightwing) are known for having a nice butt. Obviously, the amount of strength training is going to result in different results; if you workout 3 times a week, you're not going to have the same results as someone who works out 6+ times a week. Also, if you don't increase your weights roughly every 4-6 weeks, you're not going to see as many gains.

The particular body shape is often referred to as an "X" shape, in bodybuilding. It just refers to wide shoulders, trim waist, and wide (through muscular development) legs. You may also hear of a "V taper", which refers to the upper body forming a "V" with wide shoulders and a trim waist. You don't have to be a bodybuilder to start seeing these types of results; although bodybuilding does help.

Also, the more often you workout, the more you increase your immune system. I can't say you won't get sick ever, but illness is typically reduced. Recovery is improved. Always remember that you cannot outrun a bad diet and you cannot spot-build muscle/spot-lose fat.

General Nutrition

If you are looking at figuring out your general nutrition macros for gaining muscle, which in turn will burn fat, it is highly recommended to begin by tracking your food. There are a bunch of food tracking apps out there. I like My Fitness Pal (website and app).

Find out what your metabolic basal rate is by using this BMR calculator. Your BMR is the amount of calories you burn in a neutral state; this means without exercise. With that calculator, if you know your body fat percentage, I recommend using the Katch-McArdle calculation with your body fat number. This calculator is going to give you your BMR, but it will also give you various ranges for caloric intake.

A good macros goal, for general eating for muscular gains is:

30% Protein

30% Fat

40% Carbohydrates

Aim for roughly 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. For example: if you weight 150 lbs, you will want to consume roughly 150 grams of protein each day. With My Fitness Pal, you can adjust your "Goals" by entering the amount of calories you want to consume and adjust the macro percentages.

I would also suggest increasing your water intake. It should be 0.5-1.0 oz per pound of body weight. Example: 150 lbs person should consume 75 oz - 150 oz of water daily. You can also include water with mio/other water flavorings, green tea, and herbal tea. Black tea and black coffee don't count towards water intake.

Your best food options are often the simplest: lean proteins (includes eggs), fresh produce, whole grains, healthy fats, no sugar, no white foods (sugar, potatoes, flour, etc), and no processed/fake foods. If you're curious as to what I [Raven] regularly eats, it doesn't change much: protein shake, eggs, bacon, turkey, lentils or beans, apples, nuts, and protein bars. I also take a variety of vitamins and supplements, but I'm also an amateur bodybuilder. Sometimes I switch turkey for pork tenderloin, fish/seafood, or chicken. Boring? Sure, but it works.

Consume The Right Protein

Not all protein is created equally. The ideal protein contains all the essential amino acids, is rated high for digestibility, and there is an official rating system for it. Here's what you need to know: the better quality the protein, the more it helps your body. That means, the more gains you're going to see.

The rating system for protein is called the PCDAAS Chart. This scoring system is called the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS); though more recently they have recommended using the Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS) to better describe protein quality and overcome limitation of PDCAAS. It is possible to get over 100% as a score, as you will see.

---

If you have any additional questions on nutrition, please ask.

Look for upcoming posts on strength training to help develop the overall X frame, which will be a 3-part series.

On an entire other note, if you are an RLSH, please take a moment to fill out this RLSH 2025 Demographics Survey. It's anonymous. Just looking to gather some general information to study.