HOW TO BUILD MUSCLE ON KETO

I am here to show you how to build muscle on keto, with the hopes that you feel and look the best you ever have.

There is a constant tension between the low carb and high carb gurus about which diet is best for losing weight, health, building muscle, esc.

Well let me tell you a little secret.

Are you ready?

It really doesn’t matter what diet you choose to follow. As long as you are in a calorie surplus, you will gain weight and if done right, hopefully most of that weight will be from muscle.

But, I will say that keto is unique.

Yes, it may require more thinking and work to get jacked, but it’s not impossible. I can even argue that it’s superior to any other way of building muscle, just from the health and metabolic benefits alone.

What may be the best thing? It may be easier to burn fat when you build muscle on keto.

Luckily for you, I am going to show you how to build muscle in a unique way. So unique that it also allows you to stay lean and healthy while doing so. I am going to show you how to build muscle on keto.

Yes, you heard me correctly. You can build muscle and burn fat at the same time. It’s not easy and is not always optimal, but it’s possible. All you have to do is read and follow the directions exactly as they are laid out.  

Whether you’re a keto pro or like to experiment with different diets , this article will fill you in on everything you need to know on how to build muscle on keto. 

I first started keto to improve my acne and inflammation. The crazy part? I actually got leaner while building muscle on keto, which is crazy! 

Trust me, it’s not easy to build muscle on keto and building lean muscle never is. There are multiple ways that work to build muscle. I believe using keto as a tool to stay lean AND build muscle is the easiest and most sustainable way to go about it. Unless you go all out and eat whatever you want. Then it may be easier to pack on size that way. But that may not be the best decision when it comes to building muscle, even though it may be the easiest way. When you do this, you add fat which becomes unhealthy over time and lead to many other issues down the road. This can inhibit your muscle building and fat loss in the future. 

It may also affect your health as well. Your insulin sensitivity (the body’s ability to use carbs for energy) may decrease, which can result in even more fat storage over time. This makes it harder to build muscle and have that aesthetic look you are striving for. 

But do not worry! As long as it’s based on nutrient dense foods then you should be good to go. I will show you an effective way to build muscle on keto following a new approach that has worked well for me. Obviously you can build muscle using carbs and they may work well for you. However, this article is for those of you who want a different approach, following a low carb keto diet.

THE KETOGENIC DIET

First of all,”keto”, also known as a ketogenic diet, is a high fat and low carbohydrate diet. It is something that has become very popular over the past couple of years. 

Interestingly though, the keto diet has been around for a long time. It was originally used to treat kids with epilepsy and other diseases in the 1900’s.  It was not until recently that the keto diet has become the popular “lose fat fast” diet.

Keto Benefits

Keto is not magic.  No diet is and it’s definitely not for everyone. But, I can say that keto is a very good tool to use for many different things.  Though its main role is weight loss, keto has many cognitive and physical benefits as well. 

It aids in fat loss, may prevent muscle loss, reduces inflammation, improves mental clarity, as well as many other things.  

One of the main reasons for the growing popularity of this diet over the past few years is because of it’s effects it has on fat loss. 

Following a high fat and low-carb diet puts you in a state of ketosis, where your body uses ketones for fuel rather than carbohydrates. When your body is depleted of glycogen, a stored form of carbohydrates, it reverts to using these ketones as energy.  Ketones are made within the liver and are your body’s alternate form of energy.

In other words, you turn into a fat burning machine.

Basically, this means that your body starts utilizing fat as energy, rather than using the typical glycogen from carbohydrates.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that you are burning more calories, but it can make fat loss easier and more sustainable because of the foods you eat. This may be due to the high fat and high protein foods you are consuming which can reduce hunger and cravings, hence, allowing you to eat less.

DIFFERENT STYLES OF KETO AND WHICH IS BEST TO BUILD MUSCLE ON KETO

There are actually many different variations of keto. To keep this simple, I will discuss a few.

The Traditional Ketogenic Diet

Traditionally, keto is a very high fat, moderate protein, and low carb way of eating.  To be in a state of ketosis, as described above, you must cut down your carbohydrate intake low enough to the point where your body must produce ketones.  To make sure that your carbohydrate intake is low enough, it is typically recommended that less than 20 grams of carbs be consumed per day when first starting out. 

You must make sure that you are getting electrolytes in. Especially enough salt. Since your body does not hold onto glycogen, it does not hold on to water either.  This results in a depletion of magnesium, potassium, and salt through urine. These are essential electrolytes that your body needs to for energy and to stay hydrated, so its important to get them in through foods or supplementation.

Getting used to this way of eating can be challenging at first since it may be a totally new concept to you.  It may be important to calculate your macronutrients for the first few months so you can learn which foods to eat and not eat.

Macronutrients are the three main nutrients in food that give us energy. A typical macronutrient profile to follow on keto is 75% fat, 20% protein, and 5% carbohydrates. All of which can be calculated using an app such as Myfitnesspal or Mikes Macros. 

This traditional way of keto is misleading though.  This way of keto was made for therapeutic reasons, as stated before. The extremely high fat content was made specifically for kids with epilepsy so their ketones would increase because ketones are what helps treat their diseases. Following the traditional style of the keto diet should be for those who have conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes, Parkinson’s, some cancers, etc. Many of these conditions require high amounts of ketones. (I am not a doctor or professional when it comes to disease, so make sure you consult with them before trying any of this.)

Following this high fat, moderate protein, and low carb keto diet can be problematic when it comes to building muscle though. This can be bad for two reasons:

1. Consuming too much fat can take away from your body’s ability to burn its own body fat.  If you are eating too much dietary fat, your body doesn’t need to pull away from its own fat stores, which is one of the goals. You want your body to pull away from its own body fat for energy.  Use the food from fat as a supplement to your body fat for energy. 

2. Even though keto is anabolic (muscle sparing), consuming too little protein can be bad for the body. Protein is important for many bodily functions such as:

• Repairing tissue
• Building and retaining muscle
• Joint, skin, hair, and nail health 

This article’s main focus is on the importance of protein and its relationship to building muscle on keto. Adequate protein needs to be consumed, even on a ketogenic diet. A good rule to follow is to have a 1:1 ratio of protein to fat based on your body weight. 

Let’s say I weigh 150 lbs. An example would be eating 150 grams of fat and 150 grams of protein. I would never go above 150 grams of fat. If needed, I would bring the fat down and increase the protein.

This is an important part of becoming fat adapted.

Becoming Fat Adapted

There is a difference between being in ketosis and being fat adapted. 

• Being in ketosis means that your body is producing ketones that are being used for energy.
• Being fat adapted means that your body’s metabolism transforms into being more efficient at utilizing fat (ketones) for energy. Your body has successfully learned how to use actual fat for energy. This is when your body may begin to pull from its fat stores and use it as energy rather than just relying on ketones from food.

You want your body to become fat adapted so that it becomes efficient at using fats. Usually, becoming fat adapted requires 2-3 month of strict keto. After that, this is where being metabolically flexible comes into play. For a guide on how to get into ketosis and become fat adapted, click here.

Therefore, being fat adapted is important to long term success and health. Focus on becoming fat adapted first before anything else.  Stick to a high fat and high protein keto diet for a few months before incorporating carbs back into the diet. You will read more about this later on in the article. Now would be a great time to get to talking about the new and improved way of keto. 

The New Way to Build Muscle on Keto

Consider this new way of keto as a high protein, high fat, and low carb alternative to the traditional way. Before you say “that isn’t keto because too much protein will kick you out of ketosis”, or that “carbs are bad”  you’re wrong.

Protein is important for building muscle on keto and staying lean while trying to build muscle on keto. The leaner you get, the lower their metabolism becomes, which is why building muscle on keto is so important.  This is because your body naturally doesn’t want to lose weight and burn fat. Overtime, it adapts to your weight loss and basically “resets” itself to a new baseline by decreasing your metabolic rate.

 A common argument that is used is that eating too much protein will cause gluconeogenesis, ultimately kicking you out of ketosis.   Gluconeogenesis ,in simplest terms, is when the body uses protein and muscle as energy by converting it into glucose. However, this is a demand driven process – meaning that that body only converts protein to glucose for energy when it’s needed.

But that is a different topic for a different day. There are plenty of other resources on this topic if you’re interested.

Anyways, back to the point. Most people utilize a ketogenic diet just for fat loss. 

Although ketones are awesome and provide some amazing benefits, we are not here to chase ketone numbers.

But that’s not why you are here, correct? You are here to build muscle on keto.

We are here to build muscle and stay lean while doing so.

This process takes some time but is worth it in the end.

Obviously, being in ketosis is great, but some days you will be in it and some days you will be out of it. 

Therefore, the most important goal for you to focus on is to hit a protein goal each day. Typically, I recommend consuming 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. Lean body mass is your body weight minus the amount of fat that you have.

BRINGING IN CARBS TO THE EQUATION: THE IMPORTANCE OF METABOLIC FLEXIBILITY TO BUILD MUSCLE ON KETO (CARBS AND FATS)

EAT TO GET BIG BY ADDING IN CARBOHYDRATES – A Form of Cyclical Keto

Building muscle on a typical ketogenic diet is definitely possible but it may not be optimal. While low carb ketogenic diets may be great for retaining muscle mass while burning fat, they may not be optimal for building muscle. This is where carbohydrate refeeding comes into play. 

Yes, you heard me correctly. I said you can EAT CARBOHYDRATES.

The most important point I want to make before you try to build muscle on keto with implementing carbs is this: It’s important to become fat adapted first so you can become metabolically flexible – The ability to use carbs and fats efficiently for energy.

Remember, I wrote earlier that fat adaptation is crucial before bringing carbs back into the equation. This way you can efficiently use carbs AND fats for energy. 

Some carbohydrates are not the devil that everyone portrays them to be. Of course they taste amazing, obviously, and many of them can actually be good for you.

Combining keto with a low carbohydrate diet is an awesome tool to build muscle.

Some may call this a form of “cyclical keto”, which means that you eat a keto style diet for 5-6 days during the week, and the other 1-2 days you eat higher carbs. I will just call it the “Modern Style Keto Diet” because it sounds cooler to me for some reason.

Your body’s baseline state will be ketosis. But, the awesome thing is that your body will be able to switch between energy systems more efficiently.  This means that if you eat carbs, your body will use them when needed and then put you right back into ketosis when they are all used up.

Splitting up low carb keto days with higher carb days throughout the week can be the key ingredient when trying to build muscle on keto. This does not mean to go all out and eat whatever junk you want. As good as that may sound, it may lead to over-eating, unwanted added fat, water retention, and just making you feel like garbage.  It also may have a negative affect on your workouts and recovery. You do not want to feel like crap when you carb up. That defeats the whole purpose.

I get it, though. That’s not to say you can never have any of those types of foods.  Personally, I still like to enjoy some pleasure foods from time to time myself. Some of my favorite things are pizza and ice cream – especially Ben and Jerry’s – which actually sounds amazing right now. They have an amazing ice cream where the center is filled with a gooey core and other deliciousness that I do not have words for.

Ok, off topic again, but you get the point – Everything in moderation.

For the majority of the time, you want to provide your body with nutrient dense carbs such as potatoes, rice, oats, and fruits. These will add healthy fuel to your body and provide you with the energy that you need for your workouts and nutrients for building muscle.

On your keto days you may eat less calories, while on your carb days you may eat more calories.  This will put you in a slight surplus or maintenance where you will be able to recomp your body. This is the ideal scenario that many of us are looking for: To burn fat while building muscle.

Strategically eating carbs on high volume workout days to help fuel them by giving your body the energy it needs. 

Eat higher fat on low volume days since you won’t be doing workouts that require carbs for energy. Keep protein constant though. It is still the most important macronutrient to build muscle on keto and prevent muscle breakdown This way, your body is efficient at burning both carbohydrates and fats for different levels of activity during the day. 

Benefits of Carbohydrates

• Carbohydrates can be very beneficial to building muscle on keto because they are much easier to eat. This is important when it comes to being in a surplus.
• Carbohydrates are the body’s preferred option for energy, especially during high intense activities. Since ketogenic diets deplete the muscles of glycogen, it may be important to replenish the muscle with glycogen for higher intense workouts that require glycogen to fuel them.  
• Carbs can also increase the rate at which nutrients and proteins are shuttled into the muscle. This may result in greater muscle gains over time. The greater the volume and intensity of the workout, the more carbs may be needed to fuel that workout. This may be one of the most important parts when it comes to building muscle on keto. 

Study: Carbohydrates increase the rate of transportation of proteins into the muscle and surrounding tissues.  

• Carbs can also play an important role in recovery.  When we work out, our bodies are experiencing stress.  Although it is a good stress, proper recovery is still needed.  If you do not properly recover, you can end up over training your body which may lead to fatigue, sickness, and the possibility of muscle loss and injury. Cortisol is a hormone that is released when the body is stressed. Insulin, which is released from the consumption of carbohydrates, inhibits cortisol.

NOW TO THE GOOD PART – HOW EXACTLY TO BUILD MUSCLE ON KETO

To build muscle on keto, and any diet for that matter, you must be in a calorie surplus. It is possible to build muscle in a calorie deficit and maintenance, but it is not optimal.

No if, ands, or buts about it. 

You must eat to build muscle on keto. There is no other way around it. You will use fat and carbs from food as energy levers to fuel your workouts and allow the rest of your energy to come from your body fat.

The issue that may come up when attempting to build muscle on keto while following it the standard way, is that it may be hard to consume enough calories. Most of the time, your body needs to be in a surplus of calories to promote muscle growth. This can be very challenging, especially when consuming a high amount of fat and protein – the two most satiating macronutrients. This is why carbohydrates play an important role for both energy purposes and building muscle.

The more muscle that you have, the higher your metabolism is – meaning the more calories your body is able to burn. Over time, this is important. The more calories your body is able to burn, the more you can eat without gaining fat. 

Remember, keto is anabolic. So when you do decide to cut down for a special event or to impress your friends for the summer beach visits, keeping on the muscle will allow you to not only look better, but also allow you to burn more fat as well.  According to studies, when following a keto diet, you actually burn more fat and keep on the majority of your muscle, when compared to other diets. Pretty cool right?

Now I am not saying that you won’t gain any fat when you build muscle on keto. Of course, you may or may not add some fat when putting on muscle. It depends on your body. This is completely normal and part of the process. But, following a high protein cyclical keto diet will give you a great chance to stay as lean as possible.  The only caveat is that it may take a little longer. 

But, what is the rush anyway? If you want quick results, good luck. You may find yourself disappointed if that is the case. 

Try and Reduce Stress as Much as Possible

Just like working out is a good stress on our bodies, being in ketosis can also be a stress. When combining the two, it can create a cascade of stress that can be a lot for your body to handle.

Your body is very good at telling you when it needs a break, trust me. I used to be the guy who would train 7 days a week. I wouldn’t be satisfied until I was sore and my body was screaming in pain. Yeah I know, a little over the top but hey, we all have our moments.  It wasn’t until I got really sick with bronchitis, strep throat, and a sinus infection all at once from overtraining and a lack of recovery that I realized how important recovery actually is.

Yes, it sucked really bad.

So the point is to recover. Make sure you get in enough calories throughout the day to properly fuel your workouts and provide your muscles with the nutrients and fuel they need to build up bigger and stronger. 

Completing hard workouts and being in ketosis can be a lot for our bodies to handle, so make sure you reduce external stress as much as possible.

• Get enough sleep
• Eat carbohydrates when energy is low or before a high intense workout
• Take rest days when needed

Weight Training Program to Follow to Build Muscle on Keto

So let’s get to the juicy part, shall we?

What exactly is the best weight training program to build muscle on keto?

Well, unfortunately I can’t provide you with the best weight training program because there is none.  Everyone is different. Numerous professionals have created workout plans that work and dont work. It’s up to you to progressively push yourself week in and week out to allow your muscles to grow.  

Within any strength training program, progressively overloading your muscles is the way you’re going to maximize your gains.  There is no one way to do this though. To build muscle on keto, focus on adding something to the previous exercise each week.

Here are some things that you can increase from week to week:

• Add more weight: Add 5 pounds or more to previous weeks workout
• Add more reps: Add 1-3 more reps to previous weeks workout
• Add more sets: Add 1 more set to previous weeks workout
• Increase or decrease tempo of exercise: fast or slow
• Slow down on the eccentric part of the movement 
• Proper form is key.  When you can no longer do a repetition with perfect form than you know you are done with that set. 
• Make sure to follow the same program for at least 4 weeks to allow for proper progression.

Workouts: High Fat Days vs. High Carbohydrate Days

• Focus on lower reps with longer rests on lower carb days.
• Focus on higher reps with shorter rest on higher carb days. 

If you recall, we are using fat (ketones) for fuel instead of glycogen. When we don’t have glycogen within our muscles, our recovery time takes longer since we are using fat for fuel because it requires a different energy system.

Basically, the lower the intensity (aerobic), the more fat your body burns, while the higher the intensity (anaerobic) the more carbohydrates your body burns.

Longer rest has actually been shown in research to increase muscle mass as well.

On your high fat days, focus on:

1. Compound lifts (Bench, Squat, Dead lift, Military Press, Chin-Up)
2. Lifting heavy weight (4-12 reps)
3. Longer rest periods (2 min)

On your high carb days, focus on:

1. Compound lifts and isolation movements
2. Lift lighter weight (12-20 reps)
3. Shorter rest periods (60 seconds)
4. Incorporate drop sets, supersets, rest pauses, time under tension, half reps

Tips to Follow When Working Out to Build Muscle on Keto

• A four day upper/lower split can be ideal for advanced lifters. This is because training the muscles more than once has been shown through research to increase muscle in comparison to training them only once a week.
• Use the first upper and lower days as heavy days. Focus on compound movements as the main exercises.  Add in accessory/isolation exercises for the other movements.
• The second set of upper and lower days, incorporate drop sets and supersets to increase your heart rate and volume.  Since this is the day that you will be eating high carb, it’s important to increase the volume and intensity.
• For beginners, start with three days a week, following a full body workout routine.
• The most important thing is to focus on GOOD FORM. Focus on feeling the muscle work throughout the whole range of motion.  Go slow, use good form, and when you can’t do anymore with good form, you are done. Mindlessly swinging the weights is not going to do you any good.  Doing so may create imbalances and will not properly work the targeted muscles.  

EXAMPLES OF EATING TO BUILD MUSCLE ON KETO

First and foremost, you need to calculate your maintenance calories. This is the amount of calories you need to eat to neither lose or gain weight.  Eating at maintenance will cause you to stay around the same weight over time. From there, we can then calculate your surplus calories to promote muscle growth.

To calculate maintenance and surplus calories:

1. Find your lean body mass – Body composition consisting of everything except fat.
   1. Take your body weight in pounds and multiply it by your body fat percentage.
2. Multiply lean body mass by 9.8
3. Add that number by 370.  
   1. This is your resting metabolic rate. Meaning that if you were to do absolutely nothing all day, this is how many calories you would burn.
4. Multiply your resting metabolic rate (number from step 3) by the multiplier describing your activity level to find your basal metabolic rate (maintenance).
   1. 1.1: Very inactive
   2. 1.2: Mostly sedentary
   3. 1.3: Active
   4. 1.4: Intense Training 
   5. 1.5: Athlete/Extremely Active 
5. To make sure you’re in a slight surplus, multiple your basal metabolic rate (number from step 4)  by 1.1. This is the number of calories you should eat per day to promote muscle growth.

Guidelines to Keto Days:

Fats: coconut oil, mct oil, olive oil, butter, ghee, avocados, olives, nuts, nut butters, seeds, and dark chocolate.

Protein: Red meat, chicken, bison, lamb, venison, fish, seafood

Low Carbs: vegetables, berries

• Focus on being meat based. Have a source of protein as your main meal and surround it with low carb options.
• The fattier the meat, the less fat you need to add to it.
• The leaner the meat, the more fat you can add to it.

Guidelines to High Carbohydrate Days:

Higher Carbohydrate Foods to Eat: rice, potatoes, oats, whey protein, fruit, honey. 

• I would highly recommend that when you eat carbs to build muscle on keto, try to time them around your workouts – whether that is before or after. 
• Another important thing to keep in mind is to not mix high fat amounts with high carb amounts. Especially when being in a calorie surplus. 
  • Carbs and fats are both energy systems that the body uses, thus cannot be used together at the SAME TIME.
  • It is OK to have a high fat day one day and then a high carb day the next.  But they are inversely related, meaning that whenever you have a high fat day, keep the carbs low.
  • Whenever you have a high carb day, keep that fat lower. The one constant that remains the same is protein.
• Stick to keeping meat as the main focus of your meals so your protein is high.

In saying that, to effectively build muscle on keto:

• Eat higher carbs on your high volume workout days or when you feel like you may need them (low energy).
• Eat higher fat on your very low volume and off days.

Use carbs as a tool and the gains will come. But remember, to build muscle on keto most effectively without putting on fat, you must become fat adapted first! 

Let the gains begin!

CONCLUSION

• This is not for everyone. This is for those who want the benefits of a ketogenic diet while building muscle in the most efficient way possible. If you are overweight or still need to lose weight, this is not recommended.
• Basically we are re-comping our bodies which is why it takes longer. This means that we are trying to build muscle at the same time as burning fat.  
• Calculate maintenance calories and multiply by 1.1 to get into a slight surplus.
• Focus on whole foods and not treats or junk food.
• Make sure to hit your protein goal of 1 pound per lean body mass.
• Reduce stress as much as possible and properly recover
• Focus on compound lifts 
• On high fat days, lift heavy
• On high carb days, lift lighter with more volume.

If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to reach out. Whether you have a simple question or just want to talk about health and fitness or even drinking coffee, I am always here to help!

CONTACT ME

Email: ketovoreking@gmail.com

Instagram: @bobhooverfitness

Facebook: Bob Hoover

Twitter: @bobhooverfitness

-Coach Bob Hoover