6 foods that support muscle growth and strength
Food alone won’t build substantial muscle without progressive resistance training, but getting enough protein and calories gives your muscles the raw materials they need to adapt.
-
Eggs 🥚 — Complete protein containing all essential amino acids. They also provide leucine, an amino acid important for stimulating muscle protein synthesis.
-
Greek yogurt 🥛 — High in protein and provides calcium. Choose plain varieties if you want to minimize added sugar.
-
Chicken or other lean poultry 🍗 — A convenient source of high-quality protein with relatively little fat.
-
Fish 🐟 — Fish such as salmon provides protein plus omega-3 fats. Other fish can provide plenty of protein even when they’re lower in fat.
-
Lentils and beans 🫘 — Excellent plant sources of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, iron and other nutrients. Combining different plant proteins across the day can help provide a broad amino-acid profile.
-
Milk 🥛 — Provides both whey and casein proteins, along with carbohydrates and calcium, making it useful after exercise or as part of a meal.
How much protein?
For people who regularly strength train, a commonly used target is roughly 1.4–2.0 g of protein per kg of body weight per day, depending on goals, training and overall diet. You don’t need to get it all from one food.
For example, someone weighing 70 kg might aim for approximately 100–140 g of protein per day.
The biggest combination for gaining muscle is adequate protein + sufficient overall nutrition + progressive resistance training + recovery/sleep. Supplements aren’t required if you can meet your nutritional needs through food.
