The Elite Eight: The Perfect Muscle-Building Foods (Part 1)

Building the best body you possibly can can be broken down into three parts: Exercise, Rest, and Nutrition. The majority of people focus mainly on the exercise portion. Some, who shall remain nameless, spend most of their time devoted to rest. This week, we're going to spotlight, the most important part, nutrition. After all, you can exercise and rest all day, but if you're not getting proper nutrition, then your goals will never be reached.

There are tons of healthy foods out there, but what we've done is profile the ones that are essential for building the most muscle.

In no particular order, they are:

1. Eggs

Containing the highest value of protein of any food, eggs are the perfect muscle-building food (that means eating the yolk, too). Eggs have unfairly received a bad image the past few years. Eating eggs everyday will not put you at risk for heart disease. Eggs are full of both vitamins (B6, D, E) and minerals (iron, zinc, riboflavin).

2. Yogurt

Yogurt has an ideal amount of protein and carbohydrates used for both muscle growth and exercise recovery. You can't just eat any yogurt, though. The best is regular yogurt with fruit (not sugar free). Yogurt also contains CLA - conjugated linoleic acid. What's that? It's a type of fat that reduces overall body fat.

3. Salmon

Why salmon? Because it contains high-quality protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 improves your workout recovery. Salmon also reduces your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

4. Water

This should be a no-brainer. Your body is made up of mostly water. Muscle itself is 80% water. You should drink water throughout the day, on both workout and non-workout days. The more dehydrated you are, the slower your body uses protein to build muscle. To see how "dry" you are, weigh yourself before and after your workout. Then drink 24 ounces of water for every pound you lost.

(See Part 2)