If you regularly hit the gym in order to build muscle, you will no doubt be constantly on the look out for good sources of protein. It’s an endless, ongoing battle to find a good quality protein source with every small meal and if you follow popular advice, you’re looking at doing this six times a day. No doubt you’ll have come across the protein sources listed below, but they serve as a good reminder that they really are the best sources of protein available.

Chicken Breasts. Chicken is arguably the most popular source of protein available. It’s tasty, versatile and absolutely heaving with good quality protein. An average chicken breast will offer you a very generous 30g of protein and the cherry on the top – they hardly have any fat. The only downside to chicken is that it can get quite expensive, especially if you insist on free range (like you should).

Tuna. Tinned Tuna flakes and tuna steaks are another perfect source of high quality protein. It does have its downsides though – tuna flakes can be a little on the boring side, even when mixed with mayonnaise and tuna steaks are more expensive than chicken. Nevertheless, if you manage to get more tuna in your life, you’ll be better for it.

Salmon. Salmon is a very healthy and great tasting source of protein with the average salmon steak coming in at about 24g. It’s extremely versatile and is especially nice with various sauces, seasonal vegetables and new potatoes. Crucially, it’s not as expensive as tuna steak and you can probably pick up two salmon steaks cheaper than two chicken breasts.

Protein shakes. Anyone who visits the gym on a more than casual basis has probably began using protein shakes and for good reason. Protein shakes are manufactured to reflect your goals and can provide as little or as much protein, carbohydrates, sugar and nutrients as you need to support your goals. If you can’t get your protein from real food, protein supplements are the next best thing and offer the ultimate convenient, fast food.

Cottage cheese. Some people despise cottage cheese and it’s not hard to see why. Plain, low fat cottage cheese with no flavouring isn’t nice, despite its generous 12g of protein per serving. However, if you shop around you will find some brands of cottage cheese with added pineapple, chives or other flavours, which are remarkably palatable.

By including plenty of fresh fish and lean poultry in your diet, you will more than likely hit the required amount of protein you need to pack on muscle. Protein shakes will help when you need some fast, convenient meal replacements and foods like cottage cheese are the perfect snack.

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