Category: Bodybuilding Articles

A Simple Guide On Bodybuilding Nutrition

A Simple Guide On Bodybuilding Nutrition

A Simple Guide On Bodybuilding Nutrition

Nutrition is a very important aspect in bodybuilding because it is responsible for the overall condition of the body. Nutrition is acquired from the food that a person eats. A healthy diet is composed of foods which have the essential nutrients for the body to function properly. A combination of fruits, vegetables, meat, and carbohydrates will give the body enough energy for a day as well as maintaining the body’s fitness. In bodybuilding, there are 3 essential components of nutrition. These are protein, carbohydrates, and fat.

Protein

        Protein is responsible for mass gain and muscle growth. Typically, bodybuilders consume large amounts of protein rich food each day. Amounts can come between 300-500 grams of protein daily. Protein intake should be at least 1.5-2 grams per pound of weight. For starters, at least 25 grams of protein per meal should be taken.

Carbohydrates

        Carbohydrates are responsible for giving the body its fuel source. Carbohydrates are burned in order to perform daily activities. Bodybuilders do not consume a lot of carbohydrates because bodybuilding activities focus on intensity rather than movement. It is important though, to consume adequate amounts of carbohydrates in order to complete a workout session for the day. Recommended carbohydrate intake is calculated as 1-1.5 grams per pound of weight.

Fat

Generally, bodybuilders do not consume fatty foods since this type of food is simply stored by the body. However, the body needs fat in order to function properly. As a result, bodybuilders only consume the essential fats needed by the body and opt to eat protein rich food. The amount of essential fat to be consumed each day is at a ratio of 15ml of fat per 25kg of body weight.

A Balanced Diet

        All it takes to start bodybuilding is a balanced diet. A balanced diet will place the body in its peak physical condition. Overweight people will find themselves losing weight while underweight people will find themselves gaining weight. Once the peak condition is achieved, the person can start bodybuilding. A ratio of 40:40:20 for these 3 components is perfect for amateur bodybuilders. This ratio will ensure that muscle growth is achieved and fat is not stored. This ratio will also ensure that the bodybuilder will have adequate amounts of energy throughout the day. Meal times should be spaced at least 6 hours apart to promote digestion and absorption of the nutrients.

Creating An Anabolic State For Maximum Muscle

Creating an anabolic state for maximum muscle

Creating An Anabolic State For Maximum Muscle

You can only build muscle if your body is in the correct anabolic balance to allow growth to take place. Intensive exercise is clearly an important part of the muscle building process but achieving the maximum muscle mass depends on putting the building blocks in place. This is achieved through sound nutritional practices so you need to be aware of the following anabolic enhancing principles:

1. Protein is the basic raw material needed to build muscle. Protein supplies the amino acids that the body uses to repair and build muscle following intensive exercise. Aim to consume 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day from food like beef, fish, poultry, eggs, milk and whey. Spread the load over at least six meals to derive the optimum benefit and avoid overloading the liver.

2. Carbohydrates are needed to energize the muscle building process. Carbohydrates stimulate the release of insulin which pushes the amino acids into muscle cells to begin the process of repair. The body uses carbohydrates as a source of energy – consume too little and the body will steal protein that would otherwise be used for repairing and building muscle. Aim to consume 1.5 to 2 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight each day from foods like potatoes, pasta, rice, vegetables and whole wheat bread.

3. Boost your calories. Unless your main aim is to reduce fat you need a positive caloric balance if you want to build muscle. Make sure that your daily calorie intake is 10% higher than your energy expenditure for daily maintenance and that the calories are acquired from a diet characterized by a ratio of 50% carbohydrates, 40% proteins and 10% fat.

4. Get plenty of rest both in terms of adequate rest days between training sessions and sufficient sleep. Your muscles won’t grow if you don’t build adequate recovery time into your training program. Similarly, you can only optimize your body’s levels of testosterone and growth hormone if you spend enough time sleeping.

5. Consume quality supplements to support a sound nutritious diet. For most people it should be enough to add whey protein, creatine and l-glutamine to your daily diet.

6. Don’t overdo the aerobic exercise. Your aim is to increase muscle mass therefore you don’t want to burn excessive calories that could be utilized for bulking up.

7. Drink plenty of water. Failure to drink sufficient quantities of water will lead to dehydration and adversely affect your muscle mass. Don’t forget that muscle is 70% water so a generous intake will maintain muscle volume and help growth.

8 Proven Strategies for Maximum Muscle Gains

 There is so much conflicting information out there when it comes to the topic of building muscle, and sometimes it can be very difficult to know where to start. If you’re an average beginner looking for some basic guidelines to follow in the gym, the following 8 points will start you off on the right track.

1. Train With Weights and Focus On Compound, Free Weight Movements

If you want to make solid, noteworthy gains in muscle size and strength, you absolutely must train with free weights and focus on basic, compound exercises. A compound exercise is any lift that stimulates more than one muscle group at a time. Examples of these lifts are the squat, deadlift, bench press, chin up, barbell row, overhead press, dip and lunge. Compound movements allow you to handle the most weight and will stimulate the greatest amount of total muscle fibers.

2. Be Prepared To Train Hard

One of the biggest factors that separates those who make modest gains from those who make serious gains is their level of training intensity. In order to stimulate your muscle fibers to their utmost potential, you must be willing to take every set you perform in the gym to the point of muscular fatigue and/or failure.

Muscular Failure: The point at which no further repetitions can be completed using proper form.

Sub-maximal training intensity will leave you with sub-maximal results, plain and simple.

3. Track Your Progress In The Gym From Week To Week

Our bodies build muscle because of an adaptive response to the environment. When you go to the gym, you break down your muscle fibers by training with weights. Your body senses this as a potential threat to its survival and will react accordingly by rebuilding the damaged fibers larger and stronger in order to protect against any possible future threat. Therefore, in order to make continual gains in muscle size and strength, you must always focus on progressing in the gym from week to week. This could mean performing 1 or 2 more reps for each exercise or adding more weight to the bar. Keep a detailed training log to track your progress as your strength increases over time.

4. Avoid Overtraining

Overtraining is your number one enemy when it comes to building muscle size and strength. When most people begin a workout program, they are stuck with the misguided notion that more is better. They naturally assume that the more time they spend in the gym, the better results they will achieve. When it comes to building muscle, nothing could be farther from the truth! If you spend too much time in the gym, you will actually take yourself farther away from your goals rather than closer to them. Remember, your muscles do not grow in the gym; they grow out of the gym, while you are resting and eating. Recovery is absolutely vital to the muscle growth process. If you don’t provide your body with the proper recovery time in between workouts, your muscles will never have a chance to grow.

5. Eat More Frequently

The main area where most people fail miserably on their muscle-building mission is on the all-too important task of proper nutrition. Training with weights is only half of the equation! You break down your muscle fibers in the gym, but if you don’t provide your body with the proper nutrients at the proper times, the muscle growth process will be next to impossible. You should be eating anywhere from 5-7 meals per day, spaced every 2-3 hours in order to keep your body in an anabolic, muscle-building state at all times. Each meal should consist of high quality protein and complex carbohydrates.

6. Increase Your Protein Intake

Of the 3 major nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) protein is without a doubt the most important for those who are looking to gain muscle size and strength. Protein is found in literally every single one of the 30 trillion cells that your body is made up of and its main role is to build and repair body tissues. Without sufficient protein intake, it will be physically impossible for your body to synthesize a significant amount of lean muscle mass. If your body were a house, think of protein as the bricks. A general guideline is to consume 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day from high quality sources such as fish, poultry, eggs, beef, milk, peanut butter and cottage cheese.

7. Increase Your Water Intake

If you want a simple, easy and highly effective way to maximize your muscle gains, drinking more water is it. Water plays so many vital roles in the body and its importance cannot be overstated. In fact, your muscles alone are made up of 70% water! Not only will drinking more water cause your muscles to appear fuller and more vascular, but it will also increase your strength as well. Research has shown that merely a 3-4% drop in your body’s water levels can impact muscle contractions by 10-20%! Aim to consume 0.6 ounces for every pound of bodyweight each day for optimal gains.

8. Be Consistent!

Consistency is everything. Those who make the greatest gains in muscular size and strength are the ones who are able to implement the proper techniques on a highly consistent basis. Simply knowing is not enough, you must apply!

Building muscle is a result of the cumulative effect of small steps. Sure, performing 1 extra rep on your bench press will not make a huge difference to your overall results, and neither will consuming a single meal. However, over the long haul, all of those extra reps you perform and all of those small meals you consume will decide your overall success. If you work hard and complete all of your muscle-building tasks in a consistent fashion, all of those individual steps will equate to massive gains in overall size and strength.