As I have already stated in previous posts, intense training must be combined with proper nutrition and adequate rest for achieving good results in bodybuilding. Nutrition is especially important (some people say it constitutes the 80% of bodybuilding success), since it supplies the foundations for building muscle and helps to maximize your recovery. This post provides the basic nutritional guidelines that must be respected for gaining lean body mass (i.e. building muscle).
For building mass you must eat more calories than you burn. Try adding 500 calories to your maintenance daily caloric intake. This value depends on your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the amount of calories you burn in a day just to survive, and the amount of calories you burn due to your activity level. Check these calculators (ISSA, ExRx.net) for determining your BMR and your maintenance daily caloric intake.
You must distribute your total ingestion of calories through several small meals throughout the day (every 2.5-3 hours). Eating in this way allows maintaining a positive nitrogen balance, which is the physiological state in which muscular growth is possible. Use protein supplements in the form of a meal replacement or protein shake if you need help for eating so frequently.
All your meals must have an adequate nutrients balance. A rule of thumb for this can be: 55% calories from carbohydrates, 30% from protein and 15% from fat. You must consume enough protein (1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day), since it is the macronutrient used to build muscle. Look for sources of lean protein (i.e. low fat sources), such as skinless chicken, turkey, fish, skim milk, egg whites or lean meat. Consume also plenty of quality carbohydrates. Focus on starches (e.g. cereals, pasta, potatoes, rice) but also on fibrous carbohydrates (e.g. salads and vegetables), since fiber is very important in the digestion process and eliminating toxins from the body. Don’t eliminate fat from your diet. Avoid saturated fats that raise bad (LDL) cholesterol and focus on polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (Essential Fatty Acids) found in fish and in certain oils (flaxseed, olive).
Next to that you also need your daily requirements of vitamins, minerals and water. Water is very important in many physiological processes. You should drink on average 3 or 4 liters of water per day. In addition, you should avoid alcohol, or at least control your alcohol intake. Alcohol supplies you empty calories with absolutely no nutritional value and hurts muscle growth by lowering protein synthesis by 20%. A final advice is not to substitute a balanced diet with supplements. Supplements are only effective as a complement to proper training and nutrition.
To conclude, you can go deeper in the basics of bodybuilding nutrition in the article “The Top 25 Ways to Pack on Serious Mass” by Anthony Ricciuto, in the article “Gaining Weight for the Bodybuilder” by Matt Danielsson and in the article “Anabolic Nutrition” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.
For building mass you must eat more calories than you burn. Try adding 500 calories to your maintenance daily caloric intake. This value depends on your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the amount of calories you burn in a day just to survive, and the amount of calories you burn due to your activity level. Check these calculators (ISSA, ExRx.net) for determining your BMR and your maintenance daily caloric intake.
You must distribute your total ingestion of calories through several small meals throughout the day (every 2.5-3 hours). Eating in this way allows maintaining a positive nitrogen balance, which is the physiological state in which muscular growth is possible. Use protein supplements in the form of a meal replacement or protein shake if you need help for eating so frequently.
All your meals must have an adequate nutrients balance. A rule of thumb for this can be: 55% calories from carbohydrates, 30% from protein and 15% from fat. You must consume enough protein (1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day), since it is the macronutrient used to build muscle. Look for sources of lean protein (i.e. low fat sources), such as skinless chicken, turkey, fish, skim milk, egg whites or lean meat. Consume also plenty of quality carbohydrates. Focus on starches (e.g. cereals, pasta, potatoes, rice) but also on fibrous carbohydrates (e.g. salads and vegetables), since fiber is very important in the digestion process and eliminating toxins from the body. Don’t eliminate fat from your diet. Avoid saturated fats that raise bad (LDL) cholesterol and focus on polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (Essential Fatty Acids) found in fish and in certain oils (flaxseed, olive).
Next to that you also need your daily requirements of vitamins, minerals and water. Water is very important in many physiological processes. You should drink on average 3 or 4 liters of water per day. In addition, you should avoid alcohol, or at least control your alcohol intake. Alcohol supplies you empty calories with absolutely no nutritional value and hurts muscle growth by lowering protein synthesis by 20%. A final advice is not to substitute a balanced diet with supplements. Supplements are only effective as a complement to proper training and nutrition.
To conclude, you can go deeper in the basics of bodybuilding nutrition in the article “The Top 25 Ways to Pack on Serious Mass” by Anthony Ricciuto, in the article “Gaining Weight for the Bodybuilder” by Matt Danielsson and in the article “Anabolic Nutrition” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.
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2 comments:
That`s one nice guideline.In my opinion one should know the theory and then apply a little imagination and creativity in choosing the right nutrition.
You're right. Knowledge is the key for building muscle. By the way, very interesting your blog about dating ;-)
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