The three stages of the diet are determined by the stages of training, since the athlete needs to work on all muscle qualities, as well as work on the level of subcutaneous fat, since the aesthetic component depends not only on the size of the muscles, but also on how prominent the muscles are. The stages of training should not be mixed, since gaining muscle mass and increasing strength requires a calorie surplus, and reducing the level of subcutaneous fat requires a deficit calorie balance. The fact is that hypertrophy of muscle fibers is an anabolic process of synthesis of organic tissues, and reduction of body fat is a catabolic process of destruction of organic tissues of the body.
Despite the fact that anabolism occurs during the accumulation of muscle mass and the development of strength indicators, nevertheless, the bodybuilder’s diet in these two stages is different. The differences are due to the different goals of the training programs! If, while gaining muscle mass, the athlete trains energy supply through glycolysis, developing muscle volume, then while working on strength indicators, the athlete trains the body’s ability to provide energy to the muscles due to the breakdown of creatine phosphate. As a result, during mass gain, myofibrils are more damaged, and the synthesis of organic tissue occurs more intensely, so the athlete needs more protein. When training muscle strength, there is a need for more energy, so priority in nutrition is given to carbohydrates.
Nutrition has a direct impact on metabolism in the human body. Metabolism depends on how much food a person consumes and what kind of food. The general physical and psychological state of the person himself, the level of necessary substances in the body, as well as the level of intelligence depend on this. Equally important is the choice of nutrition in bodybuilding, since it is necessary to build muscle mass, and for this you need nutrients, and in sufficient quantities. Therefore, there is no way to make a mistake in nutrition, otherwise you may not see the results of everyday training.
An incorrect approach to nutrition can negatively affect the results of training, and simply put, all the work will be in vain. This issue must be seriously addressed at the initial stage of bodybuilding. For this purpose, detailed nutritional plans have been developed that take into account the specifics of this sport: building muscle volume. This proposed plan is free of the pitfalls that are common for beginning athletes. At the same time, novice bodybuilders often ask questions to which there are already ready-made answers, since bodybuilding has existed for a long time, although it has its own specifics.
The usual eating plan that most people use, which is breakfast, lunch and dinner, is not suitable for bodybuilders. Since the breaks between meals are quite long, athletes have time to get very hungry during this time, since their metabolic processes go through much faster. The feeling of hunger forces the athlete’s body to feed on energy reserves that are always in the athlete’s body.
At these moments, the body begins to secrete the hormone cortisol, which begins to burn muscles, in conditions of decreasing energy potential of the body.
In addition, he begins to burn carbohydrates stored in the liver and muscles, and this cannot be allowed, since muscle mass is lost, which the athlete is trying to build up in training. Glycogen levels also decrease, which is an indicator of readiness for the next workout. The higher the level of glycogen in the liver and muscles, the greater the athlete's endurance and the greater his performance. In this case, the athlete needs to eat about 6 times a day, but in smaller portions. By reducing the time between meals, the athlete's body is constantly fed with glucose, which comes from the intestines. At the same time, the body does not touch glucose reserves and does not produce cortisol. But this is just one advantage of this approach to nutrition for athletes.
Eating according to this scheme speeds up the metabolic process, which also leads to accelerated muscle growth. There is another very important advantage of frequent meals: amino acids constantly nourish muscles, ensuring their growth. The constant presence of amino acids in the blood makes the athlete’s body more resistant to various negative external factors. Naturally, stable immunity contributes to more effective and high-quality training.
What is proper nutrition for gaining muscle mass?
The concept of “proper nutrition” for an athlete means eating exclusively those foods that contribute to the growth of muscle tissue. But it is better to exclude other foods that have little benefit from the diet. These products include carbonated drinks, sweet foods, baked goods, as well as unhealthy, fatty and fried foods. Proper nutrition usually means nutrition from natural ingredients. Bodybuilders mainly eat food from markets, where they purchase fresh meat, fish, herbs, vegetables and fruits.
Food purchased at markets is truly healthy, since it has not been subjected to special treatments that deprive the food of vitamins and microelements. In addition, they do not fry foods, but steam them, grill them, etc., without adding animal fats.
Of course, you can visit McDonald's, but it is not advisable to eat food prepared there, especially if you are overweight. For lean athletes, you can replace one meal at McDonald's out of six possible. If you eat a couple of hamburgers, you can replenish your body with 25 g of protein and 66 g of carbohydrates. The indicator is not bad, but it is better to avoid eating fried potatoes, cocktails, ice cream and pies, since apart from harm, this will not bring anything good.
How much protein should you consume per day?
Protein is the building blocks without which it is impossible to build muscle. Many people think that protein accelerates muscle growth. Hormones such as testosterone, growth hormone and insulin are responsible for building muscle mass. But this is provided that there is a sufficient amount of protein in the body. If the body feels a lack of it, then muscle building will stop. Protein is taken at 2 grams per kilogram of the athlete’s weight. Gradually, the norm can be raised to 2.5 grams. If you weigh about 90 kg, you need to consume about 200 grams of protein per day, if not more. It is better to distribute this amount over 6 meals.
Which protein is better?
Many athletes use whey protein because it is absorbed faster by the body. Whey protein also contains leucine, isoleucine and valine, which are considered the main components that ensure the necessary growth of muscle tissue. Take this product half an hour before training, as well as after it.
What are “good” fats?
Fats are considered the main source of energy for the human body, so you should not be afraid of them. One gram of fat contains up to 9 calories, which is twice as much as carbohydrates. It is generally accepted, especially recently, that good fats are vegetable fats, and bad fats are animal fats. In fact, this is not so, since a person also needs animal fats, since they serve as a source for the secretion of testosterone and other equally important hormones.
As a rule, vegetarians have low muscle tone and low sexual activity. This is due to a lack of testosterone in their body, associated with the exclusion of food of animal origin from the diet. Basically, fats do not cause harm to the human body if a person consumes them in moderation. For normal growth of a bodybuilder’s useful mass, he needs to consume food of both plant and animal origin. In addition, he needs to consume fish oil containing Omega 3 fatty acids, but not more than 30% of the total daily diet.
What should you eat before training?
Bodybuilding requires a mandatory meal before training. About 1.5-2 hours before it starts, you just need to eat. You can eat chicken, beef or fish with boiled potatoes, rice or oatmeal. Half an hour before training, drink a cocktail containing whey protein (20 g) and carbohydrates (40 g). This approach to nutrition will allow you to train more effectively and increase muscle size.
What should you eat after training?
It is equally important, after training, to immediately drink a cocktail of 20-40 g of whey protein and 40-100 g of carbohydrates. Such a cocktail is called a gainer. In about half an hour, the body will need carbohydrates, which are absorbed quite quickly. This could be white bread or mashed potatoes. Moreover, you should not delay taking proteins and carbohydrates, since their absence will provoke the secretion of cortisol, which is not at all desirable.
Is it necessary to drink water and how much?
Since the human body mainly consists of water, without it no processes take place in the body, including muscle growth, since building them also requires fluid. Often, dehydration of the body is hidden. To find out, you need to drink 3 cups of water and monitor your condition. If everything is in order, then in half an hour you will have to go to the toilet. Otherwise, you should think about it, since the absence of the urge to go to the toilet indicates the presence of a disease. 3.5 liters of fluid per day for a bodybuilder is the norm.
As a rule, liquid allows you to flush out toxins from the body in a timely manner, as well as nourish muscle tissue. When an athlete feels thirsty, it must be quenched in abundance. If you drink 1 glass and the feeling of thirst disappears, then it is better to drink 2 glasses next time.
Is it possible to break the sports diet?
People who are on a diet always want to try something tasty, such as ice cream, pizza or sweet cake. There will be no problems if the athlete has a thin physique. For such athletes, once a week it is permissible to violate the proper nutrition regimen. If an athlete already struggles with his excess weight every day, then he is allowed to break the regime only once a day. In other words, out of 6 meals, one meal may be unhealthy, but the remaining 5 should consist exclusively of healthy foods. At the same time, you need to try to eat less in order to invest in your daily calorie intake.
Proper nutrition for a bodybuilder and strength training are two main components of an athlete’s muscle growth.
When it comes to proper sports nutrition, there is no need to complicate things.
But what does it mean for a bodybuilder to eat right? Are there mountains of meat? Spending thousands of rubles on all sorts of miraculous nutritional supplements?
These and other questions will be answered by two “star” professionals Milos Sarcev and Vicky Gates.
They have been conducting personal training for bodybuilding enthusiasts for a long time and know in advance all the “bottlenecks” of your sports nutrition.
Proper nutrition for a bodybuilder
Protein is the head of everything
Excessive protein intake does not stimulate muscle growth. If you decide to eat more protein than usual, your muscles are unlikely to gain volume. But protein deficiency will stop growth, that’s for sure! In short, proper nutrition for a bodybuilder is as needed, but no more. But just what is this need? Nutritionists have their own opinion on this matter, bodybuilders have their own.
For those athletes who are tuned in to proper nutrition professional bodybuilder Milos Sarcev advises beginners to eat 2 g of protein per kilogram of body weight. But then you need to experiment.
Heavy training increases the need for protein. Someone who trains 6 times a week needs more protein than someone who trains 5 days. Age, training experience and side stress make their own adjustments.
In any case, if your muscle growth has stopped, do not rush to change the program. Perhaps you simply do not have enough protein in the same amount. Try to raise your norm to 4-6 g per kilogram of body weight.
The current Miss International, Vikki Gates, agrees with Milos: “I’ve been on a high-protein diet for four years now and during this time I’ve built up some pretty good muscle mass.”
Weighing 68 kg, she consumes 225 grams of protein per day; However, on those days when she does not train, this figure drops to 150 grams. Like Milosz, Vicky trains both beginner bodybuilders and representatives of other sports who want to strengthen their “muscle frame”.
According to her, many beginners make a common mistake. They knock back a couple of large protein shakes and think that's enough. “The whole thing is that protein should enter the body 5-6 times a day,” says Vicky.
Bodybuilding nutrition - what medicine thinks
Well, doctors really are sure that our body has a one-time limit for protein absorption equal to 30 g. Where did this opinion come from? It seems that enzymes play an active role in the absorption of protein.
Their supply in the body is extremely small, but without enzymes, protein for the body is waste, an extra burden on the kidneys. However, if you follow this logic, Milos Sarcev, with his usual weight of 130 kg, should be in a state of acute protein deficiency. He eats protein 5 times a day.
Multiply the numbers, and you get the impression that Milos is not even meeting the modest medical intake requirement of 1.2-1.5 g of protein per kilogram of body weight. (The norm that doctors consider mandatory for health.)
There is no reason to dispute the results of scientific experiments, but apparently, with years of training, bodybuilders are able to push the boundaries of average protein absorption.
In any case, beginners should listen to the point of view of medicine and take proteins in small portions for 30-45 years. It turns out that, taking into account the “safety net”, a bodybuilder weighing 80 kg will eat about 250 g of protein per day. The protein intake will have to be divided into 6 servings.
If you look into nutritional reference books, you will see that it is simply impossible to get this amount of protein from natural protein sources like eggs or beef. How to be? This is where protein powders come in handy - they have no fat, are easy to digest, and with their help you can not only “gain” the required amount of protein, but also save a fair amount.
Nutrition is a regulator of metabolism in the body. The mental and physical tone of the body, hormonal levels and, surprisingly, the level of intelligence depend on what and how much you eat. When doing bodybuilding, proper nutrition is of great importance, since it is the foods that will help in building muscle mass. An incorrect diet will be quite expensive: all your work in the gym will go down the drain.
Whether a beginner or an experienced professional, obeys 10 simple rules. It is important to follow them all, otherwise you may not only not achieve the desired results, but also harm yours. It is proper nutrition that will allow you to compensate for heavy training loads.
1. Don't eat before bed
There is a myth in bodybuilding that eating late is very beneficial. Like, the more densely you eat before bed, the better. At first glance, this opinion is quite logical, because metabolic processes continue even when you sleep. The peak of these processes occurs at 4 am. Therefore, many believe that it is quite a big risk to leave your stomach empty by this time. Actually this is not true. The body's need for energy obtained from food becomes critical a little later. Around 7-8 o'clock the body's glycogen reserves in the liver and muscles are depleted, and then you should eat well, focusing on high-calorie foods. It is important to focus specifically on the energy component of nutrition. During breakfast, you need to eat a maximum of foods with increased energy value.
If you do this before going to bed, the rush of energy will disrupt the depth of your sleep and make it restless. The morning will not bring proper vigor; you will feel sleepy and exhausted. In addition, muscle recovery processes will be disrupted, and the layer of subcutaneous fat will become thicker. The reason for this is that at night the blood sugar level is quite stable, the carbohydrates that enter the body do not replenish the glycogen depot, but are converted into fat. It is for this reason that the energy content of dinner in a bodybuilder’s diet should not be more than 25% of the total daily calories.
2. Protein sources should be different
Any bodybuilder should vary protein sources in their diet as much as possible. It is necessary to eat not only meat, but also plant products. This is how you can provide your muscles with all types of amino acids. A bodybuilder should know that protein from pork, beef, fish, poultry, nuts, etc. contains amino acids in a ratio that is not the best for humans. Some amino acids are in excess, others, on the contrary, are not enough. Therefore, if after grueling workouts you gorge yourself on beef, this does not mean at all that you are getting the necessary amino acids and the necessary reinforcement. Do not limit your diet to a certain type of meat, and then the body will receive all the necessary types of amino acids, and the nutrition will become truly healthy.
3. You need to eat on time!
Food consumption should not only be regular, but also occur when the body has the greatest need for nutrients. So, after completing the training complex, you should take at least 50 grams of carbohydrates, since glycogen reserves are depleted at this moment. The body considers this state of affairs extremely dangerous and begins to destroy muscle protein in order to extract from it the components necessary for the synthesis of sugar. Sugar is then used to replenish glycogen reserves. To prevent this, you need to take carbohydrates within half an hour after completing your workout. A similar process occurs in the case of protein. Therefore, within an hour after completing a workout, you need to take at least 20 grams of protein.
Remember that carbohydrate and protein intake loses its value if it occurs at the wrong time.
4. Eat small portions
A bodybuilder should eat at least 4-5 times a day. Each meal is accompanied by a short-term burst of energy, which compensates for the so-called failures of performance that occur with each person at least 2-3 times a day. Eating small portions has a positive effect on the absorption of nutrients, food is digested faster and more efficiently. At the same time, frequent meals in small portions slow down the breakdown of muscle protein!
5. Chew thoroughly
The first stage of the digestion process is the grinding of food in the mouth. At this stage, amylase is released - an enzyme that allows carbohydrates to be absorbed. Also, thoroughly chewing food leads to its grinding, which ensures good digestion. Take your time at the table, chew one piece carefully, up to 20 times. Such simple food consumption will increase the degree of absorption of the same protein by at least 20%. Forget about snacking on the run. You should have time to take a small bite, chew it thoroughly and then swallow it.
6. Cook properly
It is best to use fresh food for cooking, since storing it leads to the breakdown of important microelements and vitamins. The finished dish should be eaten immediately and not stored in the refrigerator for several days.
A bodybuilder should minimize the consumption of meat dishes cooked in a pan with a lot of fat. It is best to cook meat in the microwave or over an open fire.
There are certain rules for cooking vegetables. They should be cooked until slightly softened, no longer. It is necessary to cook vegetables in a small amount of water, without allowing active boiling and evaporation. Vegetables should only be immersed in boiling water. If vegetables change color during cooking, this means that they have lost most of their minerals and vitamins.
7. Drink correctly
Bodybuilders do not need to limit the amount of water they drink, but it is important to subject their water intake to certain rules. Water is an important part of nutrition; it is involved in the metabolism of fat, the absorption of protein, and affects the functioning of the most important organs.
When you come back from training, your body needs food and water at the same time. As a result, you eat and drink at the same time, which leads to the dilution of enzymes and digestive acids to a weak concentration. As a result, digestion worsens. To prevent this from happening, you should drink well 10-15 minutes before eating the main course. During this time, the water will have time to be absorbed and there will be no problems with digestion. The rest of the day, approximately 80-90% of the daily diet should be drunk between meals. And it is best to drink pure water, and not tea, coffee and other drinks. Bodybuilders should generally forget about carbonated drinks, since they neutralize digestive acids.
8. Take vitamins
Our body needs vitamins for good health and development, but it is quite difficult to get the required daily intake of vitamins from food. Microelements and vitamins are very unstable; they are destroyed during storage, transportation, and during cooking. Therefore, you have to take vitamins and microelements in tablets. They should be taken with food. Food stimulates the release of special substances into the digestive tract, which improve the absorption of vitamins and promote their entry into the blood. Taking vitamins on an empty stomach can lead to serious problems.
It is better to divide doses of vitamins, amino acids and microelements into several doses throughout the day. This way they will assimilate better. However, amino acids such as leucine, isoleucine and valine must be taken immediately after training, on their own. Taking these amino acids helps the body quickly replenish glycogen reserves.
9. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables
The fiber in fresh fruits and vegetables has a positive effect on digestion. Diversify your diet with salads, such as fresh cabbage. This is much healthier than stewed or boiled cabbage. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. And don’t think that juice, whether store-bought or freshly squeezed, can replace a natural product.
10. Eat natural foods
Try to give up semi-finished products and store-bought products with a long shelf life. There is little useful in such food, but there are more than enough various additives and flavorings. Cook for yourself, buy food at the market, be especially picky about meat - once frozen meat loses up to 70% of its biological value.
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