Diet in bodybuilding

Posted on: 08/28/2013

Most people think of bodybuilding as lifting weights to get big arms, but there's much more to our discipline than that. In fact, the regular bludgeoning we impose on our muscles is not enough if we want to optimize our efforts in the gym.

other factors just as important as training need to be taken into account, such as diet and recovery.

Any self-respecting bodybuilder knows that diet is just as important a factor in achieving his or her goals as a well-thought-out training program!

Without the right proportions of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids, results will not be optimized.

Of course, the quantities of each of these nutrients will be assessed according to individual goals and needs. The body builder will take care to provide quality nutrients throughout the day (every three hours or so) to keep the body in the muscle-building phase (anabolism).

the importance of protein

The most important nutrient for a body builder is protein. Without a sufficient intake of protein, muscle building cannot take place.

The body consumes protein at every moment to function, and if the intake is not sufficient, it draws it from the muscle. Load training also destroys muscle by causing micro-lesions in muscle fibers.

To repair the micro-lesions caused by training, or to avoid degrading the muscle in order to function (catabolism), the body needs to be supplied with protein on a regular basis.

To build muscle and be anabolic, you need 20 to 40g of protein every three hours or so. An intake of more than 40g is useless, as the body cannot assimilate more. An average protein intake of 2.2g per kilo of body weight is considered ideal for muscle building.

Protein requirements vary according to the time of day. The choice of protein should be geared to these periods (when getting up, before and after training, or at bedtime).

Whether you're building muscle or building lean muscle, your protein intake will remain the same!

Adequate protein intake helps to build or spare muscle, but it's not enough. In fact, other nutrients that the body builder will be paying attention to in his diet are carbohydrates. Carbohydrates provide the body's fuel and enable us to carry out our daily activities, including training.

The right nutrition

Depending on the phase the body builder is in (gaining mass, maintaining muscle or drying out), carbohydrate requirements will differ. In the drying phase, the body builder will create a carbohydrate deficit so that the body draws energy from body fat reserves. In the maintenance phase, carbohydrate requirements will be balanced against body expenditure. And in the mass gain phase, a higher intake than the body needs will be necessary to support heavy training (which consumes a lot of energy) and prevent the body from drawing this excess requirement from muscle proteins.

The choice of simple or complex carbohydrates depends on the time of day. Simple carbohydrates should be preferred, for example, during and after training. Muscles need carbohydrates that are rapidly available to support training or to replenish stocks following training. For the rest of the day, the body builder will prefer complex carbohydrates, which provide longer-term energy.

the importance of breakfast

Avoid catabolism

There is one exception, however. Breakfast is a crucial moment. Having received no nutrients during the night, the body has to draw on all available reserves in order to function. This overnight fast has created significant needs in protein, simple and complex carbohydrates, so it's necessary to rapidly halt muscle destruction and replenish glycogen stocks (muscle fuel).

the importance of lipids

Lipids are the third nutrient to be taken into account by the body builder in his diet. Lipids or fats are just as important as carbohydrates and proteins. There are different lipids (good and bad), but I won't go into detail here. Even if their intake is limited because of their high calorie content, lipids play a very important role in the body's proper functioning. Lipids enable certain organs to fulfill their role and function properly. The brain, for example, needs lipids to function properly.

An important factor to consider for a body builder is that certain hormones produced by the body are synthesized from lipids, and when we know the important role of anabolic hormones in muscle production or fat melting.

That's why lipids need to be included in a body builder's diet, even if in limited quantities.

A body builder's diet must include protein, carbohydrates and lipids. Depending on the phase in which he finds himself, the body builder will be careful to maintain a constant intake of proteins, and will adjust the quantities of carbohydrates and lipids without ever completely eliminating the latter. Lipids play too important a role in hormone production for the body builder to do without them!

Food supplements

To optimize the work done in the gym, it can be very useful to take food supplements such as creatine, bcaa and other boosters.

Conclusion

If you don't want your efforts in the gym to be in vain, and you want to gain quality muscle, it's important to consider diet as an essential element and adapt it to best suit your needs and objectives. This is what enables the body builder to achieve his goals: the right diet.