Most people desire to build a strong and impressive physique. Having a well-built and strong body doesn’t come easy, but most of us are proud of the outcome of hard work and discipline in the end. Bodybuilding has long been attributed to weight lifting and adopting strenuous workout programs.
However, bodybuilding is centered around weightlifting and nutrition to help one build body muscle. Bodybuilding focuses on taking a good diet and exercise routine to keep the body lean and strong. As such, a proper diet is crucial to maximizing the results of a bodybuilding campaign.
Basics Of Bodybuilding
The goal of any bodybuilding campaign is to develop and maintain a balanced, muscular, and lean physique. For most people, bodybuilding starts with a bulking and cutting stage. The bulking phase may take a couple of months or years, and involves bodybuilders taking in high-calories diets that are rich in protein.
During this stage, they go through an intense period of weightlifting to build muscle. The cutting stage then focuses on shedding off the fat that accumulated during the bulking stage. During this stage, bodybuilders adopt exercises that also help maintain the muscle mass that was developed in the bulking stage. This stage involves a significant change in diet and workout routine for up to 26 weeks.
Need For Calories And Macronutrients
The goal for bodybuilding is to build up muscle mass during the bulking stage and lose weight and fat during the cutting phase. As such, this calls for the consumption of more calories in the bulking stage than the cutting stage. Calorie needs differ among bodybuilders, and the best way to determine the calorie needs for your body is weighing yourself severally in a week.
This way, you can record your weight and the foods you eat using a smart device with the ability of calorie tracking.
Bodybuilders are encouraged to increase their calorie intake during the bulking stage by 15%. This helps build more muscle and weight as one prepares to enter the cutting stage. During the transition to the cutting stage, calorie intake should decrease by 15% based on your average calorie intake.
This calorie adjustment is essential for weight gaining and weight loss during the two stages of bodybuilding. Adjusting the calorie intake also helps regulate the weight that is lost by a bodybuilder per week and brings about the required balance.
Macronutrient Needs And Ratios
Once a bodybuilder establishes his/her calorie intake, they can determine their macronutrient ratio. This macronutrient ratio is described as the ratio between protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake. Unlike the changes in the calorie intake during the two phases, the ratio of macronutrient for a bodybuilder should not change.
Fats contain a high amount of calories, with nine per gram while proteins and carbohydrates both contain four calories per gram. As such, bodybuilders are advised to source their calories as follows:
· 30-35% from proteins
· 55-60% from carbohydrates
· 15-20% from fats
Essential Foods To Eat For Bodybuilders
As earlier mention,
Here are foods that bodybuilders should eat regularly for the nourishment of their muscles:
Poultry, meats, and fish: These are rich sources of protein and therefore supply the required macronutrients required by the muscles. Ground beef, venison, tilapia, proper dieting is pivotal to the success of a bodybuilding campaign. Taking in the right diet is essential as it provides your muscles with the required nutrients. These nutrients help muscles recover from the strain caused during workouts, ensuring that they remain strong and big. On the other hand, eating the wrong foods will have detrimental effects on a bodybuilder’s goals.chicken breast, and cod are all essential foods to eat.
· Dairy products: These are also essential foods that are rich in protein. They include cottage cheese, yogurt, and low-fat milk.
· Fruits: these are essential suppliers of vitamins in the body. Fruits such as oranges, apples, bananas, peaches, berries, and watermelon are all beneficial to bodybuilders.
· Grains: Foods such as bread, crackers, cereal, popcorn, oatmeal, and rice are essential sources of carbs which are good for bodybuilders.
· Vegetables: Sources of vitamins and essential minerals include broccoli, leafy greens, tomatoes, cucumber, spinach, asparagus, and mushrooms should be included in the daily diet of bodybuilders.
· Beans and Legumes: These are also essential for the supply of protein in the body. Foods such as kidney beans, chickpeas, pinto beans, black beans should be included in a bodybuilder’s daily diet.
· Oils: These can be sourced from avocado oil, olive oil, and flaxseed oil.
For the desired results, bodybuilders should avoid alcohol as it interferes with the muscle-building process and the ability of the body to lose fat. Added sugars should also be avoided as they contain many calories but fewer nutrients.
Therefore, foods such as cookies, candy, ice cream, and sweetened drinks should be avoided. Deep-fired foods such as french fries, chicken strips, and fried fish should be avoided as regular intake may cause inflammation.
Bodybuilding involves proper dieting and the adoption of a viable workout routine. It involves the bulking and cutting stage. These stages involve muscle and weight gaining and shedding off the excess fat in the body, respectively, to maintain a well-balanced and lean body.
Bodybuilders should eat the recommended foods to regulate calorie and macronutrient intake.
Foods such as sugars, alcohol, and deep-fried foods should be avoided as they may interfere with the process of losing fat, especially during the cutting stage.
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