Body Building Nutrition

Eat Right. Work Out Right

Whether from television, magazines or online advertising, Americans are bombarded each day with tips on how to lose weight and slim down. Advice on building muscle and healthy weight gain, on the other hand, is not as likely to show up unsolicited in a mailbox. The keys to building muscle are actually the same as for losing weight, proper nutrition and exercise. Only body building nutrition is significantly different from the recommended nutritional guidelines for the overweight or obese individual. Current trends in the American diet would lead the would-be bodybuilder to believe that his or her diet should consist of protein shakes, sports drink and energy bars in order to supply the body with the nutritional building blocks it needs to build muscle. To the contrary, natural, whole foods contain many more of those building blocks than the average "specially formulated" sports drink or energy bar. Bodybuilders buying into the hype might shun red meat in favor of "purified" forms of protein that they perceive as healthier. They may believe red meat contains too much fat, but in reality lean cuts of red meat are comparable in their fat content to that of poultry or fish, and the red meat contains iron, a crucial nutrient for cell respiration (the delivery of oxygen to the cell to keep it working) and zinc, important for repairing muscles. While some processed protein sources are supplemented with these nutrients, the body absorbs them more easily from natural sources. In recent years, carbohydrates have been demonized by the dieting industry, but they too play an important role in body building nutrition. Potatoes, for instance, hailed as the ultimate example of what not to eat according to fad, low-carb diets, contain potassium, essential to cleansing the muscles after exercise to prevent stiffness and soreness. A bodybuilder need not fear carbohydrates which fuel and replenish muscles. The biochemistry of an athletic body differs from that of the average or overweight person allowing the athletic body to use carbohydrates for fuel instead of storing them as fat. Cutting out carbs can actually lead to muscle loss which is why extreme low or no-carb diets are inappropriate for nearly all athletes. In fact, to build a half pound of muscle in a week, in addition to a regular weight training regimen, the bodybuilder needs to eat an additional 250 calories per day above their recommended caloric intake and the largest portion, 45% to 50%, of those calories should come from carbohydrates. 30% should come form protein and around 20% should come from fat. This paints a much more balanced picture of proper bodybuilding nutrition. Creatine has become a popular supplement for body-builders with initial positive results for many, but they should know the facts before investing large amounts of money in it. Creatine cannot be considered a substitute for the consumption of a balanced diet as recommended above. It is a material created naturally in the muscles and how much additional supplementation will help an individual depends on whether that individual was deficient in it to begin with. After seven days of consuming 25 grams per day, only three to five grams are needed each day to maintain a saturated level in the muscles. Consuming more than this after the initial period leads only to a wasted investment. Also, there are no studies of the long-term effects of supplementing creatine. Bodybuilders choosing to include it as part of their body building strategy would do well to consult first with a dietician. One component to body building nutrition that is crucial to health and success is adequate water. The importance of drinking plenty of water (between eight and 12 cups a day) while building muscle cannot be overstressed. Water is essential for so many processes in the body, especially for athletes and body builders. It's responsible for delivering electrolytes to muscles which affect muscle strength and control. A key ingredient in synovial fluid, the lubricating agent between joints, water also plays an important role in protecting joints from injury while carrying out a weight-training routine. As important as sticking to a weight-training regimen when seeking to build lean muscle, is feeding the body with the proper nutrition it needs to perform at the level being asked of it. Supplementing and turning to hyped energy and protein products to take the place of a balanced diet containing a variety of whole foods is inviting trouble and potential road blocks in the path to the body that the builder seeks to achieve.