Nutrition For muscle gain
As you probably know, the practice of bodybuilding is governed by three important parameters: training, rest and nutrition. Each one has its own importance to obtain a good muscle gain. However, we notice that a good part of the practitioners are more easily interested in the way they have to carry out their sessions, or execute their exercises, rather than their nutrition. This is a serious mistake.
In addition, among those who take the time to look into it, there are some who prefer to focus on details such as supplementation without having first mastered their diet, the number of calories they ingest and the distribution of their nutrients.
However, to build muscle, you need to look at your diet in a global way and start with the most important things before fine-tuning the details. This article will help you set up the basics of proper nutrition to achieve your muscle building goal.
The main lines for muscle gain
Before going into more detail, it is important to define the main ideas that will shape your diet. These ideas, if you follow them, will already allow you to adopt a diet that is much more effective in building muscle. It will be healthier, will make you gain less fat and more muscle.
MULTIPLY YOUR MEALS
This is not an obligation because what is important is to eat according to your needs during the day. However, since this may require you to eat a lot, it is often easier to divide your caloric intake into many meals. Some exercisers eat 3 main meals with 3 additional snack.
MAKE AN EFFORT ON PROTEINS
Your muscles are built from amino acids derived from protein. It is obvious that if you don't give them enough, it will slow down your progress. A base of 2 g of protein per kilo of body weight, per day, is a healthy base. This amount can be increased as you gain more muscle.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT FATS
Fats are essential to the human body, so you shouldn't avoid them. In fact, the opposite is true - you should be concerned about them! Approximately one third of your caloric intake should come from fatty acids divided equally between saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Among them, you must ensure a sufficient intake of omega 3 compared to omega 6. You must approach a ratio of 1 g of omega 3 for 2-3 g of omega 6. Indeed, omega 6 are often consumed too much compared to omega 3, whereas the latter fight against inflammations and can improve the sports performances.
SUPPLEMENT WITH LOW GI CARBOHYDRATES
When you have reached the right amount of protein and fat, you should supplement your diet with carbohydrates, giving preference to those with a low Glycemic Index and which will not upset your blood sugar level. This will prevent you from gaining fat unnecessarily and developing diabetes later on.
DON'T FORGET THE VEGETABLES
One of the most common mistakes is to leave out vegetables because they don't provide enough calories. Moreover, it can be an effort to eat them if you already eat a lot of food on the side. However, vegetables, as well as fruit, are essential to your vitamin and mineral intake. In addition, they help reduce the acidity of your body. However, the nutrition of muscle gain and training are acidifying. If you don't eat enough vegetables, this acidity can affect your body's functioning and lead to long-term health problems.
PUSH THE POST-TRAINING MEAL
If there's one meal where you should force yourself to eat, it's the one after your workout. At this time, your muscles are rebuilding and need a substantial supply of nutrients. So reserve your biggest meal of the day for after your workout.
DRINK WATER
The only important drink is water. It rehydrates you and provides essential minerals. And since you are a bodybuilder, your needs are even more important. You should therefore drink 2L of water per day and compensate for the losses from each weight training session by drinking extra water during and after your sessions.
EAT SOLID
Many exercisers are tempted by commercial gainers or those they can make themselves. In theory, this is a good idea to easily increase calorie intake. But, in practice, these types of gainers often have a high Glycemic Index and promote fat gain. It is better to prefer solid food, healthier by focusing on foods with low Glycemic Index.
Mass gain
Be careful, gaining mass does not mean that you are going to gorge yourself to gain 4 kilos per week. That would be counterproductive. No, here, mass gain means that you will control your diet, in order to gain as much muscle and as little fat as possible. But this takes time, a slow and progressive weight gain.
Here's what you need to do to start building muscle:
1 - Set up your diet from your DEJ + 250 kcal, following the broad precepts we saw at the beginning of the article. Start by determining your need for protein, then fat, and complete with carbohydrates. Add fruits and vegetables, and you have your food plan.
2 - Apply this diet and train properly.
3 - Weigh yourself every week on an empty stomach in the morning after using the bathroom.
4 - After a few weeks, you should adjust your diet according to the results. You should aim for about 500 grams more every week. If you are under, you can increase your diet by 100 kcal. If you are above that, it is better to decrease by 100 kcal. Adjust as you progress. You may have to increase your intake from time to time because the more muscle you gain, the more your needs will increase.
5 - Check your progress with photos or measurements to make sure you are not gaining too much fat. The belly is one of the best indicators. If it is increasing while the rest of your body is stagnating, there is a problem in your eating plan!
The dry period
The dry period occurs when you have reached a sufficient stage of mass gain and you want to get rid of the fat that may have accumulated.
The process is very similar to mass gain, but in reverse. Decrease your caloric intake gradually, until your weight stagnates. Then, decrease by another 250 kcal. You should achieve a weight loss of about 500 grams per week. Adapt your diet to this goal, as you would for weight gain.
You can maintain a protein intake similar to the mass gain and an amount of fat of at least 1 third of the total calories. Your calorie reduction will therefore be mainly based on carbohydrates. But, be careful not to reduce them too quickly at the risk of causing a rapid loss of muscle. You must act gradually in order to keep as much muscle as possible while getting rid of fat.