What is the name of the food for jocks. Proper nutrition for a bodybuilder - A scientific approach to nutrition. Diet for a beginner

Muscle mass is not built in the gym, but in the kitchen and during sleep. Proper nutrition is the guarantee that all your work will bring results in the form of beautiful muscles. Learn how to eat right when you swing!

Beginners want to know how to pump up, but experienced athletes usually dig deeper and are interested in how to eat right when pumping in the gym. Indeed, they are right: in order to build the body of your dreams, you need to supply your body with quality fuel in order to work effectively. Body transformation means giving it your all in every workout. And in order for you to have the strength to give all your best, it is important to eat right. Learn more about useful and essential macro and micronutrients in this article.

Macronutrients are what the diet consists of. These include carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals that are essential for health and beauty. Micronutrients are found in everything you eat, and fresh vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are especially rich in them. We will tell you more about the most important elements for an athlete.

Eat carbs when you swing

Despite the fact that carbohydrates have a bad reputation in modern society, in fact, this is the most acceptable source of energy. By eating the right carbs, you'll build tons of muscle without excess fat.

Pay more attention to two types of carbohydrates:

• Complex starchy carbohydrates like sweet potatoes, brown rice, oatmeal, and whole grain bread
• Complex fibrous carbohydrates, such as broccoli, spinach, and other vegetables

Fruits are not only tasty, but also healthy. They contain many vitamins and minerals necessary for health. However, they are high in sugar and calories. Given your goal of gaining muscle mass, you should consume them in moderation. Give preference to fresh fruit, not smoothies or canned food.

Protein nutrition will help build muscle

When you swing, proper nutrition implies the mandatory presence of proteins in the diet. They are responsible for the repair and growth of muscle tissue. You should be getting at least 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight.

Chicken, lean turkey, egg whites, whole eggs, soy products, tilapia, and other white-meat fish are excellent sources of quality protein.

As a supplement, you can use protein supplements - protein shakes and bars. They are convenient and you can always have a bite to eat when there is no possibility of a full meal. However, remember that supplements are just an addition to a diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods.

Proper and healthy fats for pumping up muscles

Not all fats are the same, and to get a beautifully muscular body, it is important to consume only healthy fats and fatty acids, such as omega 3, found in fish and flax seeds, as well as fats from olive oil and avocados. They play an important role in hormone production, skin color and brain function. Fats keep energy levels constant and provide the body with essential nutrients. The main rule is moderation, since fats are high in calories.

As sources of fat, include natural peanut, olive or almond oil, avocados in your diet. In addition, fats will come from eggs, meat and fish.

Recently, nutritional supplements containing omega-3 essential fatty acids, namely fish oil and flaxseed oil in capsules, are gaining popularity. They help maintain healthy levels of essential fatty acids in the body. If you like foods like fish, seeds, nuts, and avocados, you won't be short of healthy fats from whole foods. Supplements containing EFAs and Omega-3s will make a great addition to your diet, though.

And a few words about “bad” fats. If there are good fats, what are the "bad" ones? Eating large amounts of these fats can cause health problems. Avoid foods high in saturated fat, found in animal products and some vegetable oils (coconut and palm). Choose low-fat or low-fat dairy products, and trim excess visible fat from meats. Chemically derived trans fats and hydrogenated oils are used to extend the shelf life of processed foods such as candy, margarine, packaged foods, and fast food. Such foods are not at all consistent with proper training nutrition, so try to completely eliminate trans fats from your diet.

How to eat for vegetarians when pumping up muscles

Many do not know how to eat properly when you swing, and this dilemma is especially true for vegetarians. Even if you don't eat meat or animal products, you can still change your body and build muscle. Turn on your imagination, as every meal should provide the body with high-quality proteins. If you consume dairy products, then increase the amount of protein in the diet due to low-fat cottage cheese and yogurt.

In addition, soy products are suitable for vegetarians. They are an excellent source of protein and are available in almost every supermarket. You can also try meat substitutes that are made from vegetable proteins such as soy, mushrooms, etc. These products look and smell like real meat. It comes in the form of chicken cutlets, hamburgers, and even meat tacos. These substitutes will make meals tasty and varied, but always read the labels: the list of ingredients should not include sodium, corn syrup, or saturated fats and hydrogenated oils.

Many vegetarian and vegan diets include nutritional combinations such as beans and brown rice, natural nut butters and bread. The main thing is to follow the basic principles of proper nutrition for pumping up muscle mass: eat 5-6 times a day in small portions, choose whole foods and create a small surplus of calories for mass gain.

How much to drink when you swing

What should you drink while on a diet? Water, lots of water. Without adequate hydration, muscle growth stops and health and performance can suffer. It is ideal to drink 4 liters of water a day. Just because you're on a high-calorie diet doesn't mean you can drink milkshakes, sugary juices, and whole chocolate milk in any amount. The main factor here is moderation. Read food labels and try to stay within your daily calorie allowance.

What portions should you eat to build muscle?

Portion size goes hand in hand with calories. Do not think that measuring portions is difficult. There is a little trick that makes life easier for many bodybuilders. Each meal should include:

• palm-sized servings of protein
• palm-sized portions of complex carbohydrates

Add some healthy fats 2-3 times a day. This can be 1 teaspoon of flaxseed or olive oil per dish, or as a snack, spread natural peanut or almond butter on a slice of bread. Eat 1-2 servings of fruit per day, and don't forget that vegetables can be consumed in large quantities. They don't have much of an impact on the diet, but they are a source of vital vitamins, minerals and fiber!

What Foods to Avoid When Building Muscles

When you swing, you should eat in a special way. Avoid refined, "white" carbohydrates such as white bread, white rice, cakes, cookies, and candy. They have too many calories and almost no nutrients. Stay away from packaged and processed foods from fast food or prepared meals, they are loaded with preservatives and bad fats that will ruin your fitness goals. Try not to drink carbonated sweet water and fruit juices containing sugar!

Alcohol is allowed only in small doses, but it is better to refuse it altogether. Alcoholic drinks contain empty calories, usually from sugars. But not all types of alcohol contain the same amount of calories and sugar. For example, if you're looking to gain muscle mass, mixed drinks with added sugary juices or creams aren't for you. Opt for red wine or cocktails with soda and lime. A few drinks on a special occasion are perfectly acceptable, but try to alternate them with plain water.

Eating in restaurants and pumping up muscles

It's hard to stick to the rules when you're meeting friends at a restaurant or forgetting food at home. You understand that it's time to eat, and there are no healthy products nearby.

If you find yourself without food and decide to eat at a restaurant, just choose the right dishes. Order a grilled chicken sandwich without mayonnaise, grilled chicken breasts, steamed vegetables or a baked potato. Avoid fried foods, processed or "white" carbohydrates, and creamy or cheesy sauces. Order salad dressing separately. Instead of soda, give preference to plain water, and a slice of lemon will give it a pleasant aroma and taste.

Try another trick: share the meal with friends, or have half packed to go. Thanks to these simple rules of nutrition, you will enjoy eating and not destroy everything that you have worked so hard to build muscles in the gym.

By pumping muscles, you can increase their tone, increase strength indicators, but the external effect will be minimal with improper nutrition. It should also be borne in mind that for men and women there are completely different diets that are not similar to each other. There are general recommendations that are suitable for both sexes, but you should still follow an individual diet.

Diet for men

The main thing in nutrition is maintaining a balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The male body is designed to build muscle without much effort. This is facilitated by the male sex hormone testosterone, which in women is produced in much smaller quantities, which is why the beautiful half of humanity loses weight worse, her muscles are less pronounced, girls are shorter and more inclined to be overweight.

In order for muscles to begin to grow, it is necessary to eat food at the rate of 2 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. It would seem that everything is very simple: eat protein, swing and gain muscle mass. But there is also such an indicator as body mass index. It refers to the ratio of fat, muscle mass, water and internal fat. The simplest formula for calculating BMI is weight/height in meters². A score below 16 indicates underweight, while a score above 25 indicates overweight.

Muscles are made up of protein. In order for them to increase in volume, it is necessary to increase blood flow to the muscle fibers with the help of physical exercises, arrange multiple micro-tears in the muscles so that in the process of restoring the structure of the fiber, the muscle grows in volume, and also promote growth with the help of protein nutrition. Athletes use special preparations to gain muscle mass. These are protein shakes, energy drinks, tablets with L-carnitine. Mere mortals should exclude carbohydrate-containing and fatty foods from their diet. These include:

• pastries and bakery products
• candy, chocolate
• sugar
• dried fruits
• jams, jams, creams
• sweet fruits and dried fruits
• sausages and sausages
• smoked products

Vegetarians will find it difficult to choose a diet because plant foods are very low in protein. An exception may be tofu curd from soy milk, legumes, nuts (but they are fatty), mushrooms. If you have enough willpower to sit on these products, then please, but the efficiency from them is much inferior to animal protein.

An overweight man whose waist exceeds 100 cm, even gaining muscle mass, will not be able to boast of a beautiful body. To do this, it is necessary first of all to deal with "drying", i.e. shed subcutaneous fat. For a man, the task is complicated by the fact that he needs to maintain muscle mass. This means that the diet should be built in such a way that the body receives everything it needs for muscles and receives less "fuel" for body fat. In this case, energy will be taken from subcutaneous fat reserves. 80% of a man's diet should consist of protein foods. It includes the following products:

• egg whites
• fish (pollock, hake, cod)
• dairy and sour-milk products with reduced fat or fat-free
• seafood (shrimp, squid, octopus, mussels)
• turkey meat
• beef or chicken liver
• chicken breasts
• vegetable salads with fat-free sour cream (in small quantities)
• green tea
• mineral and drinking water without gas

The peculiarity of drying in men is such that you should eat every 2-3 hours and be sure not to refuse breakfast. The last point is important because breakfast starts the metabolic process. The last meal should be a maximum of 2 hours before bedtime.

Men are luckier than women. They can afford carbohydrate foods, otherwise they will not have the strength to perform heavy physical exertion. Pasta from premium wheat, whole grain bread, cereal cereals - all this should be present in the diet in small quantities. Otherwise, the lack of carbohydrates can lead to nervous breakdowns and even hungry fainting.

Drying lasts 3-4 weeks depending on the desired results. The result is a beautiful relief body and not a single gram of excess fat.

If a woman goes to the gym and wants to achieve a sculpted body, then this task for her, unlike a man, is not very achievable. If the hormone testosterone helps a man pump up voluminous muscles, then the hormone estrogen, which is responsible for the roundness of the female figure and fat deposition in the hips, waist and inner thigh, prevents the woman from doing the same. No matter how much a woman swings, she will never be able to achieve relief without the use of professional weight loss products or fat burners. There are, of course, happy owners of a thin figure who can eat anything and not get fat. But we are talking about ordinary women who are more prone to fullness than thinness.

It is recommended to eat oat bran in the amount of 1-2 teaspoons per day. This product is not "Hercules" from the store and not oatmeal. This is a kind of scrub for the intestines. Oat bran tends to increase in the stomach by 25 times. They are able to break down fats accumulated on the walls of the intestine. Even without going in for sports, with the help of oat bran, you can lose a few kilograms.

So that the body in the process of losing weight does not catch itself with ketone products (products of the breakdown of body fat), you need to drink plenty of pure non-carbonated water. It is advisable to carry a bottle of 0.25-0.5 liters with you and drink water periodically. Drying eliminates the use of fats, and this negatively affects the condition of the skin and hair. In addition, without fat, the hormonal system will cease to function, because female hormones contain fat in their composition. The complete exclusion of fats will lead to menstrual failure and other more deplorable consequences. To prevent this, consume 1-2 teaspoons of flaxseed oil per day. It will help remove toxins from the body, have a slight laxative effect and fill the body with polyunsaturated fatty acids, without which the heart, hormonal system and carbohydrate metabolism cannot function normally.

Unlike a man, a woman should first lose weight, and then start modeling her figure. We will not talk about the real relief, because for a woman it is dangerous and not necessary. But to have a beautiful toned body is quite possible. The ketone diet, which consists of protein foods, will help you lose weight and remove excess fat. Girls can recommend the following dishes:

1. Seafood salad (shrimp + squid straws + greens).
2. Oat bran pizza. For her, bake cakes: mix fat-free cottage cheese with 1.5 teaspoons of oat bran, add 1 egg and bake 2 cakes. Between them, put a few pieces of lightly salted salmon or trout or chicken / turkey fillet.
3. Beef or chicken liver cooked in a baking bag with dried mushrooms soaked in water.
4. There is a little-known, but very effective dish for weight loss. Brew black tea without additives, cool and salt. Put defrosted capelin there for 2-3 hours. Then take the fish out and bake it in the sleeve or steam it. The polyunsaturated fatty acids contained in the dish will contribute to the process of losing weight.
5. Consume 1 teaspoon of cod liver per day. Yes, it is oily, but it acts on the principle of capelin.
6. Pollack meatballs. Prepare minced pollock fillet. Mix it with 1 teaspoon of oat bran, add 1 egg white. Shape into meatballs and cook in a baking bag.

You should not drastically change your lifestyle for people who have never been involved in sports and fitness before. Do not change your diet if you have health problems. Diseases of the kidneys and heart, diabetes, stomach ulcers are an obstacle to the implementation of diets. Before starting the process of gaining muscle mass, consult a doctor (and for a woman, a visit to a gynecologist is mandatory, diets provoke the growth of fibroids and cysts). The saying “beauty requires sacrifice” does not apply in this case, because you will have to sacrifice your health.

Video: how to eat right for weight gain and fat burning

Hello friends. Let's talk about proper nutrition. Proper nutrition is perhaps the most important aspect of the training process.

You can train like a champion, stick to a routine, take expensive supplements, but all of this will be in vain without proper nutrition. So, nutrition is a key moment in the training process.

When I started training on, I ate everything that came to hand every 3 hours. Even woke up at night to eat a cup of cottage cheese. After a year and a half of such training, my body weight increased by 20 kg. Naturally, I did not look like athletes from sports magazines, but I achieved my main goal - to become powerful.

The bulk of people in the gym want to lose fat and build muscle at the same time. This seems unlikely to me, especially for natural athletes. There is no point in being on a low-carb diet and working out hard. You will gain nothing but health problems.

Physiology of proper nutrition

Let's delve a little into the physiology of the jock. I will try to explain in an accessible language. So you're consuming protein. Together with the protein, nitrogen enters the body, which is part of the amino acids. Nitrogen in the process of biotransformation accumulates in the muscles. If you consume little food and at the same time train intensively, then the muscles do not have time to recover and their destruction occurs. When the muscles are destroyed, nitrogen is released into the blood, and then through the kidneys it is excreted in the urine.

The presence of nitrogen in the urine is a good indicator of the processes taking place in your body. If there is a lot of nitrogen in the urine, then your muscles are being destroyed, and you are losing mass. This is called a negative nitrogen balance. If there is no nitrogen in the urine, then everything is fine, your muscles are growing - a positive nitrogen balance.

Sports physiologists have proven that the only way to maintain a positive nitrogen balance in the body during heavy physical exertion is to consume a large number of calories. Simply put, calories save protein. If you eat enough, then about 1.5-2 grams is enough to maintain a positive nitrogen balance. protein per kilogram of body weight. Conversely, if you consume few calories, you can eat kilograms of protein, but there will be no muscle growth from this.

The basics of proper nutrition

From the foregoing, we can draw the first important conclusion: for the growth of muscle mass, it is not enough to make and eat mountains of protein. Protein is the main building block for muscles, but in order for it to be successfully absorbed, calories are needed. For guaranteed muscle growth, the amount of daily calories consumed should be 500 calories more than the amount consumed.

Eating in this mode, you will significantly add to the total mass. Of course, you will increase the percentage of subcutaneous fat along the way. Don't worry about it, it's not as scary as it is covered in all sorts of fashion magazines. The main thing is that with such nutrition and competent training, muscles will grow, and I think it will not be difficult to lose fat. There are many methods that work to lose fat.

So, eat thoroughly and often, make sure that the calorie content of the diet is at least 500 calories more than your energy consumption. Don't skip meals, especially breakfast. How can I eat 500 more calories, you ask? The main source of calories for muscle building are carbohydrates.

When carbohydrates enter the bloodstream, insulin secretion increases in the body. Insulin takes carbohydrates from the blood and transports them to muscle cells, where carbohydrates become fuel for protein synthesis and intracellular muscle tissue growth. With an excess intake of carbohydrates, insulin conserves them into glycogen, which, with an excessive load on the muscles, is released and gives a powerful energy explosion.

From this we can draw another important conclusion: the main source of calories should be carbohydrates. Not proteins, as many mistakenly believe, namely carbohydrates. The calorie content of your diet should be increased by pasta, rice, buckwheat, potatoes, oatmeal and other slow carbohydrates. Approximate carbohydrate intake should be 4.5 grams. per kilogram of body weight per day.

A post about proper nutrition would be incomplete if we did not touch on fats. In my opinion, the negative role of fats is too exaggerated. Building muscle mass is impossible without the participation of fats. Fats contain cholesterol, which is an essential component for building the sex hormone testosterone. Without testosterone, muscle tissue synthesis is impossible in principle.

The rule of thumb for fat is that a safe amount of fat is 20% of your total daily calorie intake. Keeping fat at this level is not so difficult. You just need to get rid of frankly fried foods, various custards, etc. Eat food, steamed or baked, low-fat dairy products. This will be enough.

I will not write in detail about various nutritional supplements, protein-carbohydrate mixtures, bars, and so on. Let me just remind you that they should be used precisely as supplements to the main meals, but in no case as substitutes for normal food. Sports nutrition will help you choose the most effective sports supplements.

By following all the above rules, you will learn how to eat right and provide yourself with a basis for long-term muscle growth.

Each newcomer, having come to the gym, thinks that by lifting the “iron” a couple of times, he will immediately get pumped up and will be able to surprise his friends and relatives with a gorgeous body. It's not like that at all. For bodybuilding, it’s not enough just to perform exercises that develop your strength abilities. In addition to hard work, the athlete must eat right, keep the water regime, sleep 7-8 hours a day, and train regularly so that the muscles do not have time to “relax”. In this article, we will talk about bodybuilding nutrition.

How to eat right when you swing? Food on the "mass"

This question worries those who have decided to seriously engage in bodybuilding. Firstly, while exercising in the gym, the athlete must always maintain one of two modes: building mass or "drying" the muscles. How should you eat when you swing to the mass? So, the initial condition - the number of calories consumed must exceed the costs of your body. However, this does not mean at all that you need to eat everything. Your diet should have a minimum amount of saturated fat, but at the same time a lot of carbohydrates (55-60% of the total calories consumed), which should consist of 80% slow (various cereals, wholemeal pasta, etc.) 20% of the fast (sweets, fruits). Of course, every bodybuilder must absorb a lot of protein, which is the basis of human muscle. The proportion of protein should be about 30%. And finally, fats. Remember! It is forbidden to completely exclude fats. This can disrupt metabolism and negatively affect your body. Fats should be 10-15%. Do not forget about sports nutrition.

Sports nutrition and anabolics - yes or no?

When working in bulk, this is very important. Add proteins, gainers, creatine, BCAAs, L-Glutamine and vitamins to your daily diet. Anabolic steroids should be taken only by professional bodybuilders who earn money from this sport and "live" it. The rest will only harm them.

How to eat right when you swing while "drying" muscles? Work on relief

Your main goal is to reduce the number of calories you eat. Their consumption should be lower than we spend throughout the day. During this regime, the ratio of carbohydrates, proteins and fats should change radically. The first should be in the diet of about 20-30% (as the drying progresses, the percentage should gradually fall), proteins - 60-70%, the rest - fats. As with mass nutrition, they cannot be completely eliminated from your diet. Among the products you should fall in love with various cereals (buckwheat, rice, oatmeal), vegetables, dairy products and nuts. Flour and other sweet foods should be completely excluded. Sports nutrition should also be present, but it is better not to use gainers, which are a high-carbohydrate supplement.

Nutrition during SW classes and at home

Well, how to eat right when you swing to the mass or "drying," we figured out. But after all, in addition to gyms, Street Workout is now gaining high popularity among young people. SW is a street sport that includes exercises on horizontal bars, uneven bars, street wall bars, etc. How to eat right when you swing on horizontal bars and uneven bars? There is no definite answer here. As a rule, this is a combination of "bodybuilding" diets for mass and "drying". The fact is that when exercising on outdoor devices, the athlete chooses a more mobile way of doing the exercise, which increases dexterity and speeds up metabolism. When doing Street Workot, you need to eat plenty of protein for building muscle, carbohydrates for energy and unsaturated fats for the normal functioning of your body.

We think that the article will be useful to our readers. We have analyzed in detail how to eat when you swing, so there should be no additional questions.

Bodybuilding refers to a fairly popular sport among men and women and is a process of modifying the body by increasing ( hypertrophy ) muscles in general, and individual muscle groups in particular, as well as the formation of body relief due to the reduction of subcutaneous fat. The formation of an athletic physique is based on specially designed systems of strength training with weights, high-energy special nutrition with an increased / decreased content of certain food ingredients, the use of sports dietary supplements and anabolic / pharmacological agents.

There are amateur bodybuilding, which is done by the majority to improve the structure of their body / figure, and professional, which unites athletes participating in competitions, during which the aesthetics, volume and proportionality of the bodybuilder's physical development are evaluated. We do not consider the issues of the training process, these issues are covered on specialized web resources with videos and in specialized literature.

It is generally accepted that the bodybuilding diet, along with strength training, is the foundation of bodybuilding. Moreover, it is precisely the right diet for training in the gym that allows you to solve specific problems that athletes face - gaining muscle mass, increasing strength, burning subcutaneous fat. Generally speaking, the main tasks of nutrition for bodybuilders are:

• Providing the body with an adequate amount of energy, correlating (exceeding/insufficient) with its consumption during training, depending on the task of the training cycle.
• The balance of the diet in relation to the intensity / tasks of physical activity. The ratio of food energy obtained from various food ingredients (FFU) varies depending on the goals of the bodybuilder.
• Creation of an appropriate metabolic background for synthesis and action, regulating the necessary reactions, both in the body as a whole and in various tissues.
• Using nutritional factors to build muscle/strength/fat reduction.
• Individualization of nutrition, taking into account the physiological, anthropometric and metabolic characteristics of the athlete's body, the state of the gastrointestinal tract, personal tastes and eating habits.

Next, we will consider nutrition issues at various stages / tasks of the transformation of the athlete's body, which will be especially useful for beginner bodybuilders who make many mistakes when shaping their diet. It is proper nutrition that is the most important condition for creating the basic background of the recovery period (super-recovery and fusion of myofibrils). It should be remembered that proper nutrition and a gym are the basis for achieving concrete results and one does not work without the other.

Weight gain

Most often, increasing body weight is the first task that an athlete faces. The main principle of body weight growth is the consumption of energy with food in excess of its consumption (ensuring a positive energy balance in the body). The simplest method for calculating the estimated amount of energy needed to maintain weight in an unchanged state is the formula: weight (in kg) x 30. The data obtained indicate the calorie content of the daily diet required to maintain a static nitrogen balance. But when playing sports, the nitrogen balance always becomes negative. Therefore, when working on body weight, it is necessary to add another 600-1000 calories per day to this indicator, depending on the individual characteristics of the body structure (athlete's somatotype) throughout the entire cycle of strength (anaerobic) training.

For novice athletes, it is recommended to increase the calorie content of the diet gradually to the level of your weight gain in the range of 600-800 g / week. The main objective of this stage is to gain lean muscle mass, and many athletes also increase the fat layer, which is a common mistake. Of course, it is almost impossible to gain body weight without increasing body fat, but it is necessary to strive to minimize fat gain. It should be remembered that weight gain exceeding 900-1000 g / week is already due to an increase in fat. Therefore, weekly weight control and appropriate dietary adjustments are very important.

The next important principle of muscle growth is the formation of a diet with the content of the main food nutrients in it in the following proportion: proteins - 20-30%; fats - 15-20%; carbohydrates - at the level of 50-60%. Further, knowing your caloric intake of the diet, you need to determine how much the main food should be present in your diet. nutrients , that is, to make a specific diet of a bodybuilder for the day.

The required caloric intake and a specific proportion of the BJU content in the diet are taken and the amount of each of the food ingredients is calculated based on the energy value of 1 g of protein and carbohydrates for 4 calories and 1 g of fat - 9 calories. And having determined the amount of food ingredients necessary to provide a given calorie content according to special tables of the nutritional value of products and the content of BJU in them, we determine the number of products needed for an athlete per day.

Now about the quantitative content of BJU in the diet and their quality. The most important condition for muscle growth is the inclusion in the diet of a sufficient amount of protein that performs the main plastic function. The need of bodybuilders for protein during training for mass is increased and averages 1.5-3.0 g/kg of body weight, which is due to physiological losses of nitrogen during intense long-term training.

However, it would be a big mistake to increase this value above the maximum limit of the norm, since this worsens the digestibility of the protein, resulting in the formation of increased amounts of ammonia and urea , which increase the load on the kidneys and liver. In addition, the increased formation of ammonia has a toxic effect on brain cells, which leads to a slowdown in the transmission of nerve impulses and, accordingly, a pronounced decrease in the reaction, and also has a detrimental effect on microbiocenosis intestines, reducing the content of /.

As you know, when you swing to increase muscle mass, it is necessary to provide conditions conducive to an increase in the content of structural and contractile proteins in muscle tissue. It is possible to influence the process of enhancing protein synthesis in muscles by including a protein component with high biological value and digestibility in the diet. At the same time, the higher the quality of the consumed protein and in sufficient quantity, the faster the muscle mass of the athlete will grow. The biological value of a protein is its amino acid composition, which provides the quantitative and qualitative need of the body for nitrogenous substances.

Inferiority of the amino acid composition of the protein in food products leads to a violation in the body of the processes of synthesis of its own proteins. At the same time, in the process of building a protein, the lack of any essential amino acid limits the use of other amino acids , and a significant excess contributes to the formation of highly toxic metabolic products. Of particular importance among the essential amino acids is leucine, which is a key regulator and activator of the process of muscle protein synthesis. No less important is the level of protein digestibility, which reflects the degree and rate of its breakdown in the gastrointestinal tract and the rate of amino acid adsorption (absorption into the blood and muscle tissue).

For athletes, the best source of high quality protein is whey protein. protein (15%) and casein (85%). At the same time, both fractions are digested and absorbed evenly, but at first - biologically active low molecular weight whey proteins ( lactalbumin , lactoglobulin , immunoglobulin ), and then high molecular weight casein.

The use of milk protein is especially important for muscle recovery after intense physical activity. Also, the most complete protein is chicken egg protein, which contains all the essential amino acids in the optimal ratio and is almost completely absorbed by the body. At the same time, thermal cooking of chicken protein does not lead to the loss of its qualities.

Thus, the main sources of high-quality protein in the diet of a bodybuilder can be animal products - low-fat varieties of red meat (without connective tissue formations) with a meat protein digestibility of 75-87%, fish with a protein digestibility of 90-95%, cottage cheese, milk, sour-milk products (milk protein digestibility 95%), chicken eggs (protein digestibility 98-99%). Proteins of plant origin are characterized by low digestibility at the level of 55-65%.

Although they should be present in the diet (25-30% of the total protein intake) due to the content of many trace elements and (soybeans, legumes, seeds, nuts, cereals), they are not included in the athlete's diet in the protein component quota. are taken into account. And if amateur athletes can still afford a vegetarian diet and still increase muscle mass in an insignificant amount, then professional bodybuilders, under such nutritional conditions, can achieve the required level. leucine , which allows you to start the processes of protein synthesis in the body, cannot.

Important principles of protein provision of the athlete's body are:

• Competent consumption of the protein component throughout the day with the obligatory inclusion of protein before / after training. Even distribution of protein into servings throughout the day is extremely important for the gradual and timely replenishment of the body's supply of amino acids necessary for protein synthesis. In addition, pre-workout protein intake enhances the genetic mechanisms for muscle growth compared to fasted training. It is also known that anaerobic exercise itself increases the rate of protein synthesis by 90-120% compared to rest, and the use of dietary protein / amino acid mixtures immediately after the end of strength training (after a rocking chair) enhances this effect and allows you to get the maximum benefit for muscle fiber recovery.
• Inclusion in each meal of the maximum dose of protein. It has been proven that athletes who consumed 30 g of protein with each meal have a higher (20%) level of protein synthesis compared to those who consumed protein only for dinner, which increases the body's ability to build muscle mass.
• The predominance in the diet of high quality protein with a maximum absorption rate. It is important to know that a protein intake of 2 g/kg body weight is optimal for stimulating protein synthesis without increasing protein loss. And a further increase in its consumption increases the level of protein breakdown and reduces its synthesis.

As for the extremely healthy egg white, it should only be consumed after heat treatment (boiled / fried), since the protein of a raw chicken egg is poorly absorbed due to its constituent ovomucoid and avidin that negatively affect the enzyme of gastric juice. During heat treatment, they are destroyed and the digestibility of egg protein reaches 98%

An additional source of protein is nutritional supplements (sports nutrition) containing whey protein concentrates, isolates or hydrolysates that are quickly absorbed in the body or long-acting protein ( casein ). Many modern supplements contain protein that has been partially broken down into peptides (long/short chain amino acid compounds). However, they should not completely replace natural protein nutrition and can only be used as a supplement to the diet.

An equally important condition for gaining muscle mass is the sufficient content of carbohydrates in the diet, without adequate content of which synthesis is reduced. adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and through the mechanism gluconeogenesis processes are intensifying catabolism muscle fibres.

Carbohydrates that enter the body with food primarily provide glucose to the skeletal muscles, both during strength physical exercises and during the recovery period. And only then, glucose and fructose are used for the synthesis glycogen in the liver. Accordingly, with a lack of glycogen in the muscles, glycogen stores in the liver are included in the energy production process, and after their depletion, muscle protein is involved in the energy production process. Therefore, with insufficient consumption of carbohydrates, there can be no talk of any muscle growth.

For the fastest possible restoration of muscle glycogen after increased physical activity and optimization of its reserves, the content of carbohydrates in the athlete's diet should be 7-10 g/kg of body weight. Only with a sufficient carbohydrate content can muscle fibers be protected from catabolic destruction, since fat, as an energy source, is practically not used during intense anaerobic exercise due to insufficient oxygen supply to the body, without which the process of fat oxidation is impossible.

But we need the growth of muscle mass, which is impossible without a sufficient amount of energy entering the body. Since stocks glycogen during training are sharply reduced, and the micro muscles are injured, then during the rest period the body needs to restore glycogen reserves to its original level, thereby creating more favorable conditions for the metabolic processes aimed at the plastic restoration of muscle tissue. Therefore, the carbohydrate component is the basis for the growth of muscle tissue along with proteins.

In this case, the type of carbohydrates consumed is of particular importance. The use of mono / di / oligosaccharides (simple carbohydrates) causes a significant short-term increase in the concentration of glucose in the blood, which quickly breaks down completely, does not lead to saturation. Therefore, their share in the athlete's diet should not exceed 25-30% of the entire carbohydrate quota. Accordingly, the following are limited in the diet: sugar, confectionery, sweets, jam, preserves.

The inclusion of polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates) in the diet provides a smoothed and longer-lasting increase in blood glucose, thereby contributing to muscle satiety glycogen , and on the other hand - the formation of a feeling of satiety. The source of complex carbohydrates are cereals, rye flour pasta, whole grain bread, brown rice, vegetables, legumes, sour fruits.

More competent from the position of changing the concentration of blood glucose is the division of carbohydrate-containing products according to the principle of "glycemic index". After prolonged and intense strength training, the use of foods with high and medium GI is recommended, since their consumption during the "carbohydrate window" allows you to accelerate the increase in muscle glycogen stores to a greater extent than low GI carbohydrate foods. This approach allows you to optimize the process of glycogen recovery, since glycogen resynthesis occurs most rapidly in the first 30 minutes after the end of training, and then continues at a slower pace for 6 hours.

Fats, although not the bodybuilder's main source of energy during the training process, are an essential component of the diet for "muscles". Their lack in food (less than 20% of the daily energy ration from fats), which is a sin in the diets of novice athletes, negatively affects the hormonal background of the athlete and his performance. Of biological value are primarily vegetable fats containing polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are not synthesized by the body, but come exclusively with food. These are, first of all, cold-pressed vegetable oils, nuts, seeds.

Proper nutrition for "muscles" involves the consumption of 25-30 g / day of vegetable fats. Of animal fats, the most valuable are: saturated fat of animal origin: milk fats contained in dairy products, butter and fish oil, the source of which is fatty types of sea and river fish (tuna, salmon, catfish, mackerel, herring).

The optimal ratio of fat intake is 1/3 saturated, 1/3 monounsaturated and 1/3 polyunsaturated fats. ω-3 . At the same time, trans fats must be completely eliminated from the diet.

Of particular importance is the sufficient content of fats in the diet during the training process, aimed at increasing strength indicators, which is achieved by working with weights of the maximum weight, in which the muscles develop the maximum possible effort in a short period of time. The fat content in the diet during this training microcycle should be increased to 30-35%. At the same time, saturated fats must also be present in the diet, which helps to accelerate the production of (male hormone), at a low concentration of which an increase in strength is impossible. In addition, when working with a lot of weight, the ligamentous-articular apparatus suffers, for the strengthening of which it is extremely necessary to have a sufficient intake of various types of fats into the body.

When shaping the diet, one should not forget about the sufficient intake of micronutrients (vitamins/minerals), which play an important role in the processes of energy production, synthesis and production. antioxidants . The nutrition of novice bodybuilders often does not contain enough, group B, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, antioxidants ( vitamin C and E , selenium, beta-carotene). Therefore, during the period of intensive training, it is mandatory to take complex vitamin-mineral complexes. However, the intake of vitamins/micronutrients by amateur athletes should not exceed the norm by more than 2 times.

The bodybuilder's diet during strength training turns off and takes into account many aspects, one of which is the creation and maintenance of hormonal levels, which allows you to more fully use the body's capabilities to increase muscle tissue. As you know, the concentration testosterone in the body of a man decreases rapidly after 35-40 years, so the nutrition of a bodybuilder after 40 years should help maintain his concentration, since it contributes to the growth of strength and muscle mass by accelerating protein synthesis in muscle tissue and affecting the nuclei of muscle cells (increases the number of nuclei in muscle fibers). The lack of testosterone after 40 years enhances the processes of muscle catabolism.

Properly organized nutrition contributes to the hanging of testosterone concentration. To this end, foods containing zinc should be included in the diet, which promotes the production of the hormone, and also prevents its transformation into the female hormone. estrogen . The main sources of zinc are oysters, 100 g of which contains the daily norm for an adult male (15-20 mg) and various seafood (shrimps, mussels, squid, crabs), which must be included in the diet after gentle heat treatment, together with vegetables of at least 3 times a week. The daily intake of zinc for a bodybuilder can vary between 20-40 mg, depending on the intensity of the load.

To increase testosterone, it is important to increase the fat content in the diet to 30-35%, since fat is the main material for the production testosterone . In this case, it is necessary to increase the consumption of directly saturated fats of animal origin (cream, oily fish, sour cream). All of these foods, except zinc, contain unsaturated fatty acids. omega 3 /omega 6 , selenium , fat-soluble vitamins A , E involved in the synthesis of testosterone. As an alternative, it is allowed to take nutritional supplements containing zinc in a complex with magnesium and vitamin C and D . The daily dose of magnesium for an athlete should be 500-800 mg, and vitamin D - 25 mcg.

To prevent a burst of synthesis insulin , which starts the process of converting testosterone into a bound form and aromatization, the proportion of high-carbohydrate products should be reduced. glycemic index . To stop the production and get rid of excess estrogen in the diet, it is necessary to include cruciferous vegetables (turnip, cabbage, radish), which contain diindolylmethane (DIM) to help reduce excess estrogen. Fiber is no less useful, cleansing the large intestine from toxic elements, the accumulation of which leads to an excess of estrogen.

One of the most important conditions for weight gain is the right diet. One of the common mistakes beginner bodybuilders make is 2-3 meals a day, while the diet should be 5-7 meals a day. Remember one of the most important rules - with an anabolic type of load, you can not be hungry. It is strictly forbidden to skip meals, the period between meals should not exceed 3 hours, which allows maintaining a sufficient level of glucose in the athlete's blood. The last meal should be no later than 2 hours before bedtime. This mode contributes to a more complete absorption of nutrients and reduce the load on the digestive tract from breakfast to dinner.

The distribution of food nutrients during the day should be based on the principle of predominant consumption of the carbohydrate component in the first half of the day, which is due to the body's need for energy during the day, and protein - in the second, which is extremely necessary for the body as a plastic material during the recovery period (at night). That is, the proportion of carbohydrate intake should change throughout the day: in the morning in a larger volume, in the evening - in a smaller one and their complete absence in the last 2 meals. Before going to bed, it is recommended to take a "night" long-acting type of protein (casein), and in the morning, to neutralize the processes of catabolism and start anabolic processes, take a protein-carbohydrate cocktail immediately after sleep.

To maintain adequate hydration and thermoregulation, it is important to pay attention to sufficient water intake, which should replenish the loss of fluid and salts lost in urine and sweat. Even with moderate dehydration, the level of testosterone production decreases and strength indicators suffer. Dehydration speeds up catabolic processes (reduces protein synthesis and accelerates its breakdown). This can be avoided by consuming an adequate amount of water (at least 2.5 l/day). It is necessary to consume water often and in small portions (200-300 ml each).

Also, during intense loads, it is important to monitor the salt balance, since water without a sufficient content of electrolytes (sodium, chlorine) does not linger in the body, since the processes of intercellular hydration are triggered by these electrolytes. Without a sufficient concentration of them in the water, additional liquid will only lead to a decrease in the level of hydration, which will negatively affect overall health and athletic performance. Therefore, during intense training, especially in hot weather, it is recommended to add sea salt (0.3-0.7 g / liter) to the water or use sports rehydration solutions.

Diet nutrition at the stage of fat burning (body drying)

The next stage after gaining body weight for athletes involved in bodybuilding is the formation of body relief due to the reduction of subcutaneous fat. For beginner athletes, this stage is often associated with weight loss, which does not correspond to the correct approach to the process of “drying” the body. Despite some weight loss in general, the training process and nutrition are aimed at burning subcutaneous fat while maintaining the volume of lean muscle mass and muscle strength characteristics.

Drying the body should be carried out only with increased muscle mass, because with its lack, drying the body leads to exhaustion / exhaustion of the body with flabby muscles and sagging skin. An indicator of the effectiveness of burning body fat is the percentage of fat in the body. As a rule, the benchmark for male amateurs is 13-15% and 15-18% for women. Professional athletes reduce fat to lower levels, but this is done only before the competition and for a short period of time.

The main principle of the fat reduction diet is to reduce the level of glycogen in the muscles and transfer the body's metabolism to lipolysis, which is achieved by switching the athlete to a special diet and training (aerobic exercises to create a negative energy balance in combination with weight training to prevent muscle loss). masses).

The diet for drying the body is based on creating a negative energy balance in the body, which will be achieved by a calorie deficit in the diet in relation to the level of the athlete's energy expenditure (basic energy expenditure and energy expenditure for physical activity) and an increase in speed metabolism . At the same time, to maintain muscle mass, the nitrogen balance must remain constant.

For amateur athletes, the best option for drying is the method of gradual (stepwise) reduction in the calorie content of the diet with a calorie deficit of 10-20% of the daily intake. This is achieved by eliminating from the diet mainly foods with a high glycemic index and fats (to a lesser extent). Accordingly, the body, with a constant shortage of carbohydrates, begins to gradually switch to another type of energy production - lipolysis , which leads to the burning of subcutaneous fat.

The level of carbohydrate component reduction is determined by the given rate of subcutaneous fat burning. Normally, the total loss of body weight should not exceed 1 kg / week, since, as a rule, when this indicator is exceeded, the body's self-defense mechanism is activated and the body fat does not decrease or even begins to increase. Therefore, weekly monitoring of body weight and fat levels is extremely important. The main mistake of beginner bodybuilders is a sharp restriction of the caloric content of the diet. This process should be carried out smoothly and gradually, since it is a smooth reduction in the caloric content of the diet that contributes to the predominant loss of fat, and muscle mass decreases in a much smaller proportion.

The general ratio of BJU in the diet during drying of the body changes and amounts to 50-60% protein, 10-20% fat and 30-40% carbohydrates in various food systems. When working on relief, it is especially important to gradually reduce carbohydrate intake, bringing their content to 1.5 g per 1 kg of body weight. If, during drying, body weight has ceased to decrease for some period, it is necessary to reduce the intake of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates in the diet should be represented by complex carbohydrates (grain bread, cereals, rye flour pasta, brown rice, sour fruits, vegetables), while it is recommended to consume them in the morning.

As for proteins, their amount should be at the level of 1.5-2.0 g / kg of weight and they should be represented by high-quality animal proteins with high digestibility - lean red meat (beef), rabbit meat, chicken, turkey, eggs, fish, seafood, low-fat milk products (yogurt, milk, cottage cheese, kefir). Fats in the diet should be present in minimal amounts, but not less than 40 g per day (0.5 g x body weight). These are mainly vegetable fats, solid animal fats are practically excluded.

When drying and working on relief, low-fat food and natural products should prevail in the diet. A common mistake of amateur athletes is to eat with a complete exclusion of fats or a minimum content of carbohydrates, which is unacceptable and, moreover, dangerous to health due to the risk of developing ketoacidosis and increased burden on the kidneys due to the consumption of large amounts of protein. Acceleration of metabolism is carried out by fractional nutrition (5-7 times a day) and fluid intake in an amount of at least 3 l / day. Increase metabolism promotes hot peppers and green tea.

During drying, it is forbidden to use harmful high-calorie foods - fast food products, canned food, mayonnaise, smoked meats, ketchups, fatty meat and fish, carbonated drinks, pickles, marinades, sweets, sugar, jam, jams, ice cream, dried fruits, honey, sweet fruits (pears , peaches, apricots, bananas, grapes, persimmons), pastries, cakes, dough products, starchy vegetables (eggplants, potatoes, corn), alcoholic drinks, as they inhibit the process of burning fat.

Culinary food processing consists of boiling, stewing, steaming, baking, frying is excluded, as it increases the calorie content of the diet. Greens and vegetables are recommended to be consumed raw. There are other diet programs for drying the body - the carbohydrate alternation method, the keto diet, but they are used mainly by professional athletes.

Drying the body by amateur athletes is often accompanied by errors, the main of which are:

• Severe calorie restriction.
• Undernourishment/overeating.
• Exclusion from the diet of fats or carbohydrates.
• Rejection of salt.
• Rare meals during the day and uneven distribution of food throughout the day (refusal of breakfast, consumption of carbohydrates in the afternoon).
• Insufficient free fluid intake.
• Lack of control over the pace (speed) of weight loss.
• Non-standardized/unreasoned use of sports nutrition.

Given the high cost of the diet, many novice athletes are trying to form their budget diet for a bodybuilder to a minimum. To do this, some bodybuilders often try to gain weight with baby food. Many athletes on the forums are also interested in whether children's food is good for adults and can it be used instead of protein? Of course, baby food can reduce the burden on the budget, but baby food in bodybuilding cannot replace sports nutrition in general or protein in particular, since it is intended for other purposes and has a completely different balance of nutritional nutrients and is not suitable for building muscle mass.

Moreover, replacing sports nutrition with children's nutrition in conditions of intense physical exertion can harm the body and level sports results. Also, novice athletes should understand that the process of gaining weight and drying muscles should take at least 3-5 months.

Attempts to speed up the process and non-compliance with weight gain / loss in an effort to achieve an unrealistic body composition for one's somatotype can adversely affect the athlete's health, in particular on the cardiovascular system or the musculoskeletal system. Especially dangerous is the excessive rate of weight loss, which may be accompanied by a decrease in working capacity, weakening immunity , cognitive dysfunctions, deterioration in general well-being.

Approved Products

The bodybuilder's diet includes:

• Soups on meat / fish broth with a minimum fat content.
• Chicken eggs in any form (completely or proteins separately).
• Meat of beef / veal, chicken, rabbit, turkey in boiled, steamed, baked form.
• Fatty types of river / sea fish (cod, hake, sardines, herring tuna, salmon, trout), oysters, seafood (crabs, shrimp, squid, mussels).
• Whole grain cereals, grain bread, brown rice, cereal bread, wholemeal pasta, bran.
• Sour-milk drinks and products of low / medium fat content (hard cheeses, cottage cheese, fermented baked milk, yogurt, kefir).
• Unrefined cold-pressed vegetable oils, butter, fish oil.
• Soy, legumes (peas, lentils, beans, chickpeas).
• Nuts, seaweed, seeds, sesame and flax seeds.
• Vegetables (bell peppers, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, onions, cucumbers, zucchini), garden greens.
• Unsweetened fruits/berries.
• Freshly prepared juices, rosehip broth, herbal tea, green tea with lemon, still table water.

Table of allowed products

Wholly or partially restricted products

The bodybuilder diet excludes from the diet:

• Fatty broths and soups based on them.
• Canned food, sausages, smoked meats, fatty meats, fast food products, goose/duck meat, semi-finished products, animal fats.
• Sugar, chocolate, ice cream, honey jam, dried fruits (figs, raisins, prunes, dates, dried apricots), sweets, sweet desserts, jams, condensed milk.
• Wheat bread, cakes, pancakes, puff pastry, semolina, pastries, cookies, dumplings, waffles, cakes, dumplings.
• Carbonated and alcoholic drinks.

Table of prohibited products

Menu (Power Mode)

The bodybuilder’s menu is compiled individually, according to the bodybuilder’s diet for a week in accordance with the training stage (weight gain, body drying) according to the list of allowed / prohibited foods, taking into account the caloric content of the diet and the BJU ratio.