Protein
Protein
Supplements - the right food for muscle
building!
Ask most bodybuilders to list the most
important variables for muscle building
and they’ll respond with such answers as
training, drugs, supplements, great
genetics, etc. But one of the most important
variables is also one of the simplest – food!
You can train all you want and possess
Schwarzenegger-sized genetics, but you won’t
gain an ounce of new muscle tissue if you don’t
eat properly.
There’s nothing earth-shattering about eating
for muscle-building. You must take in
more calories than your body burns off each
day. Now, when we say “take in”, we do not mean
just eating everything in sight as all calories
are not created equal. For example, if your
body requires 2500 calories per day to put on
weight, and you eat four bags of potato chips
or five chocolate bars, yes, you’ll gain
weight, and plenty of it. But how much of this
will be new muscle tissue? Not much we assure
you. The majority will be fat. Why? Because
junk food is primarily composed of what
nutritionists call empty calories. These foods
do not provide the correct nutrients that are
vital for muscle building.
The center of your eating should be high
quality protein. This is the only
nutrient that the body can breaks down and
reassemble into new muscle tissue. Like most
forms of intense exercise, bodybuilding greatly
increases demand for amino acids, which are
then used to support muscle repair and new
growth. Although long debated, most
bodybuilding experts now agree that you should
eat a minimum of 1 gram of protein per
pound of body weight. If for example you weight
200 pounds, you should be taking in at least
200 grams per day. Another suggestion is to
consume it with every meal.
Six are better that three
The biggest animals on the planet spend
virtually their entire waking existence eating.
Their bodies are continuously being infused
with mass-building nutrients. As a bodybuilder
you should be doing something similar. To allow
your body to actually absorb and use all the
calories you ingest, you must reduce your meal
size and increase your meal frequency. By
dividing your calories into smaller, more
frequent portions, it allows the food to be
absorbed and utilized more efficiently. If you
are one of those “skip breakfast, small lunch,
huge supper types” stop right now! Instead eat
six small meals spread evenly through out the
day. Every two to three hours eat something
small but nutritious. This insures that your
body always has nutrients on hand for repair
and growth.
Although you don’t need to consume carbs or fat
at every meal, you should have protein.
By this we mean high quality animal sources.
Soy and plant sources have their place, but
trust us, you won’t see many tofu-only eaters
on stage at bodybuilding contests; at least the
larger bodybuilders any way. To maximize you
muscle building potential you should be
getting most of your protein from such
sources as whey, casein (cottage cheese), eggs,
beef, poultry, and fish.
Food vs supplements
Despite what supplement advertisers may claim
supplements won’t build you more muscle than
chicken or egg whites. The body treats all
sources the same. Their one big advantage is
convenience. It’s much easier to drink a
protein shake than it is to buy, cook, and eat
a chicken breast or egg whites. Aside from
convenience protein supplements offer few
advantages over the protein found in food.
There is no scientific evidence to suggest that
food can’t supply all the protein needed for
all your muscle building needs. The key is to
eat every two three hours and consume a
complete protein such as eggs, red meat, or
low-fat dairy products with every meal.
Provided you are doing the previous you don’t
need to consume any protein supplements to get
great results. Yes, the much-hyped whey protein
does have some interesting and valuable
properties and taking a few scoops each day is
probably not a bad idea, especially if you are
on a low calorie diet for fat loss. But under
no circumstances should you skip meals in favor
of protein supplements. For superior
muscle building put most of your emphasis on
real food and leave the hype to the supplement
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