Protein - 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 building muscle. 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 of protein per day. Another suggestion is to consume protein 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 protein we mean high quality protein derived from animal sources. Soy and plant protein 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 protein supplements won’t build you muscle than chicken or egg whites. To the body protein is protein. 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 a protein supplement. For superior muscle building put most of your emphasis on real food and leave the hype to the supplement advertisers.