First of all, proper nutrition when exercising implies compliance with a regimen. Before a workout, the body needs carbohydrates (an energy source for muscles), while after it, proteins for mass gain and the right fats for recovery.
In addition, fitness increases the body’s need for vitamins and minerals – in particular, magnesium and zinc. Zinc is of particular importance for men, as it is necessary for the production of testosterone. Diet and an example of a menu for athletes – how to eat right and inexpensively?
Nutrition for sports
Proper nutrition for strength training is not just a serving of a protein shake or a capsule of BCAA amino acids. In order to make your muscles grow, you must completely overhaul your daily diet, and not just rely on sports nutrition.
Ultimately, no matter how effective physical training is, it is impossible to pump up without following a sports diet. In particular, the diet should have a high-calorie content – in order to gain weight, the body needs energy.
On the other hand, there are no special foods from which the athlete’s muscles grow faster. Practice shows that it is quite possible to gain muscle mass on ordinary buckwheat, oatmeal, and chicken breast.
Diet for training
The main difficulty in nutrition for mass gain is that the only way to control the correct diet and composition of the diet during training is to calculate the KBJU of food. In other words, it is necessary to keep a food diary and cook food at home with weighing the ingredients.
Otherwise, it’s almost impossible to determine how many calories, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates are in your serving of food. In addition, most prepared meals in canteens contain too many carbohydrates – while the amount of proper fats in them is minimal.
How to eat right when exercising?
First of all, to gain muscle mass, you really need to eat a lot. Unfortunately, the caloric intake of most naturally thin men who have trouble gaining weight is often less than 2000 kcal per day – while 2700-2900 kcal is required for muscle growth.
Below are the seven most important nutritional rules for muscle growth during strength training. If you really want to pump up, you should study them carefully and follow them regularly:
1. Increase your total calorie intake
- Do not forget to monitor the daily calorie intake – it should be at least 15-20% higher than the norm, otherwise, the body simply will not have enough calories to recover from a workout and the energy necessary for muscle growth.
2. Balance Your Nutrients
- If you’re aiming for muscle growth, not fat, it’s important not only to increase calories but also to monitor the percentage of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Fats should account for about a third of all calories consumed, about 2 g of protein is needed for each kg of body weight, and the rest of the calories are for carbohydrates.
3. Eat carbs before your workout
- The ideal option is a serving of fast carbohydrate-rich food 2-3 hours before training. If you go to the gym early in the morning and you do not have the opportunity to have a full breakfast before training, then immediately after waking up, you need to take a portion of mass gainer (20 g of protein and 15-20 g of carbohydrates).
4. Use sports protein
- Protein consumed before and after training should be absorbed as quickly as possible. Regular foods (especially eggs and meat) take several hours to fully digest – you won’t get energy when you need it. The use of protein is preferable.
5. Feed Your Body With BCAAs
- The intake of BCAAs during the strength training itself will become a source of additional energy for the body and will reduce the level of the stress hormone cortisol, which is formed during muscle fatigue and negatively affects subsequent muscle growth and recovery.
6. Remember the carb window
- Immediately after a workout, the body is in carbohydrate window mode and needs a quick source of energy replenishment. A post-workout shake should contain not only proteins but also carbohydrates – 0.3-0.5 g of protein and 0.3-1.5 g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight. Either a gainer or a mixture of protein isolates with juice will do.
7. Don’t just rely on sports nutrition
- Sports nutrition wins only in one case – before, after, and during training, because at this time, fast-digesting protein cannot be replaced by anything else. At any other time of the day, you can replace sports nutrition with a regular meal – it is also important that it is much cheaper.
Sample menu for muscle growth
The logic of compiling the right nutrition menu during training is based on the fact that in the morning you take fast carbohydrates to increase performance, at lunch the main meal (the largest amount of carbohydrates) takes place, and dinner consists of vegetables and meat.
Breakfast:
- A cup of oatmeal (30-50 g) in milk with half a banana and a handful of dried fruits.
Lunch:
- A large portion of pilaf with chicken breast and olive oil dressing. For cooking, use either brown rice or a mixture of cereals (buckwheat, quinoa, lentils, bulgur). About 140-150 g of cereal, 100 g of chicken, and 10-15 g of olive oil (added at the end).
Nutrition after training:
- A large serving of protein (one and a half scoops) and 10-20 g of fast carbohydrates to close the carbohydrate window. Also, add 5g of creatine to your sports shake and take a few BCAA capsules before your workout.
Second lunch:
- Three egg omelets.
Dinner:
- Vegetable stew with beef and olive oil dressing. Use 200-250 g of various vegetables (zucchini, sweet peppers, corn), 100 g of pumpkin or potatoes (it is better to use sweet potatoes), 50-60 g of durum wheat cereals or pasta, and 100-150 g of beef.
Sports nutrition, vitamins, and minerals
Given the high level of physical activity during training, athletes require an increased amount of vitamins and minerals. The lack of zinc and magnesium has an extremely negative effect on both the metabolic processes of men in general and the mechanism of muscle growth in particular.
Despite the fact that you can take a multivitamin complex in tablets to cover the deficiency, it is important not to forget that the athlete’s diet must necessarily include not only meat and sources of carbohydrates but also all kinds of vegetables, nuts, and fruits.
On the plus side, a diet high in vegetables is good for health, both in terms of vitamins and minerals and fiber.
Amino acids during strength training
Athletes-bodybuilders say that to maintain optimal performance during strength training, you need to consume 12-15 g of protein isolate and 30-45 g of carbohydrates for every hour of training. If you use liquid amino acids or BCAA amino acids in capsules, 5-7 g is enough.
Such supplements will help speed up the rate of recovery and muscle growth by lowering cortisol. An additional reduction in cortisol can be achieved by adding 0.2-0.5 g of vitamin C and 3-5 g of D-aspartic acid to the cocktail. Most of the special sports nutrition for muscle growth have just such a composition.
Creatine for muscle growth
Another sports supplement that helps the body build muscle faster is creatine. Being a structural component of animal meat, creatine optimizes energy processes in muscle fibers, acting as a source of fast energy.
In simple terms, creatine allows muscles to become stronger, while at the same time increasing their volume. It is necessary to take creatine daily, since it does not act instantly, but only accumulates in the tissues of the body – the effect of taking it appears no earlier than after 5-10 days.
That is why the scheme of taking creatine, in fact, does not play a significant role – you can take it both immediately after training and during the main meal.
Proper training nutrition for muscle growth is not just about taking expensive sports protein powder immediately after training. If you want to gain muscle mass quickly, you need complete control over your diet, its calorie content, protein, fat, and carbohydrate content. Only this will allow your muscles to grow.