Bella Adams
Recent decades have seen a steady increase in interest in sports. But when doing strength exercises to build an athletic figure, you should never underestimate the importance of proper nutrition for gaining muscle mass. The growth of strength and muscle volume depends on the amount of energy expended during training, and the nutrients in the diet for gaining muscle mass as building materials. In this article, we will focus on the main nutritional factors that contribute to this process.
First, the time of eating is very important. Let’s start, of course, with breakfast. It is best to have breakfast as soon as possible after waking up. After all, during sleep, your body was deprived of all the necessary nutrients. A good choice for the first meal would be, for example, oatmeal or scrambled eggs with a predominant amount of protein.
Recall that nutrients are substances that must be part of the food consumed to provide the body with the necessary energy, growth-promoting components, and substances that regulate growth and energy metabolism in the human body.
Thus, nutrients can be divided into:
- Macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates, neuropeptides, macronutrients calcium, zinc, and others).
- Micronutrients (vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, DNA, RNA, trace elements, etc.)
- Nanonutrients (selenium, vanadium, chromium, germanium, etc.).
If you want to build muscle mass, it is recommended to eat at least 5 times a day. At lunch, it is better to give preference to foods that contain a large amount of protein (fish and meat, preferably chicken breast). Rice or buckwheat are suitable for carbohydrate-containing foods. For the last meal, for example, cottage cheese or other protein-containing foods are suitable.
It is important to make sure that the body receives proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in the right ratio. For example, a lack of carbohydrates can be harmful to the body. After all, they contain the so-called energy of the sun.
This energy is essential for intense training. If there is a lack of carbohydrates, the body is likely to start using its own muscle tissue, which will reduce all your efforts to build muscle to almost nothing.
As mentioned above, protein is definitely a very important food, especially during the period of active muscle building. The main sources of protein at this time should be chicken, fish of various varieties, beef, legumes, and dairy products. “It is better to choose skimmed milk or with the lowest possible percentage of fat.
Of course, in addition to carbohydrates and proteins, fats are also important. They are necessary, first of all, for the secretion of such an important hormone as testosterone. It is important to adhere to the norm when consuming fats. The norm is usually 15% of the total calories you consume daily. Try to give preference to vegetable fats.
But it’s better to cut down on animal products.
Try to eat carbohydrates before training. It is worth noting that carbohydrates are known to be divided into fast and slow.
The first type, for example, includes sweets: cakes, jams, cookies, cakes, and so on. The second type includes potatoes, rice, oatmeal, and other cereals. Before training, you need to eat slow carbohydrates. After all, the supply of fast carbohydrates will be depleted very quickly, and your body will simply have to use glycogen. After such a workout, your muscles will feel very tired. Slow carbohydrates, on the other hand, will help you. They will gradually supply the blood with glucose, which is one of the main conditions for building muscle mass.
Water is always important. And even more so during intense muscle-building workouts. The human body consists of 75-80% water, and without timely replenishment of water reserves, muscle growth is almost impossible. After all, dehydration can lead to the destruction of muscle tissue. So remember, water is your assistant.
We hope that the above nutrition tips for building muscle will help you achieve the desired results.
