10 Nutritional Tips To Construct A Bigger You
Adding quality mass is the main goal for most bodybuilders. Unfortunately, it’s easier said than done, especially if you’ve been at it for a while. But help is on the way. Our nutritional guide will help you pack on the right kind of size. Even if you think you know everything, you’ll no doubt find suggestions to help bust through your next weight plateau. As sports-nutrition science has accelerated athletes’ knowledge over the decades, guidelines continue to change. However, past wisdom can coexist with new, cutting-edge info. By taking the following principles into account, you could be well on your way to the massive size gains desired by all serious bodybuilders.
#1 Protein Leads The Pack
In the grand scheme of things, nothing is more important than protein. It lays the foundation for growth by supplying the amino acids the body uses to repair and build muscle. Shoot for at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily. Go up to 1.5 g if recovery or adding size is a never-ending struggle.
#2 Take Carbs To Tango
To maximize growth, you need carbs. Carbohydrates digest into glucose, which can then be used as immediate fuel. Surplus glucose is used as muscle glycogen, the stored component of energy that influences stamina and recovery. Equally valuable, carbs boost insulin levels, which is important because insulin is a driving hormone that shuttles amino acids into muscle tissue to enhance muscular growth.
#3 Fat Is Not A Four-Letter Word
Fat has received a bad rap, and unfairly at that. To the bodybuilder seeking greater size, fat is a ready ally. For starters, fat spares the burning of both glucose and amino acids, thereby giving the body access to “more” amino acids and glucose to build muscle. Fats are also hormonal primers. Skimping can compromise testosterone levels, resulting in mediocre, run-of-the-mill mass gains.
#4 Eat More Frequently
Space your whole-food meals and protein shakes into two-to three-hour intervals so that you’re eating at least six times per day. This supplies a nonstop delivery of nutrients to saturate the body and support hormones that encourage muscle repair and growth. Why not gorge on a couple of big meals instead? Larger, less-frequent meals promote bloating, poor absorption and fat storage. Exactly what you don’t want.
#5 Pretraining Meals Are Key
Nobody wants to eat a huge meal and then hit the iron, but a good-sized preworkout meal helps elevate insulin secretion, counteracting the tissue damage that comes with hardcore training. An increase in insulin, coupled with the presence of plenty of amino acids, will negate the “tear down” mechanism typically exerted during training.
#6 Shake It Up During Training
A large pretraining meal may cause too much abdominal discomfort for some, so an effective alternative is a shake comprised of 20 g of whey and 20-40 g of fast-acting carbs, such as Vitargo or even simple table sugar. Consumed during training, it can fight muscle breakdown and create an anticatabolic effect in which glucose (carbs) and amino acids are used during the workout.
#7 Replenish PostWorkout
Within 30 minutes of training, nothing beats a shake comprised of 40-60 g of easy-to-digest whey protein paired with a carbohydrate drink or other fast digesting carbs, such as Cream of Rice or white bread, providing 40-100 g of carbs. After a workout, muscles are in a “pulling state,” meaning they can pull in nutrients and make use of protein and carbs to kick-start the growth process. This quick remedy also shuts down Cortisol, the muscle-wasting hormone that increases with training.
#8 Say Yes To No
Short for nitric oxide, NO primarily comes from the inclusion of arginine-based products consumed before training. Arginine is the amino acid that not only supports growth hormone, but also facilitates NO release. Nitric oxide acts in an expansionary manner; it facilitates blood flow to the muscles, supporting the valued “pump,” a major factor in muscle recruitment and growth.
#9 Activate GH
Growth hormone helps burn bodyfat, build muscle mass and increase insulinlike growth factor-1, a hormone that instigates the muscle-building processes. The body naturally boosts GH release during training and sleep, but taking 7-10 g of arginine before bed can magnify sleep-induced GH release. The trick: avoid carbs before bedtime, as excess glucose can potentially blunt GH output.
#10 Add Branched-Chain Amino Acids
Of the great variety of supplements on the market, few have a track record as impressive as branched-chain amino acids. Five to 10 g taken both before and after training will help block muscle breakdown, increase protein synthesis and suppress hormones that might otherwise interfere with recovery. There’s even evidence that BCAAs may keep testosterone levels from falling.