Diet for a set of muscle mass

The main goal of an athlete in bodybuilding is muscle hypertrophy and two components are necessary to achieve it: heavy volume training and appropriate nutrition. The word “diet” in the title means a special diet, and not restrictions on the amount of food you eat.

Who needs a diet to gain weight?

The essence of the diet for a set of muscle mass is to provide the body
a sufficient number of nutrients, which are at the head of anabolic processes in the body.

During training, the body consumes a large amount of energy, which is stored in the muscles and liver in the form of glycogen. Muscle fibers also break down when you lift weights. To restore energy reserves and build new muscle fibers, the body needs a certain amount of food, which is the source of energy.

Principles of proper nutrition are the same for all athletes, but the technique may differ from the goals. A set of muscle mass is most relevant for bodybuilders, as well as for representatives of such power sports as powerlifting, arm wrestling, etc.

Diet for a set of muscle mass has its own characteristics. First of all, we are talking about an excess of calories. The amount of calories consumed under normal conditions and with intensive training can not be the same. What is usually considered the norm for a bodybuilder will be a deficit, which, as a result, will lead to stagnation in growth and even a decrease in muscle mass.

Number of meals

To ensure an even supply of nutrients throughout the day, it is necessary to increase the frequency of receptions and reduce portions. This approach is due to the ability to provide the body with the necessary “building material” throughout the day and not lead to the deposition of fat cells. The effectiveness of frequent meals is confirmed by scientific studies: the anabolic effect lasts 3-4 hours, so if you distribute the entire diet for two or three meals, some of the calories from the eaten portion will go to fat, especially in endomorphs.

Caloric content of food

Each athlete, depending on the weight of his body, the intensity of training and the purpose of training should eat a certain amount of calories daily. When typing muscle mass there is quite a lot. It is difficult and not always possible for beginning athletes, therefore, you need to make a diet in such a way as to provide the body with the necessary amount of nutrients and not overload the digestive system. To do this, the proportion of high-calorie food in a day’s ration should be 70%. Also, when consuming a large amount of protein foods, do not forget about fiber, but its share in the diet should not exceed 30%. Fiber plays an important role in digestive processes, but its excessive amount can lead to results that do not meet the bodybuilder’s expectations “on the mass”.

Features of the diet

When recruiting muscle mass, the main task of an athlete is to provide the body with the right amount of calories. However, they should come mainly from “slow” carbohydrates. Even with such a diet, frequent consumption of sweet and fatty foods will result in an undesirable result – obesity. Sweet, which contains a large number of fast carbohydrates may be consumed in small amounts only after training, when the so-called “carbohydrate window” opens. At any other time of the day, this food is very quickly absorbed from the intestine, leading to a sharp increase in blood sugar levels, which as a result is translated by the body into fat.

As for fats, they can be consumed in small amounts. It is necessary to completely exclude from the diet of animals and saturated fats, which are abundantly present in such products as pork, fat, sausages, butter, margarine, etc. You can consume vegetable oil in small quantities.

Water

The human body is 70% water, so it is very important to constantly update it. It is recommended to drink at least 3 liters of water a day. This amount includes water in its pure form and contained in products, for example, tea, coffee, soup.

What and when to eat

Most of the food you need to eat in the morning. At the same time, for the evening it is necessary to leave protein food, and before dinner, more emphasis on carbohydrate. Just before bedtime, you need to eat cottage cheese or other protein-rich food that does not contain carbohydrates and fats. It should also be remembered that fiber, which is present in vegetables, facilitates the transport of protein foods through the gastrointestinal tract.

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