If you really want to make a body worthy of your spirit, we recommend reading the article to properly form an athlete's diet. A healthy body with developed muscles cannot be obtained by doing only physical activity. Achieving bodybuilding forms is possible only by leading an appropriate lifestyle, which includes daily training, taking steroid drugs and, of course, proper nutrition. A properly formulated diet for a novice athlete is a difficult task that requires money, since high-quality products have never been cheap and the help of a specialist in its preparation, at least at first.
Read our article on how to eat after a workout for a bodybuilder
Basic principles of athlete nutrition
Exercises in the gym will be effective only in combination with proper nutrition. There are different diets that are more effective in certain cases. For a novice bodybuilder, they are their own, since the main goal is to build lean muscle mass, and not lose weight. From the very beginning of your sports career, you should adhere to the basic principles of nutrition.
For the first month and a half of the started training, the athlete should completely abandon a number of prohibited products, these include:
- carbonated drinks;
- semi-finished products;
- flour products made from white flour;
- smoked meats;
- confectionery;
- fatty food;
- sausages;
- jams and preserves;
- pickles.
Most of the foods on this list are simple carbohydrates, and they are the worst enemies of the athlete, and indeed of any person in principle. They are quickly processed in the body, turning into body fat. The second part of the described products retains water in the body, due to the excessive content of salt and chemical additives in them.
Maximum attitude to protein foods. Protein or protein should form the basis of your diet, it is he who contributes to building muscle. Protein foods that should be constantly present in the diet:
- chicken eggs;
- veal;
- chicken fillet;
- seafood;
- white fish varieties;
- salmon;
- legumes;
- cottage cheese.
Important! A bodybuilder's daily diet should be half protein, another 30% carbohydrates, and 20% fat. Carbohydrates, which should make up 30% of your menu, should also be correct, namely complex, these include:
- cereals, best of all buckwheat and oatmeal, rice and semolina should be excluded;
- durum wheat pasta;
- greens;
- zucchini;
- tomatoes;
- cucumbers;
- coarse bread with bran;
- apples.
Of the fats, it is better to give preference to vegetable oils, for example, olive, linseed or sunflower oil. Also, their sources can be nuts, some types of fish.
Accustom yourself to fractional meals, preferably more often, but in smaller portions. The athlete should receive at least 5-6 meals per day. The opinion that one cannot eat after six is erroneous, such a restriction will only hinder the accumulation of muscle mass. An hour before going to bed, you need to drink a protein shake or eat a pack of cottage cheese.
Carbohydrate food should be concentrated in the first half of the day, the second should be saturated with proteins.
Drink plenty of water, it will not stay in the body if you do not abuse salt. All meals can be prepared:
- Grilled;
- in the oven;
- steam or cook.
Give up the habit of eating fried, the dish will not yield in its taste if it is grilled or baked in the oven, but the fat content in it will be significantly reduced.
Bodybuilder Day Menu
The ideal option is to ask a specialist for help in drawing up the right athlete's menu, but if this is not possible for a number of reasons, we offer an approximate diet for the day.
First breakfast:
- buckwheat porridge 100 g;
- three boiled eggs;
- Apple.
Athlete's second breakfast:
- veal 200 g;
- oatmeal 100 g;
- vegetables 300-400 g.
Afternoon snack:
protein cocktail
Bodybuilder Dinner:
- durum pasta 100 g;
- fish 200 g;
- vegetables 200 g.
Second dinner, before bed:
low-fat cottage cheese 200 g or casein protein
Sports Supplements - As Complementary Nutrition
Together with a properly formulated diet for a bodybuilder, sports nutrition will be useful. But the market for such supplements is now so crowded and replete with various super offers that lure novice athletes with the demonstration of mega results from their use. Indeed, there are also bars, pills, cocktails, powders … How to choose the really necessary supplement that will benefit, and not just empty your wallet?
- Protein. It is a prime muscle building supplement. General advice on taking it is 3-4 times one serving, in the amount of 20-30 g. The maximum allowable single serving is 40 g. But still, it is better to determine the required amount of protein just for you, the specialist will help.
- A gainer is also a protein, but with the addition of a small amount of carbohydrates. It is believed that such a compound allows for better protein absorption. The gainer will help replenish energy reserves after an intense workout while stimulating muscle growth.
- Vitamin and mineral complex. As a rule, vitamins supplied with food for an athlete are simply not enough. Retinol is considered one of the main elements for gaining muscle mass; it speeds up metabolic processes and aids in protein absorption. Also vitamin A, it is responsible for the development and growth of cells, improves vision and reproductive function. As a rule, retinol is included in every vitamin complex for athletes.
- Vitamin B1 or thiamine is responsible for the redox processes in the body. If this vitamin is not enough in the body, it leads to poor digestibility of foods and entails a loss of muscle mass. You should also not forget about amino acids for athletes, they are also important for bodybuilders.
- Cardioprotectors will not be superfluous for the athlete, especially in the hot season. Taking them before training will increase endurance and help maintain a healthy cardiovascular system.
- Chondroprotectors will strengthen the musculoskeletal system. The loads exerted on the joints during exercise gradually destroy the cartilaginous tissue and it needs additional "nourishment", which are chondroprotectors.
Supplements for athletes can significantly improve your performance, but remember to use them rationally, combined with a properly formulated diet and exercise. Naturally, you do not need to expect a miracle from them, since, for example, protein is a concentrated protein obtained from the most ordinary products. Therefore, you always have the choice to use it in powder form or in the form of hard food, that is, get it from natural products. The main thing is that the amount of each element entering the body is correct, and not in what form it gets there. Having decided to seriously take care of your body, do not forget that results can be achieved only with hard, daily work. Athlete nutrition is an integral part of training. Exhausting yourself with physical exercise, but at the same time, allowing you to deviate from the generally accepted rules in nutrition, you reduce your efforts to zero. Each process requires getting used to, and after a month a certain rhythm of life that you set yourself will seem to you a natural process. And looking at how your body changes for the better, the desire to eat fast food will disappear by itself.
Video about an athlete's diet, how to make it up correctly:
Purchase of food for gaining mass (bodybuilder menu):
