Learn how great champions formulate their diet and why athletes put nutrition first. Even more important than sleep and training, I wonder? Mike may have been the only athlete to take a scientific approach to his nutritional program. This is due to the fact that most bodybuilders like to say that every body is different and you need a special diet, created especially for you. According to Mentzer, this approach is anti-scientific, since the physiology of all people is the same. Today we will tell you about the diet of Mike Mentzer in bodybuilding and the principles of its preparation.
To understand the real role of nutrition in bodybuilding, athletes need to set an achievable goal for themselves, because this is the only way to assess a realistic perspective. Unfortunately, most novice builders expect quick or unattainable effects from training. Many pro-athletes went through this and only over time realized the fallacy of this approach. Often, beginners consider an annual weight gain of 4 kilograms to be insignificant. However, maintaining such a rate of mass growth, after five years, instead of 70 kilos, you will begin to weigh 90. Believe me, this is a very good result.
How to eat properly for mass gain?
For example, a goal has been set - to gain four and a half kilograms annually. After setting a goal, the most important question is determining the amount of nutrients that need to be consumed for this. Scientists have found that the calorie content of a pound of muscle is 600 kilocalories, and a similar mass of fat has a caloric value of 3.5 thousand kilocalories. From this it can be concluded that muscles require less energy to grow than to gain fat.
Note that such a significant difference in the energy reserves of muscles and fat is a consequence of their different composition. If adipose tissue is composed mainly of lipids, then in the muscles most of the mass is water. For an annual 10 pound weight gain, you need to consume six thousand calories a year, not a day. To determine the daily requirement, you should perform the simplest arithmetic operations, and as a result, it turns out that in order to achieve this goal, you need to consume 16 calories every day.
The need for energy of each person is associated with his metabolism, but scientists have found that the body uses more energy to ensure the performance of internal organs than muscles. To determine the daily calorie intake you need, which will ensure the maintenance of the body's performance, you should use simple formulas:
- Men - (body weight x 10) + body weight x 2.
- Girls - (body weight x 10) + body weight.
For example, if a man weighs 200 pounds, his body needs 2,400 calories per day.
How to balance your nutritional program?
Athletes are mistaken when they say that they need to consume a huge amount of food and especially protein compounds in order to gain muscle. However, muscle tissue contains just over 20 percent protein and 70 percent water. Nobody claims that you need to drink plenty of water for muscle growth! Protein compounds also have a store of energy, and if it is not required by the body, it will be converted into fat or simply excreted from the body.
Nutritionists agree that the human diet should contain 60 percent carbohydrates, 25% protein and only 15 percent fat. It should be said that today there are a huge number of different nutrition programs, some of which are so imbalanced that they pose a health hazard. Of course, the weight of the athletes exceeds the weight of the average person and they require more calories per day. This primarily concerns vitamin B (thiamine) and carbohydrates. Here is a list of foods every builder needs to consume:
- Cereals and baked goods (all types of bread, pasta, cereals, etc.) are an excellent source of proteins and carbohydrates, as well as vitamins and minerals.
- Vegetables and fruits - contain fast-digesting carbohydrates and vitamins.
- Protein foods (meat, fish, nuts, legumes, etc.) - in addition to proteins, this group of foods contains a lot of vitamin B and iron.
- Dairy products and milk - contain proteins, vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and calcium.
How to make the right nutrition program?
In order not to have health problems, we need more than forty different macro- and micronutrients. They can all be classified into six groups.
Water
Two-thirds of the human body is water. It is in the aquatic environment that almost all complex biochemical reactions take place. If you do not drink enough water, then the question will be not only the growth of muscles, but your entire existence. But drinking too much water is also dangerous and can lead to electrolyte imbalance. Drink when you are thirsty.
Protein compounds
For many athletes, this nutrient is magical, but we have already said that muscles contain only 22 percent of the protein. If excess water is simply removed from the body, then protein compounds can be transformed into fats. Today there are many opinions about the required amount of protein consumed.
Often, you can hear recommendations about the need for athletes to consume large amounts of protein in order to activate the muscle growth processes. However, the body's need for any nutrient depends on body weight, not physical activity.
Carbohydrates
In the past few years, only the lazy has not spoken about the importance of protein compounds for athletes. But carbohydrates have a "hard time" and they are subjected to massive criticism. This company began in the fifties in the UK, then crossed the ocean to the United States and spread safely throughout the planet. Let's see if these accusations are true.
It is known that carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the body and muscles in particular. If a carbohydrate deficiency is created in the body during exercise, amines taken from muscle tissue are used to provide the muscles with energy. Any substance can pose a threat to the body, including carbohydrates. However, this is only possible with their high concentration. So that you don't have problems, consume about 60 percent of this nutrient daily from the total energy value of the body.
Fats
There are two groups of fats - saturated and unsaturated. With excessive use of the former (mainly found in food of an animal nature), problems with the work of the heart may arise. At the same time, they are used for the synthesis of anabolic hormones and for this reason they must be consumed, but in moderation.
Unsaturated fats are found in plant foods and too much of them can also cause various health problems. It is enough to consume about 15 percent of the total caloric intake of fat to provide the body with this nutrient.
Vitamins
Minerals and vitamins are micronutrients and the body's need for them is lower in comparison with macronutrients. If you are using a balanced nutrition program, then you will not have problems with these substances. If you think you are lacking any vitamins, you can take them additionally.
High calorie nutrition program (600 kcal)
Often people start bodybuilding to gain weight, as they weigh less than the norm. They have a high metabolism, and their body burns significantly more energy in comparison with the rest. In order for them to get positive results from sports, it is necessary to use a high-calorie diet. Here is an example of such a program, while you should break the amount of consumed substances. And the more meals there are, the better for you.
Basic nutritional guidelines from Mike Mentzer in this video:
