If an athlete does not know anything about nutrition, he can’t build muscle. It would seem - what is the connection? Train more, increase the load - and the muscles will grow by themselves. But this is not true, proper nutrition for muscle growth is of great importance. Moreover, it is about proper nutrition, which differs from what and how an ordinary person eats, not busy with grueling training. Here we need an individual approach to each athlete, taking into account his age, gender, intensity of loads, physique.
Proper nutrition for muscle growth must include not only fats, proteins and carbohydrates, but also vitamins and minerals. The athlete’s daily menu should be varied and include products from all groups. These are dairy products, meat, fish, eggs, fats, confectionery and flour products, vegetables and fruits. Dairy and meat products should occupy a major place in the diet, as it is they that contribute to a greater extent to muscle building. Protein must be consumed per day from this calculation: 2g multiplied by your own weight in kilograms.
If you do not know how to eat properly during training, your loads can burn the stored energy - and then they lose their meaning. Carbohydrates give energy to the whole body and they must be consumed correctly. Carbohydrates are divided into two groups: fast and slow. Before training, you need the second, which are digested more slowly, which means they will keep their muscles toned longer. They contain foods such as potatoes, rice and oatmeal. Fast carbohydrates are also needed, but they need to be consumed after training, this will give the muscles energy that wasted during exercise. This includes honey, preserves, raisins and pastries.
If you give a general definition of how to eat properly for athletes, the most important thing to know is that there should be variety in the diet and you need to eat food at least five times a day. And we must remember that muscles build up during rest, and not during training. Conclusion: you need a good rest, since the growth of muscle mass directly depends on the correct ratio of nutrition, physical activity and rest. And we must not forget about water, otherwise, with insufficient intake of water into the body, the muscles will simply collapse.
Many people think that fats are not needed in the diet. This is fundamentally wrong. Proper nutrition for muscle growth must include fats. They contain the calories necessary for a person who regularly exercises in the gym. In addition, the absence of fats can affect sexual function, since the synthesis of testosterone is impossible without fats. Their consumption should be dosed and in moderation so as not to gain excess weight. If the athlete consumes eggs, nuts, cheese, seeds and vegetable oil, then the amount of fat will be sufficient.
Proper nutrition for muscle growth must include vegetables and fruits, as well as juices, best if it is fresh. There are no problems with fresh vegetables and fruits in the summer-autumn season, but in winter and spring you need to lean on dried fruits - raisins, dried apricots, figs contain enough useful substances. In addition, a balanced diet does not exclude the use of multivitamins. And, of course, in the diet should not be any fast foods, as well as excessively thermally processed food.
General recommendations for a balanced diet for athletes contain tips to eat less salt and sugar, replace animal fats with vegetable fats as much as possible. The tasks that nutrition should solve: providing enough calories, vitamins and minerals, reducing the layer of fat, and, accordingly, increasing the muscles of the body. As a result, an optimal hormonal background should be achieved, which will achieve the maximum result.