Bodybuilding routines must include eating to build muscle as a component of an overall bodybuilding program. Working up a sweat in the gym and concentrating on all your muscle groups in order to build muscle mass is fine, but you are only going half way if you do not also eat foods that build muscle.
Lifting weights forces your muscles to work hard, and can also cause minor injury to muscles. Although those injuries can heal very quickly, eating the right foods that build muscle can really speed up the process. Food supplies fuel that the body needs, and the right food can do wonders.
A diet that is low in fat goes without saying with any serious bodybuilder. Even if you do not carry extra flab or fat, it is important to keep it that way. And if you do have some fat you want to get rid of, eating foods that build muscle in the form of low fat food is important. But what about protein? Is it important or not? You bet it is. Protein provides the building blocks to build that muscle. What types of protein are best? Chicken, eggs, steak (with the fat cut off), fish, cheese (especially cottage cheese), and nuts are all great sources of protein.
Figuring out how much protein you should be eating can be tricky. Too much protein is bad for your health, and puts a strain on your system. But you need to eat a lot of protein and not much else for that to happen. Ask at your gym as to your daily protein requirement. It depends on your weight, and on your lean mass weight (basically the weight of all your bones and organs, minus all body fat).
Foods that build muscle include carbohydrates. Many uninformed people believe that all carbohydrates should be eliminated in order to obtain a fit, lean body. Nothing could be further from the truth. So long as the carbohydrates you ingest include plenty of fibre, carbs will contribute to building muscle mass - not body fat. Great carbohydrate based foods include rice, oatmeal, bananas and other types of fruit such as apples and pears.
Reducing fat in your diet is also important when considering what foods build muscle mass. I said earlier that protein is essential for the best muscle building nutrition. The problem is that many protein sources are also high in fat. The key, therefore, is to eating plenty of proteins that are low in fat. That way you get the benefit of the protein, and you reduce your fat intake at the same time. So cut all the fat off your meat, and the skin off your chicken, and drink low fat milk instead of the full fat variety.
You may argue that drinking has no effect on what to eat to build muscle. But you would be wrong. Hydration is critical to general health and wellbeing. Even more so when you are working to build muscle mass.
Drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water a day (even 12 glasses) is absolutely essential to allow your body to properly digest all the good food you are eating. For those who just cannot stomach the taste (or lack of taste) of so much water, other types of liquid although not quite as good are still acceptable as water substitutes ? fruit juice and even soft drinks can suffice as long as you (preferably) drink some of your liquid intake in water form.
Regular bodybuilding workouts are also essential to maximise the effects of good bodybuilding diets. It is all very well knowing what to eat to build muscle, but if you do not combine this great new diet by building muscle mass with weight lifting exercises or other bodybuilding routines, you will not be able to build muscle fast. So do both - eat foods that build muscle, and undertake bodybuilding workouts, and you will end up with a body you will be proud of.
Lifting weights forces your muscles to work hard, and can also cause minor injury to muscles. Although those injuries can heal very quickly, eating the right foods that build muscle can really speed up the process. Food supplies fuel that the body needs, and the right food can do wonders.
A diet that is low in fat goes without saying with any serious bodybuilder. Even if you do not carry extra flab or fat, it is important to keep it that way. And if you do have some fat you want to get rid of, eating foods that build muscle in the form of low fat food is important. But what about protein? Is it important or not? You bet it is. Protein provides the building blocks to build that muscle. What types of protein are best? Chicken, eggs, steak (with the fat cut off), fish, cheese (especially cottage cheese), and nuts are all great sources of protein.
Figuring out how much protein you should be eating can be tricky. Too much protein is bad for your health, and puts a strain on your system. But you need to eat a lot of protein and not much else for that to happen. Ask at your gym as to your daily protein requirement. It depends on your weight, and on your lean mass weight (basically the weight of all your bones and organs, minus all body fat).
Foods that build muscle include carbohydrates. Many uninformed people believe that all carbohydrates should be eliminated in order to obtain a fit, lean body. Nothing could be further from the truth. So long as the carbohydrates you ingest include plenty of fibre, carbs will contribute to building muscle mass - not body fat. Great carbohydrate based foods include rice, oatmeal, bananas and other types of fruit such as apples and pears.
Reducing fat in your diet is also important when considering what foods build muscle mass. I said earlier that protein is essential for the best muscle building nutrition. The problem is that many protein sources are also high in fat. The key, therefore, is to eating plenty of proteins that are low in fat. That way you get the benefit of the protein, and you reduce your fat intake at the same time. So cut all the fat off your meat, and the skin off your chicken, and drink low fat milk instead of the full fat variety.
You may argue that drinking has no effect on what to eat to build muscle. But you would be wrong. Hydration is critical to general health and wellbeing. Even more so when you are working to build muscle mass.
Drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water a day (even 12 glasses) is absolutely essential to allow your body to properly digest all the good food you are eating. For those who just cannot stomach the taste (or lack of taste) of so much water, other types of liquid although not quite as good are still acceptable as water substitutes ? fruit juice and even soft drinks can suffice as long as you (preferably) drink some of your liquid intake in water form.
Regular bodybuilding workouts are also essential to maximise the effects of good bodybuilding diets. It is all very well knowing what to eat to build muscle, but if you do not combine this great new diet by building muscle mass with weight lifting exercises or other bodybuilding routines, you will not be able to build muscle fast. So do both - eat foods that build muscle, and undertake bodybuilding workouts, and you will end up with a body you will be proud of.
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