Crack The Fat Loss Code Ebook

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Eating Plans and Tips for Beginning Bodybuilders

By Bradley J. Teele

Muscle strength, size, and endurance development result from a proper nutrition program and a regular workout regimen. The training programs of professional bodybuilders and athletes are usually segmented into different phases, with each phase having a different workout goal and nutritional diet. Most muscle gains take place during the off season phase. This is a time when an athlete should eat large amounts of protein spread throughout small meals in the course of a day.

There are other phases besides off-season and a transition from another phase requires changing the diet of a bodybuilder to match his or her objectives for each phase. It is crucial for every athlete to understand the dynamics of every training phase to come up with an effective training plan.

Off-Season Phase - As stated above, athletes in this phase are mainly concerned with building up muscles as much as possible. Luis Burke, author of the book "Practical Sports Nutrition", explains that high amounts of protein with healthy carbohydrates are essential to a bodybuilder during off season. Bodybuilders schedule their eating habits to monitor their protein intake and may even schedule their meals based on their training sessions for better results.

Hypertrophy stage - The objective for this phase is to increase strength without any increase in weight. A typical practice during this phase is to follow a restricted eating diet every 2 to 3 hours. Great care must be taken in selecting the right muscle-building foods combined with healthy carbohydrates for energy.

Competition Preparation - This phase starts 6 to 16 weeks before a competition. Calorie intake is restricted for a consistent weight loss leading up to the event. This is done to preserve all the muscle built up during off season while reducing body fat. This is easily achieved with a low-fat, high protein diet scheduled around each training session.

Cutting - The cutting phase takes place a couple of weeks or days before a competition. This involves a higher degree of calorie restriction than competition prep to burn fats rapidly. Most bodybuilders depend on supplements for their nutritional needs as they reduce their calorie intake. Circuit training sessions are often done during this phase coupled with an increase in resting time to help the body recover.

After the Competition - It is ideal for an athlete to adjust smoothly to a healthier diet after the competition. This is a crucial phase as many bodybuilders go on an eating spree and gain weight rapidly after following a restricted diet for months. It is important for anyone to ease back to eating normally after a competition for health purposes and to maintain some of the results built up during the other phases.

Maintaining a steady nutrition program is difficult with the different phases that most bodybuilders go through. However, sound nutritional principles and working with a nutritionist or dietitian throughout training can help you increase your chances of long-term success. - 17268

About the Author:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home