Fitness experts concur that nutrition plays a significant role when it comes to muscle building. It’s common knowledge to beginners and those going back to the gym that without a solid nutrition program, it is difficult to make serious gains in strength and mass through regular training. The fact remains that the more you become serious about your nutrition, the better the results you will get. According to researchers, macronutrients including proteins, fat and carbohydrates are rich in calories which are crucial in muscle building. In addition, weight loss supplements and meal timing also impacts hugely on your final results.
1 Understanding Muscle Building
Every time you engage in workouts, several changes occur as your body tries to repair or replace damaged muscle fibers through cellular processes that fuse muscle fibers together to form new muscle protein, also known as myofibrils. During repair, myofibrils increase in thickness and number forming muscle hypertrophy or growth. For muscle growth to occur, the rate of muscle protein synthesis must be higher than the rate of muscle protein breakdown. However, this adaptation occurs when you are resting but not when you are lifting weights.
2 Diet Impact on Muscle Growth
According to Katherine Tallmadge, a registered dietitian, your diet and meal timing determines your ability to build mass and strength. Tallmadge is also the author of Diet Simple: 195 Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & inspirations. She adds that other than nutrition, the quality of your strength-training exercise is also important in building muscle mass. Any successful training program aimed at muscle building should be supported with a high-energy healthy diet plan offering adequate protein, carbohydrate and saturated fat. However, consuming high-fat foods may mark excessive energy intake which increases the risk of gaining fat mass instead of muscle.
3 Meal and Snack Timing
According to nutrition experts, eating more frequently instead of going for huge portions per meal is an effective approach to ensure that there is an increase in food and energy intake. It has been shown that athletes who try to meet their nutritional needs by three meals a day experience stomach discomforts and end up giving up on their plans. The most efficient way to counter your nutritional demands is to consume compact snacks and high-energy drinks in between meals without getting filled up. Recommendable choices include liquid meal, milk shakes, sports and cereal bars and flavored dairy foods like yogurt. You can try supplements like Truvy, it is made of different oral dietary supplements that enable users to reduce cravings, lose weight, and increase physical energy levels.
4 Importance of Timing
By incorporating a small serving of protein in all your meals and snacks, it will help to optimize amino acid levels in your blood which is crucial for muscle growth. You can obtain protein from different sources including breakfast cereals, bread, rice or dairy products other than meat. If you consume a carbohydrate-rich, moderate-protein snack or meal soon after exercising, it can boost* muscle growth as it triggers an increase in production of anabolic hormones, reduces protein breakdown, and supplies amino acids necessary for protein synthesis. For optimized benefits on muscle growth, take the snack 30 minutes before and after weight training.
5 Protein Role in Muscle Building
Protein is crucial for the overall health of your bone, muscles and immune system. According to new research, consumption of the right amount of protein at the right time is essential for your general health as well as for effective muscle gain and weight loss. By consuming enough protein while losing weight, you stand a better chance of preventing muscle loss while promoting fat loss. In a personalized study involving aging populations, it was found out that those participants who ate1.2-1.6 grams of protein per a kilo of body weight, reduced age-related bone and muscle loss.
6 Tea Helps in Muscle Building
In reference to a new study, it has been demonstrated that tea plays an important role in improving muscular strength. Tea is rich in compounds known as polyphenols which reduce oxidative stress and inflammation which occurs with age causing bone and muscle loss.
For instance, in a recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, post-menopausal women who had started exhibiting early signs of osteoporosis who took tea showed an improvement in bone and muscle strength. With this study and results in mind, it is apparent that any food that is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, including fruits and vegetables, can help to improve bone and muscle strength.
Conclusion
Your diet has a direct impact on the strength of your muscles as well as your overall well being. A good diet should cater for all your nutritional requirements including carbohydrates, proteins, Vitamins and minerals.
Deficiencies in any of these nutrients can have negative impacts on your muscle building program. Meal and snack timing is another key factor to keep in mind when trying to build your muscles. Additionally, other than diet, your workout plan dictates your path towards your fitness goals in muscle building.
