A Nutritional Guide to Building Muscle

Correct nutrition for building muscle is in two parts:

A)    Diet

B)     Supplementation

A) The main principles of diet are:

¨      Avoid sugars and other refined carbohydrates.

¨      Avoid chemicals; synthetic flavours, colours and preservatives.

¨      Avoid fried foods.

¨      70% of the diet should consist of complex carbohydrates from vegetables, fruit and whole grains.

¨      20-25% of the diet should consist of protein.

¨      5-10% of the diet should consist of essential fatty acids of the type found in fish, nuts, seeds and vegetable sources.

To explain the above rules, it needs to be explained that proteins, as most people know, are the major building blocks of muscle and other tissue. It seems obvious from this statement that the major component of food for muscle building should be protein. Not So!!

Muscles are built from protein, and for this reason protein is essential for muscle building. So why isn't protein the only important nutritional requirement in building muscle?

If fuel (carbohydrates) runs low, the proteins in the tissues can be used as fuel. So if physical activity takes place in the absence of available carbohydrates, then proteins will be used. The body will use its own tissues to fuel itself, and muscles will shrink. Carbohydrates don't build muscle, but they prevent them from being cannibalised for fuel.

B) Supplementation

1) Vitamins, Minerals and vitamin C

Enzymes in the body are responsible for initiating all actions. Enzymes are made from protein, with different vitamins and minerals forming each enzyme. Vitamin and mineral supplements, containing good levels of all the essential nutrients, are therefore needed to maximise bodily efficiency and growth.

Vitamin C is the most important vitamin of all. At least 1000mg per day is needed for optimum tissue building.

Our Recommendations

A) General

1)      Diet; as explained.

2)      High strength multivitamin/multimineral; our favourite is VM75, plus Solamins and Hy-C.

B) Workout Days

1) Before workout:

Take a carbohydrate drink 30-40 minutes before commencing workout.

If  the workout is longer than 45 minutes, an isotonic drink is needed at intervals throughout the workout.

2) After workout:

Within 15 to 20 minutes, take a mass-gaining supplement containing carbohydrates and protein in the ratio of 2:1. We can advise which is the best.

Note

There are many sophisticated aids that help a lot, but we advise getting the basics right first.

To buy any of these products, click this link: www.NationalNutrition.co.uk