The Basics of Nutrition for Bodybuilders

When a bodybuilder stands in front of a crowd to show off that magnificent body, it seems like he is a superhuman being that came to us from another planet that way.  But that powerful shape and the muscles that make that athlete a champion are the results of months or years of hard work, smart conditioning and preparation for competition.

That preparation involved a lot more than just pumping iron and learning how to pose when in a competition.  Just like any sport, to be a champion in bodybuilding, it must become a lifestyle.  So it is no surprise that to be successful at building those powerful muscles, a bodybuilder has to start with the basic building blocks of strength and fitness.  Those basic building blocks start with the right kind of nutrition.  For a bodybuilder, that is following rules of nutrition that will contribute to the quest for building strong muscles for bodybuilding competition.

The nutrition concepts that a bodybuilder must live by are not hard to comprehend.  The key to providing the right fuel source for a powerful bodybuilding program is combining energy sources with healthy nutrients.  Well designed bodybuilding nutrition causes the metabolism of the builder to accelerate.  But that natural metabolic increase does not become so excessive that it begins to degrade muscle mass which is the very thing the bodybuilder is trying to build and preserve.

Protein is an essential nutrient to build muscle because healthy protein sources can build lean and strong muscle that also provide the shape and definition a bodybuilder wants.  For most of us who are only out to lose weight, the result may be a skinny shape but that outcome does not provide a healthy shape that comes from bodybuilding.

So many of the rules of building muscle can help those of us who are trying to become fit without looking lanky but without body definition.  Protein is the nutritional building block of building muscle.  Healthy proteins sources include fish, chicken, turkey and protein drinks.

Along with protein, a good representation of carbohydrates must be part of a bodybuilder's diet.  But that diet must have a controlled quantity of carbs because if the diet is too heavy with carbohydrates, the result is excess fat.  Carbs can be harmful to the long term success of a diet because they make you feel full quickly but they burn away so you are hungry too quickly which means you eat too much.

A good bodybuilding diet does not eliminate fat from the meal plan entirely.  Fat is an excellent source of energy and it contributes to the proper functioning of the organs as well as the health of the skin, hair and nails.  A well balanced approach to dieting with a focus on muscle development will help anyone who is working out to lose fat and gain good muscle mass.  We can find that proper balance in our own diets by learning how nutrition is the heart of a program of success for any professional bodybuilder.