“I have never observed the mode: I ate at will, drank, slept. Neglected recreation, vacations, medical treatment, he wrote at nights. My strength as in my companions, was formed only from the workouts. ”

Don`t add strength only from the workouts? Isn`t it Interesting? So in fact you can not escape , you’ll still need to train.

Here is an even more convincing example about nutrition:

“Take, for example, Ivan Maksimovic Poddubnyj (1871-1949), undefeated fighter, who became famous all over the world. Came from a simple Ukrainian family, Ivan Maksimovic loved simple and healthy food.

His niece Maria Stepanovna Sobko told us how one day in Taganrog Poddubnyj took her to the dining room. We sat down at a table, then came a waitress: “What are you going to eat for the first?”. Ivan Maksimovic solid fixed his mustaches and ordered: “borsch and cabbage pie.” “And for the second?” – asked the waitress. “The same thing” – not hesitating answered Poddubnyj. The shocked waitress was not far behind: “And for the third?” – “The same thing!” – Ivan Maksimovic resolutely cut off.

Poddubnyj loved radish from the vegetables. In 1925, he went on tour in America, where he successfully had thrown on the blades the famous American champions in the fight, all of them were 20-30 years younger than Ivan Maksimovic (and thismeans a lot in sport ). Touring in the U.S.A., including an abundance of bananas and pineapples, Ivan Maksimovic miss a lot of an ordinary Russian radish. Longed for her, he asked his sister in a letter to sent him a parcel with radish. And his sister sent him this delicacy.

Ivan Maksimovic loved pilaf, dairy food. Ate with pleasure, as remembered relatives and unpeeled potatoes. He also loved eggs. HE could eat them up to a dozen. ”

Could Ivan Maksimovic hear about arginine? Of course not. Therefore, at the age of 54-55 years, he struggled with the young American athletes, defeating them. So for 40 years of performing on a wrestling mat (from 1899 to 1939, ie, from 28 to 68 years) did not lose a single bout of thousands!

And that’s what he wrote about nutrition of bodybuilder Steve Reeves:

“Protein is essential for the formation of muscle tissue, while some proteins are more suitable for this purpose than others. Protein contains a set of essential amino acids. The best protein is in food such as: egg white, milk, meat, fish, cheese and poultry.

Vegetable protein is not so useful as the animal, but also serve as the building functions of muscle tissue, especially those contained in grains, legumes and nuts. In comparison with animal protein, vegetable is not so nutritious, so they have to consume more food. Those who would like to eat, avoiding animal protein, I would suggest to add a diet with supplements containing protein and amino acids not containing in vegetable protein.

Amino acids are building blocks that make up your body. And while the whole number of themv is 20, for building muscles are important only 8: tryptophan, phenylalanine, lysine, methionine, valine, threonine, leucine and isoleucine. Blending in your diet such a product as beans containing a large amount of lysine, but with a very low content of methionine, with wheat, containing much methionine, a little of lysine, you`ll get the amount of the required number of useful proteins. (Learn more about combinations of food, I recommend to reak a book «Diet for a Small Planet» by Frances Moore Lappe) ».

Last link is very interesting. The fact that Frances Moore Lapp was an activist in the movement of vegetarians, her book “Diet for a Small Planet,” has stood for more than 20 publications and a total circulation of three million copies. She has written 16 books on such topics. The fact that Steve Reeves studied “Diet for a Small Planet”, speaks volumes.

Вот как питался сам Ривз в соревновательный период:

That’s how Reeves lived on in competition period:

“8:00 – Breakfast: S. Reeves` Drink of Power.

Mix in blender:

400 grams squeezed orange juice

1 tablespoon of gelatin

1 tablespoon of honey

1 banana

2-4 raw eggs

2 tablespoons of powdered milk.

9:00 – 11:00 – Training

(Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

12:00 – Lunch:

Cottage cheese (with a handful of nuts and raisins)

Two pieces of fried fish (tuna or other, or chunks of beef)

Early evening dinner:

Еще он настоятельно советовал выпивать стакан воды с лимоном и медом перед завтраком. Сам пил до 2-х литров этого напитка в день. Хлеб ел только из муки грубого помола.

One large leaf of lettuce

Steak (fish, turkey or lean beef). ”

And yet no drugs, selected by artificial means, or lysine or leucine. Note that in other times, not competitive, Reeves never eat meat

He also strongly advised to drink a glass of water with lemon and honey before breakfast. He drank up to 2 liters of this drink per day. Ate bread only wholemeal.

And now the author puts his main trump card in the issue of “power bodybuilding” – mentioned above about Bill Pearl. He won the competitions for 19 years, from “Mr. Cali-Forni-53” to “Mr. Universe-71” according to the NABBA.

Bill Pearl is vegetarian!. Yes, the ve-ge-ta-ri-a-n. He did not eat meat at all. True, he was not the “vegan” (pure vegetable vegetarian), he ate eggs and dairy products.

Pearl became a champion of champions, beating such famous rivals as Sergio Oliva, Frank Zane, Franco Columbo, Reg Park and Serge Nubre. However, he didn`t have a competion with Arnold Schwarzenegger, both regretted.

Vegetarians argue that the human body, purified of toxins and decomposition products of animal food, works better, so the athlete’s muscles in the vegetarian also are growing better than in the meat-eater. By the way, Bill Pearl became the first bodybuilder in the world, taking part in a competition “Mr. Universe” with the weight of 110 kg, he was the most massive among bodybuilders at his time.

“Brick” to “TV-building” is a protein. The word “protein” is from the Greek word for “first importance”.

Some products contain so-called complete protein, they have all the amino acids needed to produce useful proteins. Fro example, milk, eggs, fish and soybeans. But even these food contains different amounts of useful protein per unit weight.

The table on the left shows the weight content of protein in food , that are commonly used as sources of protein, and on the right – what percentage of the protein can actually use to build muscle.

In whey, it is a refined product that contains more useful protein than in eggs.

Eggs contain only 12% of protein, but due to a specific set of amino acids the body can absorb 94% of protein. On the other hand, there is 42% of protein in soy flour, but its composition is such that the body uses up to 61% of this amount. Thus, there is a significant difference between the total protein content and the amount actually used by the body to grow muscle tissue.

Eggs are a good source of useful protein, they are taken as a basis for comparison with other products. To the egg is given a conditional value of 100.

By the way, notice that we are talking about eggs in general. Nowadays, it is in fashion to eat only the whites of eggs, because, unlike the yolks, they do not contain “harmful” cholesterol. Meanwhile, the yolk contains no less protein than the whites, as well as most vitamins and minerals.

The list shows that in such food as beans and potatoes are much less useful protein than in eggs or fish. The reason is that their composition is not enough essential amino acids required for the complete assimilation of protein. However, you can combine multiple sources of less quality (incomplete) for high-quality protein. In some products, there is a lack of certain amino acids, which is in other products, therefore, combining them together, you`ll get everything you need.

The combination of incomplete proteins is very useful, because while you eat food with a relatively low fat content, therefore, less caloric than many of the known sources of complete protein. When you are trying to maximize muscle mass keeping a low content of fat, this could be a huge advantage.

Now in stores you can see an amazing variety of protein supplements. Unlike past years, many of today’s supplements look like desserts than a high-protein foods for bodybuilders. In addition, they represent more than normal protein in a tin or plastic container: modern supplements contain vitamins and minerals, and carbohydrates. Supplements are to your taste and requirements of the body, can become an essential element of the diet.

However, remember that protein supplements should not be the sole source of dietary protein, it is only a supplement!

An important aspect of bodybuilding is a well-balanced diet that includes different types of products.

Again, I want to emphasis: the view that for the development of muscles it is necessary to consume large amounts of protein, is a myth. Requirements for protein, even for athletes, bodybuilders, are exactly the same as for the average person. Not protein, but persistent long-term exercise, build and strengthen muscles.

Another popular myth is that the energetic work of the muscles during competitions and trainings depletes them, so large doses of protein are needed for recovery. But back in 1866 (143 years ago!) scientists have shown that strenuous physical activity does not require an increase of protein consumption.

And nowadays, scientists agreed that 1 gram of protein per 454 grams of weight (one pound) is a maximal dose for an athlete who is building muscle mass (the best option – 0.5 grams of protein per 340 grams of human body weight).

Thus, an athlete weighing 82 kg, who began to build muscles, should consume approximately 180 grams of protein per day, and it’s more than enough. This amount of protein they can get by drinking a quarter of a pack of skim milk, eating two cans of tuna and consuming 2 kg of chicken meat. If the diet ensured you with the right amount of protein, do not abuse cocktails and other food-substitutes. Drink lots of juice and milk with a low percentage of fat.

Advertising is persistently arguing that many substitute products that contain protein, are better (!) yhan eggs, chicken or tuna. The same ad leads people to believe that, for example, tuna that’s not what you need.

To tell the truth, protein in natural products, is no worse than that in the product-substitutes, although on the tins with the tuna do not write “high protein” or “hydrolyzed protein”, etc. Every protein in natural products contains all the essential amino acids. Eating properly and eating at the same time drinking protein cocktails to get the “high protein”, you’re spending too much money. Forget about it! For the same money that you spend on 12 bags of protein shake, you can buy a lot of powdered milk, the cheapest source of protein. In this way you get rich in protein and perfectly balanced natural food.

Something that is above, resonates with the fact that he has written in the journal «Muscles & Fitness» Brian Rowley in the article “Protein: a brief guide”:

“The sources of protein are poor of any of these essential nutrients, are considered” incomplete. ” For example, there is a little of methionine in the beans, tryptophan is absent in the gelatin, and grain products like bread or rice, contain insufficient lysine. So our body needs all three of these amino acids to synthesize “its” protein, beans, bread, gelatin can not be regarded as a good source of protein, missing amino acids you will have to “gather” by some other products.

Bodybuilder’s important to know that the majority of such “incomplete” protein energy will go to the body, rather than in the formation of muscle mass.

You can eat mountains of protein, however, if it is understaffed with the required amino acids, the body will not be able to begin the process of “assembling” of its own muscle protein. In other words, there will not be a muscle growth.

A solution of the problem, you see, is obvious: eat something like that, where this missing amino acid is in excess, and the “quality” of the absorbed protein will dramatically improve. For example, it makes sense to add the bread with a good source of lysine (like beans), beans are perfectly combined with food rich in methionine (eg, rice), and to the fruit jelly should we add a source of tryptophan, for example, to drink a glass of milk.

In fact, using this approach, you could very well cover all your protein requirements solely with a plant food. The main thing is that your diet should have all the essential amino acids.

Many believe that vegetable protein is inferior nto an animal protein, but it is not. The very same quality of “vegetable” and “animal” amino acids is exactly the same, tryptophan is tryptophan, wherever you would removed it either.

Vegetable protein is beneficial in the sense that, together with the plant food you will get a lot of ​​bioactive substances such as vitamins and fitosoedineny. And, with a minimal amount of fat.

And what about such a protein food as meat, poultry and fish, there are no objections to it, of course, but only under one condition, it should be “lean.” Unfortunately, up to 60% of all calories available in beef, account for more than fat, so even for the most rich, provocative heart diseases and cancer. For this reason, it makes sense to choose the lean cuts of beef (for example, from the bottom of the rump), cut off all visible fat, and after frying “dry ” the meat, so it`ll not be so juicy (read: fatty).

If someone thinks that I’m mixing the paints, keep in mind that even the best lean beef consists of 40% of fat (in terms of calories). About pork I do not say, it is usrful for bodybuilder to eat such meat. In the chicken on the proportion of fat represents about 18% of calories, and some types of fish contain less than 7% of fat. See the difference? ”

And here is what Brian Rowley is writing about dietary supplements:

“Most of today’s protein is a low-cost milk protein. It is of two types: casein (calcium caseinate), and serum. Choose supplements, which contain both protein, each of them has its own advantages. In terms of amino acid structure of the casein and whey proteins are approximately equal, although serum contains slightly more BCAA. (These amino acids are considered the most important for bodybuilders. They need to consume them in particularly large amounts, since they are a part of the muscle tissue and are “washed” from the muscles during the training. It`s true, some nutritionists disagree and argue that the athletes don`t have an increased demand for these amino acids.)

The main difference between casein and whey protein is in the speed of their assimilation by the body. Casein forms dense clumps in the stomach, is digested slowly and therefore has the effect of “delayed action”. For this reason, casein must be taken before bedtime, it will feed the muscle with amino acids to the breakfast. In turn, the whey protein after workout is indispensable: it dramatically increases the concentration of amino acids in the blood, causing an immediate anabolic effect.

Sometimes advertising presents whey protein as a more “advanced”. Like, it has been received as a result of the latest technologies, and therefore it is more effective than usual casein. In fact, it is not. The whey protein has a significant drawback. Amino acids are rapidly trapped in the blood serum of the organism prefers to use as “fuel”, while the amino acids from casein are mainly “raw material” for muscle growth. So the feedup by whey in the day of recovery between workouts makes little sense. But such a protein, we repeat, is irreplaceable after the training (according to a new theory). ”

by Yuri Vlasov

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