PROTEIN IS KING

COMBINE SOLID FOOD AND SUPPLEMENTS

Use supplements in combination with solid meals to ensure that you are getting your daily macronutrient (protein, carbohydrates, fat) quota. In general this represents 5-6 small meals and 2-3 shakes. Put small amounts of food in your body every 3 hours. Protein should be consumed at an amount representing 2-3grams per kilogram of bodyweight. If you weigh 80kgs, you should aim to get 160-240grams of protein per day. Around 70% should come from solid food and the rest can come from supplements.

PROTEIN IS KING

As you all know protein is a very essential macronutrient for bodybuilding. Ingested proteins are digested into amino acids which are then used up by the body to make body proteins (enzymes, hormones, muscle tissue etc). As mentioned above, for hard training athletes, the minimum amount of protein is 2-3g/kg of bodyweight per day. This daily protein amount should be spread into 6-7 small intakes. Dot not make the mistake of consuming too much protein at one go as the body has a limit to how much protein it can absorb and assimilate in a meal. Aim roughly for 30-40grams of protein per meal.

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Most amino acids can be synthesized by the body and are thus called “non-essential” amino acids. Some amino acids cannot be made by the body and thus should be obtained from the diet. They are called “Essential” amino acids.

Vegetable proteins (low Biological Value) have been considered “inferior” to animal proteins (High Biological Value) because they do not supply the full spectrum of amino acids. Some essential amino acids are lacking in vegetable proteins. For example, soy protein lacks the essential amino acid methionine. Vegetarian bodybuilders therefore do not rely on only one protein source and rather combine different (complementary) protein sources. This ensures that they are getting the full spectrum of essential amino acids. Lacto-vegetarians can use milk and dairy products to obtain their protein. Lacto-Vegetarian bodybuilders also have a very strong ally by their side in the form of Whey and Casein protein which are dairy proteins of very high biological value. Notable vegetarian bodybuilders include Mr. Universe Bill Pearl, former IFBB Pros Steve Brisbois, Andreas Cahling, India’s new IFBB Pro Varinder Ghuman and also numerous impressive natural bodybuilders.

Good animal sources of protein for the bodybuilder include chicken, meat, fish and eggs. The sports supplement market is loaded with protein supplements of all types and brands, each claiming to be superior to the other. The amazing variety of protein supplements can be confusing to the unaware bodybuilder but to help matters I will publish soon a guide that lists the various protein supplement types.

Stay tuned…

by Vic Veeraj Goyaram (africanmuscle)

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