10 Nutrition Rules For Beginners

Bodybuilding is all about simplifying things.

With the dedication and effort required to stay muscular and lean, the last thing you need is for the details to be overly confusing. Take your diet, for example. We could go on and on about fat-soluble vs. water-soluble vitamins, the different types of saccharides and all the intricacies of gluconeogenesis, but what would be the point? It would just complicate the matter and get you no closer to the body you want. So let’s break it down to the nuts and bolts, to just the vital information you really need to build more muscle and become leaner than ever before.

The key is a series of rules, a list we call the 10 Nutrition Rules for Beginners. Follow all 10 and not only will you not be bogged down with scientific jargon but you’ll also be well on your way to a bigger upper body, better abs and a massive set of wheels. How’s that for simple?

#1 Have A Meal Every 3 Hours

Mass-building boils down to nutrient delivery, and nothing beats eating every 2-3 hours, which works out to 6-8 meals a day. Frequent feedings ensure a constant influx of protein, carbohydrates and essential fatty acids required to maintain an anabolic state. Following the three-hour rule, you should eat at least the same amount and up to twice as many carbohydrates as protein at most meals, along with a smaller amount of healthy fats at most meals (more on specific macronutrient intake in later rules). Because you’re eating every three hours, don’t overstuff yourself; keeping each meal relatively small enhances nutrient absorption while simultaneously allowing you to sidestep gains in bodyfat.

“Eating smaller, more frequent meals creates an environment inside the body in which blood sugar levels don’t elevate and drop as drastically as when you eat fewer larger meals,” says Justin Harris, NPC amateur bodybuilder and nutrition consultant (troponinnutrition.com). “Elevated blood sugar levels cause the body to increase insulin production in an attempt to store that sugar for later.

When insulin is present, fat-burning is blunted. Lowered insulin levels and steady blood amino acid levels (a product of eating relatively
small, frequent meals throughout the day) help fight against this situation.”

Top Protein Picks: The Ultimate Guide To Protein Powders For Muscle Growth

Top Protein Picks: The Ultimate Guide To Protein Powders For Muscle Growth

Flip through this magazine and you’ll see plenty of advertisements for protein powders. Bodybuilding novices may dismiss these as they jump from article to article. Experienced bodybuilders, however, know better.

For those who are serious about training, diet and supplements, perusing the ads is key to gaining information. Think about it you would never hear a car aficionado complain about ads for a new Porsche in Car and Driver. Macworld magazine would suck without the adverts for all the new games and programs coming out. Hell, you’d never hear a pom collector complain about the ads for the new Jenna Jameson video in Hustler. They want to know what new stuff is out there, just like you should. Even for supplement-savvy trainers who see ads as a way to keep track of what’s available, it still can be confusing to sort through all the different types of proteins available today.

Do you really know what properties make whey proteins different from casein proteins? Did you realize that, despite years of negative press, soy is a good source of protein for male bodybuilders?

Our complete guide to protein powders will give you a refresher on what you may already know, as well as fill you in on everything you don’t know when it comes to the supplement that every bodybuilder should have in a nutritional arsenal. Read on then take the time later to check out the ads. Sure, we love ‘em because they help pay our bills, but the products in those pages can pay major dividends for you, as well.

Are There Any Fat Burners That Are Effective?

Are There Any Fat Burners That Are Effective?

When I am asked what I think about fat burners my first response immediately is that without the proper diet and training program there is no pill that will give you the results that you are looking for.   If fat loss is your goal you need to create a nutritional program that will feed your muscle tissue while starving the fat.

The way to do this is the following:

• Eat a slightly caloric deficient diet (a diet where you ingest less calories than what you burn on a given day).  Take your approximate lean body mass and multiply it by 12 to get a good calorie base.
• Eat frequently: Your diet should consist of multiple small meals a day (5-6) consisting of complex carbohydrates, lean proteins and some essential fats.  A ratio of 40% carbs, 40% proteins and 20% fats will yield great results!
• Focus on weight training: Your workout program should focus on weight training as this activity will build more muscle which not only serves to give you a pleasing shape but also increases your metabolism permanently, thus making it easier to lose fat.  Four to five sessions a week of 45 minutes will suffice for most people.  Split your body over three workouts performing Chest, Shoulders and Triceps on Workout (A), Back, Biceps and Calves on Workout (B) and Thighs, Hamstrings and Abs on Workout (C).  Perform 3 sets of 3 exercises of 8-12 repetitions for the large body parts and 3 sets of 2 exercises for the small body parts.  Keep the workout fast paced in nature resting only 60-90 seconds in between sets
• Do some cardio: In order to really accelerate fat loss, supplement your weight training with 30-45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 3-4 times per week.  For best results, cardiovascular exercise should be performed either first thing in the morning on an empty stomach or right after the weight training.

As you can see, losing fat while toning up requires a multi-faceted approach that no pill in the market can substitute for.

Problems Created by Following a Proper Fat Loss Program

Following the proper fat loss program however is challenging.  As you start to lose body fat your body, wanting always to remain in a state of homeostasis (a state of balance where it does not change), starts to send powerful signals to the brain that initiate food cravings.  In addition, as you get into several weeks of dieting your body starts to feel tired, you start getting mood swings, and at times, you may even encounter some depression.  While some of the fat loss products in the market do offer temporary relief for these symptoms they are way too high in stimulants, which after weeks of use may lead to neurotransmitter burn out as well as adrenal burnout.  Both of these conditions worsen the problems of mood swings, depression and low energy.  Worst of all, these two conditions lead to reduced thyroid function.  Less thyroid activity means that your dieting and training efforts will be sabotaged as you won’t be able to lose body fat or feed your muscles effectively (since thyroid is the hormone that regulates one’s metabolism).

Effective Fat Loss Supplementation

There are certain supplements that can be taken in order to offset the problems that arise when implementing a proper fat loss program and that can help you to increase thyroid function, increase energy, improve your mood, protect you from burnout, maintain mental clarity, reduce cravings, and of course, increase your metabolism and burn fat!

A) Supplements to Increase Thyroid Function and Metabolism

In order for a diet to be effective, one must ensure that thyroid function is at its optimal level.  A slow thyroid will lower your metabolism and make your dieting efforts futile bringing weight loss to a complete halt.  Therefore by using the two supplements below we ensure that our metabolism runs as efficiently as possible.

L-Tyrosine:

This amino acid is a precursor (building block) to thyroid hormones, dopamine and also neurotransmitters like adrenaline.  Reducing caloric levels lowers L-Tyrosine in the body thus contributing to a slower metabolism and also less energy and mood swings.  Therefore, supplementing with this amino acid solves this problem.  In addition, Tyrosine also acts as a mild stimulant, has appetite suppressing properties, helps improve symptoms of depression, helps to fight mental fatigue and has been shown to reduce cortisol (the stress hormone that likes to feed from muscles while protecting body fat stores).  I’ve gotten great results just from this supplement by ingesting it 30 minutes before a workout with some caffeine.

Iodine:

This is another essential supplement we must take in order to ensure the most optimal thyroid function and proper metabolism.  Low iodine levels stops the metabolism dead on its tracks as iodine is needed to produce thyroid hormones.  Research indicates that the amount of people with low intakes of iodine in the United States has increased dramatically.  Also, a lowered calorie diet that is low in salt can further contribute to low iodine.  Because of these reasons, I like to supplement my diet with some iodine.

B) Supplements to Increase Energy and Boost Metabolism

Lowered calories eventually lead to low energy levels.  Therefore I like to take these two supplements in order to continue to have high energy levels but also to increase the metabolism.

Caffeine:

Caffeine Anhydrous is a central nervous stimulant that helps to increase energy levels, alertness, reduce fatigue and also to increase fat burning.  Caffeine in moderation will help to keep you going through the low energy periods caused by dieting and increase calorie burning by up to 13%.

Green Tea:

Green Tea Extract with 50% EGCG & 98% polyphenols is proven to promote fat oxidation and improve metabolism significantly via sympathetic activation of thermogenesis.  It is also a super anti-oxidant that is many times stronger than antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables and provides more sustained energy and fat burning effects than caffeine.  Research conducted in Switzerland shows that men who consumed caffeine and green tea extract together burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.  In addition, the EGCG from Green Tea seems to help lower cholesterol, prevent blood clots, prevent heart disease and also fight cancer cells! As if this would not be enough, EGCG has been shown in both animal and human studies to have a profound effect on making the body burn fat for energy and prevent body fat from being stored.  It seems that EGCG helps to suppress the enzymes that promote fat cell replication and the storage of excess calories into fat.  This is great news as what this means is that not only the amount of stored body fat goes down but also the number of fat cells as well!

C) Supplements to Uplift Mood, Memory and Mental Health (Nootropics)

The two supplements below that I am about to discuss are called Nootropics.  Nootropics are super cool nutrients that improve the functions and capacities of your brain, including mood, energy and appetite control.  Considering the fact that any good diet will have adverse effects on all of these factors, I would never consider dieting again without any of these two supplements listed below.
Thiamine Trisulfide Diisobutyrate:
Thiamine Trisulfide Diisobutyrate is a derivative of vitamin B-1 (Thiamine) and is the only supplement known to cross the blood/brain barrier to boost the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is responsible for mental clarity and memory, appetite control, energy, mood and stress levels.  Taking this B-1 derivative also increases physical resistance to fatigue and helps to enhance concentration. Bottom line is that even though dieting affects mood, memory, endurance and appetite in an adverse manner, T2D will reverse all of these adverse effects and make you feel happy, energetic and focused all day long while at the same time providing superb appetite control!
Rhodiola Rosea Extract:
Rhodiola Rosea Extract is an adaptogen which has been shown to combat fatigue and the physical effects of stress and help to elevate mood and promote a feeling of well being. It also helps to boost mental function (enhancing memory and associative thinking even when sleep deprived) by increasing blood flow to the brain and helps to release fat from adipose tissue to be burned immediately for energy by activating hormone-sensitive lipase (an enzyme that breaks down stored fat).  On top of this, Rhodiola also helps to support the nervous system and reduce cortisol, a stress hormone that protects body fat from being burned and burns muscle, due to Rhodiola’s positive effect on mood.  As a matter of fact, these mood-enhancing effects are so pronounced that this herb has been shown to be very successful at fighting depression.
Why I Like It:
I also love the fact that this adaptogen is extremely powerful in terms of combating fatigue.  It has been tested extensively and shown to increase one’s ability to perform physical work and maintain focus and concentration over long periods of times.  As a matter of fact, some of the tests showing these positive effects were performed on night shift physicians and other night shift workers.  These are all effects that anyone can benefit from whether dieting or not!

Go Fish: For One Of The Best Protein Foods For Bodybuilders

Go Fish: For One Of The Best Protein Foods For Bodybuilders

Many bodybuilders don’t eat as much fish as they should. I’m not sure why maybe they don’t like the taste or the price.

A pound of fish can cost more than five dollars (the price is considerably higher for gourmet varieties), while chicken or lean ground beef can often be found for less. Preparation must also be considered. Most muscleheads, who eat five or six times a day, would rather alternate between shakes and easy-to-prepare protein meals, such as precooked chicken or sliced deli meats, than bother with preparing and broiling a fish filet.

The Benefits

Bodybuilders who steer away from seafood completely are missing the boat in the nutrition department. Fish offers many benefits, from easy-to-digest amino acids on par with whey protein to an array of minerals that support testosterone and thyroid functions. Incorporate fish into your bodybuilding diet more frequently to receive its nutritional benefits.

Slow Fish

The remaining meals of the day, including the last one before bedtime, are ideal for taking in slow-digesting proteins, which provide sustained release of amino acids. Slow-digesting proteins are thought to be superior in helping to maintain an anabolic state. A slow but constant influx of aminos along with calories helps your body remain in an anabolic state.

Many types of fish are excellent for this

Try salmon, mackerel, sardines, orange roughy, trout, sushi-grade tuna or any other fish that tends to produce a lot of oil during cooking. Unlike fast-digesting types, these yield far greater amounts of dietary fat, which skews the digestion rate of the aminos from superfast to lethargic. That’s a good thing, as aminos will release slowly enough to stay with you until your next meal, keeping you anabolic around the clock.

Fast Fish

As a bodybuilder, there are several times during the day that you need an easily and quickly digested protein source. Fast-digesting protein foods help build up amino acid reserves in the bloodstream; these reserves can help offset protein catabolism during hardcore training sessions. Posttraining, you need fast-digesting protein sources because the aminos quickly reach your bloodstream, helping to push your body back into an anabolic state. Breakfast is also an excellent time to take in fast-digesting proteins.

After several hours without food, your body is low on aminos and consuming quickly absorbed protein sources will help spare your muscles.

Easy Meals

Bodybuilders traditionally have chosen egg whites and whey as their prime sources of fast-digesting protein. Many types of seafood, though, are also fairly easy to digest. These include scallops, shrimp, crab, haddock, cod, pollack, snapper, halibut and white tuna. A plate of grilled shrimp at 6 AM may not sound very appealing, but you can’t go wrong choosing from among the food listed. Consider a crab or shrimp omelet for breakfast. Try a piece of broiled whitefish before or after you train.

Fat Fish

Bodybuilders have customarily shunned dietary fat, believing that it contributed to a buildup in bodyfat and nothing else. We’ve since learned a lot about the bodybuilding benefits of healthy fats. We know that a lack of omega-3 fatty acids tends to put stress on the body’s glutamine levels. When glutamine levels fall, muscles tend to burn branched-chain amino acids, which can cause the body to slip into a muscle-losing state. In addition, a loss in glutamine causes a drop in the water content in muscles, which can stifle muscle growth.

Omega-3s also help the body store carbohydrates within muscles, and that directly impacts muscle growth.

Omega-3s

Salmon, mackerel, sardines and other fatty fish yield plenty of omega-3 fatty acids. These fats help you grow, but they can also help you shed fat. To lose fat, you have to reduce calories and carbohydrates, but when you lower carbs, you risk shedding muscle. Including fish with concentrated sources of omega-3s can upgrade insulin sensitivity, helping to keep your body in an anabolic state. This helps you reduce bodyfat without risking muscle loss. While dieting to cut up, consume at least one six-ounce serving daily of fish rich in omega-3s.

Nutritious Fish

In addition to all their other bodybuilding benefits, fish are a healthy option because they contain a wealth of vitamins and minerals. Here are some of the most important nutrients found in fish.

Zinc

Zinc is an important mineral for bodybuilders because it supports testosterone and insulinlike growth-factor levels, both of which play a direct role in growth. Seafood is a great source of zinc, with oysters topping the list. You need at least 15 milligrams a day, which can be hard to get from whole-food sources, so you will need to take a supplement.

Try eating oysters a few times a week to support your anabolic status.

Chromium

This trace mineral helps encourage your body to store carbs as muscle glycogen rather than as bodyfat. Increased glycogen stores help keep your muscles full and growing. Any fish you choose is great for adding this mineral to your diet.

Selenium

This antioxidant is on par with vitamins C and E as key players in maintaining a strong immune system. The stronger the immune system, the easier it is to recover from training. On the flip side, a weak immune system will fail to support growth and recovery regardless of total caloric and protein intake. Fish remains one of the premier sources of this sometimes-hard-to-get mineral.

If you want to make the most of your protein sources, try upping the amount of fish you take in. Fish is either very low in fats or high in healthy fats, and it is also loaded with vitamins and minerals, as well as plenty of protein.

Author: Chris Aceto
Website: Procardnutrition.com
COPYRIGHT 2008 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

Perfect Proteins: Choose The Right Protein Sources To Meet All Your Bodybuilding Goals

When bodybuilders consider the nuts and bolts of nutrition, two of the most critical issues they have to wrestle with are how much protein to consume and what sources to rely on.

We recommend taking in at least one gram (g) of protein per pound of bodyweight every day. In a cutting phase, the amount should be bumped up to at least 1 1/4 g of protein per pound of bodyweight, but total calories should be slashed, primarily by reducing carbs. So, the answer to “how much” is fairly straightforward. Zeroing in on the right protein sources, however, is more complicated.

The Protein Factor

When your aim is to get shredded, you must cut calories, but you also need plenty of protein to make sure your body doesn’t start catabolizing (tearing down) hard-earned muscle tissue. Choosing foods that are very high in protein is the best strategy.

When you’re trying to get your muscles to grow as much as possible, calories are critical, as are the amino acids (derived from protein foods) required for muscle construction. The percent of calories that should come from protein depends on your bodytype and genetics. Bodybuilders who tend to add excess fat as they add muscle mass should choose foods that have a higher percentage of protein calories.

Hardgainers need more calories overall for muscle growth and can rely on foods that have more fats and carbs, as well as a lower percentage of protein calories.

Here are a few rules of thumb.

• Dieting: Take in 50% of all calories from protein.
• Adding Muscle (for those with a tendency to add bodyfat): Take in 40% of all calories from protein.
• Adding Muscle (for hardgainers): Take in 30% of all calories from fat.

It may seem counterintuitive, but, in fact, the higher the percentage of protein in your diet, the more restrictive it is. Dieters need fewer calories overall, and thus a greater percentage of their calories should come from protein. Hardgainers need more total calories, thus a smaller percentage of calories from protein.

Perfecting Your Protein Consumption

In this article, we provide you with different categories of proteins; you can weigh the advantages of each in relation to your goals. In addition, we tell you the percentage of calories from protein in the foods listed, which are all bodybuilding staples.

Our purpose is to apprise you of the best foods for your individual needs. We don’t discuss portion sizes here those will vary based on your goals and individual metabolic needs. We have, however, listed many of these foods according to a portion size that yields approximately 100 calories. The quantities we use are for purely illustrative purposes obviously, few bodybuilders will sit down to a two-ounce portion of steak. Remember that the percentage of calories from protein in a food remains constant, no matter the size of the portion.

When you double the portion, you double the amount (but not the percentage) of protein consumed.

Getting Started

First, determine your current goal. Then, read through the categories to find those that would best serve your needs. No single category will fully serve your goal, no matter what it may be, so mix and match them a bit. Also, keep in mind that eating a variety of foods is always better than relying on a limited selection. The more types of food you eat, the better the range of nutrients you provide your body.

Category 1 Pure Protein

Most of these foods are not “pure” protein, but they are high enough to be thought of as such. For instance, chicken breasts actually score low in this category in terms of percentage of calories from protein, but many bodybuilders rely on them as their number-one source year-round. These foods can be eaten by all bodybuilders at all times. Athletes who are trying to shed bodyfat should get the lion’s share of their protein from sources that are 70% or higher in calories from protein. This allows for some flexibility in overall dietary intake, while still keeping calories low. Bodybuilders trying to gain muscle mass can eat as much of these foods as they want, as long as they consume plenty of calories from other sources.

It’s hard to take in adequate calories for adding muscle if you eat too much lean protein it fills you up. Muscle growth depends not only on protein consumption, but also on total calories consumed.

Category 2 High Protein

These foods are good for adding mass because they offer a generous amount of protein and also contain enough dietary fat to boost the total calorie count. When you’re trying to increase your bodyweight and muscle mass, you need more calories, and the added fat from these foods will tip the calorie equation toward your goal. If you have a fast metabolism and rarely get “sloppy” during a bulking phase, these make some of the best sources of protein for building muscle mass. They’re also excellent choices for hardgainers. This category includes a wide range in percentage of calories from protein. Foods that offer more protein, such as steaks, tend to be more expensive.

Be aware that foods on the lower end of this list are higher in fat more than 70% of the calories in some of them come from fat, much of which is the less-than-healthy saturated variety. For good bodybuilding results, balance these protein sources with those from other categories.

Category 3 Double-Duty Protein

Foods in this category provide plenty of protein and a hefty amount of healthy fats. Although the percentage of calories from protein is less than 20 for some of these foods, they are nonetheless excellent choices for most bodybuilders. Healthy fats, such as omega-3s and omega-6s in these foods, are notoriously deficient in many bodybuilding diets.

Many trainers shy away from items on this list (even whole eggs) because they fear adding bodyfat. In reality, bodybuilders should consume more healthy fats and reduce consumption of processed carbs, such as sugar and bleached flour.

Even if you’re dieting, you can benefit from some of these foods. The omega-3s found in sardines and salmon may help your body store carbohydrates as muscle glycogen. If you’re a dieting bodybuilder and eating relatively few carbs, this can help you replenish glycogen stores and make you less inclined to store bodyfat. Dieting bodybuilders should eat these protein foods three times a week. Eggs serve as a good source of protein for bodybuilders interested in bulking up. Eggs are higher in saturated fat, which is somewhat correlated with testosterone levels. With sufficient dietary fat, testosterone levels remain within a normal range or even elevated. If your diet relies heavily on very low-fat foods, such as those found in the Pure-Protein category, you might be compromising your testosterone levels.

If you tend to stay lean, you can eat whole eggs year-round. If you have a hard time staying lean while bulking up, eat a combination of one or two whole eggs with four or five egg whites; while dieting, use only egg whites for three days, switching to whole eggs every fourth day to help boost your testosterone levels.

Category 4 Milk Protein

Dieting bodybuilders tend to shun milk products even fat-free cheese, yogurt and skim milk in the belief that consuming these foods will interfere with fat loss. In fact, they may have the opposite effect. Calcium in dairy foods actually triggers hormonal support to facilitate fat loss during a reduced-calorie diet. Bodybuilders ought to incorporate plenty of fat-free dairy products in their cutting strategies. If you’re in a bulking phase, low-fat milk, cheese and yogurt are great choices because they’re not only abundant in protein and calcium, but they also contain conjugated linoleic acid.

This substance, found in dairy fat, may help repartition what you eat, funneling calories toward growth and repair rather than toward bodyfat storage.

Category 5 Plant Protein

Unless you’re a vegetarian bodybuilder, you probably don’t turn to vegetables and legumes as a primary source of protein. However, many vegetables do contain the macronutrient, and some have a substantial amount. (Every item on this list contains a higher percentage of calories from protein than whole milk or ground beef!) Not only do these foods contain protein, but many are also high in fiber, if you’re in a bulking phase and experience wide swings in blood-sugar levels in other words, you often feel lousy after eating a large meal consider consuming more beans, peas and lentils. Their high-fiber content tends to slow the digestion of carbohydrates. This may aid you in training and in avoiding blood-sugar “lulls,” helping to keep muscle-wasting hormones in check. That translates to better muscle growth.

Protein Source Graph

Once you’ve determined your goal, you can mix and match the protein sources that best serve your needs. Growing is about knowing.

Secret of the Pros: Tricep Training Tips

Gains never came easily to him, so rather than relying on God-given genetics, his progress has been made possible only by scientifically conceived training and diet strategies.

This analytical approach has made it possible for Sarcev to compete in more pro bodybuilding contests (71) than any other athlete. As such, he has gathered a wealth of in-the-trenches knowledge about the process of accumulating muscle. He has also become an adviser to a growing band of pro and amateur bodybuilders who flock to his Powerhouse Gym in Fullerton (Southern California) for guidance.

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Part 2

Part 3