Strength Diet in Bodybuilding 🆙

Introduction

In the dedicated articles we have specified that the adaptations that lead to the development of strength concern the nervous system but also, especially in body building, muscle hypertrophy - since the expression of this conditional capacity in bodybuilding is closely linked to the transverse diameter of the muscle.

Muscle hypertrophy means increased muscle volume in terms of intracellular retention of liquids, glycogen, atp-cp, myofibrils, enzymes, etc. It is therefore clear that with the objectives of "muscle increase" one must necessarily increase the supply of nutrients and then maintain the new mass acquired.

Before going into the merits, let's make a brief clarification. Later we will talk about the necessary caloric intake, defining it higher than the normocaloric amount.

Not everyone agrees that during this phase it is really necessary to exceed calories, as strength training is not as expensive as hypertrophy or metabolic training. The endocrine and metabolic-cellular stimulus are also lower. Moreover, in this protocol, phosphate groups will be mainly used as an energy substrate, making the drastic increase in carbohydrates little sense.

However, it is true that specific strength training in bodybuilding differs from pure strength training in terms of much higher muscle tension times. The extent of the caloric intake is therefore to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and also on the basis of the table itself.

How and How Much

How and how much to gain mass?

Consider that, in physiology, one kilogram of new muscle is normalized to about 5000 kcal.

Considering that it is impossible to increase muscle volume without also taking a percentage of fat, and also considering the due tolerances, a first caloric surplus is nominally required compared to maintaining about 500 kcal on the usual daily caloric amount.

However, this cannot be provided "out of the blue" and usually requires a progression that allows understanding the subjective metabolic "set". Not all, in fact, respond in the same way. Those who do not have good "metabolic flexibility" tend to use the extra calories provided to them in an inefficient way, gaining weight rather than increasing hypertrophy.

To acquire this ability it is necessary:

Train hard, even varying the protocols in terms of volume, density and density (even if not specific for hypertrophy);
Do not continue low-calorie diets;
Never distort the balance between macronutrients - in particular, never drastically reduce carbohydrates for long periods.

In a nutshell, if you consume about 2500 kcal / day in normocalorica, you will have to progressively increase to 3000 kcal / day - for example, adding 50 kcal / day every 1-2 days.

It is also possible to make a further increase, until the end of the strength cycle. But be careful, it is always necessary to check fat growth with the skinfolder. If excessive - and usually it corresponds to a reduced efficiency of carbohydrate metabolism - it means that we are "overestimated". We can remedy this situation by increasing the cardio - but it would not be logical - or correcting the table in a more metabolic training - but it would no longer be a strength protocol - or anticipating the training phase for the mass, or engaging in a definition micro cycle. , or by reviewing the calorie increase.

A good progression sees, for every 700 g of muscle acquired, an increase equal to or less than 300 g of fat.

Nutritional Breakdown

How to break down the strength diet in bodybuilding

Returning to the total caloric amount to be taken, this will depend on the various anamnesis, but in any case it must be divided into: 25-30% fats, proteins between 1,4 and 1,8 g / kg, the remaining carbohydrates.

It is easy in the strength phase, but also in mass and especially for those with good metabolic flexibility, that 6-7 g / kg of real carbohydrate weight is reached.

On the question of proteins, the world of bodybuilding is divided into two: those who keep them, even in strength and in mass, very high - since, in truth, the high-protein intake is more useful in anti-catabolism in definition rather than in mass - and those who reduce them to the advantage of carbohydrate intake - keeping fat at no more than 25%.

It is recommended to ensure a good distribution of fats, between saturated and unsaturated, and ensuring the supply of essential and semi-essential oleic acid (omega 9), omega 3 and omega 6.

Supplements

Useful supplements in bodybuilding strength diet

Whether or not to use nerves during strength cycles is controversial.

Clearly, the use of anorexants should be eliminated; it would be a contradiction to the need to gain mass.

But nerves like caffeine or guarana, can they be useful? The fact is controversial because on the one hand they allow to improve and not just the neuromuscular control and reflexes, on the other they can affect with growth. Let's say that they give a little and take a little.

This is a phase that requires an adequate supply of nutrients. For some, it can be difficult and burdensome to digest so many calories from food. For this reason a recommended supplement is the gainer in powder, to be taken before the routines. These blends already provide the right amount of high biological value proteins, complex carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals; act as a replacement meal for the bodybuilder.

Another useful supplement is creatine monohydrate, to be taken away from when you take the aforementioned caffeine. The effective dosage depends on the extent of lean mass, as it is related to muscle mass. Following the loading-unloading criterion, in the loading phase, maximum dosages of up to 25 g / day can be reached in the unlikely hypothesis of a male subject with 100 kg of lean mass, and minimum doses of 9 g / day in the case of a woman with 36 kg of lean mass. This phase would actually last only a week and would be followed by another three weeks in which a simple maintenance equal to 1/3 of the load would be performed. All this should be repeated for the entire cycle of strength. For those who approach this supplement, from the beginning it is advisable to carry out a constant daily supplement of about 3 g.

Other sources recommend respecting the load criterion (always one week) equal to 1/3000 on the real weight. The feeling is that this system tends to overestimate the need, since a person weighing 85 kg should take 28 g of creatine per day.

The intake of creatine can be accompanied by 2-8 g / day of taurine, to maximize the intracellular volume, but not everyone agrees on this aspect.

Since creatine is attributed the capacity of water retention (therefore extracellular), we consider it normal to see ourselves "fogged" in front of the mirror. The important thing is not to confuse retention with excessive adipose accumulation due to the high-calorie diet. It goes without saying that this product does not have the same result on everyone - also because about 1/3 of subjects cannot absorb it properly in the intestine.

Another supplement that, for some, can be useful in order to minimize catabolism and maximize anabolism, are branched chain amino acids; but even in this case not everyone agrees. There are even those who consider them useless, replacing them with the right pool of essentials to be taken during and at the end of the routine.

doping

Doping for muscle strength: does it work?

Now a brief mention of doping used by professionals in this phase; we will mention it for completeness of information, inviting you to take it only as such - cultural information - since the practice is prohibited and harmful to health. Whoever takes drugs commits an offense punishable by law as well as encouraging its use.

Moreover, since 2010 nandrolone in its various forms has been included in the list of narcotic substances, therefore it is equated to any "hard drug".

In the strength phase, doped agonist bodybuilders usually use drugs such as testosterone, dianabol, anadrol, ie drugs that - in addition of course to anabolic - have an androgenic component that allows them to obtain that "aggression" - therefore control and neuromuscular capacity - required in this. phase and, aromatize, leading to water retention useful for lubricating tendons and joints.

On the other hand, trenbolones (as they do not give retention), nandrolones, boldenones, metenolones, stanozolols, oxandrolones, etc. are less effective in this sense, therefore discarded from the hard core. (as little androgens and poor aromatization).

Even the cholesterol and drostanolones are discarded as they do not aromatize and do not anabolize.

Doping is typically carried out for the entire duration of the bodybuilding specific strength cycle (2-3 months) with a diamond pattern, and is then stopped for at least 2-3 months. But more often than not, alas, psychological addiction leads to not interrupting at all.