The Bodybuilding Diet | A Muscle Gaining Diet is Extremely Important!

The Bodybuilding Diet, probably the most important aspect of any bodybuilding program. Without proper nutrition your muscles simply will not grow, without proper meal planning and food choices you will not achieve your desired goal as quickly as you would with proper nutrition!

Calories are a form of energy measurement. 1 Calorie is the amount of energy required to heat up 1 Gram of water by 1°C.

Calories are a Form of Energy Measurement by ncbi

Calories are what your body use for energy, if you don’t acquire enough calories in a day to match or go over your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) then your body will have to acquire those calories from other sources inside the body. This would be called a caloric deficit, in which the body metabolises (catabolism) itself to provide energy for its functions.

A caloric deficit is what is needed for your body to burn fat as energy - without the use of performance enhancing drugs. This is done by finding out your TDEE and eating less than this amount of calories in your diet. A calorie deficit is an effective way to reduce body fat, however it can actually cause muscle loss as a result.

A caloric surplus, the opposite of a caloric deficit, is a diet in which you acquire more calories than you expend in a day (over your TDEE). This is how most people gain muscle, also known as a Bulking diet.

Macro-nutrients are the specific nutrients needed in large quantities in your diet to survive, these are fats, protein and carbohydrates.

Each one has its own caloric energy rating:

• Fats have 9 Calories per gram.
• Protein has 4 Calories per gram.
• Carbohydrates have 4 Calories per gram.

Micro-nutrients are the specific nutrients needed in small quantities within your diet in order to stay healthy, these are the vitamins, minerals and fibre found in most foods. They are what is needed to maintain important functions of the body such as the immune system, cellular repair and growth and much more.

Micro-nutrients do not contain any calories and most are needed in trace amounts, they may be difficult to track but optimum amounts will help you perform your best.

Macro-nutrients should be acquired in different amounts, what this means is you should split your daily intake of calories between the 3 macro-nutrients.

There are lots of different ratios for macro-nutrients, in the 8 Week Bulking Guide we go much more in depth on this subject and even have 3 different macro ratios for the different body types.

Most common ratio for bulking:

• 40% Protein
• 30% Fats
• 30% Carbs

Most common ratio for cutting:

• 45% Protein
• 25% Fats
• 30% Carbs

Generally 250-500 calories below your TDEE will result in steady decreases in body fat. And anything over your TDEE will result in an increase in body weight, however, this could be an increase in both fat mass and muscle mass.

I recommend between 20-30 Calories per 1 lb of body weight for bulking and 10 Calories or less per 1 lb of body weight for cutting.

The foods you choose are important in your bodybuilding diet, be sure to check the nutrition labels of the foods and drinks you have and plan your food choices based on their calorie counts - and also their micro-nutrition content. It may take time but it’s worth it! Of course there is also a lot more that happens biologically as a result of your diet, and it will change dramatically between people, but overall this will work for most people.

More In-Depth Information and Source:

Increased Intake of Energy Leads to Increased Body Energy Stores

The Best Abs Workout | How To Get Abs On Fire!

You have probably heard the phrase "no pain no gain", well when your doing an abs workout you should feel like they're on fire! We will show you the best ab exercises below!

When you first train abs you don't want to over do it, because you could injure yourself, so you should start off with light weight and build up progressively and add more and more weight (and exercise variation) with each workout!

How To Get Abs:

Just like any other muscle, the abs need to be trained as well, a good abs workout that can be done at home is also shown further down. However because they are in a place of high body fat storage, an appropriate level of fat loss needs to be obtained before the abs will shine through!

Of course, because the abs need to grow before they show, you need to supplement adequate protein and calories to your program before you cut down and let them abs shine, my bulking program may help you achieve this!

Best Ab Exercises:

The abs workout shown below is a good routine to train your abs, you should aim to do 3-4 Sets with 6-12 Reps of each exercise, you don't need to have access to weights or a gym (you only need an ab roller wheel), these can all be done at home.

Sits-Ups:

The sit-up involves both the abdominals and other stabilising muscles, such as those in the chest, neck and lower-back, as well as hip flexors and lower-leg muscles if you hook your feet under something. For this reason it shouldn't be a main choice for an abs workout, but more of an additional ab exercise.

Crunches:

Crunches are a similar abs workout to the sit-up, just with a lesser range of motion, but during a crunch you should keep your lower back on the floor. Crunches are a good way of isolating the rectus abdominis muscle, also known as the six pack!

Planks:

The plank requires you to have your elbows on the floor underneath you and your feet extended outwards, essentially so you're holding yourself up. This abs workout activates most of the the muscles in your legs, glutes, back, arms and core. However, the traditional plank is not that great compared to the rest of the ab exercises, so instead i recommend the long-lever plank! This version is similar to the traditional plank, but instead of having your elbows 90 degrees under you, they should be slightly further out in-front of you.

Long-Lever Improved Plank by ncbi

 Mountain Climbers:

Mountain climbers are similar to the plank, but instead of holding your body up on the spot, you're moving your legs forwards and backwards on the spot, as if you was trying to climb a mountain, its like jogging on the spot but in plank form and on your hands. Similar to the sit-up, this abs workout activates most muscles in your body, so you should count it as another additional ab exercise!

There are also many more ab exercises you can include in your abs workout program, these include the ab roller wheel, hanging knee-up, reverse crunch, ab windshield wipers and more!

People often say that a good compound movement such as the bench press, deadlift and squat will improve abs, while this is partly true that it will increase overall core strength and stability, it will not directly cause significant hypertrophy of the abs, you will need a good abs workout for this! EMG data supports this argument, concluding that the squat is ineffective in producing adequate rectus abdominis activation.

EMG & Kinetic Comparison of Overhead and Back Squat

Also because some of the common ab exercises are also isometric exercises (such as the plank), we need to change the workout up a bit and include more sets of non-isometric exercises, such as the sit-up, crunches, mountain climbers, ab roller wheel etc. Also, similarly to other exercises and workouts, stick to the 6-12 rep range and a total of 10-15 sets of non-isometric exercises depending on your experience with abs, you can add isometric workouts, such as the plank, on top of the other exercises!

The Best Ab Exercises You Can Do:

• Sit-up
• Crunches
• Long-Lever Plank
• Mountain Climber
• Ab Roller Wheel

So in summary, a combination of crunches, sit-ups, mountain climbers, ab wheeler's and isometric exercises, such as the modified long-lever plank, should yield good results and contribute to your abs workout, soon you may even have a six pack! Good luck and be sure to always warm up prior to any ab exercises that you do, or any exercises at that!

Best Daily Protein Intake To Build Muscle? | 10 High-Protein Foods

You want to know your recommended daily protein intake for muscle building, or what foods are high in protein or how much protein is too much? Well read on and ill tell you everything you need to know about protein!

What Is Protein?

Protein is an important macronutrient and is considered essential for building muscle. Protein is comprised of several amino acids, which are the organic compounds made up of Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen and Sulphur. These amino acids are classified into three groups, which consist of essential, non-essential an conditional:

• Essential Amino Acids are those which cannot be made by the body and must be acquired from your diet. The 9 essential amino acids are: Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan and Valine.
• Non-Essential Amino Acids are those which are made within the body. There are 11 non-essential amino acids: Alanine, Arginine, Asparagine, Aspartic Acid, Cysteine, Glutamic Acid, Glutamine, Glycine, Proline, Serine and Tyrosine.
• Conditional Amino Acids are those needed in times of illness or stress. These are Arginine, Cysteine, Glutamine, Tyrosine, Glycine, Ornithine, Proline and Serine!

The amino acids that make up protein are responsible for many effects and roles within the body. They are the building blocks of protein and are needed for the synthesis of neurotransmitters, hormones, they are involved in cell signalling and many other functions in the body.

How Much Protein Do I Need Per Day?

The NHS recommends a daily protein intake of around 50 Grams per day, and this may be true for most sedentary people just wishing to stay healthy. However, bodybuilders (and anyone else living an active lifestyle) wishing to gain muscle will probably want even more!

Most sources agree anywhere between 1.2 and 1.7 Grams per Kilogram of body weight is a sufficient daily protein intake and any amount of protein above this is not needed and the benefits diminish rapidly, and may even result in ill-effects. However, in contrary to this, 2 Grams per Kilogram was shown to be safe for long-term use, even 3.5 Grams of protein per Kilogram was shown to be safe with relatively minor side effects.

However, based on other studies, it seems as though the most optimum daily protein intake in order to maximise muscle protein synthesis has been about 1.6 Grams per Kilogram of body weight. This doesn't necessarily mean that 1.6g/kg of protein is the universal limit but it is possibly the most "bang for your buck" in terms of muscle protein synthesis!

Safety of Protein Intake

Daily Protein Intake & Other Information

What Are Some High Protein Foods?

Protein is abundant in many foods and is relatively cheap to get! I have listed some foods below to help you reach your daily protein intake target.

1. Eggs are a great source of protein and also have a great array of other useful nutrients, such as vitamins & minerals!
2. Almonds, Cashews and similar nuts are high in protein, the protein in almonds makes up 13% of its calories and 11% in cashews!
3. Chicken is among the most popular foods which are high in protein, and for good reason too, it is relatively cheap, high in protein, tastes great and easy to cook!
4. Oats & Porridge is a great meal to start the day with, high in protein, good array of complex carbohydrates and tastes amazing!
5. Yogurts, Milk and other dairy products are great for getting your daily protein intake in, they are cheap and are good additions to other foods!
6. Broccoli is among the highest protein rich vegetables and also has a high nutrient density and contains many bio-active chemicals!
7. Tuna is another great way of meeting your daily protein intake! Protein makes up 94% of its total calories!
8. Whey Protein and other protein supplements. They are cheap, easy to make and very convenient, just drink it like any other drink and within a few minutes you have just consumed 15, 20, 25 Grams (or more) of protein!
9. Shrimp is another high in protein food, it is also a very nutrient dense food!
10. Pumpkin Seeds and other edible seeds are also high in protein, and once again nutrient dense!

How Much Protein Is Too Much?

So, here's a scenario; you've reached your daily

Inprotein intake but you still have half the day left.. what do you do? Do you not eat protein? Do you eat protein? Well you can carry on eating protein as normal, because as shown above it is perfectly safe to eat protein, even up to as much as 3.5 Grams per Kilogram of body weight! Which is a lot of protein.

But say you do eat 200 Grams of protein when your used to just eating 50 Grams a day, the worst that will happen is you get an upset stomach and the possible issues that come with this, other than this you are safe!

Overall, 1.6 Grams per Kilogram of body weight is usually agreed upon as being the optimal daily protein intake, sufficient to maximise muscle protein synthesis!