Wednesday, July 22, 2009

How to Eat in Phases for Competitive Bodybuilding

Increasing muscle size, strength and endurance is the result of a consistent workout regimen and a sound nutrition program. Almost all professional bodybuilders and athletes go through 'phases' during their training programs to ensure they are meeting their performance goals and eating just enough to feed their muscles. It's important to note that most of the muscle gaining takes place in the off season, a time when eating large amounts of protein and eating small meals throughout the day is essential for success.

After this phase, bodybuilders go through several phases that involve changing the amount of carbohydrate-rich foods, lean proteins and supplements that support the training program at each stage. Understanding what is involved in each of these phases can help you create an effective training program that gets the results you need.

Off-Season Phase - As stated above, athletes in this phase are mainly concerned with building up muscles as much as possible. Luis Burke, author of the book "Practical Sports Nutrition", explains that high amounts of protein with healthy carbohydrates are essential to a bodybuilder during off season. Bodybuilders schedule their eating habits to monitor their protein intake and may even schedule their meals based on their training sessions for better results.

Hypertrophy stage - The objective for this phase is to increase strength without any increase in weight. A typical practice during this phase is to follow a restricted eating diet every 2 to 3 hours. Great care must be taken in selecting the right muscle-building foods combined with healthy carbohydrates for energy.

Competition Prep phase - The phase's main objective is to lose weight gradually and burn body fats without burning muscles built up during the previous phases. This phase starts 6 to 16 weeks prior to a competition event. Bodybuilders in competition prep eat a low fat and high protein planned around workout sessions.

Cutting stage - Swift fat loss is the main objective here. Bodybuilders severely reduce their caloric intake and take supplements to meet nutritional requirements. This phase is normally done right before a competition event. Bodybuilders also do circuit training and increase their resting time to aid body recovery.

Post Competition - many bodybuilders resort to binge eating immediately after the competition since they've been on a near starvation diet for up to 6 months prior to competition. This can be a health hazard for many, especially for those that end up gaining a lot of weight in a very short period of time. Bodybuilders who want to avoid weight gain during this stage can ease themselves into a healthier eating program so that they can maintain some of the results they worked so hard for and not compromise their health in the process.

Maintaining a steady nutrition program is difficult with the different phases that most bodybuilders go through. However, sound nutritional principles and working with a nutritionist or dietitian throughout training can help you increase your chances of long-term success.

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