Proper nutrition is critical for both strength athletes and bodybuilders. While nutritional considerations will vary for each athlete depending on the time of year (off-season or competition), the basic nutritional fundamentals can be applied to both groups. This article will focus on the general needs of both athletes, covering kcalorie and macronutrient intakes.
The Importance of Adequate Kcalories
Gaining weight is a major concern for strength athletes, especially bodybuilders. While more muscle mass helps the strength athlete achieve bigger lifts, more muscle mass is what bodybuilding is all about. To help maintain one's strength and/or gain muscle mass, adequate kcalories (kcals) must be consumed. Without adequate kcals one's strength will suffer and adding muscle mass will not be
possible.
There are numerous methods for determining one's kcal needs. Some are very crude and some are quite specific. Examples include direct calorimetry, indirect calorimetry, and formulas such as the Harris-Benedict. Since the majority of us don't have access to the more specific methods (direct and indirect calorimetry). I will provide a very crude estimation method. First, you must decide if you have a slow, normal, or fast metabolism. Next, take your body weight in pounds (2.2 lbs = 1 kg) and multiply your weight by the appropriate variable (slow metabolism = 12, normal metabolism = 15, fast metabolism = 18). This will give you a rough estimate of your daily kcal needs. For instance, if we take a 175# man who has a normal metabolism he would need roughly 2,625 kcals/day to sustain his weight. This factor does not include exercise. If he was to train heavy for 1 hr doing exercises such as squats and stiff-legged deadlifts, he would need and extra 300-500 kcals to maintain his weight. If weight gain is desired, adding an extra 300-500 kcals/day on top of maintenance kcals and kcals expended from exercise should do the trick. Again, this is only a crude estimation, which may need to be adjusted for your individual needs. However, I have found this method to be quite useful for many of my clients.
Protein Power?
It is clearly established that strength athletes and bodybuilders need more protein 1, 2, 3). However, most already get more than enough. It is important to understand that total dietary energy (kcals), specifically carbohydrate energy, is the single most-important nutritional factor affecting accretion of muscle tissue (2). Therefore, your extra kcals should come from quality carbohydrate (CHO)
sources, not protein shakes.
It is generally recognized that strength athletes and bodybuilders require 1.7-1.8 g/protein/kg/day (1). For our 175# man this comes out to a protein requirement of 145 g/day, or around 20% of total kcals. Not many people need protein supplements to meet this requirement. Also, by eating sufficient kcals your protein requirement will be lower than when consuming a kcal deficient diet.
However, if you are training very intensely for an extended period of time more protein may be required. This can be achieved by increasing your daily intake to 2.2 g/kg or 1 g per pound of body weight. This would also be advised for a new trainee since his or her body is not as efficient in regulating protein catabolism. Under a kcaloric restriction this amount will need to be increased.
Make sure you get the majority of your protein from quality sources such as beef, chicken, turkey, milk, eggs, and cheese. If you must use a protein supplement choose one that is composed of various caseinates or whey. Isolated soy can also be an excellent choice if it is fortified with additional amino acids (glutamine, methionine, cystine, and histidine).
Carbohydrates as A Primary Energy Source
As stated previously, CHOs are the single most important nutrient for gaining lean muscle mass. This is because CHOs have a protein-sparing effect, which means the more CHOs you eat, the less protein (nitrogen) your body requires for resynthesizing damaged muscle tissue. CHOs are also a rapid source of ATP, which helps to generate energy during longer sets (once phosphocreatine stores are temporarily depleted).
Carbohydrates should compose around 50-60% of your total kcal intake. For our 175# man this comes out to 328g - 470g/day depending on the percentage desired and kcals expended from exercise. Quality sources of CHOs include whole wheat, oats, corn, potatoes, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. These foods are not only great CHO sources, but they also contain large amounts of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and sometimes even phytochemicals (something that can't be said for processed foods). By focusing on these sources you are ensuring an adequate intake of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and energy during your workouts. Unless you're trying to gain weight and don't have much of an appetite stay away from the SnackWells cookies.
Fat for Peak Performance
Fat is an important nutrient for strength athletes and bodybuilders. Not only does it aid one in consuming adequate kcals, but it also increases the palatability of our foods and provides very important performance benefits. It is well known, but not scientifically proven, that very-low-fat diets cause many people to lose strength and energy. This is obviously very detrimental to performance. It is also known that the concentration of testosterone decreases when following a very-low-fat diet (4). Add this on to decreased strength and you should just go home and forget about making gains in the gym. Finally, fat also provides energy during strength training and bodybuilding sessions. Although I often read that CHOs provide all the energy for training, I have a hard time believing this. Although I haven't seen studies over this topic, I would love for someone to prove to me that in-between my sets of squats, when my heart rate is 130-150 bpm, that I am not burning fat.
To ensure proper strength gains and anabolic hormonal concentrations, I recommend consuming no less that 20% fat. Personally, I prefer 25-30% of kcals as fat during off-season training. This will provide between 60g -105g/fat/day for our 175# man. Don't believe the hype that bodybuilders must follow very-low-fat diets. For those that have tried, you know that losing body fat is based more on a total kcal deficit than the percentage of fat in one's diet (although this is also an important factor).
Conclusion
Although I haven't provided "breakthrough" information here, I feel this topic is vital for athletes to understand. Without this basic knowledge it will be much harder to comprehend the concepts behind other issues that will be discussed in the future. By understanding and applying the information presented, you can be assured that you will be providing your body with the best nutrition possible for increasing off-season performance and health.
References
1. Lemon, P. R. (1995). Do athletes need more dietary protein and amino acids? International Journal of Sport Nutrition, 5, S39-S61.
2. Gatorade Sports Science Institute. (1994). Methods of weight gain in athletes. Sports Science Exchange Roundtable #15, 5 (1)
3. Butterfield, G., Cady, C., & Moynihan, S. (1992). Effect of increasing protein intake on nitrogen balance in recreational weight lifters. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 24 (5 Suppl), S71.
4. Volek, J. S. (1997). Energy metabolism and high intensity exercise: dietary concerns for optimal recovery. Strength and Conditioning, October, 26-37
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