PDF Print E-mail
 
Creatine - What does it do? PDF Print E-mail
Written by Administrator   

 

Although creatine’s role in the energy production process is its most notable trait, there is evidence that creatine can stimulate muscle growth. It does this in a couple of different ways. By allowing you to perform more work as a result of additional energy, increased protein synthesis is stimulated. Secondly, when an abundance of creatine phosphate is stored in the muscle, the muscle will hold more water in its cells and become what is known as “volumized” or “super-hydrated.” The more volumized a muscle is, it will promote the synthesis of protein as well as deter the breakdown of protein. Volumizing the muscle will also create an environment where an increased level of Glycogen synthesis will take place. Increased protein synthesis along with training will lead to muscle growth. There is also scientific evidence that shows supplementation with creatine causes muscle tears to repair themselves quicker. Furthermore, you must take caution and take into consideration the additional water and nutrients that are needed while taking creatine. You should also pay close attention to the amount of creatine that should be taken on a daily basis and not over supplement the body. Please consult the specific product for the reccomended dosages.
 
Water - A Difficult Variable
Written by Administrator   

 

A concern that both bodybuilders and figure competitors face is holding water - that is, retaining water under the skin, which destroys definition. To prevent this from happening, many competitors begin to severely restrict their water intake days (or even weeks) before the show. They avoide sodium, take large amounts of potassium, and many resort to use of diuretics.

 

The problem with this approach is that muscles are more than 75 percent water, so dehydrating yourself will only flatten out your muscles and make you smooth. The best way to increase water rentention is to dehyrdrate yourself because when the body senses that you are note taking in enough water it holds on tightly to that it has. Excess sodium is normally washed out of the body with the water you excrete, so restricting this cycle simply means any sodium will be trtained, resulting in even more water retention. If you dont take in enough sodium you risk ruining your electrolyte balance, which can cause muscle cramping. Large amounts of potassium, especially when your sodium is low, can lead to problems like upset stomach and worse.

 

What should you do instead? First, allow yourself a normal intake of sodium. Don't salt your food, but dont avoid natural sodium either. Then, drink plenty of water right up until friday night before a Saturday contest. Any excess water will cycle out of your body, taking excess sodium with it. That evening, simply cut your water intake in half. Some time will pass before your system realizes that water intake has been restricted and you will continue to eliminate water at the same rate, losing far more than you are taking in. The next morning, before prejudging, make sure you keep drinking to prevent dehydration. But between this semi-restriction of fluids plus your increased carbohydrate ingestion (which pulls water into the cells when it is store in muscle glycogen), you should find that there is little subcutaneous water in evidence.

 

Also take into consideration the type of water that you are taking in. Distilled water is good for batteries - and cigar humidors - but it's lack of necessary minerals is not good for the human body, especially one about to undergo the stress of a bodybuilding contest.

 

This article has been taken in part from one of my favorite books covering the sport of bodybuilding.

Swhwarzenegger, Arnold. "Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding". 1998. 798 pages. Simon and Schuster Paperbacks. New York.
 
Basics Of Nutrition PDF Print E-mail
Written by Administrator   

 

Training stimulates muscle growth. But for your training to work, your body needs a sufficient amount of energy and enough raw materials to get the full benefit from your exercise program. Providing that nergy and those raw materials is the role of nutrition.

 

Nutrition involves learning how to stay lean, mean, and muscular. It means knowing how much of what kind of food to eat for the best possible result. It means learning the basic nutritents and determining how much of each you need. Good nutrition is also concerned with protein, vitamin, mineral, and other supplements. It not only helps you get bigger and stronger, but keeps you healthier as well as supports your immune system so that you dont miss training sessions due to problems like colds and sickness. The benefits of good nutrition also include everything from enhancing your recovery from heavy workouts to giving you good skin to producing optimum function of the liver and other internal organs.

 

Because of this, the basic principles of nutrition are as valuable to a bodybuilder as the basic principles of training. Nutrition is as absolutetly essential to building a strong, healthy, great-looking body as your workouts. Exercise creates a demand for nutrients; how much of what kind of nutritents you provide is a major factor in producing the kind of results you want.

 

The Fundamentals of nutrition are relatively simple. Learning to apply them to your own training, understanding the individual needs of your own body, how it responds to various kinds of weight loss or weight gain diets, is something else again. Like in many other aspects of training, ultimately you are forced to fall back on the instinctive principle.

 

First you must learn the fundamentals, isolating the variable that play such an important part in the production of energy and the building and maintenance of muscle tissue. Moving beyond the fundamentals, understanding nutrition is more thatn just knowing that various nutrients are and how the body uses them; you have to learn how to apply the information to your own needs and your own body type.

 

Bodybuilders and Fitness competitors are virtually unique in the demand they place upon their bodies. They require simultaneous maximum muscle mass and minimum body fat, which is extremely difficult state to attain. Athletes like gymnasts, boxers, and wrestlers, who need to become very lean, follw a training regimen that burns up so many calories that they rarely have to diet to reduce body fat. Nor do they usually attempt, a competition bodybuilders must, to get down to a relative body fat of about 8 to 11%, or lower.

 

Bodybuilders have little margin for error. They have to enough to grow, then be able to reduce body fat without sacrificing muscle mass. They can use aerobic exercixe to burn up extra calories, but not to the point where their gym workouts suffer. They need to control calories, but get sufficient protein to build and maintain their muscle tissue. Nutrition is a complex and ever-expanding science, and nutritionalists are giving us new information almost daily. However, certain basic principles of nutrition are well established, and mastering these fundamentals is essential for the bodybuilder who wants to achieve his total genetic potential for growth and physical develpment.

 

 

This article has been taken in part from one of my favorite books covering the sport of bodybuilding.

Swhwarzenegger, Arnold. "Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding". 1998. 798 pages. Simon and Schuster Paperbacks. New York.
 
Copyright © 2010 usnbf.org. All Rights Reserved.