The diet promotes the burning of fat tissue during physical activities, i.e. “drying” the body. The sports diet is suitable not only for people who are interested in fitness, but also for beginners in this matter.

This is a completely independent principle of nutrition, which is suitable for both athletes and people who are far from training. Thanks to the foods consumed, the body absorbs required quantity carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins.

In general, the sports diet should contain:

• 5-10 g of carbohydrates per 1 kg of athlete’s weight;
• proteins in the amount of 0.8-1.0 g/kg of weight during light training or 1.8-2.0 g/kg of weight during heavy training;
• up to 30% of the total diet should be fats;
• 2-3 liters of water;
• vitamins and minerals; if there is a deficiency in the diet, you can use sports complexes.

Advantages, disadvantages and contraindications

Pros

Thanks to a sports diet, a person saturates his body with the following beneficial substances:

In the first days of the diet, a person feels a significant lack of food, so the desire to break free and eat as before must be overcome. After the third day of the diet, the body begins to get used to the new diet, so the person feels more full. In the future, the diet does not cause problems.

This diet really works, for example, in two weeks a person can lose up to 10 kilograms of excess weight. Also, the diet helps to cope with cellulite and minor stretch marks on the skin.

Disadvantages and contraindications

A sports diet may seem difficult for those who are just starting to get acquainted with physical activity.

Most often, such people are not able to correctly calculate the required daily calorie intake, so they consume much more than recommended.

Inability to eat according to principle fractional meals is solved with the help of a nutritionist and an individual fitness trainer, who, based on the person’s health status, draw up the necessary menu.

The second problem is the tendency of beginners to maximize diet principles. For example, if you need protein and vegetables without starch, a person will choose sausages and fruit puree with preservatives.

This is gross violation, therefore food should consist only of natural products, without any impurities or additives.

Contraindications include:

• pregnancy period;
• breastfeeding;
• children's or old age;
• diabetes mellitus;
• any diseases (especially liver, kidneys, cardiovascular system and digestive organs).

Diet rules

1. The body needs protein, both animal and plant origin.
2. All meals must be prepared independently. To prepare dishes you need to use only natural products.
3. Fruits and vegetables must be fresh. No need to buy frozen or canned food.
4. It is best to prepare meals for one meal.
5. Portions should be small, but the number of meals increases to 5-6 times a day.
6. While eating, you need to chew every bite of food thoroughly.
7. You can't wash down your food. You can drink water 20 minutes before or after meals.
8. Avoid late-night snacking. The last meal should be no later than 19:00.
9. Meals must be coordinated. It is better to eat food at the same time.
10. If there is a lack of vitamins, for example, in the winter months, take special vitamin complexes.

Detailed menu

It is recommended to have a kefir or mineral fasting day every week. Also, these days you can eat a small portion of fresh vegetable salad, seasoned lemon juice. This will help not only cleanse the intestines, but also normalize its microflora.

The optimal duration of the diet is 31 days. The menu is compiled based on the recommended diet, as well as nutritional rules.

During the day you can snack on boiled eggs, fruits, dried fruits, grain breads and vitamin juices. During the diet you need to drink at least 1.5-2 liters clean water, green tea and cocoa without sugar are also allowed.

Athletes and especially bodybuilders do not hide their commitment to various drugs for muscle growth. However, to achieve impressive achievements, it is necessary sports nutrition for muscle growth at home. Any anabolic steroids and pharmacological preparations can never replace a well-structured nutrition schedule and the training process itself. At home, it is necessary to provide a planned diet that will allow you to recover faster after training. Only in such conditions can you form an athletic body.

Principles of proper nutrition for athletes

In order for an athlete to get a lasting result, the optimal combination is important. physical activity and diets for muscle mass at home. To get a sporty athletic body, you should follow the basic rules:

Please note that for effective weight gain, you should eat intensively during the first two hours after an active workout.

Before physical exercise You should give up a lot of food.

What is needed for muscle growth?

For more active growth of muscle mass, basic building substances are needed - proteins, fats and carbohydrates. A balanced diet for muscle growth can be easily prepared if you know the required food intake. After an active physical workout, the first thing you need is proteins and amino acids, which are building material for gaining muscle mass. Sports nutrition, which contains sufficient quantities of the necessary components, promotes rapid recovery.

Squirrels

Nutrition for muscle growth consists largely of proteins and amino acids. To gain muscle mass, an athlete needs from 1 to 4 g of complete pure protein per 1 kg of body weight. The more intense the physical activity, the more protein the athlete’s body should receive. The main sources of protein are:

• milk and fermented milk products;
• poultry and fish meat;
• seafood;
• legume products;
• eggs.

At home, poultry and fish meat can be stewed, boiled, baked or steamed. You cannot fry foods, as all foods should not contain a lot of fat. An exception may be fish, which contain essential Omega-3 fatty acids necessary for muscle mass.

Your daily diet should include eggs, which contain enough protein necessary for muscle growth. You can cook eggs in different ways. Fry only in a non-stick frying pan without adding oil. It is worth noting that without yolks you can eat more than a dozen eggs, with yolks - no more than five.

To protein nutrition was complete, worth including plant foods, which contains the necessary micro- and macroelements. These include beans, peas, soybeans, and lentils. Legumes reduce levels bad cholesterol, help burn fat and produce sufficient energy. Milk and cottage cheese are essential sources of protein and calcium.

Protein shakes

For muscle growth, you can make protein shakes, which consist of a ready-made protein mixture or regular products, as well as a small amount fast carbohydrates. These drinks are based on several components:

• liquid in which all ingredients are mixed (juice, milk, kefir, water);
• protein (milk, egg, low-fat cottage cheese);
• carbohydrates (condensed milk, honey, jam or jam).

Such drinks contain fats, but in limited quantities. In a blender you can mix low-fat milk (300 ml), low-fat cottage cheese (100g), honey (50g) and protein from three boiled eggs. Due to the fact that the cocktail contains various proteins, the body is fed evenly over a long period of time. Honey or jam helps you recover quickly after a workout.

Such liquid protein nutrition maintains a sufficiently high level of proteins in the body for a long time and promotes stable growth of the athlete’s muscle fibers. Optimal time taking cocktails 40 minutes before training and half an hour after physical activity. It is worth paying attention to the temperature of the drink. In order for the protein mixture to be quickly absorbed, it should be about 370C.

After 30 years, it is advisable to replace milk with kefir or juice, since the level of enzymes that break down milk fats and proteins in the body is practically absent with age. You can add a small amount of fruit or berries to cocktails, which will enrich the taste of the drink and make it rich in vitamins. Simple and nutritional shake, which contains all the necessary components:

• 200 ml low-fat kefir;
• a teaspoon of sugar;
• 60 g milk powder;
• a tablespoon of jam or jam.

In order to ensure good mood, you can add cocoa or chocolate to cocktails. Women can be advised to prepare such a fitness cocktail at home:

• 200 ml juice (orange);
• 50 g low-fat cottage cheese;
• half a banana;
• 25 g dark chocolate (cocoa);
• a teaspoon of jam.

Simple carbohydrates promote the rapid production of insulin, which breaks down carbohydrates. In combination with amino acids, insulin neutralizes the effect of the stress hormone produced after heavy physical activity. Stress hormones have been proven to inhibit muscle growth.

Carbohydrates

Nutrition for muscle growth should contain simple and complex carbohydrates, which are a source of energy for athletes. For growth muscle fibers actively use the energy that is released after the breakdown of carbohydrates. If the diet does not contain an adequate source of energy, the body will be forced to destroy its own protein.

Simple carbohydrates are broken down quickly, so they almost instantly restore the energy deficit in the body. Therefore, after training, it is useful to consume sweet foods in small quantities: sugar, jam, honey, condensed milk. Complex carbohydrates are slow-burning foods. They not only replenish the body during the day, but serve athletes for optimal muscle gain. The source of such complex carbohydrates are cereals, vegetables and fruits.

Fats

In order for nutrition for muscle growth to be balanced, it must contain a small amount of fat. This is explained by the fact that fats ensure normal synthesis of testosterone, which is the male sex hormone. Androgens are essential for muscle growth and endurance. An athlete's diet must contain at least 10% fat. For optimal muscle mass gain, the maximum amount should be vegetable fats.

Today, sport, like many years ago, is an integral part of the lives of a huge number of people. Some do it professionally, some do it at an amateur level, and some do it occasionally - to relax and keep in shape. But almost everyone strives for results in the sports field, even the most insignificant ones. And if you get to the bottom of it sporting achievements, it will become obvious that the reason for many successes, as well as failures, lies in the inappropriate distribution of biological active ingredients diet and non-replenishment of energy expenditure.

In this appendix we will look at the main issues related to sports nutrition:

• Principles of sports nutrition

After studying the application, you will know everything important about muscle growth, staying in shape, and recovering from exercise. You will also find out what is useful for gaining muscle mass and losing weight, what is suitable for men and women, whether it is possible to consume sports supplements and many other useful and interesting information. Let's not bore you with lengthy thoughts, but let's get to the point.

Principles of sports nutrition

Proper diet and healthy eating- this is something that any athlete must provide himself with. But this is not so easy to do, because it is necessary to take into account such characteristics as age, gender, type of sport, level of training, etc.

The nutrition of an athlete, of course, differs from the nutrition of any other person who has nothing to do with sports. Athletes, for example, consume 3 times more calories, use specialized diets more often, and are much more attentive to their menu and daily diet. Naturally, even the most best products and eating regimens will not make a world champion out of a beginner, but nutrition still plays a quite significant role.

If you eat poorly at all, then you can completely forget about increasing endurance, high level energy, muscle growth and outstanding results. Besides poor nutrition can cause failures in any of the body systems.

Thus, athletes should build their diet taking into account several important principles:

• When choosing products, be sure to consider the content of your workouts, i.e. Active means training, preparation for competitions, competitions themselves or recovery.
• Remember that the diet should be balanced, take into account the subtleties of a particular sport and the intensity of the load. All nutrients, vitamins and microelements must be in balance.
• When composing your diet, take into account your individual characteristics: age, gender, physiology, metabolism, state of the gastrointestinal tract and other organs, eating habits and preferences, general health.
• All meals should be consistent with your training regimen. Often, during the period of the most active load, the nutrition of athletes goes against the basic norms of rational nutrition. This cannot be allowed.

You need to keep in mind that all products can be divided into 6 basic groups - this will greatly facilitate the process of creating a menu and choosing dishes based on your own needs. These 6 groups include:

• Milk, yogurt, cheese, yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, etc.
• Meat, fish, poultry, eggs and derivative products
• Bakery products, flour, pasta, cereals, sugar, potatoes, confectionery
• Vegetables
• Berries and fruits

The first two groups are the main sources of complete animal protein. They contain l-carnitine and the necessary complex of amino acids, which means that thanks to them the basic structures of the athlete’s body are built and renewed. Fruits and vegetables supply the body with vitamins C and P, as well as a number of B vitamins, mineral salts and some microelements. In addition, vegetables significantly increase the secretion of digestive juices and enhance their enzymatic properties.

A sports diet should include all 6 food groups, especially meat and dairy, because they supply complete protein. It is also better to eat fruits and vegetables in abundance, because they are easily digestible and supply the body with vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates. Rational nutrition also involves proper culinary processing of food, because Once cooked, dishes should be stored beneficial properties products included in them.

In general, the most effective for athletes will be split meals - when food is taken 5-6 times a day in small portions. The most favorable time for breakfast is from 8 to 10 am. Refusal of breakfast can provoke unsystematic eating, decreased performance, and accumulation of fat in the body. Even when “losing” weight, you need to have a hearty breakfast, including nutrients in the first meal. But low-calorie dishes are recommended for lunch and dinner.

When your first workout occurs in the morning, your breakfast should be light. At the end of the workout, it is imperative to restore the level of fluid and nutrients in the body, so the post-workout menu should consist of dairy drinks and fruit juices. A full breakfast is allowed only 1.5 hours after exercise, and it can consist of fruit, yogurt, oatmeal and bran bread. If the workout takes place in the evening, you should have a hearty breakfast - this will prevent you from feeling hungry at an unnecessary time and will charge you with energy and strength.

The food consumed by an athlete should not burden training, but make the person physically stronger. Therefore, before training (and especially competitions) heavy food You should eat no later than 5 hours before exercise so that it has time to digest. If the dishes contain less than 600 kcal, you need to eat 3 hours before class. If the food is liquid - 1 hour before. What if it's simple light meal, then it is allowed to have a snack less than an hour before training.

After physical and emotional stress It is important to consume enough carbohydrates because... glycogen in the muscles must be quickly restored. In the first 30 minutes after training, you need to take 150 g of carbohydrates with food, and after 5 hours - the same amount. Such a system will quickly restore strength and return to the training regime. Best sources carbohydrates are fresh vegetables and fruits, fruit juices, cereal dishes (from unground crops).

By and large, the distribution of the diet will depend on the time when training occurs. If you train in the morning or afternoon, breakfasts should be easily digestible, but high in calories and contain carbohydrates. The calorie content of breakfast should be approximately 30% of the daily norm.

Daytime meals are designed to replenish energy lost during training. The calorie content of lunch dishes should be approximately 45% of the daily norm. It is also better to make lunches varied and rich in carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

As for dinners, their calorie content is at least 25% of the daily requirement, and they should be composed in such a way that tissue proteins are restored and carbohydrate reserves are replenished. Include in evening menu Difficult to digest foods are not recommended. Ideally, you should eat porridge, fish, cottage cheese and fermented milk products in the evening.

Necessary elements of a sports diet

The average daily rate of energy received with food should completely cover the body's energy consumption, expressed in kilocalories. In the same units, as we all know, we denote energy value all products. Any training person should guarantee their body from 63 to 67 kcal per 1 kg of body weight. For example, if a football player weighs 75 kg, his daily calorie intake will be from 5725 to 5025 kcal.

To calculate calories, you can use tables similar to those we offered in several lessons in our course. To understand how energetically valuable a particular dish is, you just need to add up the number of calories contained in 100 g of each product and multiply by the number of grams (if 200 g, multiply by 2; if 300 g, multiply by 3, etc. ). This makes it very easy to calculate the calorie content of breakfast, lunch, dinner and intermediate snacks, if any, as well as everything daily ration. Then the data obtained can only be compared with the daily calorie intake in order to understand how effective the nutrition system is and whether it needs any changes.

But let's talk more specifically about the substances that should be contained in an athlete's diet:

• Squirrels. Help build and constantly renew cells and tissues of the body. playing important role in the functioning of the central nervous system. Most of the proteins should be of animal origin. Such proteins are found in meat, cheese, fish, cottage cheese, milk and eggs. If we talk about vegetable proteins, then buckwheat and oatmeal, soybeans, beans, potatoes, rice and rye bread are rich in them. The best distribution of foods with proteins is as follows: breakfasts and lunches - meat dishes and cheeses, and dinners - fish dishes, cottage cheese and porridge.
• Fats. Concentrated energy sources. For example, 1 g of fat contains 2.2 times more energy than proteins or carbohydrates. Fats are also responsible for plastic function and contain vitamins. A 100% fat diet should be 70-80% animal fat and 20-30% vegetable fat.
• Carbohydrates. Main source energy during muscle work. You need to know that food contains simple and complex carbohydrates. Simple ones include glucose and fructose, which are rich in grapes, honey and sugar. Such carbohydrates are absorbed more quickly by the body, providing it with the opportunity for muscle activity. Complex carbohydrates are found in pasta, rice, potatoes, cereals and bread. This food contains slowly digesting starch, which inhibits the process of glucose formation. And this, in turn, allows you to use the latter to the maximum. The share of complex carbohydrates in the diet is 70%, and simple carbohydrates - 30% (based on 100% carbohydrates). It is not advisable to consume a lot of sugar so as not to provoke a spike in blood sugar, but you need to use this product because... it is quickly absorbed into the blood. Therefore, after training, it is advisable to drink a glass of tea with sugar or eat 50-100 g of pure product. You also need to remember that under certain conditions, carbohydrates can be converted into fats in the body. Therefore, athletes who are prone to obesity should overuse easily digestible carbohydrates(sweet, flour products etc.) is not worth it.
• Ballast substances. Simply put, it's fiber. It is part of plant cells and is not broken down in the gastrointestinal tract. However, it has a beneficial effect on intestinal motility and stimulates secretion digestive glands. If there are not enough ballast substances in food, constipation and digestive disorders occur. The main sources of fiber are carrots, radishes, prunes, turnips, beets, legumes and wholemeal bread.
• Minerals. Considering their importance for the body, they should be contained in abundance in the athlete’s diet. Special attention should be given to calcium salts, which are part of supporting tissues that affect neuromuscular excitability and are necessary for the activation of a number of enzymes and blood clotting. Their daily norm is 1000-1500 mg, and therefore you need to eat eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese and cheese and drink yogurt. We must not forget about phosphorus, which is also involved in the formation of bone tissue and carbohydrate metabolism in the muscles. Its daily intake is 2000-2500 mg. It is contained in buckwheat and oatmeal, peas, beans, meat, fish, liver and cheese. The ratio of calcium and phosphorus salts should be 1:1.5 - then they will be well absorbed.
• Vitamins. As we already know, they are catalysts and regulators of physiological and biochemical processes. When their content in food is low, hypovitaminosis develops, which reduces performance, weakens the immune system and deteriorates well-being. Athletes' need for vitamins is much greater than that of those who do not engage in sports, and vitamins A, B1 and C are considered among the most necessary.

• Vitamin A normalizes the functioning of mucous membranes, skin and organs of vision and improves energy metabolism. The daily norm is 2-2.5 mg. Contained in sour cream, cheese, butter, milk, eggs, liver and fish oil.
• Vitamin B1 is important for functioning nervous system and metabolism. Stimulates performance and increases endurance. The daily intake is 2-3 mg during intense training and 5-10 mg during competitions. It must be supplied regularly with food, and can be found in kidneys, liver, buckwheat, beans, peas, yeast, wheat and rye bread made from wholemeal flour.
• Vitamin C is associated with redox processes, the activity of hormones and enzymes, and capillary permeability. With its deficiency, weakness begins to appear, gums bleed, hemorrhages occur in the skin, and the immune system weakens. The daily intake varies from 100-150 mg during normal training to 200-250 mg during competitions. This vitamin works best when taken together ascorbic acid and glucose. Tangerines, lemons, oranges, sorrel, cabbage are rich in vitamin C, green onions, black currants, rose hips and some other products.

Let us remind you that in winter and spring the content of vitamins in vegetables is reduced, so their deficiency should be compensated for by eating rosehip decoctions, vegetable and fruit juices, tomatoes and sauerkraut.

And help determine your own needs for vitamins and minerals maybe the following table.

Table for determining the athlete’s needs for biologically active substances necessary for the development of special performance, edited by A. A. Khasanov and E. S. Tokarev (magazine “Bulletin of Sports Science”)

Do not forget that your needs for vitamins and minerals must be met through the consumption of natural products. If they are lacking, you should resort to vitamin concentrates and specialized sports nutrition.

Specialized sports nutrition

Properly structured nutrition is a powerful incentive to activate regenerative processes in the body and increase performance after training and other serious physical activity. But training systems in various sports are constantly evolving, and this is often associated with increased energy consumption and an increase in the calorie content of the sports diet.

The need for a high-calorie menu is often associated with practical difficulties, because in order to provide athletes with the required amount of calories, food is oversaturated with fats. Because of this, the nutritional balance is disrupted, which means the athlete’s performance decreases and the time he needs to recover increases. It also happens that in order to compensate for energy costs, athletes are offered quantities of food that are very difficult to digest, which negatively affects the performance of physical activity.

Organizing sports menu, it should be borne in mind that during the digestion of regular food energy potentials released rather slowly; It also takes time for the body to absorb nutrients. Thus, a number of products can be digested from 3 to 5 hours. Actually, many microelements are not broken down quickly at all. But a different result can be achieved by using useful substances, which enter the body already prepared.

It is for this purpose that specialized products with increased biological value, nutritional formulas and drinks. When using them, the athlete’s body is immediately supplied with easily used sources of energy, plastic materials and biologically active substances. They activate and regulate metabolic reactions that occur with difficulty during physical activity.

In order to use special supplements, additional sports nutrition must be organized, and any supplements must be ingested before exercise and training, at the end of training, and also in between training sessions. If you include special foods in your diet that are easy to digest and at the same time high in calories, you can safely make adjustments to your diet. The body will be provided with nutrients and energy in accordance with its energy consumption.

By consuming specialized sports nutrition, you can more thoughtfully build your training regimen, increase your performance, change your diet based on the specifics of your training loads, and also adjust your own weight. In addition, it becomes possible to control water-salt metabolism and thermoregulatory processes and accelerate recovery processes.

To put it simply, we can say that specialized sports nutrition is used by athletes for the following purposes:

• Changing the quality of the diet based on current physical activity
• Quick correction of an unbalanced daily diet
• Increasing the frequency of meals with 2-3 daily workouts
• Reducing the amount of daily ration
• Increased muscle mass
• Weight loss
• Fast recovery after hard training
• Quick start before training
• General recovery

The specialized nutrition itself is divided into several types:

• Nutritious meals, drinks and mixtures with high content proteins and fatty acids
• Nutrient mixtures containing polyunsaturated fatty acids and carbohydrates
• Carbohydrate-mineral and carbohydrate mixtures and drinks
• Protein and protein-carbohydrate mixtures, additives and preparations (this also includes individual amino acids)

Decide on the choice of products, their combinations and norms daily consumption should be guided by the characteristics of everyday nutrition, the characteristics of the sport and the training process. Most supplements are characterized by high mineral and vitamin density, uniformity and ease of use. They are very convenient because... have the form of powders that quickly dissolve in drinks, in particular in water and milk. But you can find dosed ampoules and small bars. Besides everything else, they taste very good. And you can find them in huge quantities in specialized stores for athletes.

And in conclusion, a few words need to be said about some precautions.

Precautions for sports nutrition

Beginners who are just starting to get acquainted with the culture of proper sports nutrition often have difficulties. Firstly, without practice, they incorrectly calculate daily calorie intake, as a result of which they consume much more food, including specialized mixtures, than required.

If difficulties arise and there is a misunderstanding of the basic principles of healthy and fractional nutrition, it is best to consult with a nutritionist and an individual fitness trainer. Such specialists have everything necessary knowledge and skills to create a competent menu based on all the characteristics of the athlete.

And another problem with non-professionals in sports is that they often maximize diet principles. For example, they focus on consuming only proteins or carbohydrates, some specific vitamins, or completely abandon fats. Any such action is considered a violation of the system, and is fraught with metabolic failures, gastrointestinal problems and other ailments. Naturally, it makes no sense to talk about outstanding results.

Otherwise, if you follow all the rules and subtleties that we talked about, sports nutrition turns out to be very effective and contributes to achieving new heights in sports. Note that in the first days of eating according to the new scheme, there may be a great lack of food, but the desire to eat something must be overcome. On the 3-4th day the body gradually adapts to unusual diet and, accordingly, will feel greater and longer satiety. Further, in most cases, no problems arise.

The sports diet is a completely independent nutrition system. It is extremely effective and its basics are used by many athletes, from runners to weightlifters. The differences are mostly just in the amount of calories supplied and dietary modifications. But remember that the most effective sports diet is the one compiled together with a trainer and nutritionist. By the way, today there is a huge amount of specialized literature, magazines and video materials on the topic of sports nutrition, which can be found without problems on the Internet. So don’t neglect third-party sources either.

We wish you a healthy lifestyle and new victories!

Athletes and people who do not devote their free time to training have different nutritional needs. The difference is due to several factors. Athletes expend much more energy than office workers or even industrial workers. High energy consumption is not the only reason for the special nutritional requirements of an athlete.

Increased physical activity affects the athlete’s body in such a way that he begins to work in a more intense “mode”. To restore energy expended during training, maintain good physical fitness and performing exercises, sports nutrition should be high in calories, natural, and varied.

Proper distribution of physical activity and restoration of the forces expended are the main key to success in achieving high sports results. Energy costs cannot be replenished without consuming properly selected products. Food serves as both a source of energy and material for cell reproduction.

Products for an athlete's diet

The main thing to consider is that food for an athlete must perform a number of specific tasks, and is not solely a source of satisfying hunger. Products on a bodybuilder’s menu must meet the following requirements:

1. Supply the body with all necessary nutrients, micro- and macroelements, vitamins, calories

Caloric value directly depends on the athlete’s sporting goals.

1. Contribute to the normalization and activation of metabolic processes occurring in the body

This quality is fully met by natural additives and active biological substances.

1. Regulate body weight

Weight depends on your goals. At some stages of training, the mass should decrease, at others it should increase, and in some cases it should be maintained in an unchanged state.

1. Change morphological parameters

This property allows you to build muscle mass, and, on the contrary, reduce body fat.

The importance of proper nutrition for an athlete

Training requires the athlete to expend a huge amount of energy both to perform physical activity and to maintain vital functions. This is the work of the heart muscle, respiratory and digestive systems. This is due to the fact that during intensive training both muscles and internal organs.

If the body does not receive enough nutrients and nutrients, this will first lead to an energy imbalance and then to exhaustion. To avoid this, the athlete must pay increased attention to his daily diet. It should be as balanced as possible, completely replenish expended energy, and consist of healthy natural products of animal and plant origin.

Sports diet

The formation of the menu depends on both individual and general requirements. The first includes the physical characteristics of the athlete, sports discipline, loads, and the second, independent of discipline and other factors, includes the qualitative composition of the athlete’s diet, which should contain foods rich in macro- and microelements.

In terms of qualitative composition, proper nutrition for an athlete should be close to the formula: 30% - proteins, 60% - carbohydrates, 10% - fats.

The use of microelements and vitamins involves the inclusion in the diet of food containing them in varying quantities, or the intake of special complexes.

One of essential components sporty healthy and balanced nutrition. It has a multifaceted effect on the body.

All biological structures, which include the organic part bone tissue, tendons, ligaments and muscle tissue, consist of protein. Protein is a catalyst for biochemical processes, accelerating them millions of times; it is part of hormones and is a growth factor. Both energy and metabolic processes occurring in cells directly depend on the activity of the enzyme protein.

Thanks to proteins, tissues receive oxygen and essential nutrients. The component also plays a huge role for the immune system. This is due to the fact that antibodies are specific protein molecules.

For girls

Nutrition for athletes actively training in the gym has its own characteristics. In addition to complex carbohydrates, it should be dominated by vegetable fiber and monounsaturated fats. It is preferable to eat small meals. The break between individual meals should be less than three hours.

Sample menu for girls actively involved in sports:

1. The first breakfast includes three eggs, oatmeal(100 gr.), and the second - half a liter of kefir or milk;
2. It is recommended to eat for lunch brown rice(150 gr.), white poultry or fish (200 gr.);
3. For an afternoon snack, nuts and cottage cheese (200 gr.) are best suited;
4. For dinner they serve salad or fruit, meat or fish (200 gr.);
5. Before going to bed, it is recommended to drink at least 500 ml of kefir, which can be replaced with any other fermented milk product.

The dietary requirements for an athlete remain the same, regardless of how long the menu is drawn up - for a week or a month. The main thing is that the products in it are chosen exclusively nutritious, natural and healthy.

Prohibited Products

Regular table salt- taboo for athletes. An alternative to it is sea. She is rich in many useful elements. The menu should not include spicy or fried foods, mushrooms, sugar, alcoholic beverages, various types semi-finished products made from juice powder.

You need to eat enough so as not to overeat or, conversely, feel hungry. Eating should be done without haste. Food needs to be chewed well. It is necessary to constantly monitor your weight and monitor your own well-being.

If you go to any gym in the world and randomly survey a hundred people on the subject of what is most important for successful bodybuilding or fitness, you can get about a hundred completely different answers. In this case, the intersection point will lie in the area of ​​​​various training programs and styles.

However, just as important as the workout itself is proper nutrition. It is nutrition that ultimately determines success or failure in bodybuilding.

Below are the basics of a nutrition program, including time limits, ways to optimize your diet, and what to give preference to when choosing foods.

This program will also teach you how to determine the daily amount of protein, carbohydrates, fats, and total quantity calories.

Daily calorie intake

Before discussing the main components of nutrition, it is necessary to determine the common denominator that connects all types of foods - calorie content. In recent years, this topic has been discussed a huge number of times, high-calorie diets were replaced by low-calorie ones, then back again, and so on endlessly, depending on fashion. The same applies to protein with carbohydrates and fats... In general, opinions change very often and you need to put up with it.

The proposed formula, on the other hand, has already been tested and is suitable for most cases. If you follow it and gradually adapt it to your needs, you can at least get an optimal diet, nutritional nirvana, so to speak. The formula, unlike most used today, is very simple and effective.

If your goal is to gain muscle mass without gaining body fat, or even to slowly eliminate those extra pounds you already have, you need to multiply your weight in pounds by 13, 14 or 15. 13 if you have a slow metabolism, 14 if you have an average one, and 15 if you have a slow metabolism. if fast.

For people who have been seriously engaged in bodybuilding for a long time, you need to multiply by 16, 17 or 18, respectively. If you need to lose excess weight, multiply by 10, 11 or 12, depending on your metabolism. For example: male, 200 lbs (or 90.7 kg), slow metabolism, goal is to gain muscle mass and reduce body fat. Multiply 200 by 13 to get 2600 calories per day. Or: Male, 150 pounds, fast metabolism, goal is to gain muscle mass without increasing body fat. Multiply 150 by 15 to get 2250 calories per day. By calculating our daily calorie intake, we need to know how much protein, carbohydrates and fat we need per day. Roughly, 30-35% of calories should come from protein, 50-60% from carbohydrates and 10-15% from fat. Each gram of protein or carbohydrate provides approximately 4 calories, each gram of fat provides 9 calories. Mine daily ration should be divided into 5-6 meals. Important point— high-calorie gas station after training.

And don't forget about vitamins and minerals. Buy yourself some fancy multivitamin and consume it for your health according to the instructions on the box. Such a nutrition program may well provide you with a so-called healthy lifestyle.

Proteins

Protein, also known as protein, is important for the repair and growth of muscle tissue. Amino acids supplied by proteins form the building blocks for all cells human body. Without proteins, your internal organs, hair, immune system and in general all body systems will not be able to exist. Bodybuilders need to consume enough protein to complete their daily routine. vital functions and also for muscle recovery after training. Daily intake norms for physically active people have been discussed by sports doctors for many years.

Based on the opinion of sports nutritionists and professional bodybuilders, an athlete should have 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. A little less - and the process of restoration and growth will slow down; an increase, on the other hand, will not have any effect.

It should not be forgotten that energy from protein should account for 3-35% of total daily calories. The aforementioned 200-pound man eating 2,600 calories per day would therefore need to eat 215 grams of protein per day, which would provide about 33% of his calories. Divide your protein intake in approximately equal proportions throughout the day. If our 200 pound man eats 6 times a day, he is consuming 30-40 grams of protein per meal. Sources of protein include foods such as turkey, chicken, white fish, lean red meats, egg whites, and all kinds of protein shake mixes.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the body. Carbohydrates can be divided into two categories - simple and complex. Complex carbohydrates should form the basis of your energy sources, excluding the short period after training. Complex carbohydrates break down slowly and cause a moderate increase in blood sugar, which does not lead to a sharp release of insulin.

Consumption simple carbohydrates causes a rapid rise in blood sugar levels, which leads to the active release of insulin and, as a result, a drop in blood sugar. It makes you feel tired and groggy, but for 1.5 to 2 hours after exercise, your body and muscles are very receptive to simple carbohydrates. The increase in insulin levels from eating simple carbohydrates helps replenish your depleted glycogen stores and ultimately help you recover from intense exercise.

Some experts believe that 60-80% of energy reserves are restored within 1-3 hours after finishing a workout. In other words, the faster your tired and hungry muscles receive quality fuel, the higher your chances of having a good time. next workout. But remember, this is the only ideal period for consuming simple carbohydrates. The rest of the time your energy level is maintained complex carbohydrates, which provide a constant flow of glucose into the muscles.

Carbohydrates have been said to supply 5-60% of daily calories. As with proteins, distribute your total carbohydrate intake evenly across all meals throughout the day. A good ratio is 2-3 grams of carbohydrates per gram of protein in post-workout meals, and 1-1.5 grams per 1 gram of protein the rest of the time. After training, you should have two meals. We eat once immediately after finishing classes, usually it’s a cocktail or a tiger’s milk bar, the second time is a full dinner an hour and a half after training. These two meals should contain 30-45% of your daily calories and carbohydrates. Useful simple formula: Per pound of body weight, take about half a gram of carbohydrates for each post-workout meal. If you have a high-carbohydrate meal before your workout (an hour and a half before), plan your meals for the rest of the day accordingly to balance your diet.

Complex carbohydrates are supplied to the body by high-quality pasta, oatmeal, wild rice, legumes, corn, yellow and green vegetables, wholemeal products, rye bread. For post-workout refueling, you can use various sports drinks, apples, bananas or oranges.

The bulk of the fats that we need for normal functioning are provided by normal daily nutrition, no additional effort is needed. If fat intake is excessively reduced, less than 10%, it can have a negative impact on health. Take one tablespoon vegetable oil, better than olive oil, or eat a handful of peanuts, and you will provide yourself with important fatty acids for a while, which play an important role in growth, recovery and overall daily well-being.

Eating in the middle of the night

You've probably been warned more than once that eating before going to bed is bad, because what you eat will immediately turn into fat and settle on your sides. This is not entirely true, you just need to monitor the number of calories that get inside you. And ruthlessly cut off the unnecessary ones. One of the biggest mistakes a bodybuilder sometimes makes is to go 10 or more hours without eating. If you eat every 2-4 hours during the day to avoid catabolism, what would cause you to get up in the middle of the night to eat? On the other hand, if you don’t eat in the evening, you can undo everything achieved during the day. In the evening you need to eat, but little by little, 1-2 meals rich in proteins. During the night, the body does not need carbohydrates much. Carbohydrates are needed only in small quantities for proper protein absorption. Protein will help keep the body anabolic all night until the morning. This promotes the release of growth hormone.

Drink a protein shake, eat 3-4 egg whites(pasteurized or boiled) or a cup of cottage cheese before going to bed. If you get up later to go to the bathroom, don't forget to look in the refrigerator on the way back and drink another glass of protein. If you are not used to eating at night, you can limit yourself to taking a set of amino acids. In total, you need 75-125 calories per meal in the evening, and do not forget to include them in your daily schedule.

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Whites - eggs, and in the following proportion: for one yolk there should be 4 whites, chicken, turkey, fish and, finally, beef. Milk is another high-quality source of protein, but most people lose the ability to digest it as they get older. Fats are not a separate product. They are included in almost any product organic origin and are divided into animal and plant. Carbohydrates - oatmeal, rice, potatoes, pasta and noodles, vegetables and fruits such as apples, bananas and oranges.

Be healthy and strong!