Sports nutrition has become an integral part of the lives of many athletes looking to gain weight. Find out if you can build without taking a sports supplement.
Is it possible to pump up without taking sports nutrition
Weight gain can make a difference in achieving a particular goal. Situations are different: the desire to improve strength performance, the advice of doctors, recovery from a long illness, etc.
There is a huge variety of sports nutrition products that promise muscle gains in no time. But no nutritional supplement compares to the effectiveness and health benefits of wholesome, healthy food.
Weight gain process
You can only gain weight if you consume more calories than you burn.
Add 250-500 calories to your diet, the excess of which will provide an increase in body weight.
Check with your dietitian to find out your daily calorie intake. Or use an online calorie calculator that isn’t hard to find on the internet.
Add those 250-500 calories to your total and divide over several meals.
Weight gain also depends on your physique and the predisposition of the body. People are different and there is no single miraculous formula that would suit everyone without exception. When compiling a diet, any feature of your body or lifestyle matters. It is worth paying attention to body type, metabolic rate, gender, age, activity level, etc.
Useful article: 150 Tips for Gaining Muscle Mass for Men and Women
It is necessary to be able to correctly draw up an individual diet and meal plan in order not to face such a common problem as gaining excess weight. Hanging sides and folds on the belly are not popular now, and they are unlikely to ever be in trend. In addition, excess body fat is harmful to health. Therefore, carefully monitor your menu.
Building a complete diet
Protein is the basis of muscle growth. Proteins, in turn, break down into amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscles.
Therefore, make sure that there are foods high in protein in your menu.
Carbohydrates are the main source of energy. They help you lead a normal life and cope with a variety of physical activities. So, give preference to complex carbohydrates, as they take a long time to digest and provide a lot of energy.
Do not neglect fats, which also play an important role in the life of the body.
Divide your daily diet into 6-7 meals. Eat a balanced and strict meal plan.
The body needs amino acids to recover at night. Sports nutrition manufacturers recommend drinking concentrated casein before bed. Although instead of it, ordinary cottage cheese is quite suitable.
Add calories
When you buy sports nutrition, you don’t have to change your serving size to increase your daily calorie intake. But this effect can be achieved without sports nutrition.
Add calories to your diet with natural, high-calorie foods.
Eat nuts, raisins, avocados, bananas, blueberries, and peanut butter, either separately or as a side dish.
Strength training for muscle growth
Nutrition alone is not enough to gain useful muscle mass. It is important to build a competent training plan and work it out in the gym in good faith.
Give preference to basic exercises because they involve several muscle groups at once.
Multi-joint exercises guarantee an increase in testosterone levels in the body, which will have a positive effect on muscle building.
Incorporate barbell squats, deadlifts, bench presses, leg presses, lunges, pull-ups, etc. into your workout routine.
Exercise 2-3 times a week.
Don’t forget about cardio. Despite the fact that your goal is precisely to gain weight, you should not completely cancel cardio loads. By doing cardio, you benefit your heart and increase your endurance.
Conclusion
It is important to remember that sports nutrition is just an addition to a perfectly balanced diet. Sports nutrition can only enhance the effect of eating healthy food, but not completely replace it. Therefore, it is worth focusing on natural food, increasing its calorie content.
Gaining weight in a couple of days is unrealistic, as well as pumping up the abs in 10 minutes. Each step requires a competent approach and precise implementation of the assigned tasks. If you stick to the plan, then for several months – or very possibly even weeks! – you can certainly put on weight.