FOOD SUPPLEMENTATION – WISELY!
FOOD SUPPLEMENTS MARKET HAS CHANGED DRASTICALLY OVER LAST TWO DECADES
Twenty years ago there were only multivitamin/mineral formulas, proteins, mass gainers (full of sugar) and a few amino products. Putting together a stack serving one’s needs was not really difficult. Choosing reputable brand – that was all you had to care about! Since then the situation has changed substantially. Today bigger companies supply tens or hundreds of different products. Even a seemingly easy task like “I’ll buy some protein” can become difficult when the customer is faced, let’s say, with the more than 20 protein formulas (not to mention many different flavors).
If you want to choose the right supplements for you from the wide ranging supply the market offers, you have to think a few things over and get some basic knowledge. Firstly, the most important thing is to get clear about your goals. Secondly, get clear about your current level of physical development and your budget constraints. It is also useful to know whether you have any particular sensitivity or allergy to one or more macro- or micro-nutrients or ingredients. Remember that supplements – as the name indicates – supplement the diet. If you follow a diet that is not compatible with your goals, you won’t be able to reach them, irrespectively of the stuff you take. Similarly, you won’t get bigger and stronger muscles, a lower level of body fat or better endurance without proper physical training. Before starting any kind of supplement program, it is advisable to get at least some basic knowledge about nutrition and training theory (and practice).
THE BASIC EQUATION FOR MASS-BUILDING
The most basic rule for mass-building is that you have to take in more calories, than you expend if you want to gain weight. Of course, the quality of the gained bodyweight (mostly muscle or fat) heavily depends on the sources of the consumed nutrients and calories required for weight gain and the extend of the muscular adaptations forced by physical training.
Everybody seeks the magic bullet while ignoring the fact that nothing is more powerful than the consistent consumption of the proper amount of total calories, energizing carbs and muscle building protein.
We hope you liked the introductory information into bodybuilding and you become to understand that no matter how much you’d train or how heavy you lift, the most important side of building muscle is proper diet and nutrition. In the next articles on the subject we will get into more details about:
- nutrient and calorie intake – liquid form
- micro-nutrients, amino acids and other ingredients
- sample of 5 day training program for building muscle