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Bodybuilding
Program Basics
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Nutritional
Supplements
Using
Bodybuilding Supplements To Build Muscle Mass! by
Anthony Ellis
OK, first let's get something straight here...
If you think that buying a shake or taking a few pills
will all of a sudden make you huge, then you are mistaken.
No supplement will help you if you are not training
and dieting correctly -- they will just give you very
expensive urine. All aspects of your program have to
be in order for you to get the maximum benefit from
sports nutrition supplements. From my experience, supplements
enhance your program by:
1. Adding an element of convenience: Using food supplements
like Meal Replacement Powders and whey protein help
to eliminate the common problem of 'not enough time',
by providing you with an quick efficient way to get
your required nutrients each day.
2. Increasing strength and decreasing recovery time:
Using vitamin and amino acid supplements help to minimize
the negative side effects of weight training and speed
your recovery.
The Benefit of Convenience
There are many 'old school' trainers and bodybuilders
who profess the uselessness of supplements. They are
constantly preaching that they don't work, and that
you don't need them. Well, to tell you the truth they
are correct, somewhat. Remember that not too long ago
there were no supplements. Bodybuilders built huge physiques
without meal replacement powders, creatine or prohormones.
There was no such thing as exercise 'machines'. They
used multi-jointed, compound free weight exercises that
not only increased their muscular size, but also make
them incredibly strong. So, if you look at that way
it can be done and you don't need any supplements. However,
the decision whether or not to use supplements should
involve the consideration of other factors that may
come into play when speaking of dieting today. The first
of which is time.
Many people today just do not have the time to live,
eat and breathe food. Very few people like to cook,
and even fewer cook on a regular basis. When was the
last time that you actually had six meals that you actually
cooked yourself? Many of those who are against dietary
supplements continue to preach that you should get all
the nutrients that you need from your diet. 'Eat a balanced
diet and you will get all the nutrition you need'. Well,
100 years ago that may have been true, but today this
type of advice is questionable.
The fact is, most people's idea of a good meal is restaurant
or (even worse) fast food. To ask someone to eat specific
amounts of protein, fat and carbs seems like an impossible
request considering that most people can't even get
their minimum requirements of good fat or fiber. Experts
will continue to spout 'eat a balanced diet,' while
Americans feast on nutritionless fast food and sugar.
Not only do our bodies have to deal with the ever-increasing
external stresses of everyday life, they also have to
combat nutrient-depleting, tissue damaging exercise.
If I did not have the option to supplement my diet
with whey protein, I probably would not have gained
as much weight as I have. Now, I'm not saying that the
whey protein is why I gained weight, but it did help
me a great deal.
I am usually very busy and I just don't have the time,
nor the desire to eat six, planned whole food meals
per day. Supplements like meal replacement powders and
whey protein fill in this gap for me.
I typically have three real food meals and three protein
supplement meals -- that makes up my required six meals
each day. When I'm away from home, or not able to get
an adequate meal, my MRP is always right there when
I need it. It gives me a quantifiable amount of protein
so that I can keep track of my nutrient intake. In my
opinion, this is much better than just grabbing something
and then trying to guess at how much protein, fat or
carbs you just ate. Getting in all of your required
meals and nutrient amounts is crucial to your success.
My mass diet requires a very high daily protein intake
-- Over 300g per day. Just to give you example of how
much that is, here are some examples of what 300g of
protein is equal to:
Tuna -- 50 oz of canned tuna (the average can is 6-8oz.),
which is 1,750 calories and 25g of fat
Chicken -- 38 oz of chx breast (equals about seven
6oz breasts), which is 1,313 calories and 38g of saturated
fat
Beef -- 43 oz of lean ground beef (about 2.7 pounds
of meat), which is 3,214 calories and 215g of saturated
fat
Eggs -- 50 large whole eggs, equals 3,750 calories
and 250g of saturated fat
Egg whites -- 100 egg whites, equals 1,600 calories
and almost no fat
Pure whey protein -- 15 scoops of EAS Precision Protein,
equals 1,500 calories 7.5g of saturated fat
It is very possible to get this amount from eating
whole foods only -- But it will take work. Also, as
you can see from the above numbers, getting all of your
protein from regular food will also bring a lot of unnecessary
elements like extra saturated fat. Yes, our goal to
gain mass is to eat a lot of calories (including fat),
but your main fat intake should consist of unsaturated
fats that are liquid at room temperature like olive
oil, flaxseed oil, sunflower oil and safflower oil.
Whey protein supplements will help to give you the extra
protein without the fat.
Increased Strength and Decreased Recovery
In addition to a whey protein supplement, I recommend
that everyone should be taking a multi-vitamin, plenty
of vitamin C, and glutamine. Creatine can also be added
if you are over 18.
Multi-Vitamin
Weight training increases the body's need for many
minerals like magnesium and selenium. The multi-vitamin
ensures that I am not deficient in any major essential
vitamin or mineral. Deficiency symptoms include muscle
weakness and suppression of the immune system, muscle
cramping and fatigue.
I always take a multi-vitamin without iron, because
grown men do not need additional iron. We get enough
from our food. Men and postmenopausal women should never
take iron supplements unless they have iron-deficiency
anemia, which is only diagnosed by blood tests. The
body has no way to eliminate excess iron except through
blood loss. Women who menstruate are protected from
iron overload, obviously. Iron is also an oxidizing
agent that can cause damage to the heart and arteries,
and is a major risk factor in arteriosclerosis.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C essential to prevent free radical damage,
which is accelerated after the heavy trauma of weight
training. It is also essential is helping to repair
connective tissue which helps decrease the amount of
time you are sore. I train very heavy and extremely
hard. When I train my legs, I am usually sore for about
5-6 days afterwards.
If I do not supplement my diet with vitamin C, I would
normally be sore for almost 10 days! So, it really helps
me to recover and get back to training. I typically
take around 3,000mg in divided doses. That would equal
quite a few oranges!
Glutamine
Glutamine is an amino acid that is produced by our
bodies, but most of the time our bodies demand so much,
that it can't create enough. I supplement my diet with
glutamine to increase my levels of glutathione. Glutathione
is a powerful antioxidant, which helps to combat the
stresses of exercise trauma, and prevent muscle protein
breakdown.
I especially believe that it helps prevent my body
from breaking down my new muscle while I am asleep,
so I never go to bed without taking it. I take about
15g per day (in divided doses), which would be impossible
to get naturally.
Creatine Monohydrate
Creatine's purpose is to supply our muscle with energy.
It is also found in red meat, but you would have to
eat an enormous amount of meat to get the same benefits
as taking pure creatine powder. Everyone knows about
creatine so I will not go into it here, but I do want
to say that the major benefit from taking creatine is
that it will increase your strength.
This will enable you to lift heavier weights, which
will stimulate more muscle growth. Many people make
a big fuss over the muscle volumizing effects of creatine,
because if you stop taking it, you lose that extra fluid
that creatine brings into your cells. So what! You certainly
DO NOT lose the extra muscle creatine helped you to
gain.
I can honestly say that I could not have built the
body I have today without the convenience and enhancements
supplements provide. I simply don't have the time or
desire to do it any other way. This is a choice that
you must decide for yourself. You will be spending your
money on these products, so make sure that you know
their place in your program.
Don't get caught up in product hype. Supplements will
help, but they will NOT do the work for you.
About the Author
Former "skinny guy" Anthony Ellis is the
author of Gaining Mass. The most widely used weight
gain program in the world. This unique program contains
the complete diet, supplements and weight training program
he used to gain 32lbs of mass. For more information
on how to build more muscle go to http://www.fastmusclegain.com
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