Nutrition For Bodybuilders: The Basics
My bodybuilding journey began over a decade ago, marked by triumphs, setbacks, and invaluable lessons. It's been a journey filled with excitement and challenges alike. Throughout these years, one constant remains: the vital importance of tailoring supplementation and nutrition for bodybuilders. Just as each person is unique, so are their dietary requirements and aspirations. Whether you're male or female, bulking or cutting, mastering the art of fueling your body and optimizing supplement intake is paramount in sculpting your desired physique. Today, I'm sharing the essentials of my bodybuilding nutrition plan, honed over years of experience. Let this serve as your guide to maximum gains and achieving your fitness goals.
In this article, I’m going to breakdown some bodybuilding nutrition essentials, and answer important questions all beginner lifters should be considering, like:
- General nutrition for bodybuilding beginners
- The function and importance of key nutrients in bodybuilding
- What are the best foods for muscle gain?
- Bodybuilding supplements for beginners and intermediates
- What is the 40-30-30 diet for bodybuilding?
Nutrition - What Beginner Bodybuilders Need To Know
Bodybuilding truly is a journey: it has a definitive start, fraught with wins, losses, and tons of lessons; you grow through your intermediary phase – both in muscle mass and athletic experience; and before you know it, you’ve reached the pinnacle of your weightlifting and body sculpting abilities. Of the many takeaways is the importance of nutrition, not just what to eat to gain muscle but what to eat to stay healthy, mentally sharp, and energized. If it were simply about gaining muscle, it wouldn’t matter what foods and supplements you ate, let alone if you followed any semblance of a bodybuilding nutrition plan at all. But the fact is, nutrition is crucial. These are some of the most important sources of nutrition to help you succeed in your own journey.
Protein Powerhouse
For both men and women, protein serves as the foundation of muscle growth and repair. Most people, let alone most bodybuilders, generally understand this but don’t necessarily know exactly what to eat to gain muscle in the most effective way. Incorporating healthy protein sources into your meals ensures you’re meeting your protein needs and supporting muscle growth and recovery. Some easily digestible, fast-absorbing proteins include:
- Chicken or turkey
- White fish
- Tofu
- Eggs
- Legumes
My main protein staples are chicken, eggs and ANIMAL whey protein. I’ll cover whey protein below when discussing bodybuilding supplements for beginners.
Carbohydrate Essentials
Carbohydrates serve as our body's main energy source, and it's no secret that they also contribute to the deliciousness of many meals! Fueling your workouts and facilitating recovery, carbohydrates play a crucial role in optimizing performance. Research studies and professional anecdotes alike point to correlation in carbohydrate intake and muscle mass. [1] Keep in mind that the effects and results of carbohydrate intake may differ depending on your fitness level, body composition, routine, and other key factors.
I prefer opting for fibrous options like oats and fiber tortillas, as they not only provide sustained energy but also help in managing my immense hunger. Additionally, I incorporate white jasmine rice which offers a quicker-digesting carbohydrate option.
Personalizing carbohydrate intake plays a critical role in optimizing nutrition for bodybuilding beginners. I recommend customizing your carbohydrate intake according to your activity level and training intensity, ensuring you have ample energy to excel during workouts and replenish muscle glycogen stores efficiently.
Healthy Fats
Ensure you don't overlook the importance of dietary fats in your bodybuilding nutrition plan, as they are vital for hormone production and overall health. Incorporate sources like avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish into your diet to provide essential fatty acids that support optimal performance, especially in beginners and amateurs. [2] Additionally, fats aid in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, and E, enhancing their bioavailability and supporting various bodily functions. [3] Moreover, fats contribute to the flavor profile of foods and promote satiety, helping you feel satisfied and content after meals.
Fruits and Vegetables
Don't overlook the importance of including fruits and vegetables in your diet! Fruits and veggies could also be categorized as carbohydrates, but I feel they deserve their own honorable distinction when it comes to optimizing nutrition for bodybuilders. These nutrient-rich foods provide essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are crucial for overall health and well-being. Tailor your fruit and vegetable consumption to suit your personal preferences and nutritional requirements, aiming for variety to maximize their benefits.
With such a diverse array of options available, there are countless ways to incorporate them into your meals. Lately, I've been exploring my culinary horizons by growing my own microgreens. Not only do they offer a concentrated nutritional boost, but they're also incredibly easy to cultivate, making them a convenient addition to any diet. [4]
Hydration
While it might seem like common knowledge, you'd be surprised at how many individuals I encounter who underestimate the importance of hydration! It's a crucial element of any bodybuilding plan for beginners or advanced athletes. Ensuring adequate hydration throughout the day by regularly drinking water and incorporating electrolyte-rich beverages during intense training sessions is key. Adjusting your fluid intake according to factors such as climate, activity level, and sweat rate is essential to maintain optimal hydration levels and enhance performance. [5] Personally, during weight training sessions, I prefer sipping on ANIMAL Clear Whey with a dash of salt added in for electrolyte balance. Alternatively, you could opt for an EAA supplement, but lately, I've been particularly fond of the Blueberry Acai Clear Whey flavor.
Bodybuilding Supplements For Beginners
I can’t tell you how often I’m asked, “What supplements should I take as a beginner bodybuilder?”. But I’m never annoyed, and always happy to weigh in; because the truth is too many people take a haphazard approach to supplementation when initiating their bodybuilding journey.
Whey Protein
Whey protein supplements are a convenient way to increase your protein intake and support muscle recovery and growth. Incorporate whey protein shakes into your pre- or post-workout routine for increased mass and strength results. [6] You can also take a whey protein shake as a convenient snack option to ensure you're meeting your protein needs and maximizing muscle protein synthesis. I love a scoop of Brownie Batter ANIMAL Whey in my oats, it’s a sweet treat that also aids in my muscle growth – that’s what I call winning!
BCAAs/EAAs
Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) and Essential Amino Acids (EAAs) should play a critical role in any bodybuilding plan for beginners.
BCAA/EAA supplements can help reduce muscle soreness and support muscle recovery and growth. [7] Consider incorporating these supplements into your pre, intra, or post-workout nutrition regimen to optimize muscle protein synthesis and enhance overall performance.
You can also get BCAAs and EAAs in natural foods. It’s no surprise that many of the foods we recognize as high in healthy protein also contain branch chain and essential amino acids. Among my favorites are:
3.5 oz Chicken breast: 5.5g BCAAs
3.5 oz of lean ground beef: 4.5g BCAAs
1 cup of Greek yogurt: 4.1g BCAAs
3.5 oz of Salmon: 4g BCAAs
But, at the end of the day, BCAA and EAA supplements allow you to optimize your amino acid intake to better optimize your nutrition, easily making up for nutrition gaps in your diet.
Creatine
Creatine supplementation has garnered extensive research support for its ability to enhance strength, power, and muscle mass. [8] It stands as one of the most extensively studied supplements available, and an integral supplement in any bodybuilding plan for beginners, intermediates, and professionals. Now its consumption has been made even more convenient with ANIMAL Creatine Chews.
I'll confess, on days when I'm not hitting the gym, remembering to take creatine can slip my mind. However, with these chews, forgetfulness becomes a thing of the past. Trust me, if you haven't given them a try, you're in for a treat—not just because of their delicious taste, but also because they make supplementation feel like indulging in a delightful snack rather than a chore.
Multivitamins
Ensure you're meeting your micronutrient needs by incorporating a high-quality multivitamin into your daily supplementation routine. Choose a multivitamin specifically formulated for active individuals to support overall health, fill in nutritional gaps, and optimize performance both in and out of the gym. I love sipping on ANIMAL PAK Orange Crushed in the morning because it makes me feel like I’m sipping on Orange juice.
Bodybuilding Nutrition Plan For Beginners
Understandably, beginners tend to be more focused on building and sculpting muscles through efforts at the gym. And while giving it your all in the iron arena is definitely where gains are made, you’re not going to progress far without a strategic bodybuilding nutrition plan.
Diet and supplementation both play a crucial role. You’ll want to hone your diet to the best foods for muscle gain and overall health. This means a balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fats; as well as micronutrients. You’ll also want to ensure you’re optimizing your nutritional intake with micronutrients and BCAAs/EAAs, and a good amount of fibrous fruits and vegetables.
The 40-30-30 macros diet is a good, albeit broad, nutrition plan to begin your bodybuilding journey with.
What is the 40-30-30 diet for bodybuilding?
In bodybuilding, the 40/30/30 macros refer to a specific ratio of macronutrients – 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 30% fats. This balanced macro split has become one of the most well-known and recommended approaches for those looking to build muscle, lose fat, or simply eat healthier. For bodybuilders, it’s a great foundational diet for building muscle and improving body mass composition.
Counting calories
Calculating your caloric need is crucial for any phase of bodybuilding. During your bulking phase, you’ll want to increase your caloric intake by 5-20%, depending on your workout regimen. In this phase, it’s crucial to fill each plate with only the best foods for muscle gain and ensure you’re getting the optimum amount of calories to meet your goals.
While cutting, you’ll want to reduce your calories by 10-20% of what you need to maintain your body weight. During this phase, it’s very important to follow the bodybuilding nutrition essentials outlined above.
Conclusion
Embarking on a bodybuilding journey requires a personalized approach to nutrition and supplementation that takes into account your individual goals, preferences, and lifestyle factors. Starting with the basics will help you begin customizing your bodybuilding nutrition plan and supplementation strategy based on your unique needs. As much as nutrition and supplementation are important, don’t forget to prioritize consistency, dedication, and patience as you work towards your fitness goals, after all I’ve been at this for over a decade and still feel like there’s always a new goal to achieve!
Renee Jewett is an IFBB Wellness Pro with multiple NPC accolades to her name. She generously shares her insights and first-hand experiences about her professional bodybuilding journey.
