To ensure maximum benefits from strength training, you need to take various supplements. They are presented in a huge assortment, which makes the choice much more difficult for novice athletes. This applies to absolutely any specialized sports nutrition store.
It is impossible to achieve impressive effects if you do not take sports nutrition for beginners. Beginners in bodybuilding, having learned about the need to take sports nutrition, can easily get confused in the abundance of different products, not knowing which one to give their preference. In order not to make the wrong choice and not be disappointed, you should thoroughly study which supplements really work and will be beneficial in achieving your sports goal already in the initial stages of strength training.
What Beginners Should Know
The main rule for beginners is that sports nutrition does not replace regular nutrition. A balanced diet, including plenty of protein, is basic. Most of the nutrients can be obtained from foods. Thus, protein and amino acids are found in large quantities in meat, fish, chicken, dairy and fermented milk products. The body receives fiber and vitamins from vegetables, carbohydrates from fruits. You need to diversify your diet as much as possible, giving up store-bought sweets, flour products, and alcohol.
The second rule is that you need to choose supplements taking into account your body composition, weight, age, health status, and lifestyle. So, if you smoke or have just given up a bad habit, you should take vitamin C. Beginners over 40 years of age must take Omega-3 and coenzyme Q10 to protect the cardiovascular system.
And the third rule is to take only safe supplements. Anabolic steroids banned in Russia, although they will make you a muscular athlete, will lead to serious illnesses. Set yourself a goal - to lose weight or gain weight within a certain period of time, but this period should not be realistic. For example, you cannot lose 10 kg in 2 months without stressing the body. It is impossible to increase your weight by 2-3 times in six months without harm to your health. Get ready that you will have to train for a long time and regularly, without stopping for more than 1-2 weeks.
Micronutrients are essential helpers
Micronutrients are often overlooked when creating a healthy diet, but they are an integral part of helping to maintain health, especially during intense training.
These substances include vitamins, microelements, antioxidants and others. They are found in many foods: fruits, berries, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, dairy and meat products.
Remember! Heat treatment significantly reduces the micronutrient content of food, so try to eat it fresh or baked.
Why do they say that sports nutrition is a scam?
Opinions about sports nutrition are mixed. Some people think this is a panacea for those who want to get a beautiful figure, others call the supplements scams. And both sides are wrong. And that's why:
- Sports supplements will not make you a muscleman if you take them while sitting at home. They help the body cope with stress, saturate it with protein, amino acids, minerals and other important substances. Supplements help the athlete, but do not do all the work for him.
- In addition to taking sports nutrition, willpower is important if you are just starting to train. The first few days after exercise your muscles and joints will ache, especially if you previously led a sedentary lifestyle. Sports nutrition will not give you motivation, but it will speed up recovery, make you more resilient and reduce muscle pain.
- You need to evaluate the effectiveness of the supplement not by advertising, but by common sense. Protein is at least 50% protein as it is made from milk, meat or soy. But a supplement with goji berries, the manufacturers of which promise a weight loss of 10 kg in a month, will only start the process of burning fat, but will not make you slimmer without diet and exercise. loads
High-quality sports nutrition contains elements that are synthesized by the body, but in insufficient quantities. Therefore, they really work and do not cause side effects. The main thing is to be able to read the ingredients and differentiate quality supplements from dummies.
Meal schedule
Regardless of the purpose of training, proper nutrition performs the following functions:
- Normalizes metabolism;
- Normalizes blood sugar and cholesterol levels;
- Eliminates fat layer;
- Strengthens the muscle corset;
- Increases strength and endurance.
Make yourself a schedule that includes meal times and try to follow it strictly. The interval between meals should be 2-3 hours, so you can simultaneously control your hunger and avoid overeating.
It is allowed to arrange fasting days. During them, you can include your favorite “forbidden” dishes in your diet. However, you should not abuse this. Organize such holidays for the stomach no more than once every ten days.
Benefits of sports nutrition
To begin with, remember that sports nutrition is not a chemical seasoning for food, but food. Supplements can easily replace 1 meal if it is not possible to have a normal snack with regular foods. And it is better to take a serving of protein or eat a protein bar than regular chocolate or a bun. In the first case, you will get protein, and in the second, unnecessary carbohydrates.
Benefits of sports nutrition:
- ease of administration - you can dilute the protein in a shaker and carry it with you;
- safety for the body - provided that the composition does not contain harmful components;
- high speed of absorption;
- when converted to products, the cost of additives turns out to be lower;
- ease of dosing, calculation of the amount of required nutrients depending on weight.
Menu option
If your goal is to lose weight, then the following menu for one day will suit you:
- Before breakfast: a tablespoon of flaxseed oil and a glass of warm water.
- Breakfast: oatmeal with milk (preferably oat, almond or soy), 1 whole egg and 2 whites, a small handful of walnuts, fruit (for example, green apple or kiwi).
- Lunch (before training): steamed buckwheat, grilled chicken fillet, vegetable salad.
- Post-workout snack: protein bar.
- Dinner: boiled pollock, a slice of whole grain bread, vegetable salad with avocado, dressed with olive oil.
- Late dinner: 2 egg whites with vegetables.
Remember that your diet should consist of the calorie content and nutrient ratio you need, so calculate the portion sizes yourself.
Thus, nutrition is the most important component when playing sports. It will help you achieve your goals, find your ideal figure and maintain your health. This is especially important for girls, since an incorrect diet, lack of the right fats, and reduction of carbohydrates to almost zero will lead to serious problems. Therefore, study the basics of nutrition, eliminate food waste and exercise!
What food to start with
There is a huge amount of sports nutrition: proteins, gainers, amino acids, isotonics, etc. It is quite difficult to immediately understand their purpose, and it is not necessary for a beginner. You need to start your path to a beautiful figure with proven supplements that will not immediately burden the body, but will help it cope with stress.
Vitamins and minerals
Athletes must take vitamins at least twice a year for 30 days. Special complexes strengthen the immune system, protect against inflammatory and infectious diseases, and slow down the aging of the body. A special need for vitamins and minerals arises in spring and autumn, when the body undergoes restructuring, which leads to a weakening of the immune system.
During physical activity, active sweating occurs. Important microelements leave the body along with sweat. This is why it is so important to take vitamin and mineral complexes during strength and aerobic exercise. Choose supplements that contain vitamins B, A, C, E. Additionally, you can take Omega-3.
Proteins
Protein is the basis of sports nutrition. Without proteins it is impossible to gain weight. You can replace meals with meat products, but you will have to consume about 500-700 grams per day. chicken breast. Unfortunately, not everyone has this opportunity.
Protein is the building material for muscles. When you rest after training, the supplement builds tissue on damaged muscles. Slowly but surely, protein increases muscle mass, making it stronger and more resilient.
Amino acids
Amino acids can be taken together with protein, but this combination is suitable for experienced athletes. Beginners just need to choose one of these two supplements. The advantage of amino acids is that they are well absorbed by the body and can be taken in capsule form. They help out in situations where the protein does not taste good or causes indigestion or is intolerant to dairy products. You can choose BCAA in powder form, which is easily and quickly absorbed and satisfies hunger.
Creatine
Much is known about the benefits of creatine. This supplement increases endurance and strength, helping you train longer by performing more repetitions in a standard amount of time. True, for beginners who have not yet developed their own training pace and have not learned how to contract muscles correctly, creatine may be useless. But if you are already making confident steps in sports, then buy a creatine supplement - it will help you increase weight.
Fat burners
Much is known about the effectiveness of fat burners. But most opinions are a marketing ploy. Good fat burners really work, but only if diet and exercise are involved. If you have problems with excess weight, try natural supplements, thermogenics or lipotropics. Just keep in mind that many fat burners have contraindications and side effects.
L-carnitine
It is worth including L-carnitine in a sports nutrition kit for beginners if you are overweight or lack energy. Carnitine combines the functions of an energy drink and a fat burner, but is safe for the body. It converts fat into energy, increasing endurance. Carnitine also improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system, so this is definitely a necessary and important supplement for beginners.
Is it possible for a novice athlete to do without supplements?
According to fitness trainers, it is possible to do without supplements, but sports activities will exhaust the body so much that the athlete will soon give up his hobby and return to his old life without using sports. nutrition, a beginner will achieve certain results, but this process will take a long time. There is a high probability that the desired muscle definition will never appear, and the extra pounds will never go away.
Of course, a novice athlete simply needs supplements, since during training he will actively spend energy, and it is necessary to restore it. In addition, sports nutrition has a beneficial effect on the entire body, protecting it from unusual intensity of physical activity. Supplements will give excellent results in a short time, but they should not be used instead of sports, but in combination with physical exercise, supplementing all this with a healthy diet.
Tips for Newbies
Before purchasing and consuming sports nutrition, consider the following points:
- The main amount of nutrients should come from food. You can't give up meat in favor of protein. It is better to replace sports nutrition with quality products, and not vice versa.
- Amino acids are recommended for those intolerant to dairy products and vegetarians.
- You need to start sports by taking multivitamin complexes, and then add protein and creatine.
- Buy supplements only in specialized stores to eliminate the risk of receiving low-quality and dangerous counterfeits.
- Lack of results in the first month of training is the norm. When gaining weight and losing weight, slow results are better than fast ones.
- Do not exceed the recommended dosage.
Well, the main advice is to consult your doctor before taking sports nutrition and training.
Calorie content is the most important indicator of diet
You need to eat within your daily caloric intake and maintain a balance of macronutrients.
Proper nutrition during training will help you gain a beautiful figure. To live, a person needs energy obtained from food. Unspent calories are stored as fat.
This mechanism was developed during evolution, when food abundance alternated with periods of famine. Internal reserves allowed people to survive difficult times. Constant overeating with low physical activity leads to obesity, but this process has a downside.
Important! A sharp decrease in caloric intake is perceived as the beginning of a period of hunger.
During fasting, the body stores fat and loses muscle tissue. To lose weight, you need to eat with a slight calorie deficit, about 10% of the standard. A diet with a slight surplus is suitable for gaining weight.
