Geschatte leestijd: 3 minutenWhen you do strength training and your goal is muscle growth, just doing strength training is not enough. There is a significant relationship between strength training and nutrition. You need to consider the amount of food you consume, the right amount of different macronutrients, and also the right nutritional supplements. Below, we explain more about the amount of food you need per body weight and from which macronutrients this food should mainly consist. Furthermore, we look at the best supplements for strength training.
Strength Training and Nutrition
Getting enough food and sufficient macronutrients is an essential part of strength training. In addition, nutrition not only determines your growth but also the strength you can exert during training sessions. The most common mistake made by athletes who do not see results in strength training is often not the training itself as the cause, but rather inadequate or incorrect nutrition, such as insufficient protein.
How Much Should You Eat?
The easiest way to determine your needs and create your nutrition plan is by using calorie requirement calculators or the FITsociety app. However, if you want to know what this is based on, read on.
To determine how much you need initially, it is important to reason from your own starting point. First, you need to calculate the calorie requirement for your body at rest.
You then need to add up the number of calories you burn during the day and the calories you burn through physical activities. This depends, of course, on the frequency, duration, and intensity of the activity.
This total number of calories must then be distributed correctly over the macronutrients carbohydrates, protein, and fats.
Determine Your Macronutrients
You can divide the daily food you consume into 3 food components called macronutrients. These 3 macronutrients are:
- Proteins, providing 4 calories
- Carbohydrates, providing 4 calories
- Fats, providing 9 calories
Because you need all 3, it is important to maintain the correct distribution. If you are doing strength training, having enough energy is very important. Your body primarily gets this energy from carbohydrates. Depending on your body composition, fat percentage, and response to carbohydrates, you can get about 50 to 60 percent of your strength training nutrition from carbohydrates. Note that this is very personal, as each body responds differently to carbohydrates.
After determining the amount of carbohydrates, you need to determine the amount of protein. These are the building blocks for your muscle cells and essential for muscle growth and recovery. In addition, sufficient protein prevents muscle breakdown. Therefore, make sure that 30 percent of your calories come from protein. The types of protein can vary, so be aware of that. Casein can mainly be obtained from dairy products and helps prevent muscle breakdown. Ideal before going to sleep.
The remaining calories come from fats. Fat has wrongly received a bad reputation because it is said to be the reason for weight and fat mass gain. This is incorrect, and the actual reason for weight gain or fat increase is a positive calorie balance, meaning eating more than you need. Fats are important in strength training because they serve as building blocks for testosterone, the hormone that plays a major role in muscle growth.
The nutritional calculator assumes 50% from carbohydrates, 30% from protein, and 20% from fats.
What Are Good Sources of Strength Training Nutrition
Now that you know how many calories you need and how the distribution of your macronutrients should be, you can start creating your diet. Even when using the calculator, it is useful to know what good sources are of certain macronutrients.
Carbohydrates for Strength Training
- Cream of Wheat
- Oatmeal
- Whole wheat pasta
- Muesli
- Bananas
- Sweet potato
- Broccoli
- Beans
- Brown rice
- Vegetables
Proteins for Strength Training
- Chicken breast
- Turkey breast
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Low-fat quark
- Beef steak
- Ground beef
- Eye of round steak
- Tenderloin
- Soy
Fats for Strength Training
- Olive oil
- Avocado
- Walnuts
- Hazelnuts
- Fish oil
- Coconut oil
- Flaxseed
Conclusion
The relationship between strength training and nutrition is clear. Not only is the right nutrition important for muscle growth, but also for sufficient energy, hormone production, and prevention of muscle breakdown. To give you a few final tips:
Prepare Your Meals
Are you serious about your body and workouts? Then be just as aware of your nutrition and prepare your meals. Cook for the whole week and use Tupperware containers to take your meals to work or school.
Buy Easy Sources of Protein
You can get protein from various sources. It’s exhausting to prepare your steaks or chicken fillets every night. There are easier ways to get your protein, such as protein shakes. And there are cans of tuna from various brands (John West, Princess, etc.) that are excellent sources of protein.
Be Cautious with Alcohol
One of the biggest pitfalls. Alcohol is not only a form of sugar that can provide your body with excess energy, it also has a negative effect on your hormone balance. It can significantly affect your testosterone levels.
