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Perhaps there is no sport where nutrition is so important as in bodybuilding. Eat the wrong foods at the wrong time, and weeks of work are sabotaged.
Bodybuilders utilize two of the three major muscle energy systems: immediate, glycolic, and oxidative. Immediate energy relies on the utilization of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and creatine phosphate. When ATP, stored in the muscle fiber, is broken down, a spark of energy is released. Then enzymes use creatine phosphate to regenerate ATP. Immediate energy is used by lifters who do 1-4 reps.
As the number of reps increase, the body begins to use glycolic energy. Glycolic energy comes from glycogen stored in the muscles and liver. Glycogen is converted to glucose when it is needed for energy. Neither the immediate nor glycolic energy systems utilize oxygen to produce energy; hence they are called anaerobic.
Oxidative energy, which uses oxygen, is required for aerobic endurance activities such as running and swimming. The oxygen oxidizes long-chain fatty acids, glucose, and protein to generate energy. Weight training, for the most part, does not use oxidative energy.
The focused energy used by bodybuilders creates very specific nutritional needs. Since a goal of bodybuilding is to build muscle, more calories must be consumed than burned. However, these calories must be very specific in their source. The bodybuilder should generally eat 5 to 6 times a day and consume 15% of total calories in fat, 30% of total calories in protein, and 55% of total calories in carbohydrates.
High quality protein is needed several times a day for muscle recovery and for building and repairing muscle tissue. Fat intake should be limited, because fat is not an efficient energy source for anaerobic training and will be stored as body fat. Of course, fat that is consumed should be unsaturated. Carbohydrates must be consumed to insure that training intensity does not wane and muscle tissue is not cannibalized for energy. These carbohydrates should consist of foods with a low glycemic index, including butter beans, black-eyed peas, chick peas, golden delicious apples, tomato soup, kidney beans, lentils, soybeans, and peanuts.
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