Nutrition for Strength and Muscle Building
Fuelling yourself for weight training 💪
With our nutrition tips, you'll be able to achieve your best performance as well as feeling your best during weight training! Increasing your muscle tissue will improve posture, improve bone health, can help to lower blood pressure, improves overall body strength and you will burn more energy at rest (a faster basal metabolic rate).
Energy! 🏃♀️
For muscle building and strength to improve, energy intake is the most important aspect of nutrition. Energy intake means the amount of calories you eat because calories give you... you guessed it, energy! Our bodies use this energy to fuel workouts and fuel our busy lifestyles. Everything from breathing to doing laundry requires energy. It is important that we eat enough energy to cover all of those needs and to have enough left over to build new muscle tissue. When lifting weights this winter, remember it's natural to feel hungry and you may need to eat a bit more energy to support your strength and muscle gains. Sounds like a win-win situation!
Protein 🥩
Protein provides the amino acids that are important for growth, maintenance and repair of the body’s cells and muscles.
Proteins are made up of amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids, 9 amino acids are called ‘essential’ as we can only obtain them from our diet. The others our body can make itself. These 9 amino acids can be found in red meat, poultry, fish/seafood, milk and milk products, eggs, quinoa and tofu.
Protein also helps us to feel full for longer so it is important to include protein at all your meals and ideally in your snacks too! It will help you manage your hunger throughout the day and prevent unhealthy snacking! An easy way to get protein in is to add a protein powder to your porridge, smoothie etc. DediKate Members receive 10% off True Protein, head to Member Deals on DediKate to get yours!
Carbohydrate 🍌
The energy from carbohydrates is stored in the muscles and is readily available to support movement and exercise. During high-intensity exercise, carbohydrates are particularly valuable because they can be broken down into energy very rapidly, much more quickly than fat, our other favourite fuel source. Carbohydrates provide energy for heavy work, explosive movements, and interval training, such as when we use weights. Carbohydrates are found in all plant-based foods including fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, oats, beans and legumes. These fibrous carbohydrate options can be a game changer in fueling exercise, and if you need an extra boost consider having a carbohydrate snack pre workout e.g. a banana, oat bar or toast.
Creatine 🏋️♀️
In order to benefit from weight training, as well as to gain strength and muscle mass, you do not need to take supplements. However, there is one supplement that has been backed by so much research and found to be so beneficial to overall health that it definitely deserves a mention. Creatine is a compound found naturally occuring in muscle. During exercise, it accelerates the production of energy, which is great for your performance during interval-style workouts, commonly done during weight training. Additionally, creatine has been found to support muscle growth and strength gains. If you were interested in supplementing with creatine to boost your own natural levels of muscle creatine, you can take 3-5g per day, at any time. You will often see changes in performance and recovery after about 4 weeks.
Want more nutrition tips and advice?
Claire is our DediKate Nutritionist, who answers our nutrition questions and runs nutrition workshops and programmes!
Claire is a registered nutritionist with a passion for psychology, with over 18 years experience. She is a published author with two best-selling books, the owner and director of the private nutrition practice and workplace wellness company Mission Nutrition!
Claire has selected highly qualified and experienced nutritionists and dietitians from around the country who share her values and have the knowledge, skills and experience to help you reach your own specific health goals so you can look and feel your best each and every day.
Get in touch with Claire today or find out more about Mission Nutrition!
