Welcome to the SL kitchen – where Abs are made (at least in NYC)! Here we’ll be posting quality content about sports nutrition for athletes, athletes in training or wherever you may be in your weight training journey. Feel free to leave us feedback and let us know what you’d like to see more of.
When getting started with a strength training program, it’s important to understand your body and your performance goals. Are you an athlete looking to pack on extra pounds and looking for the proper way to do so? If you answered yes, then you’ll want to keep reading. Proper nutrition is key for healthy weight gain, especially when weight training. For starters, it’s important to know where you are now. Consult with a professional athletic trainer and facility that has equipment to help you understand your body type. Here at SportsLab in New York City, we perform a body composition test using the InBody 770 Body Composition Scanner. If you do not have access to advanced technology such as this, then just keep it basic by simply weighing yourself. You’ll need to know your weight to determine your caloric intake. Next, take your weight and multiply it by 16. The number you get here will be your starting point.
Priorities, priorities, priorities. Protein is extremely important for athletes who want to bulk up the right way. Here is what they say in a recent article from Stack.com, titled Trying to Gain Weight? Here’s What Your Meals Should Look Like: “Aim for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. In the case of the 200-pound athlete, we’re going to want to eat 200 grams of protein a day. One gram of protein contains 4 calories, so 200 grams of protein is equal to 800 calories.”
While consuming protein stimulates muscle protein synthesis, you’ll still want to make sure you are consuming other adequate amounts of macronutrients. The next most important macronutrient, after protein, is fat and it will allow you to use that protein efficiently. The aforementioned Stack.com article says “A good rule of thumb is to aim for 25 percent of your total caloric intake to come from fat.” Your remaining calories will go towards your carbohydrate intake. Take a look at the diagram below which gives a nice breakdown of the types of macros.
It’s important to know that everyone’s body is different and the numbers given in the article should only be used as a baseline. Some last words of advice: Plan ahead – do your grocery shopping at the beginning of the week, meal prep, and consult with a fitness or nutritional expert. Stay on track with your strength training program and if you’re in need of a new fitness program and exercise routine, we’ll be right here waiting for you.
Check out the full article here
