Body Building & Supplements
Fitness for the well-being of mind and body are a choice by many individuals, be it old or young. Body building is the shaping up of the body particularly enhancing muscular mass and growth. There are ample reasons varying from individual to individual for following a body building regime. Some do it for cosmetic purposes and others for being fit. Body building is achieved through exercising using weights, appropriate diet schedules and optimum rests. Bodybuilding is portrayed as contests as well in many parts of the world.
Muscles are the main targets for body building and to discuss the diet for muscle build up, it is required to understand the science behind it. They are made up of small double nucleated cells called muscle fibers that are proteinaceous and a build-up of amino acids and distinguished as skeletal, cardiac and smooth. Thus, a continuous protein supply is must for muscle growth and development. Myosin filaments and actin molecules are the major proteins that coordinate together for muscle functioning and generating movements. Muscular fibers are of three different types, I, II and IIx, out of which the first is a slow twitch and later two are fast (Lemouse, n.d.). They keep interchanging and rigorous training can increase the fast twitch muscles in numbers in body builders. During exercising, there is some wear and tear happening with the muscles that need constant amino acid supply for maintenance (anabolism). In cases of unavailability of amino acids, the dystrophy takes place i.e. muscular damage that is irreversible (Lemouse, n.d.). Thus, muscle builders are advised to go step by step with their strenuous exercising, else the damaged muscle fibers could be lost forever. The anabolic state is promoted by dietary supplements as well enhancing the muscle build up.
Energy demands during bodybuilding
Along with proteins, the body also require energy currency i.e. ATP to fulfill the energy needs of the individual. The high energy phosphate bonds in this nucleotide are main energy providers. The ATP molecules are composed of three phosphates and during energy release, AMP and Pi are generated. These AMP are manufactured back to ATP with the aid of creatinine phosphate (Atalay & Hanninen, 2015 p.2). For initial requirements, muscles store enough energy molecules for utility for 1 to 2 seconds but when the exercises prolong, the stored glycogen molecules are utilized to release energy through lactic acid cycle for further 5 to 8 seconds (Atalay & Hanninen, 2015 p.4). Till here, the aerobic respiration does not come into role but when further exercising is done, glucose is burnt in mitochondria to produce ATPs during citric acid cycle. This is how the fats stored in the cells are burned.
Nutrients & supplements for bodybuilding
An in-depth knowledge of science behind the nutrient uptakes is essential for correct body build up. Body building is basically about the fat balancing in the body. The excess fat is reduced by burning calories through intense exercising and decreased calorie intake. A diet plan is prepared for the intended individual because it’s not just the fats but the other macronutrients also need to be balanced accordingly. Nutritional supplements are quite common amongst body builders and sportsmen in wide arena. It aids in enhancing their performance and maintaining the physique for longer term. There have been enormous efforts in predicting the quantities of macro as well as micronutrient requirements of the body but ultimate suggestions depends on one’s physiology.
Protein nutritional supplement
Along with the micronutrients; macronutrients such as carbohydrates, lipids and proteins need to be balanced appropriately. An approximate estimate describes their percentage as 55%, <30% and ~15% respectively (Guardia et al, 2015 p.2). It is essential to note that proteins are build-up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. In cases of adequate protein supplies, there is a positive nitrogen balance and the body is in an anabolic state that promotes muscle growth. In cases of negative nitrogen balance in the body, the process reverses and muscular cells deplete. Thus, protein supply should be optimal to avoid the catabolic condition in case of body building. The recommendations suggest ingesting 0.9-1.2 g/kg/day (Helms et al, 2014 p.3). It is interesting that leaner individuals require more amounts of protein than heavy weighted individuals. Another factor to be considered is that the body utilizes amino acids to replenish proteins but not all amino acids can be synthesized in the body and hence should be ingested through foods. Such amino acids are known as essential amino acids like glutamine that are popular supplements for body builders. Mostly branched amino acids are taken as supplements including leucine, valine and isoleucine to enhance protein synthesis and reduce protein degradation in muscles (Helms et al, 2014 p.11). Milk products, eggs, dairy products, fish and meat are the best protein containing sources.
Carbohydrate & Fat nutritional supplement
Carbohydrate is the main energy providing source of the body. Glucose and glycogen through aerobic and anaerobic respiration produce ATP molecules to be utilized to carry out the body’s metabolism. Just like proteins, carbohydrates also need to be balanced for a body builder. Consuming carbs source prior exercising will enhance the performance as glycogen will be readily available as soon as the muscles need energy. The carbohydrate’s needs are variable for people depending on the type of arduous training they are involved with. In particular, body building demands 3.5-7 g/kg of carbohydrates during training (Helms et al, 2014 p.4). The range is an average and depends on the amounts of proteins and fats being consumed and preferably a low carbohydrate diet should be ingested as good carbohydrates offer energy by converting to glycogen. Whereas, the sugary carbs like sucrose and fructose should be restricted as they are converted to fats. Wheat, rice, breads, potatoes, vegetables, fruit, oats, barley are major carbohydrate sources.
Fats are usually the least preferred as supplements when the body building is considered. Reduced fat consumption has also been reported to reduce the testosterone levels in human body (Helms et al, 2014 p.5). Fats and lipids have a direct effect on hormonal balance and too low fatty diets might imbalance the hormonal system of the body. As it is essential, saturated fats can be consumed to little extents but unsaturated fats should be completely avoided.
Other nutritional supplements
Apart from the macronutrients discussed above, there are several other sources for supplementation. Creatine is the most famous amongst them with creatine monohydrate as the commercially preferable supplement (Helms et al, 2014 p.10). It is naturally involved in muscular functioning and a body builder is advised to consume 3 to 5 g of creatine in a day to enhance muscle size and strength. Another supplement is beta-alanine that strengths the knees and improves workout performance. Caffeine is consumed as a stimulant by body builders. Micronutrient deficiency does result in body builders at times due to dieting and hence, supplements to combat such deficiencies for vitamin D, iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc (Helms et al, 2014 p.12).
Misuse of nutritional supplements
Despite the beneficial effects posed by these supplements, there are cases whereby the newly entered participants from various modes like athletes, sports, modeling, body building have misused the recommendations and resulted in ill health as a result. Nutrients are surely beneficial and perform variety of roles in metabolism of our body including anabolism and catabolism but an excess of them causes adverse effects (Guardia et al, 2015 p.2). The cases of “do it yourself” (DIY) are not recommended as they mostly lead to imbalances and serious health concerns. Guardia et al in 2015 published a case study of DIY whereby the athlete individual was fatigued and could not perform exercises and training.
Steroids
Anabolic steroids are taken by many bodybuilders and athletes to fasten the process of body building. These steroids like dianabol bind to the androgen receptors to enhance the testosterone supplies in the body. To exaggerate the muscular performance, body builders do use a combination of steroids that is not healthy. Yu J-G et al in 2014 published a case study on anabolic steroid effects on skeletal muscles after long term administration. They observed some significant results for the doped individuals having more myofibril nuclei, density and increased lean mass but the squat force decreased. Importantly, no hormonal level co-relation was there. Overall, it is the dosage of steroids that decide the effects on the individual. An overdose will surely pose deleterious side effects.
Conclusion
Body building is needed by many for several different purposes. Body building is achieved through exercising and appropriate diet intake. Both the factors contribute equally in musculature development. While considering the diet, macronutrients like proteins, carbohydrates and fats need to be balanced to achieve the best results. Apart from these, the micronutrients need to be supplied via supplements to fulfill the body requirements. Body building is a tedious and arduous task that needs appropriate vigilance as excess or decrease of any factor results in health problems to the individual. Thus, a proper co-ordination needs to be maintained amongst all factors.
References
Atalay, M., and Hanninen, O, O, P. Muscle Energy Metabolism. Encyclopedia of life Support Systems. Physiology and Maintenance. Vol IV. 2015.
Guardia, Della, Lucio., Cavallaro, Maurizio., and Cena, Hellas. The Risks of Self-Made Diets: The Case of an Amateur Bodybuilder. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2015. 12;16.
Helms, R, Eric., Aragon, A, Alan., and Fitschen, J, Peter. Evidence-based Recommendations for Natural Bodybuilding Contest Preparation: Nutrition and Supplementation. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2014. 11;20.
Lemouse, Mack. How Bodybuilding Works – The Science of Bodybuilding. Health Guidance. N.d. Accessed at http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/13020/1/How-Bodybuilding-Works--The-Science-of-Bodybuilding.html on 23 February 2016.
Yu, Ji-Guo., Bonnerud, Patrik., Eriksson, Anders., Stål, S, Per., Tegner, Yelverton., Malm, Christer. Effects of Long Term Supplementation of Anabolic Androgen Steroids on Human Skeletal Muscle. 2014. Accessed at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0105330 on 23 February 2016.
