Are Low Carb Bodybuilding Diet Plans A Detrimental Muscle Building Method?
A critical factor in achieving bodybuilding excellence is muscle definition, which is directly linked to body fat percentage. In the hunt for the perfectly defined physique, bodybuilders need to consider various diet methods, and carbohydrates receive a fair amount of criticism in bodybuilding circles, with articles regularly written on how carbohydrates contribute to excess body fat levels, and because of this overwhelming negativity, many weight lifters pursue muscle building with a higher fat, lower carbohydrate approach, with hopes of sustaining a reasonable body fat level. But is there a point where carbohydrate consumption can decline excessively, reaching levels where muscle gains become very difficult, if not impossible? For those accepting of the current bodybuilding bandwagon, the answer to this question would seem to be no, but the truth is often far different than what today's bodybuilding notions are saying.
It is true that excess carbohydrates will cause body fat percentage to rapidly rise, hiding muscle definition, and many find themselves battling a rotund stomach and love handles due to haphazard carbohydrate ingestion. But dipping carbohydrates to extremely low levels with the hope of bypassing the common bulge battle is a serious blunder, as although body fat will certainly decline using such a method, the potential for muscle gain will follow an inversely proportional pattern, with dramatic declines in future muscle mass increases, to the point where no additional muscle gains will soon be possible. Of course, a bodybuilder not only has the goal of minimizing body fat percentage, but also maximizing muscle gain, therefore bringing carbohydrates to either extreme will interfere with one of the two goals, leaving the bodybuilder with an angry, unproductive experience while attempting to produce a fair balance between muscle mass and low body fat percentage.
What proponents of the low carbohydrate diet philosophy fail to realize is that muscle gains relies upon carbohydrates to fuel certain hormones, especially insulin, which is amazingly anabolic, leading to substantial muscle increase, but also fueling rapid body fat accumulation when implemented improperly. Since insulin is directly linked with carbohydrate consumption, in order to achieve the most dramatic muscle gains, carbohydrates must be available in the diet, but to avoid rapid body fat increase, both the quantity of carbohydrates and timing of such nutrients must be systematically integrated in order to offer muscles sufficient carbohydrate nutrients for muscle growth, while minimizing the negative impact on body fat percentage.
In addition to boosting insulin for muscle building impact, carbohydrates provide an immediate source for energy, and since the body must generate explosive output during weight training workouts for muscle gain, carbohydrates provide this fuel for maximum effort. When adopting a low carbohydrate diet regimen, the body is unable to produce maximum torque during each weight training set, and therefore future muscle gains are negatively impacted, and already built muscle is at risk of being lost. Those who follow a low carbohydrate regimen tend to lose weight training workout motivation, as insufficient carbohydrates can negatively impact motivation, leading to very poor weight training performance, which clearly impacts muscle growth in an extremely negative way.
One additional detrimental factor when adopting a reduced carbohydrate diet philosophy is metabolic reduction, and although initially a low carbohydrate diet routine may shed body fat and enhance definition, the prolonged impact of such a diet plan will not only burn muscle, but will also reduce metabolism (the rate at which the body burns calories), which means that you will require a lower food intake to maintain a certain body fat level. Because of this, fat percentage will begin to increase when food reaches the required level for muscle building due to this metabolic slowdown, and the unfortunate result is a greater fat level than will occur through properly balancing fat and protein with carbohydrates.
When your goal is to enhance muscle mass and definition, please ignore the mistaken theory suggesting that carbs are the harmful enemy that blunts success, as by eliminating this important nutrient from your weight training diet plan, you will no doubt experience far less muscle mass and definition than is otherwise possible, but by integrating carbohydrates at strategic times of the day and in correct quantities, you will allow the body to gain muscle mass without the customary body fat increase that accompanies popular weight gain routines. Carbohydrates, when used correctly, are one of the several fat loss and muscle building secrets to success!
Francesco Castano authors the www.MuscleNOW.com web site, which is a bodybuilding program for building muscle mass without supplements or drugs. He also owns the www.FatVanish.com site, where you will find his natural weight loss program.
www.MuscleNOW.com
