1-2-3 Grow: Pay Attention To These Key Nutrition Numbers To Dial Up Big Muscle Gains
Author-Chris Aceto

Bodybuilders are number crazy. What do you weigh? What’s your bodyfat percentage? How big are your arms? How much do you bench press? How many minutes of cardio do you do? How many days a week do you work out? And on it goes.

Important Numbers

All this obsessing about weights and measurements, although necessary to a degree, can keep you from focusing on the important numbers the ones in your nutrition program. Here, then, are the digits you should zero in on to achieve true bodybuilding success........

#1 | Take in at least one gram (g) of protein per pound of body weight each day.

That’s the magic number for maintaining a positive nitrogen balance, scientific lingo for creating an environment in your body conducive to muscle growth. When dieting, you may need to increase that number. When your carbohydrate intake remains extremely low for more than four consecutive days, you may need 1 1/2 g per pound of bodyweight; if you train twice a day and do cardio on a daily basis to cut up, you’ll definitely need 1 1/2 g.

#2 | Eat at least 2 g of carbs per pound of bodyweight.

Ripping up requires that you slash both calories and carbohydrates, but sticking to such a diet for too long can backfire, slowing your metabolic rate. While you’re on a strict low-carb diet, bump up your carb intake to at least 2 g per pound of bodyweight every four or five days. The increase in carb consumption will energize you and trick your metabolism into believing the carb and calorie deprivation are a mirage.

The result: your metabolism will remain elevated, making fat loss a little easier.

#3 | Take 3 g of arginine 3 or 4 times daily.

The amino acid arginine performs many valuable functions, the most critical for bodybuilders involving growth hormone and nitric oxide (NO). Arginine helps you produce more growth hormone, obviously important for those looking for more mass. In the body, arginine gets converted to NO, enhancing blood flow to working muscles so they can get more nutrients, hormones and oxygen. Take 3 g of arginine in the morning, before and after workouts, and before going to bed.


#4 | Consume a minimum of four cups of vegetables per day.

Four is the minimum daily servings of veggies dieters require for appetite control. Eating low-calorie higher-fiber vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, asparagus and spinach, wards off feelings of hunger by taking up room in the stomach and signaling brain chemicals that shut down appetite.

#5 | Supplement with 3-5 g of creatine before and after workouts.

Creatine taken before or after training boosts metabolism, kick-starts recovery and provides the raw energy required to support muscle growth. A lot of bodybuilders fall for the more-must-be-better mindset and go overboard.

It’s fine to load creatine, taking up to 5 g four times a day for the first week you’re on it, but after that, all you need is 3-5 g before and after training, and just 5 g total on nontraining days.

#6 | Consume 6 meals daily.

This is the minimum number of meals the body needs to sustain an elevated metabolic rate. Every time you eat, your metabolic rate rises slightly eating every three hours, or six times a day, helps you take full advantage of this phenomenon.

When you cut calories and carbs on a fat-shedding diet yet adhere to the six-meals-a-day rule you’re less likely to unwittingly cause a metabolic slowdown.