Carbohydrates are often in the bad books of fitness freaks, but this fad finally comes to the rest!
You can now add up good amounts of carbohydrates to your diet and still gain huge lean muscles.
Bodybuilding requires immense hard work, and by hard work, we indicate the high-intensity strength training.
Since the training is so vigorous, the energy needs are high too! And that’s where your carb-rich diet comes to aid.
But hold on, carbs are not just the energy boosters in your bodybuilding journey, but they also hold some other benefits.
Stay with us till the end, to witness some of these benefits help you gain muscles faster, and better.
Carbohydrates and Muscle Gains – The Science Behind Muscle Building
Carbohydrates are the macronutrients often associated with weight gain, and hence fitness freaks are conscious of a low-carb diet often.
Though the practice is not rare, the final truth is gonna leave you thinking if you were doing it all right!
Why Carbohydrates are important for bodybuilding?
A small study was conducted on seven women and 12 men exploring the ways of building muscle mass.
According to the results, the only best way to put on some huge muscles was through weight resistance exercises.
Since weight resistance workouts are not easy, you got to push off your limits and work out hard and that needs a rich supply of nutrients for your muscles.
Although the muscle bulk builds when there are enough proteins, a lack of carbs in your diet can prevent this build-up.
Carbs help in protein build up by:
- It increases the transportation of amino acids to tissues helping the tissues have enough amino acids for protein synthesis.
- They increase the rate of protein synthesis among muscles.
- It also decreases the breakdown of proteins for a better build-up.
Hence limiting carbs from your diet is gonna reduce the rate of muscle gains as it is going to reduce the number of proteins available for muscles.
Other than this major factor that links carbs with muscle gains, there are also other benefits of adding it to your bodybuilding diet.
Benefits of Carbohydrates for muscle gains
#1. They promote muscle growth by the energy boost
Strength training for muscle growth is an important factor as it exerts pressure on the muscles sending signals for the repair of muscles.
As the muscles repair, there is a thicker build-up of muscles fibers that result in thick and strong muscles.
But strength training requires lots of energy, where carbs become essential for the training.
Cells derive their energy from glucose, which is stored in the body as glycogen. If the glycogen stores are not enough to meet the energy requirement, your entire workout plan collapses.
Carbohydrates help replenish your body with the glycogen stores to keep you well in terms of energy.
#2. Prevent Fatigue
The carbs not just replenish glycogen levels in your muscles but also in the liver, which keeps you full of energy throughout the workout.
This way it reduces fatigue and improves performance.
#3. Increase muscle size
According to a few studies, because of the energy boost and stimulation of protein synthesis, carbs can help increase muscle size.
One such study claimed of eating good amounts of carbs without practicing the dehydration and rehydration of muscle bulking can improve the appearance of your muscles.
But we need more studies on this.
Though some people also find a low-carb diet good for muscle gains, here is why we believe that a carb-rich diet is gonna be more beneficial.
Low Carbs Diet vs High Carbs Diet
You might find an increase in muscles with a low-carb diet but that’s not gonna be very effective in bodybuilding.
This is because going for a low-carb diet is gonna restrict good energy levels and hence you are gonna lag behind in the pace of muscle gains.
Though muscle builders don’t need too many carbs, going for low – a carb diet can only to a good weight loss and not good muscles.
Summarizing it, there are two major factors that we consider when asking you to avoid a low-carb diet:
- Less energy for high strength training
- Reduced protein build-up
But consuming carbohydrates for bodybuilding is not as easy as putting them on the platter for a normal diet.
There are certain rules that you should be conscious of when going for carbs for bodybuilding:
- Type of carbs
- The right sources
- Amount of carbohydrates
- Timing the carbohydrates
Hence, next, we talk about how to increase carb intake bodybuilding and timing it well for no weight gain but only lean muscles.
Eating Right – A Good Carbohydrate Platter For Bodybuilding
The first step of loading carbs into a diet for bodybuilding and muscle gains is picking the right type of carbs.
There are two different types of carbs and adding both of them to your diet won’t be as beneficial as you might think.
Best Carbs for muscle gain
There are two types of carbohydrates:
- Simple carbohydrates
- Complex carbohydrates
Out of these two, simple carbohydrates are easily digestible and give you instant energy, but it also raises insulin levels.
Because of the lower insulin level, there is an instability of glucose level, and your cravings and appetite increase.
This could cause weight gain and also lead to diabetes type II.
On the other hand, complex carbs take a lot more time to digest and give you a slow gradual energy boost in energy.
Also, they give you better fiber sources that aid in digestion.
Hence the best type of carbohydrates for your bodybuilding is complex carbohydrates.
Good sources of complex carbohydrates
When training for high resistance exercises, it is best to plate up the following good sources of complex carbs:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Sweet potatoes
- Legumes
- Nuts and seeds
- Oats
- Quinoa
- Whole wheat bread
- Pasta made of whole grains
On the off chance, if you are looking forward to losing some fat layers, avoid taking any source of simple carbs.
Some sources of simple carbs are sweet foods, processed foods, and products made of white flour.
Though you can save such foods for your cheat days, and continue with complex carbs on your platter.
But excessive consumption of carbs can go against the training and hence staying under the limits of intake should be considered.
Dietary Intake Guidance for Carbohydrates – Bodybuilding
The number of carbohydrates for bodybuilding can vary from person to person depending on age, sex, and goals.
However, dividing it into portion sizes can be an easier way of controlling the intake:
Men with an active lifestyle should limit their carbs intake to 6 -8 cupped handfuls.
Women on the other side can stick to 4-6 of the same.
If this recommendation doesn’t bring any changes to your muscle growth, you can add up to 1 -2 handfuls more.
As per the body weight, this should be 1.2-.15 grams of carbs per kg of body weight per hour during workouts.
Adding up proteins with carbs can improve the storage of glycogen and also boost muscle gains.
For example, taking whole grain bread with a peanut butter spread gives you an immense energy boost along with good protein build-up.
You can even try carb cycling:
- High activity days – when you are practicing intense workouts, go for high –a carb diet.
- Low activity days – stick to low carb diets
The last and final step of carbs intake for bodybuilding is timing it perfectly for maximum benefits.
Best time to eat carbs for muscle growth
The best time to consume carbs for growing muscles is post-workout, which also causes faster digestion of carbs.
Make sure you follow a ratio of carbs and proteins as 2:1 post your workouts as this would help in better absorption of proteins and better growth.
In case, you feel that your energy levels are not too great during the workouts, you can even take carbs before your workout.
But post a pre-workout carb intake, avoid going for a post-workout carbohydrates meal.
Conclusion
Carbohydrates are the second most important nutrient for bodybuilding after protein.
They have a supportive as well as the main role in two major areas of bodybuilding:
- Muscle growth – by supporting protein
- Energy boost – by providing glucose and ultimately glycogen stores
Thus, for everyone who wants to put on some good muscle show, it’s time for you to say goodbye to the old trend of a low-carb diet.
Because now, the high-carb diet is taking over with its not one but many benefits.
However, consuming carbs can be tricky as an excess of them can lead to weight gain, and lower amounts lead to lesser energy.
Hence staying right on track is important!
Make sure you jot down everything that we mention above before adding carbs to your platter.
FAQs
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How many carbs should I eat to gain muscle and lose fat?
A general recommendation of healthy carbs for beneficial muscle building and a good curb on fat layers is 3 to 5 grams of carbs per kg of bodyweight.
This gives you enough carbs for bodybuilding as it fuels you with good energy levels, while also taking care of calorie burn.
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What kind of carbs help build muscles?
Complex carbohydrates are what you need for muscle building.
It has enough fibers and energy sources to give you an energetic workout, while also keeping your insulin levels and digestion fit.
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Do carbs make your muscles bigger?
Yes, carbs can help your muscles look bigger, as they contain glucose which gets stored in your muscles as glycogen.
This glycogen tends to pull in water and hence makes your muscles look inflated.
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Can I build muscles without protein?
No, proteins are the building blocks of muscles and our body requires good protein build-up to support muscle growth.
Other nutrients that you take with protein are just to support muscle growth by increasing protein accumulation.
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Do carbs help in muscle recovery?
Eating carbs in your post-workout can improve the recovery of muscles and prevent fatigue.
For reducing muscle soreness, take carbohydrates as your pre-workout as it helps start your workout with good glycogen levels.
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How much protein and carbs should I eat to gain muscle?
Combine at least 2-2.5 grams of proteins per kg of body weight with 4-7 grams of carbs per kg of bodyweight.
This range could vary from person to person depending on activity, age, and even sex.