A successful muscle building routine will always need to include a proper diet. People who lack experience with weight training tend to place a lot of importance on the types of exercises, and the way the exercises are put together in a routine. The reality is that mental focus and discipline, along with awareness about proper nutrition for bodybuilding are far more important elements.

Your body will react to almost any sort of exercise, or repetitive motion by increasing your strength and endurance fairly quickly. However, this will not happen if you don’t apply proper nutrition for bodybuilding success.

If your body is lacking in protein, carbohydrates, water and body fat — your metabolism will not allow your body to go into an anabolic (muscle building state).

Protein

The most commonly talked about element of nutrition for bodybuilding: You need to consume approximately 0.5 – 1 grams of protein, per pound of body weight. Whey protein supplements, along with beef, chicken or pork are all great sources of high quality protein.

Carbohydrates

When your body is lacking in either carbohydrates (carbs) or fat stores, it consumes its muscle tissue to maintain energy levels. How many carbs you should be getting will depend on your metabolism. Many slim people with very little body fat, can consume an endless amount of carbs and never gain fat and may need 4 grams of carbs per pound of body weight in order to build muscle. People with higher body fat will likely only require 1 or 2 grams of carbs per pound of body weight to gain muscle.

Water

There is no reason to focus on proper nutrition for bodybuilding if you’re dehydrated. Your muscles and digestive system need water to get the job done.

Body Fat

If your body fat percentage is low, that means your body isn’t getting enough extra calories to produce fat. While this is desirable for many people, bodybuilding for muscle gain requires your body to be satisfied with the amount of calories you’re consuming, so it can go into an anabolic state.