Il CrossFit® and Bodybuilding they are sports activities that greatly stress the body and the muscles; a Proper nutrition it is a fundamental aspect in order to preserve and increase muscle mass and immune defenses and to have the necessary energy to ensure that the body is fully functional.
But who and what determines what is a correct diet? In both of these sports there are so many examples of diets and food methods, some really extreme!
Index
FEEDING IN THE CROSSFIT®
As regards the CrossFit®, all the fans have tried or at least heard of the "paleo diet", Which provides a very simple nutrition: eat like in the Paleolithic, or eat what is available in nature, just like the primitive men did: fruit and berries, vegetables, meat and fish procured by oneself and above all no refined products.
FEEDING IN BODYBUILDING
Also in Bodybuilding it depopulates a particular diet, the "diet by bro”, Which provides for the subdivision of macronutrients (fats, carbohydrates and protein) and the obsessive search for the quality of the foods chosen, so much so that some end up only eating rice or oats, chicken or cod and olive oil, in varying amounts depending on the bulking or cutting phase.
Both of these approaches are really extreme (even if tolerable in the preparation phase for a race, as long as the blood tests do not give alarm bells), but we must remember that the crossfitter and bodybuilders have very different needs and characteristics that in turn require diversified food styles.
BUT WHAT ARE THE GOALS?
In Bodybuilding one of the main goals is the increase inlactic acid, responsible for production of growth hormone and testosterone; the energy substrate of lactic acid is the glycogen, which fills the muscular stocks giving rise to the much coveted hypertrophy (increase in muscle volume). For these chains of phenomena to occur, i carbohydrates must be the main fuel.
In CrossFit®Instead, lactic acid does not allow good performance, because it blocks the muscular contractile capacities; a diet too rich in carbohydrates can lead to hypoglycemia during WOD, a energetic dropsie ad exhaustion of glycogen stocks. In this case it is better to prefer a diet in which the macronutrients are more balanced so that the body uses fats for energy purposes.
THINGS NOT TO VALUE
Another aspect not to be underestimated in these disciplines is the production of cortisol (the stress hormone), more marked in the CrossFit®, given the size and anaerobic intensity of the training; small tricks to remedy this problem, from the food point of view, can be:
- Make more meals distributed throughout the day
- Prefer foods with higher glycemic index
- Eat more carbohydrates in the evening meal to promote the production of serotonin, useful to counteract cortisol.
Whatever sport we choose, we must learn that nutrition is an essential aspect, if we want to achieve lasting results; motivation is the best diet we have available and is the key to managing our body.
BUT THEN WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
The ideal solution would be to rely on a good nutritionist or trainer, who knows our needs, ours calorie expenditure and ours allenamenti, but even on our own we can manage to find a balance; we must learn to look at food as the fuel that gives us energy, without reaching extreme levels!
La preventive planning, how to prepare meals when you have a little more time and always have in mind what we should eat the next day, it is a great ally to help us in the diet. Balancing training well with proper nutrition and integration, our body will react positively to the intense efforts to which it is subjected.
And are you able to follow a healthy and balanced diet? What do you think?
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