Some athletes dream of looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger. They may try to buy this dream with pills, potions, powders and six to eight meals a day. Athletes in strength-based sports such as throwing events and weightlifting are interested in increasing their muscle mass to enhance their strength and power. If you’re one of these athletes, you need to push yourself with a challenging strength training program and "top off" your daily food intake with extra kilojoules. Despite all the claims, there are only a few real requirements for muscle gain, and these, in order of importance are:
- Your genetic make up – your ability to build muscle is partly determined by your genes and this cannot be changed!
- Weight training – muscles need the right stimulation to grow.
- A higher energy diet – a “bulking” diet needs more of everything, including carbohydrate as well as protein.