Is The Low Carbohydrate Bodybuilding Diet An Effective Muscle Building Tool?

One of the most important elements in achieving bodybuilding excellence is muscle definition, which correlates with body fat percentage. In search of the perfectly defined physique, bodybuilders need to consider various diet methods, and carbohydrates receive significant criticism in the bodybuilding world, with articles regularly written on how carbohydrates contribute to excessive body fat levels, and because of this overwhelming negativity, many bodybuilders pursue muscle building with a higher fat, lower carbohydrate approach, with hopes of sustaining a reasonable body fat level. But is there a point where carbohydrate consumption can decline excessively, reaching a level where muscle gains become extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible? For those riding the current bodybuilding bandwagon, the answer would seem to be no, but the truth is often far different than what regularly promoted bodybuilding notions will have us believe.

Excessive carbohydrates will cause body fat levels to quickly increase, hiding muscle definition, and many find themselves battling a portly stomach and love handles due to haphazard carbohydrate consumption. But dipping carbohydrates to very low levels with the hope of circumventing the bulge battle is a common blunder, as even though body fat will likely decline using such a method, the possibility for muscle gain will follow an inversely proportional pattern, with dramatic reductions in future muscle size increases, to the point where no further muscle building will soon be possible. Obviously, a bodybuilder not only has the goal of minimizing body fat levels, but also maximizing muscle gain, therefore bringing carbohydrates to either extreme will diminish one of the two goals, leaving the bodybuilder with an angry, unproductive experience while attempting to produce a balance between muscle size and low body fat levels.

What proponents of the anti-carbohydrate diet philosophy fail to realize is that muscle building relies upon carbohydrates to fuel certain hormones, especially insulin, which is extremely anabolic, leading to massive muscle increase, but also fueling rapid body fat gains when implemented incorrectly. Since insulin is proportional to carbohydrate consumption, in order to achieve the most dramatic muscle gains, carbohydrates must be present in the diet, but to avoid rapid body fat increase, both the level of carbohydrates and timing of such nutrients must be correctly integrated in order to offer muscles sufficient carbohydrate nutrients for muscle growth, while greatly reducing the negative impact on body fat levels.

In addition to stimulating insulin for muscle building impact, carbohydrates offer an immediate source for energy, and since the body must generate explosive output during weight lifting workout sessions for muscle gain, carbohydrates offer this fuel for maximum effort. When following a low carbohydrate diet philosophy, the body is unable to generate maximum intensity during each weight lifting set, and therefore muscle building is negatively impacted, and muscle which has already been built is also at risk of being lost. Those who follow a low carbohydrate focus tend to lose weight lifting workout motivation, as insufficient carbohydrates can adversely impact motivation and mood, leading to very poor weight lifting performance, which clearly impacts muscle growth in an extremely negative way.

Another detrimental factor with a low carbohydrate diet philosophy is metabolic reduction, and although initially a low carbohydrate diet routine may shed body fat and enhance definition, the prolonged impact of such a diet routine will not only cause muscle to decline, but will also reduce metabolism (the level at which the body burns calories), which means that you will require a lower food intake to maintain a certain body fat level. As a result, fat percentage will start to increase when food reaches the required level for muscle building due to this metabolic slowdown, and the net result is a greater fat level than will occur through properly balancing fat and protein with carbohydrates.

When attempting to improve muscle size and definition, please reject the mistaken theory suggesting that carbohydrates are the harmful enemy that blunts success, as by eliminating this vital nutrient from your weight lifting diet plan, you will experience far less muscle size and definition than is otherwise possible, but by integrating carbohydrates at specific times of the day and in potent quantities, you will allow the body to gain muscle mass without the notorious body fat surge that accompanies common weight gain routines. Carbohydrates, when used wisely, are one of the few fat loss and muscle building secrets to success!

Francesco Castano authors MuscleNOW.com, a bodybuilding routine for building muscle mass without supplements or drugs. He also owns FatVanish.com, teaching exactly how to lose fat without supplements.