Fats for Bodybuilding
Well, we’re just over a week into the new year…
A lot of people are listing detoxing and weight loss as their top goals this resolution season.
Recently, bodybuilding has really increased in popularity and many people just like you are using bodybuilding strategies to meet their fitness goals.
What is bodybuilding?
Bodybuilding is really just about strengthening the body through physical exercise (specifically weight training) with a focus on specific muscle groups. Bodybuilders are usually interested in building both mass and definition.
While professional or competitive bodybuilders are known for extreme physiques with very large muscles and as little body fat as possible, many ordinary people use bodybuilding techniques to meet more modest goals.
In addition to weight training, nutrition plays an important role in bodybuilding.
While protein is absolutely key to achieving bodybuilding goals because of its role in muscle building, there is another important nutrient that is a must-have for success.
Omega–3 fatty acids help to encourage the growth and development of muscle, among other things. Anyone wanting to try bodybuilding needs to make sure that they are getting plenty of these fatty acids.
What are omega–3s?
Omega–3s are not just healthy fats, they’re the best of the best.
Your body doesn’t make its own omega–3s, so you need to get them from your food.
In addition to supporting heart health, omega–3s encourage better brain function, boost your immune system, help protect you from disease, improve your eye health, reduce fat build-up on your liver, improve your sleep and keep your skin healthy.
To learn more about omega–3s, as well as omega–6s and 9s, check out our recent blog post.
How do they support bodybuilding?
Well, for one thing, omega–3s increase your body’s sensitivity to insulin. This means that your body will be able to burn more fat instead of storing it by slowing down the digestion process.
This is important since bodybuilding involves muscle building along with and as a means of achieving fat loss (the goal being to lose all non-essential body fat). This leads to a “cut” appearance where muscles are extremely well defined.
Wilfit.com outlined some other benefits: “Omega 3 fats have been shown to increase blood flow during workouts and can decrease post-workout muscle soreness by up to 35%. Omega 3 fats decrease swelling and quicken the muscle repair process.”
FitnessandPower.com explains further: “In bodybuilding EFAs [essential fatty acids] are used to help the muscle building process, fat burning process and also as joint protection because of the anti-inflammatory properties they have. These fatty acids help muscle growth by increasing the levels of testosterone in the body. They also assist in the protein break down process that takes place in the liver.”
One of the keys to bodybuilding is frequent, intense exercise, which you won’t be up for if your muscles are stiff and sore. Because omega–3s are anti-inflammatory, they help to get you ready for another workout sooner.
Whenever you work your muscles, they tear a little bit and then your body repairs them. This is what leads to muscle growth: the more tearing (within safe limits), the more repairing and thus, more growth.
So if omega–3s help your muscles repair themselves more quickly, this means that they will grow more quickly.
Finally, by helping your liver metabolize proteins, omega–3s encourage your body to use the protein in your food to make more muscle, faster.
How to get omega–3s for bodybuilding success
It’s not that difficult to get omega–3s in your diet.
Cold water oily fish and many ocean plants (like seaweed or phytoplankton) are rich sources of these essential fatty acids.
Don’t like fish? Grassfed meats and animal products (like milk, eggs, yogurt, butter, etc.) contain significant amounts of omega–3s.
If you don’t eat meat or you’re just looking for variety, walnuts, soybeans, chia and hemp seeds are also decent sources.
Flax: the number one plant source of omega–3s
At SFGate.com they praise this food source: “Flaxseed oil is rich in the short-chain omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linoleic acid, or ALA.[…] One tablespoon, or 15 milliliters, of flaxseed oil contains 130 calories and seven grams of ALA. The recommended dosage is 1 to 2 tablespoons, or 15 to 30 milliliters, daily, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.”
When it comes to plant sources of omega 3s, you can’t beat flaxseed. By taking the oil, rather than ground flax, you maximize your absorption of the omega–3s in these amazing little seeds.
With a slightly lower calorie count and way less cholesterol than fish oil, flax oil is ideal for maximizing fat burning and muscle building when you’re restricting calories.
Fantastic Flax
There is a natural, Perfectly Pressed Flax Oil, produced using only the best seeds available. It’s bottled in UV-protective Miron glass to protect it from damage and is guaranteed fresh.
Perfect Press Technology is so precise, so gentle that the nutritional components of every seed remain intact. When it comes to preserving the quality of fatty acid chains, this is of paramount importance.
If bodybuilding is your goal, you need to load up on omega–3s — make Panaseeda Flax Oil your everyday source. Add it to protein shakes, salad dressings, yogurt, hummus and more.
Click here to experience quality seed oil that will help take your workouts — and your results — to the next level.
For even better results, coriander seed oil can improve your body’s ability to convert the ALA in flax into EPA and DHA. Try flax and Panaseeda Coriander Oil together for maximum absorption and use!
Related Links:
http://wilfit.com/the-skinny-on-fat-omega-3s-and-fitness/
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/bodybuilding-flaxseed-oil-1897.html
http://www.fitnessandpower.com/nutrition/the-role-of-essential-fatty-acids-in-bodybuilding
https://authoritynutrition.com/17-health-benefits-of-omega-3/
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/61-health-benefits-omega-3-fatty-acids
https://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/high-omega-3-foods.php
http://www.nutritionexpress.com/showarticle.aspx?articleid=1633
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=84&tname=nutrient
https://authoritynutrition.com/12-omega-3-rich-foods/