When most people think of bodybuilders, they think of people who are completely and totally devoted to nutrition and fitness. That is why many people are surprised when they discover that many bodybuilders eat foods such as ice cream on a regular basis. After all, ice cream is loaded with sugar, and don’t fitness-conscious people generally stay away from sugar? As a general rule, bodybuilders and other fitness enthusiasts do stay away from sugary foods, but there is actually a good reason why ice cream is consumed by so many of these people, so it isn’t as rare as you might think.
What Is “Bulking”?
Many bodybuilders and professional athletes do what they call “bulking,” which essentially means that they are taking steps to increase the amount of muscle they gain. This can be done several ways, but most athletes do it in two ways: they lift weights on a regular basis, and they eat extra carbs in order to give them the energy they need to build that muscle. Because the average person only gains a certain amount of muscle when taking one of these steps, doing both of them together makes it both easier and faster to gain the muscle that these athletes want and need, especially when they’re competing.
Of course, adding high-carb foods such as breads and ice cream has to be done in moderation. Just because athletes can eat a little bit more fat and carbs than the average person can without overdoing it doesn’t mean that they can eat all of those foods they want. In fact, bodybuilders and other athletes still need to eat these foods in moderation to get the right results. Most of them eat these types of foods either right before or right after a good workout, which increases the good results you get and makes your workout even more effective in the end.
Many experts agree that a post-workout high-carb snack works best, especially if combined with a high-protein shake. For instance, you can add half a cup of ice cream and some low-fat milk to your shake, and maybe even add a few berries for extra flavor. Because bodybuilders use up a lot of calories each time they work out, one half-cup of ice cream won’t make them gain too much weight but will give them just the right amount of energy to build up their muscles and achieve all of their workout goals. Half a cup of ice cream doesn’t seem to harm these athletes, in other words.
How to Make it Work for You
If you think that all of this means that bodybuilders and other athletes can eat all of the ice cream they want, think again. But half a cup of ice cream three days a week, which usually corresponds to the number of days that most people lift weights, will help them build up muscle tone and even lose fat if the workouts and limited servings of ice cream are taken together. You will sometimes hear that other bodybuilders eat more ice cream than that, but they are usually professional or competitive bodybuilders who use up an extraordinary number of calories each day working out, which means that they can afford the extra fat and calories more than the average athlete.
If you are the standard three-times-per-week weightlifter, eating half a cup of ice cream after your workouts should not make you gain weight; instead, you should gain muscle, lose fat, and trim up your body so that you can increase your weightlifting goals and eventually accomplish them. Much as with other foods, eating ice cream “in moderation” isn’t a bad thing. Since people who lift weights and exercise on a regular basis can consume additional calories and fat without it hurting them, it’s a good idea to add this food to your workout routine.