Natural bodybuilding has controversies and myths. Probably you have fallen for one or another. Some bodybuilders think that using natural bodybuilding supplements keeps you off being a natural weight lifter, while others believe that takes supplements like clean carbs, creatine and protein isolate is still natural bodybuilding.

Read on to differentiate between genuine and not, and clear all the myths about natural bodybuilding supplements.

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If you are an aspiring bodybuilder, a competitive one that wants to start natural bodybuilding, or a bodybuilding sport fan, you are in the right place. Below, you will learn what natural bodybuilding is, which supplements are ideal for a natural bodybuilder, which supplements are banned, and much more. Stay tuned.

What is Natural Bodybuilding?

Early in the day, natural bodybuilding meant workout and gaining muscles without using any supplements. However, science has outdated this definition of natural bodybuilding. According to science, supplements like glutamine, and creatine cannot be unnatural because they are naturally found in our diets.

It is vague to argue that taking something found in natural foods or those produced by your body is unnatural. If that would be case, you would say that taking food that has glutamine and creatine, such as red meat, places you out of the natural bodybuilding category.

Some bodybuilders also believe that taking pre-workout protein shakes or creatine is not natural- which is wrong.

The appropriate definition of natural bodybuilding is taking foods and supplements allowed by a bodybuilding sanctioning organisation.

Natural bodybuilding is a complex topic. However, most bodybuilders agree that natural bodybuilding entails not taking performance-enhancing drugs-PEDs, growth hormones, peptides, anabolic steroids, or any other substance that enhances muscle growth or fat loss.

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is an internationally recognised agency that regulate which substances an athlete can or cannot take. These agencies test athletes for any banned substances. Natural bodybuilders should consult with the agencies they want to compete for, as the list might differ from WADA-banned supplements. So, avoid taking banned bodybuilding supplements if you’re going to remain in the game for a longer time.

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The 5 Best Supplements for Natural Bodybuilding

The following list consists of recommended natural bodybuilding supplements, which is also available in a natural bodybuilder’s diet plan but in a small percentage.

1. Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA)

To improve your muscle growth, you need to remain in an anabolic state- It is essential. BCAA is a group of three primary amino acids, which include valine, isoleucine, and leucine.

Branched Chain Amino Acids stimulate muscle mass building by arousing muscle protein synthesis and breaking down muscle protein- the process known as proteolysis. Taking these amino acids all day and during bodybuilding workouts will give you the desired results.

2. Clean Carbs

Any natural bodybuilder needs two main things to remain in the game: Eating right and working out right. Reaching your daily carbs target can be an arduous task, especially when adding weight and gaining muscles.

Many carbs supplements for bodybuilding are dextrose and maltodextrin, which make your body produce an insulin response for swift recovery or short burst energy.

On the other hand, clean carbs are made up of pure complex carbs foods, the same you get from yams, sweet potatoes, blueberries, and oats. Clean carbs help you achieve your daily carbs target, help post-workout recovery, and improve general bodybuilding workout exercises. Normalise talking about 24g of clean carbs daily.

3. Whey Protein Shake

Protein is an essential component of muscle growth. A collection of amino acids makes up protein, which stimulates muscle gain by a process known as muscle protein synthesis. Whey protein is easily absorbable compared to other forms of proteins. As a natural bodybuilder, never lack whey protein shakes in your diet plan.

4. Citrulline Malate

Citrulline is a natural bodybuilding supplement that is derived from plants such as apples and watermelons. Citrulline is a non-essential amino acid, while malate comes from malic acid. The combination of these two compounds has enormous ergogenic benefits.

Citrulline malate is well known to be the best nitric oxide booster which helps in oxygen circulation, optimum blood flow, and nutrients essential to muscle growth and muscle strength.

5. Beta-Alanine

To build muscle mass, you need the right workout volume. To achieve the best out of your bodybuilding career, you need to take natural amino acids supplements like beta-alanine. If you combine beta-alanine and l-histidine, you get a dipeptide known as carnosine. Carnosine inhibits the accumulation of lactic, which essentially increases your workout volume.

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Banned Supplements in Natural Bodybuilding in Contests.

The list of banned bodybuilding supplements depends on the contest you want to compete in. Each agency has its own set of rules and regulations.

In this section, let us focus on the list available at WNBF. It has the strictest regulations. So, you abide by their rules, and the high chances are that you will go through other agencies without a hassle.

There are more than 200 substances banned from WNBF contents. But will highlight just a few. Here’s is the list:

• Hallucinogens, cannabinoids, and opioids– Even the legal CBD is banned here. You will not qualify if you have taken CBD oil.
• Anabolic Steroids– Examples include drostanolone, androstenediol, nandrolone (Deca-Durabolin), mesterolone, boldenone, trenbolone, and stanozolol
• Muscle implant– Don’t think of adding any muscles surgically.
• Prohomes and precursor– These kinds of hormones converts to testosterone, and they are prohibited, e.g., DHEA
• Testosterone– all forms of testosterones are banned, including but not limited to injections, gels, creams, and patches.
• Peptides, growth hormones, and growth factors– Examples include human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), growth hormone (HGH), erythropoietin (EPO), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)

Bottom line: Supplements are Allowed in Natural Bodybuilding

As seen, natural bodybuilding is a contradicting topic- it has confused personal trainers, fitness professionals, athletes, and bodybuilders.

Whichever side of the coin you are in, you need to take supplements and substances from plants like BCAAs, Whey protein, and creatine if you want to become a natural bodybuilder. These supplements occur naturally in daily foods that you take. They are as natural as you.

Your safety and health come first- ensure any bodybuilding supplement you take is safe and effective. Go for natural bodybuilding supplements, indulge in extensive bodybuilding workouts, and be the next big thing.

Building muscle mass is difficult at any age, but it's especially difficult in your 50s, 60s, and beyond. Muscle definition and keeping in shape as you get older are always contingent on strength training and a healthy diet. However, as we get older, biological constraints come into play, pushing us to take a more disciplined approach to preserving and sculpting our muscles.

Many people in their fifties and sixties wonder, “Can I grow muscle beyond 50?” Thankfully, the answer to this frequently requested question is a loud yes!

The secret of gaining muscle after 50 for both men and women, on the other hand, is in recognizing the challenges that we confront at this stage of our lives. When we consider what can happen to our lifestyle and physical body as we approach this age group, we can see what things we should be completing to assist us stay in shape with confidence and success.

Why You Need to Build Muscle After 50

When a person reaches the age of 40, they begin to lose muscular mass, a condition known as sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass as people become older, which is a natural process but is exacerbated by variables such as a lack of strength training and a sedentary lifestyle. Keep in mind that if you're above 50, you're probably at the pinnacle of your career. You work at your desk for the majority of the day. You're too exhausted to even consider going to the gym when you get home. 

People lose muscle mass as they age because they do nothing to prevent it. People lose about 10 pounds every decade beyond the age of 40, and the only way to stop this is to do something, which most experts say is resistance exercise.

Maintaining muscular mass in your 50s, 60s, and 70s has numerous advantages that can benefit you in almost every aspect of your life.

• Having more lean muscle helps you burn more fat even when at rest. 
• You are inherently stronger when you have lean muscle.
• You will have more stamina if you have more lean muscle.
• Adding lean muscle to your physique improves your appearance. 

In addition, your body's ability to cope with daily physical stress deteriorates over time. Muscle atrophy is more likely to occur when low energy levels are combined with a higher risk of sedentary activity, such as sitting all day.

Even after reaching your fifties, it is possible to recover muscle mass and bone mineral density.

How to Build Muscle After 50

After 50, the same basic concepts for gaining muscle and strength still apply.

You should force your muscles to accomplish something they aren't used to in order to challenge them. You must work your muscles harder than before in order to gain muscle and strength.

This is done by progressively increasing the amount of weight you employ. Choose a pair of heavier dumbbells, a tiny plate to add to the bar, or a heavier setting on the machine's pin. You might even strive to complete one extra repeat with a specific weight. You must aspire to accomplish a bit more, lift a little heavier, regardless of how you go about it.

Progressive overload is the name for this technique. It is the fundamental premise for both young and old to grow muscle.

Your body has no motive to develop stronger or gain muscle if you always lift the same weights for the same number of reps as you can easily perform. It already knows how to perform anything you tell it!

Of course, if you're new to weightlifting, start slowly to learn the appropriate form and become accustomed to the movements. However, once you've mastered your routines and are confident in your ability to train in a coordinated manner, it's time to gradually increase the intensity of your workouts and challenge yourself with larger weights.

How Often Should You Train? 

Lifting weights two to three times per week by healthy older adults builds significant muscle mass, according to research. You can split your body into many training sessions, each focusing on a different muscle area, or you can train your full body at once.

Best Exercises for Building Muscle After 50

Compound, or multi-joint, motions – workouts that engage many muscle groups concurrently – provide the greatest benefit for your body. To avoid imbalances and to develop all of your major muscle groups, it's critical that you train your entire body.

Here are the best exercises for training your entire body, starting at the bottom and working your way up:

• Squat – One of the most effective exercises for strengthening and building muscle. It strengthens your legs, glutes (buttocks), adductors (muscles that connect your thighs), and lower back. The leg press is a great machine-based option.
• Bench Press –  It's often referred to as the king of upper-body workouts. Your chest, front deltoids, and triceps are all worked out with the bench press. You can also execute this activity with dumbbells or a chest press machine for variation or simply because you prefer it.
• Deadlift – A hip-dominant workout that strengthens the majority of your body while focusing on your back, glutes, and hamstrings. It's also a good way to strengthen your grip.
• Barbell Row – These exercises are great for strengthening your back, particularly the mid-back. They also help to strengthen your biceps. For added stability, you can also do machine rows.
• Lat Pulldown – Another back exercise that focuses more on your lats than rows. It also makes contact with your biceps.
• Overhead Press – This fantastic exercise works your entire upper body, but especially your shoulders and triceps. With a barbell, a set of dumbbells, or a machine, you can perform the exercise standing or seated.

If you execute these exercises in a full-body workout two–three times per week, you'll have a great foundation for muscular growth. You'll effectively and efficiently work the majority, if not all, of your muscle groups.

The majority of the workouts above are performed with free weights, although you are welcome to use comparable equipment for some of them. It's more vital to challenge your muscles than it is to use a certain tool.

Nutrition and Muscle Growth for Female Bodybuilders

Whether you need to hit the weight room to gain muscle and strength, or strut onstage in a bikini, here is how you need to balance your foods and supplements as a female bodybuilder. 

Lean body tissue, biceps, triceps, and the general muscle growth that you have seen on your favorite female bodybuilder result from meal-prepping, dieting, peeling calluses, counting macros, waking up early for aggressive cardio, and spending countless hours in the weight room. It is the culmination of body-building discipline and commitment to training. 

Sounds like hard to handle? Female bodybuilding is not for the faint-hearted. It comes with a fair share of sacrifice, however, if it’s your passion, then every second in the gym is worth it.

Here is all you need to know about healthy nutrition to gain muscles. 

Routine Nutrition Practices for Female Bodybuilders

To get the desired body-building results, you need to do things right. This entails the right foods, body-building supplements, proper mental health, and training. For example:

• If you want to add weight, you can take weight gain shakes. If you’re going to tone down your fats, you can take protein shakes as you lower your carbs. 
• To build your muscle, take advantage of the pre and post-muscle-building workout meals using anabolic window knowledge that decreases muscle wastage. 
• Work on caloric restricted diet. We have a whole blog post on counting calories.

You must plan your meals to include carbohydrates and proteins. These foods energize, refuel your body, and help in building muscles. And don't forget your pre-workout supplement.

Foods to Add into Your Body Building Diet. 

1. Green vegetables contain all the minerals, fiber, and vitamins that your body needs. They should be part of your daily bodybuilding diet. Vegetables make your body energized and make you feel full throughout your training sessions. 
2. Take foods that have a low calorie to protein ratio. Lean meat like chicken and turkey is a good example, and you should make them your staple food to gain muscles. 
3. Sweet potatoes are also very nutritious for a female bodybuilder. They contain a balanced carb to fiber ratio, making you full of energy and complete during your workout. 
4. Omega 3 fatty acids and protein help a female bodybuilder with muscle growth and tone. So, taking cold-water fish like salmon and tuna will essentially make you achieve your body goals. 
5. Egg whites are best known for pure protein and are low in carbs and fats. They also have vitamins and minerals beneficial for your muscle workouts. Egg whites are easily digestive compared to other forms of proteins. 

5 Essential Foods That A Female Body Builder Should Never Miss

Below are the types of foods that should make you gain muscles and give you the energy to handle your extensive bodybuilding training: 

• Oil and fats insulate your body. Things like coconut, avocado and ghee are a must, your body will use the fats to create steroids.
• Dehydration has adverse effects on muscles. Take mineralised water or electrolytes to give your muscles and body organs easy metabolism greens powders are a good option or even naturally evaporated iodised sea salt sprinkled in your water. 
• Never miss proteins. They are muscle-building materials and regenerate worn-out muscles during weight lifting or any aggressive body-building exercises. 
• Carbs are the fuel needed throughout your training. They are essential to energize your body during workouts. 
• Fiber should always be on your plate. They make you feel full and help in maximum absorption of minerals and vitamins.

5 Main Nutrition Supplements for a Female Bodybuilder

As a weight lifter, bodybuilder, or just a fitness junky, you need supplements to boost what the food didn’t achieve. Here are some of the most important food supplements for a female bodybuilder:

1. Citrulline and citrulline malate

The benefits of taking the right amounts of citrulline are as follows:

• Citrulline heals your body by increasing Nitric Oxide levels which makes you endure vigorous bodybuilding workouts.
• It Boosts blood flow. 
• Improves recovery time
• It gives you enough energy while working out. 

On the other hand, citrulline malate helps decrease muscle soreness when pushing yourself a bit far. Taking beetroots can also give you these results. 

2. Beta-Alanine

Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid that has the following benefits to a female bodybuilder:

• It blocks lactic acid to give you fast recovery and prevents fatigue, especially when you want to work for a longer time. 
• It helps to increase muscle mass.
• Facilitates fat loss
• It gives you lean body muscles while increasing your performance.

Ensure you take the right amounts, essential with the guidance of your bodybuilding trainer.  

3. Protein

As stated earlier, proteins are the building blocks needed by your muscles to grow. You must eat enough proteins to replace what is lost when lifting weight, running, or other workout activities. 

You need about 2g per kilogram of your weight to sustain your body muscles. However, if you need to gain more muscles, you might want to add some more proteins.

Here are some of the protein supplements for a female bodybuilder:

• Protein Shake- It is easy to make a protein shake. It adds the required protein ratio required by your body throughout the day. 
• Protein bars or snacks
• Whey protein is a protein shake that many bodybuilders like because it is the best for muscle gain. 
• If you are lactose sensitive or a vegan, you can take peas, rice, or any protein powder with plant nuts or milk. 

As you can see, proteins are the essential foods to gain muscles and enjoy the looks you have been yearning for a long time. You can use weight gainers, as well, which are essentially proteins- but with guidance from your trainer. 

4. High GI Carbs

You should avoid high glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates. However, taking them before body-building workouts will give you the energy to face the tasks ahead of you. You can find these body-building supplements in potatoes and rice. 

Having a proper pre-workout bodybuilding diet helps you get through the training and gain muscles without burning out. Carbohydrates are helpful to a female bodybuilder if taken before workouts, so they are pre-workout meals. 

5. Magnesium

Magnesium supplements are known to help in oxygen circulation in your muscles. This is crucial as oxygen is the most important in human metabolism and other body systems. 

Many people got less magnesium in their bodies. This supplement helps, especially when doing intensive bodybuilding workouts like aerobic, cardio, or HIT.

Other body-building supplements include but are not limited to creatine, branched-chain amino acids, and weight gainers. 

Final Thoughts on Female Bodybuilding Diet Plan

As a female bodybuilder, commitment and passion to the core are the self-drive propellers towards your muscle gaining mission. Taking the right foods and supplements is a must and most important. Your mental health plays a significant role and general health. 

Patience is overrated, especially for those with the specific goal in mind: building lean muscle. 

Sure, change takes time, but if you're trying to gain muscle and aren't seeing noticeable size gains from month to month, it's a clue that your method isn't working. And squandering a workout is a bad thing to do. Furthermore, even if you are seeing progress, there is no reason why you cannot see more.

Building lean muscle mass is an important aspect of fitness. Increased lean body mass helps the aesthetic, metabolic, and fitness aspects of the body. Although exercise is the foundation for growing lean body mass, there are several basic tips to rev up the process.

What is Lean Muscle? 

Not all muscle is created equal, and you want to make sure that the muscle you're creating is lean. Unlike lower-quality muscle, which contains more fat and connective tissue, lean muscle is densely packed with contractile tissue. Simply put, lean muscles are those that have little or no fat surrounding or within them. Most women are terrified of becoming muscular and prefer “toned” muscles, which refers to a body with less muscle mass and a more toned and tight appearance.

You can't tell just by looking in the mirror, but a body composition scale can help you gain a better understanding of your body by providing you with the weight of your muscle mass and a muscle mass index.

Why is Building Lean Muscle Important? 

If you think gaining muscle is solely for the swole boys and girls who spend their entire lives in the gym, you're wrong! If you're more likely to be seen on a yoga mat than gripping a kettlebell, building lean muscle is still important.

There are various advantages to building lean muscle mass. It produces a positive feedback loop that will assist you in maintaining a healthy weight. Because muscular tissue has a greater metabolic rate than fat, it burns calories more quickly, so adding muscle will improve your metabolism, or basal metabolic rate.

When compared to the sense of failure that often accompanies dieting, growing muscle is a very positive and confidence-boosting move. When you feel good about yourself and are taking steps to enhance your health and fitness, you will have a huge positive impact on others around you. Here are some tips to building lean muscle you need to consider. 

Basic Tips to Building Lean Muscle

1. It's all about protein. 

Muscles are broken down during exercise training. Protein helps to rebuild them. Protein is one of the most crucial muscle-building meals to consider when you increase the intensity of your lifting activities. It is required for muscle growth and maintenance, so you should aim to consume at least 1 gram of protein for 454 grams of body weight. If you weigh 91kg, that's 200g every day. 

Eating a full protein source with each meal is the easiest method to acquire this quantity. Here are some of them:

• Red meat – Beef, pork, and lamb 
• Poultry – Chicken, turkey, and duck
• Fish – Tuna, salmon, sardines, and mackerel 
• Dairy – Milk, cheese, cottage cheese, quark, and yogurt 
• Vegan options – Lentils, tofu, seeds and nuts.
• Eggs and whey

Protein ingestion aids in the development of lean body mass. However, the efficiency with which eaten protein is transformed into muscle mass is largely determined by your diurnal pattern. We are physiologically programmed to expend the most energy during daylight hours. Protein is an inefficient source of energy. Consuming a high-protein meal in the early evening not only increases protein synthesis, but it also reduces hunger, preventing you from consuming unnecessary calories before going to sleep through snacking.

2. Boost your training volume.

Training volume (the number of reps divided by the number of sets) is a major factor in hypertrophy (aka building lean muscle). And, contrary to popular belief, you may need to lose weight to gain volume.

During the hypertrophy phase of a program, intensity will be lower than during the strength phase, with intensity ranging between 50 and 75 percent of the person's 1RM, or maximum weight he or she can lift for one rep.

Perform each of your movements for three to six sets of 10 to 20 reps to acquire the volume your muscles require.

3. Focus on calorie surpluses, not the deficits. 

This might be difficult to adjust to, particularly for people who are accustomed to calculating calories in order to lose weight. However, in order to build lean muscle mass quickly (that is, gain weight rather than lose weight), you must consume more calories each day than you expend.

That's because your body slows down its tendency to create new muscle when it detects a calorie deficit—that is, when you consume less calories than you burn each day. After all, if your body believes food is scarce, getting in shape isn't going to be its priority. 

Aim to consume an extra 250 to 500 calories per day. Fitzgerald recommends that the majority of those calories come from protein to ensure that any weight gained is from muscle. People who ate a high-protein, high-calorie diet stored roughly 45 percent of those calories as muscle, while those who ate a low-protein, high-calorie diet stored 95 percent of those calories as fat, according to a 2014 Pennington Biomedical Research Center study.

4. Minimise between-set rest intervals.

If you want to touch your phone between sets of exercises, set the timer to 30 to 90 seconds. Rest intervals of 30 to 90 seconds while lifting for hypertrophy facilitate a rapid release of muscle-building hormones (such as testosterone and human growth hormone) while also ensuring that your muscles are properly fatigued, according to Fitzgerald.

Push each workout set to the point of near-failure. Failure indicates you were unable to complete one more repeat in a set due to exhaustion. For a 3-set exercise, you could begin with a larger weight for 15 reps in the first set, then drop each set by two reps until you have 11 lifts in the final set. Even if you're exhausted, you should give each set your all.

According to research published in the Journal of Applied Physiology last year, fatiguing your muscles is required for hypertrophy regardless of rep and set plan. Don't be scared to tire your muscles out. 

5. Sleep more. 

Muscle rehabilitation demands more than just the appropriate diet. Fitzgerald claims that healing takes time—roughly eight hours every night. After all, when you sleep, your body releases human growth hormone, which aids muscular building and keeps cortisol levels in line.

Furthermore, according to research, sleeping for five hours per night, rather than eight, for just one week reduces muscle-building testosterone levels by 10 to 15%. Hence, adults aged 18 to 64 should sleep seven to nine hours every night: no excuses. 

Wrapping Up

Muscle-building has advantages that go beyond having an athletic or lean physique. Adding brawn to your diet can help you gain confidence in new activities, enhance your health, increase your life enjoyment, and keep you feeling agile and able as you age. That alone is reason enough to keep your foot on the plank. Hope the above tips help you achieve your ideal lean muscle mass!