Certain beverages are specifically great for athletes and bodybuilders for various reasons. They may help to boost muscle growth, endurance, fat loss, bone health, and even recovery after workout sessions. These beverages have supplements that the body can’t say no to. This article is about these beverages.
Without further ado, here are the seven best beverages for bodybuilders.
1. Green Tea
Green tea is one of the healthiest drinks out there. It is a major antioxidant. What this means is that it helps to reduce muscle damage after rigorous workout sessions.
Not only does it help reduce muscle damage, but it also contains a substance that helps reduce muscle soreness. So, if you have intensive sessions of workouts lined up in front of you, green tea is your new best buddy
Green tea has also been found to contain traces of caffeine and L-Theanine. The caffeine gets busy with providing you with short bursts of energy for a while after you take it. L-Theanine combines with the caffeine to make you calm.
Another benefit green tea has for bodybuilders is its fat-burning ability. A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition backs up this fact.
2. Milk
Milk already has all the ingredients that a bodybuilder dreams of. It is basically full of protein, which helps to increase body mass and makes your bones healthier and stronger.
Milk contains two main types of protein; whey and casein. And if you are familiar with protein supplements for bodybuilding, these are the two key ingredients you’ll find in them. Also, milk has a balanced nutrient composition for bodybuilding.
It contains 50% carbs, 15% fats, and 35% protein. These three nutrients are enough to help babies grow until they can eat solid food. And they are more than enough to help increase your muscle mass. And apart from those three, milk is also rich calcium, the main guy behind every strong bone.
3. Fruit And Vegetable Juice
No, not the ones that are filled with sugar. I’m talking about natural fruit juice here. There are some fruits that are just perfect for bodybuilding. Some of these fruits are raspberries, oranges, mangoes, guava, and avocados.
These fruits contain varying amounts of protein, fats, and carbs. And when you pick some of them and blend them together, what you get is a healthy beverage for bodybuilding.
Vegetables are also great sources of the nutrients you require for bodybuilding. There are even a lot of them that are antioxidants and they help bodybuilders reduce muscle damage after workout sessions.
Examples of the best vegetables for bodybuilders include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, artichoke, spinach, and bell pepper.
Now, making a juice out of these veggies might not taste as heavenly as a fruit juice, but they are just as great for bodybuilding.
4. Protein Drinks
The importance of protein for bodybuilding can’t be overemphasized. It is way up there on the chart of the best nutrients for growth and bodybuilding.
And this makes protein supplements essential for bodybuilders who are not getting enough protein from their foods.
5. Meal Replacements
If for any reason, you are always too busy to eat, meal replacement beverages are for you. Meal replacement beverages contain all the nutrients you would normally find in foods.
They have a balanced nutrient composition of fatty acids, carbs, proteins, and many other nutrients your body thrives on. What makes them popular is that they are usually in powder form, easy to just pour in a glass of water and down in a minute.
Although, the name suggests that they are to replace meals, don’t skip meals because you have meal replacement beverages. Instead, make them a substitute for when you cannot eat.
6. Pre-workout beverages
There are a lot of pre-workout beverages out there for various purposes. There are those that are for energy boosts. There are also those that help you to increase your endurance. Likewise, there are those that help boost your muscle strength.
7. Water
Of all the beverages on this list, nothing can ever replace the most abundant and most helpful beverage in the world; good ol’ water.
As important as protein is, water is still the most important beverage of all. Even your muscle contains 79% water.
Water helps your body digest all whatever other nutrients in the body. And it helps to transport them to wherever your body needs them.
Even your blood is water and some other stuff. The joints also need water to remain lubricated. And for bodybuilders, it is always important to remain hydrated.
Conclusion
There you have it. The best beverages for bodybuilding. These beverages are going to help your workouts become more productive.
By the way, there are arguments concerning the effects of alcohol on bodybuilding. Is alcohol good for bodybuilders or is it just another entry on the already long list of things a bodybuilder should avoid? This article on beer and bodybuilding has the answers to these questions and more.