You must have heard everyone talking about the importance of proteins for bodybuilding. All the instructors, magazines and other sources of information focus on proteins as the best food source for bodybuilding. It is no doubt a fact that proteins play a vital role in bodybuilding as their primary role is to build muscles. While talking on proteins and proteins, we ignore another important nutrient required for bodybuilding i.e. carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates get converted into glucose and act as providing an instant energy source for our body which is required for all sorts of bodybuilding and weightlifting. Another important point about using carbohydrates is that they ensure that your body does not use proteins as source of energy. As we know that main function of proteins is to build muscles of the body, therefore if carbohydrates are not available, our body will convert proteins into energy which would not be as good as the one obtained from carbohydrates. So carbohydrates let the proteins do their job. Below are some of the guidelines regarding use of carbohydrates:

1- You should take complex carbohydrates instead of taking the simpler ones. The reason is that the complex carbohydrates provide energy which is long lasting and acts as fuel for the body for longer period of time. Some of the examples of complex carbohydrates are whole grain, whole wheat bread, brown rice etc.

2- You must take smaller amount of foods but larger number of times. It means that instead of taking regular three times, you can split your meal into 5-6 times so that your body keeps getting the desired nutrients througout the day.

3- Another important tip is that you must take carbohydrates immediately after workouts. This is because that they will help your body to restore it’s glycogen levels. If enough of the carbohydrates are not present, the body may likely to break down the muscles instead of building them and this would be a real bad thing for bodybuilders.

I hope that these guidelines provide you a good idea about the importance of carbohydrates in bodybuilding and you can understand that carbohydrates are as important as proteins. No doubt that proteins play a vital role in building our muscles, carbohydrates are equally important as well.