Off day nutrition?

[srx600]

Do you guys eat the same on off days as you do on workout days? Do you eat less? If so, how much? There is a lot of debate for and against keeping calories the same. Some say drop them 500 on off days because you don't work out and others say you need them for recovery. I am talking about for someone natural. What do you think?

 

[CaponeCEO]

I agree with the school of thought that says you should keep the same diet on non-workout days. The day after the gym is a crucial time for your body, and needs the same amount of nutrients that you had on a lifting day because your muscles might not be fully recovered. Those days where you have an awesome workout and you are sore the next day, even after having your normal high protein, carb diet...need the same to continue the growing and recovering. Calories shouldnt be too much of an issue especially 500 because we all have a cardio work out plan even while bulking. The only variance I could see possible is that if you dont lift for maybe 2 or 3 days in a row you should add more high intensity cardio to burn off some of the calories that you have taken in.

 

[srx600]

cardio

So you're saying that you should do cardio while bulking? Aren't you working against yourself...burning calories, when the goal is a surplus? For me, my off days are weekends and a day during the week where I am mostly busy running errands that I cannot take care of during the week due to school and workouts+post w/o timing and such. Laundry, Shopping, walking, cooking food for the week, cleaning....I think that would count as my light cardio on off days.

 

[rpen22]

Depends on how easily you gain bodyfat. If you're an endomorph, you might benefit from either cycling your calories somewhat or doing cardio, even though you're bulking, just to keep your metabolism moving and keep your cardiovascular health up. If you're an ecto, I don't see why you would need to drop calories on off days.

 

[CaponeCEO]

One of the most important aspects of cardio is the oxygenation of the muscles, which is why people "warm up" with cardio before lifting. Keeping the vasculature flowing with oxygen leads to building strong healthy muscles because along with oxygen the blood transports all the necessary nutrients. This is from the Franco Columbu school of thought, who was an impressive Mr. Olympia and probably one of the best all around athletes to ever dominate the body building world. Not to mention that you do burn some fat while you are at it.