The men's fitness blog

I was reading that after training all day, Arnold Schwarzenegger had for his dinner, a whole chicken and a pitcher of beer. Ordinarily, you might not associate this kind of meal with someone who looks like Arnie; but the truth is, if you're doing the work, you need the fuel.

If you're trying to build muscle, you need to eat more than your normal amount. If you don't eat more calories than you're consuming by working out, your body will break down muscle to repair itself. On the other hand, if you eat large amounts of the right kind of food - chicken, fish, eggs - your body can build the muscles you damaged in training up to make them even bigger and stronger than before.

Arnie got one thing wrong, though - eating a few large meals can be counterproductive. Your body can't digest, say, a whole chicken at once, so a lot of it will end up as, ahem, "waste".

You should eat regular, small meals throughout the day adding up to a more than a "normal" amount. This will give your body the stream of protein and nutrients it needs to create lean muscle.
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