Nutrition Recommendations for Bodybuilders in the Off-Season: A Narrative Review.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review without systematic search methodology or meta-analysis
PubMed 31247944 · doi:10.3390/sports7070154
What was done
This narrative review synthesized the existing scientific literature to establish nutritional, macronutrient, and dietary supplement recommendations for natural bodybuilders during the off-season phase.
What was found
The authors recommend a 10 to 20% caloric surplus targeting a weekly body weight gain of 0.25 to 0.5% for novice and intermediate bodybuilders, with more conservative surpluses for advanced lifters. Daily macronutrient recommendations include 1.6 to 2.2 g/kg protein distributed across 3 to 6 meals at 0.40 to 0.55 g/kg per meal with feeds within 1 to 2 hours pre- and post-training, 0.5 to 1.5 g/kg fat, and 3 to 5 g/kg or more of carbohydrates. Ergogenic supplements identified with potential benefits include creatine monohydrate at 3 to 5 g/day, caffeine at 5 to 6 mg/kg, beta-alanine at 3 to 5 g/day, and citrulline malate at 8 g/day.
Why it matters
It provides structured, evidence-based nutritional guidelines for the muscle-building phase in natural bodybuilders to replace unsupported and potentially unhealthy anecdotal practices.
Limits
This is an unsystematic narrative review rather than a systematic review or primary empirical trial. The abstract provides no primary data, effect sizes, search criteria, or study counts.
Cited by
- supports Studies evaluating large caloric surpluses during resistance training show that the excess energy primarily leads to fat gain rather than additional muscle growth.