Before we can construct and suggest diets that would be suitable for this sport we have to decide if we have a realistic understanding of what bodybuilding is and why people do it.

Many people believe, rightly or wrongly, that it is a "sport" that is only done by extremists . While this may be true for a minority of people in the sport, as it is true for a minority of people in any walk of life, this actually is not a true representation of what it takes to be successful in this field. I would suggest that bodybuilding is a pastime/hobby/sport/lifestyle that is carried out by thousands upon thousands of people for almost the same number of reasons.

If we simply analyse the term it suggests that the aim is to simply build the body as large as possible. If this was the case many a champion would be found in a burger take-away on any given occasion (and some can!!). To me (and hopefully all others that appreciate the sport for what it should be) it is about creating a physique that is muscular, symmetrical in its structure, aesthetically pleasing and for the purpose of competition carries very little body fat in order to accentuate all of the other criteria. If we take these variables in context it would seem that they are the aims of most people that train for themselves rather than to enhance a particular sport. Most people would like to enhance their shape and proportions while maintaining lower levels of body fat. Does that make all of these people bodybuilders?? - maybe!!

I would suggest that if most people realised that body building is actually about "building/sculpting" the body that they desire they would remove the stigma from the sport. Creating the body that you desire by following a healthy and controlled diet along with a structured exercise plan which encourages muscle growth (which in turn has many benefits including the raising of your metabolism and increased postural control) is a pastime that should be of importance to everyone.

It is merely a progression, albeit a big one, of the continual dedication to apply the required dietary and nutritional regimes that allows some people to take the sport to the level of competition. The principles of training and diet are the same - so maybe if we accepted the pioneering work that some people in this field are doing, and achieving amazing results, we could all benefit. The only consideration is that we may not want to go to the same extremes of dedication and restriction that a competitive bodybuilder will have to go to, but this would be true of any sport that can either be recreational or competitive. It is true that many of the top athletes in other sports are following principles of training and diet that have been experimented with, perfected by, and utilised by bodybuilders (unfortunately this includes drug programs also). They may/should also include work for stability and functional movement, that will enhance the action of the body in everyday scenarios. I would, and do, definitely encourage this!

If recreational trainers, and indeed the general public, realised the tremendous results that can be achieved by some of these regimes I feel many people would look and perform better…but the real problem is that it does require dedication. Unfortunately many people are willing to summon up that dedication for 45 minutes per day but that leaves 23 hours and 15 minutes of less than 100%.

To be successful in bodybuilding takes dedication, knowledge and a willingness to accept that what you do outside of the gym is just as important as what you do inside. 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 360 days per year (yes, I know but I like to give people a few days off per year!!).