[Taekwondo Guy]

Diet

Having a sound diet is the biggest foundation you can lay in terms of muscle growth. Unless your getting in the minimum daily intake of protein and carbs, you will just be spinning your wheels in the proverbial mud.
However, it is easier said than done when your in your teens.
Most of the teens on this board still live with their folks and for a while, have little control over their diet due to having their meals cooked for them and/or eating what the school canteen throws at them.
If you do have the opportunity to select and cook your own meals, you have an added bonus of being able to find extra protein/carb sources.
If not, then no worries, its all about careful selection of food... eat what you can, when you can.
Resist the urge to pick up anything thats deep fried or anything that comes with loads of fatty dressings.
Because i do not live state side, i do not know what school canteens serve in terms of food, what products/goods local supermarkets sell, hopefully somebody can PM me with reccomondations for this post. :wink:

Back to business.... :-D

The body needs/requires a healthy influx of protein and carbs in order to provide a suitable eniviorment in order to repair/grow muscle. The minimum requirements per day that you will hear are:
Protein: 1g of protein per 1lb of bodyweight
example: if you weigh 200lbs, you will need a minimum of 200g of protein
Carbs: This is debateable but i reccommend 2g of carbs per 1lb of bodyweight.
example: If you weigh 200lbs, you will require 400g of carbs

This is the minimum requirements, it is not a bulking diet or a cutting diet.
If you wondering what a bulking diet or cutting diet are:

Bulking: High carbs, high protein.... this is when you are trying to put on alot of body mass over a set period of time. You will gain alot of muscle mass from this type of diet as the body has a surplus of protein/carbs in order to grow new muscle tissue. However, the body tends to store more fat on this diet because of the added surplus so expect to gain a few inches on your waist and lose muscle definition.
When i was bulking (for 9months), i was taking in around 400g protein and 500g of carbs. I went form 165lbs to 210lbs (clean)... I put on a few inches round my waist etc, but i had the muscle mass i wanted.

Cutting: High protein, low carbs.... this is when you want to shed lose some weight and shed the bodyfat %. The carbs need to be slowly reduced to a point where your burning more energy via cardio/training than your actually taking in. The protein needs to be kept high so that you do not lose muscle mass, but can be expected due to the reduction of calories. Muscle definition will increase and will give you a more 'lean look' in regards to the 'round and smooth' look when your bulking.

It is important that you keep your body hydrated, the average bodybuilder/lifter requires 3litres of water a day. This keeps the body's organs humming nicely, flushes toxins and impurities out of the system and replenishes water lost through sweat during training. Dont substitute water for soda or alcohol!!! It might look stupid for me to be writing this but you'd be surprised by how many people have mentioned doing so lol.

Eat your greens (as much as some hate them) and try to cut down on the amount of processed food you eat. Simple carbs and sugars are not the way to go in terms of bodybuilding nutrition as they provide little towards muscle growth but alot towards fat storage.