The article describes tips and recommendations for novice athletes, bodybuilders, bodybuilders, and athletes. Interesting facts about how to start bodybuilding from scratch, how to choose a gym, training program, sportswear and nutrition plan.

Bodybuilding Basics for Beginners

More and more people of all ages and different walks of life are signing up for their nearest gym and making time for workouts. In their imagination, they paint the image of a Greek demigod, into whom they will one day turn. But there are obstacles along the way that can become insurmountable. So how to reach your cherished goal? Here is a list of recommendations on how to become a bodybuilder.

First of all, a novice athlete must soberly and honestly assess his own health and physical fitness. Remember and find the slightest sores that have ever bothered you. After training, mild pain can turn into a serious injury. It is not always possible to identify the problem on your own. In this case, you need to contact a specialist. Medical diagnosis will help you avoid serious injuries during training.

The next step is for the athlete to evaluate his or her skills. Before training with iron, you should learn to do pull-ups 8-12 times. If the athlete is not able to fulfill this standard, then the first set of exercises should be composed of pull-ups and push-ups. It’s easy to find a ready-made workout program without weights on the Internet. Working with your own weight will strengthen and prepare your muscles and ligaments for further work with weights. Having experience in complex training, such as boxing or wrestling, will be a plus. In this case, the body responds much better to strength training.

Choosing a gym for beginner bodybuilders

Business in the country is developing and offers a wide selection of gyms within walking distance. Each has its own pros and cons. How can a beginner make a choice? There are some tricks here too. Pay attention to the location of the hall. Not only the distance, ease of access by car or the availability of a stop nearby. The room must be heated and ventilated. Air conditioning will make the training process much more enjoyable. Pay attention to the number of people in the room. Heavy workload can have a negative impact on classes. Long queues for the simulator take up a lot of time. The variety of exercise equipment and equipment characterizes the hall on the positive side.

All that remains is to choose a form for classes. There are no strict rules here. Clothing should be loose and comfortable, not restrict movement. A tank top, sweatpants or shorts work great. Some people prefer to exercise in a sweater. Warm clothing helps the body warm up better during exercise. Shoes should be non-slippery and have hard soles.

It is worth noting that there is a variety of clothing for athletes on the market, for example, rash guards or wrestling shoes. They are designed for specific sports, but with a detailed study of the functions, you can choose the thing for yourself.

A wise step would be an individual consultation with a trainer or experienced bodybuilder. A specialist will be able to tell you how to start bodybuilding correctly. You need to train taking into account the experience of other people, but it is still worth noting that different athletes’ bodies perceive loads in their own way.

Features of training for beginners in bodybuilding

Proper work on strength, endurance and increasing muscle mass is where experts recommend to start bodybuilding. Training plays a significant role in the life of every bodybuilder. Bodybuilding does not like liberties in training. You need to come to classes with a clear work plan. There are many different training programs on the Internet. Which one should you choose? A personal trainer or an experienced friend can help you create a training plan. There is no need to despair if you have no one to turn to. You can really figure it out on your own - today on the Internet you can find a lot of good literature and videos on the topic of building an athletic body.

The most practical option is to find a book that describes a long-term training plan and tips for performing the exercises. Immediately tune in to the idea that you shouldn’t expect instant results. Each program lasts 2-3 months. After the muscles stop responding to loads, progress is reduced to a minimum. This is where the following program comes into play.

At the initial stage, the priority task is to develop the technique of performing exercises. Weights should be selected in proportion to strength so that movements are performed under control. Too little weight will not stimulate muscle growth, too much will lead to injury, so when choosing equipment and exercises you should focus on your capabilities.

Bodybuilding Nutrition for Beginners

The topic of nutrition is tightly woven into the world of bodybuilding and bodybuilding. To build the body of your dreams, you must understand the basic principles of sports nutrition. There is a lot of information available on the Internet about proper nutrition. It remains to highlight the essence.

Decide on a list of products. What foods can be eaten and what should be limited or excluded from the diet. All athletes need protein to build muscle. It is obtained from chicken, beef, fish, eggs and dairy products. It is better to keep pork to a minimum and eliminate sausages altogether. Carbohydrates provide energy to our body. These are rice, buckwheat, oatmeal, pasta and potatoes. Many foods contain fats. It makes no sense to search for a source separately. For better absorption of food and easier functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, consume fiber. It is found in vegetables.

The number of meals should not be less than four times a day. The size of portions varies depending on the degree of hunger. Severe hunger does not mean that you have to overeat until your stomach hurts. Breakfast is a must. Many people find it difficult to eat meat and rice in the morning. In this case, easily digestible foods will help out. Scrambled eggs, a glass of milk and a cup of oatmeal are ideal for breakfast. Sweets and flour products should be minimized or not consumed. These products have a positive effect on the accumulation of subcutaneous fat.

A bodybuilder's diet should include sources of protein. Cottage cheese, chicken, cheese, eggs and protein powder help build muscle mass

Motivation for beginners in bodybuilding

Understanding the basics of nutrition, burning fat, and building muscle is the best way to get started in bodybuilding. The main factors for achieving success in building your own dream body are productive training, proper nutrition and good rest. Don't despair if you don't look like professional bodybuilders, models or actors. Their physical fitness is the result of grueling training, strict diets, and the joint work of personal trainers, nutritionists and doctors. Your body is unique. Any progress in training deserves respect. You can be proud of yourself if you are better today than you were yesterday!

Glossy magazines are full of photographs of slender men. On movie screens, muscular guys save the world, and broad-shouldered villains try to stop them. In the twenty-first century, the media tells us that we need to be pumped up, ripped and a big guy. Where to start building your dream body in order to get the best effect without harming your health: you need to follow the recommendations of experts, take information from authoritative sources, study your own body, love and take care of yourself.

– this is the period when the foundations of the athlete’s future physique are laid. During this period, you should, first of all, take care not of current results, but of the systemic adaptation of the body to future exercises in the gym. This period lasts from 2 to 4 months, which depends on the initial preparedness of the athlete. At this stage, the most important thing is to learn to feel your muscles, establishing neuromuscular connections. Neuroconnection is a connection between the brain and muscles, which allows you to use the target muscle group in exercises. In other words, the efficiency of exercises will be much higher if you learn to feel your body. But in order to approach training correctly, you need knowledge. This is where we will help you!

Bodybuilding is a complex science, and an applied one, and those who have seriously decided to take care of their body need to study their craft, since this is the only way to achieve results. Of course, in any case, knowledge will come with experience, but the path of trial and error is much longer than the one you chose! Beginning bodybuilders first of all need to get a training diary. After this, you should choose for yourself one that will help you achieve the initial tasks that are now facing you. Bodybuilding is a system that consists of loads and recovery, so you should choose the correct and adequate one for your training program. At the initial stage, you will not need knowledge about sports anatomy, how the process of building muscle mass works, what types of muscle fibers exist, but all this will be necessary in the future, so you still need to have a basic understanding of what you are training. In addition, this knowledge will help answer the question of how much you can do.

Training diary and load progression

It doesn’t matter whether it’s bodybuilding for amateurs, bodybuilding for beginners or professionals, but if these activities have a goal, then they must be systematic. First of all, for this you need to keep a training diary in which you will record your results and try to overcome them. Thus, from training to training you will progress the load, due to which progress will occur. If Your goal is to build muscle. , then you must create such conditions so that these muscles become necessary for the body. Muscle structures consume a lot of resources, and in order to create them, the body has to work hard. As a result, the body will create muscle tissue only if it is absolutely necessary. If you do not increase the working weights on the apparatus, then your body will not change.

You can progress the load in different ways, but since we are talking specifically about bodybuilding for beginners, we we recommend practically carry out progression precisely by increasing working weight. You can increase the intensity of training, reduce the speed of exercises, use other professional “gadgets,” but it is best to progress for as long as possible by increasing working weights. Firstly, when you reach the maximum, you can apply these other methods to further growth, that is, you leave yourself some aces up your sleeve. Secondly, novice bodybuilders still have a poor sense of their body, so they can make mistakes that will lead to stagnation and overtraining. If you put 200kg on a barbell, you simply won’t lift it, but you can always do more sets or repetitions than necessary. Therefore, for the first year you don’t even have to bother yourself with “pumping”, “forced repetitions” and everything else that beginner athletes love to do.

For the first 2 months you should train with 50-70% from your working weight, performing only basic exercises with perfect technique. After 2 months, you will already learn to feel your body, so you will be able to increase weights and implement a practical progression of loads. Over the course of another two months, you will have to gradually increase the working weight and, lo and behold, you will notice that if when you came to the gym you could bench press with 50 kg, now you can bench press 60 or even 65 kg, although you trained all this time with 30 -40kg. How is this possible? Very simply, you were patient and did what you needed to do, and now you have a well-developed neuromuscular connection. You have not become “stronger”, but the orders that the brain gives to the muscles have become clearer and more understandable, so the efficiency, the efficiency factor, has become much higher.

training program

The first training program is very important; most likely, this is the most important stage of training. Its importance lies in two things: firstly, the right program helps to establish neuromuscular connections and prepare the body for future exercise in the gym, and secondly, a well-chosen program will help avoid injury. We recommend starting with circuit training, the outline of which we suggested in our training program for beginners. It is too early for beginning bodybuilders to use a training split, that is, break up workouts into muscle groups, since it is not recommended for them to perform many exercises on the same muscle. The body simply cannot digest too much work. But circuit training, consisting of basic exercises, is the best way to prepare the body for future progression of loads, and basic exercises are most optimal for improving neuromuscular communication.

This first training program is suitable for absolutely all athletes, but even though we are talking about bodybuilding for beginners, nevertheless, it should be noted that in the future and, the further, the more, you will need more individualized training splits. On our website you can find training programs for people with different body types, however, if you subscribe to the weekly newsletter , you can get a completely free interactive training program that will take into account your age, fitness level and genetic endowment. This interactive program involves several stages, using which you can progress within a year and a half. Well, we’ll talk about what to do next in another article, but now let’s figure out what to do between workouts.

Super compensation and nutrition

Bodybuilding for beginners is divided into two stages, which we already found out above. During the first stage, the athlete practices the technique and prepares his body, and at the second stage the load begins to progress. In both cases, the recovery mode is very important, and nutrition plays a key role in it. The process of adapting the body to the load that you give it during training requires resources: energy and building material. Such resources are food. You should clearly define your goal, since the result will depend on it. You can often hear from beginning bodybuilders that, they say, you want to lose weight first and then gain weight, or that you want to lose weight and gain muscle mass. These are not the right tasks!

If you initially want to lose weight and then gain muscle mass, then this is not reasonable, but losing weight and gaining muscle mass is impossible. If you are solely pursuing a reduction in the level of subcutaneous fat, then you don’t have to train, you just need to balance your diet or go on a protein diet. If you still want to be not just thin, but also athletic, then first of all you need to gain muscle. Firstly, in the process of training you will reduce the proportion of fat in the body, but not by reducing the fat layer, but by increasing muscle mass. Secondly, muscles are active consumers of energy, so increasing muscle mass will make it easier to maintain weight loss results. Thirdly, if you first lose weight, then, while gaining muscle mass, you will still gain weight, since the synthesis of new organic tissue requires an excess of nutrients and calories.

So, at the second stage of bodybuilding for beginners, the athlete must use a diet to gain muscle mass, which will provide the body with all the necessary microelements. But although nutrition is the most important element of recovery, it is not the only one. You should give up bad habits, sleep at least 8 hours a day and, in general, systematize and adjust the regime life so that you come to training as vigorous as possible. Therefore, you should train when you have managed to achieve supercompensation. What supercompensation is is a separate long topic, so we recommend that you familiarize yourself with it. In short, supercompensation is the moment at which your muscles become bigger and stronger. It doesn’t last indefinitely, so you shouldn’t rest for too long either, but It's better to rest longer than less , since under-recovery training is a surefire path to overtraining.

How long does it take to pump up?

So, bodybuilding for beginners is only the first stage, which is the basis, but still only the basis, and therefore part of the training process. You can pump up in 2-3 years. Forget about “pump up before summer”! This doesn't happen! Unusual paths do not lead to complex tasks; painstaking work leads to them. And an athletic body is a difficult task. To form decent muscle mass, the body needs to adjust its metabolism, establish a blood supply system, synthesize new protein structures, strengthen ligaments and do many other things that require time and resources. But, one more time we emphasize , this does not mean that you need some strange training methods or magic pills. Training methods are well known, and pills cannot replace proper nutrition. You should focus on increasing the working weights from workout to workout, on the regime and patience!

Summing up results , beginning bodybuilders first of all need to learn how to plan their training regimen; for this you need to keep a training diary. Of course, no bodybuilder can do without a training program, but since we are talking about bodybuilding for beginners, the program must be appropriate. For a properly selected program, you should select the necessary rest time, as well as nutrition, as we have already discussed above. Of course, we did not talk about the specific recovery time, since it depends on the specific training program, and therefore is determined by the program. Same thing again we emphasize that at the initial stage the main task is to improve neuromuscular communication, and for this it is necessary to use the ideal technique for performing the exercises. That’s why we recommend training for the first 2 months with a very light working weight and only then moving on to progressive loads and building muscle mass.

“The most difficult thing in body fitness is constant control over yourself. You should not allow breakdowns, you should love stress and periodic muscle pain. Only then, having overcome yourself, can you become a champion,” says international master of sports Ekaterina Gamagina.

As the Steel Was Tempered

Katya's morning begins with the usual cup of freshly brewed coffee with milk, a portion of oatmeal with water and low-fat cottage cheese. After that, training camp, and now the athlete is at her favorite job: in the gym. A beautiful face with appropriate everyday makeup, well-groomed hair, manicure, a slender, toned body with defined muscles - this is what the absolute world champion in body fitness looks like.

Until the first student of the day arrived (the girl works as a personal trainer in the gym), Ekaterina talks about how her passion for the “cult of the body” began. Yaroslavna has been swimming since early childhood. I achieved some success, but I wanted more. Realizing that her career was gradually coming to an end, Katya decided that she needed to move on. The choice fell on the gym.

“I liked how the young coaches work in the gym. I wanted to try myself in this role. I found a gym closer to home and went to the director Alexei Kornilov to ask for a job. He answered me: “Come, practice, and then we’ll see,” says Ekaterina. Perhaps this meeting can be called fateful. During classes, Alexey Kornilov took a closer look at the girl: he noted her figure, her data - and invited her to try herself in body fitness. Catherine was interested in the proposal.

After studying photographs of beautiful, fit girls with sculpted muscles, she agreed and began to prepare for the first competition - the Moscow Championship, where she ended up in the middle of the standings. “Surprisingly, I had no stage fright, even though I had never performed on it before. Probably, this is the coquetry inherent in all women: to show how beautiful we are,” says Katya, smiling. According to the girl, the transition to another sport was not difficult, both morally and physically. She liked to watch how the structure of her body changed, how it became more toned, how the muscles became more prominent, improving the proportions.

At first, there were no problems with diets: everything seemed new, an unknown state for the body. “It was then that moments arose when it was difficult, sometimes simply unbearable. There was depression, fatigue, and mood swings. Each preparation for a competition is different: one is on the rise of emotions, the other: “Again diet!” I can’t stand it!’” shares Ekaterina. From the moment of her first competition, Katya decided for herself that she would prepare harder.

This was six years ago. Over the past years, she has won both the Russian Championship and the European Championship. The intoxicating feeling of victory and excellent physical preparation did their job - Ekaterina won the World Championship and received the title of international master of sports. In the fall of 2012 - the absolute world championship in bodylifting.

“For me, this victory was still surprising. My heart was ready to jump out of my chest, but at the same time it was already mature, conscious happiness, pride in what I could do. I was offered to sign a professional contract. According to him, I cannot participate in amateur competitions. This is a higher level: there are different requirements for the body, image, I must be impeccable,” says Ekaterina and, apologizing, leaves to train a middle-aged woman.

Constant struggle with yourself

After class, Ekaterina returns. There is a break from work, which means you can take some time for yourself. Katya does workouts for various muscle groups every day. In the off-season, as now, you can afford to move away from a strict schedule of physical activity and constant diets. You can go to bed later and eat something tasty. Of course, everything is within reason. After all, a girl should always be an example for her clients and attract the gaze of men.

“The first time after starting a career in body fitness was difficult for me: I didn’t know my body and my capabilities well. Now I’ve studied it so much that I know down to the gram how much I can eat and what, what kind of training to do when, what reaction the body will have to this or that diet and exercise,” says Katya. Despite quite a long experience in body fitness, according to the girl, there are very difficult days. The so-called turning points when you want to give up everything, quit, break off your diet. Mood swings occur mainly during preparation for competitions.

Preparation begins four months in advance: first, gaining muscle mass, then tightening your diet and drying your body. The range of products is very limited, with training taking place twice a day (cardio and strength training), then plastic exercises and posing for the stage are added. I have to give up my favorite dairy products and train, train... “At such turning points, the support of loved ones is very important. You call your mom, coach or friends, cry, and they calm you down: “Well, well, you’re the best!” - says Ekaterina Gamagina. - The moment passes, you step over yourself, and a second wind opens. The main thing is to endure.”

The world champion in body fitness notes: everything requires moderation and a reasonable approach. After all, many athletes practically stop drinking water during preparation for competitions (so that it does not accumulate in the body). Catherine does not limit, preferring to build a diet correctly. “I always drink it: it’s very important for flights and during tournaments. And there are so many nerves, muscles are burning. You need to have a healthy appearance. Otherwise, imagine, a girl with a beautiful figure comes on stage but is tortured to the point of impossibility, exhausted. It is unlikely that anyone will award her first place. Moderation is important in everything,” notes Katya.

Relaxing is a must

Ekaterina approaches the administrator. Today there are few clients signed up, which means you can engage in self-development. The girl studies English, constantly reads specialized literature: she improves in the art of coaching. “I try to distract myself from physical activity: go for walks with friends, travel. In addition, makeup recently became one of my hobbies,” says the girl. The athlete’s diet does not interfere with the friendly atmosphere of gatherings in restaurants - all her friends take care of themselves and their diet. And the fact that she limits herself in some way stimulates them: “Yeah, you don’t eat sweets, you’re on a diet, well, we won’t.”

As for men, Katya’s opinion is clear: men like athletic girls with a beautiful, toned figure. It’s interesting that there are many couples in the body fitness community. After all, they, like no one else, understand each other and support each other.

Future plans

In most sports, careers don't last long. Age takes its toll too quickly. “The good thing about body fitness is that it has no age restrictions. The girls come to the competition, and then you are surprised to find out that that beautiful young woman over there is already over 50 years old. In addition, even after the end of their professional career, women continue to take care of themselves. It’s already in their blood,” says Ekaterina Gamagina, leafing through an English dictionary.

The 27-year-old athlete has many plans for the future: to become a judge at international competitions, to develop in coaching - to recruit wards. “What I like most about body fitness is the combination of a beautiful face, an athletic figure, the ability to move, the ability to properly show oneself and attract interest. A combination of muscles and at the same time femininity and sexuality. Properly chosen makeup, a stylish swimsuit, high-heeled shoes combined with sculpted muscles - all this makes you feel perfect,” says Katya sincerely.

It's almost the end of the working day. Afterwards, Katerina will go to a cosmetologist and hairdresser. “You always need to look perfect. And to do this, take care of yourself,” she says. And at home there will be dinner waiting, which for some may seem meager: a light salad and low-fat kefir. Ekaterina happily notes that in terms of appetite, she was lucky: moderate - she got it from her parents.

Katya notes that recently fitness has become fashionable, and this makes her very happy. After all, what could be more beautiful than a beautiful, fit girl who takes care of herself? “You just need to prepare not three months before the summer, as we like to do, but keep yourself in shape all the time. And not only be outwardly beautiful, but also think positively - then any mountains can be conquered,” says Katya Gamagina. He easily throws his sports bag over his shoulder and heads towards the exit of the hall.

You can’t understand any country if you don’t try its national cuisine.

Like you and me, the Germans usually eat 3 times a day - breakfast, lunch and dinner.
For breakfast, they prefer to drink coffee with milk or tea, eat a freshly baked bun with jam, scrambled eggs and bacon or sausage. They have breakfast early, from about 7 to 8 am. It must be said that the Germans pay special attention to baking; they love to make homemade pies and rolls.
Frühstück - breakfast
zum Frühstück - for breakfast

Lunch is also not much different from Central European. From 12 to 14 o'clock it is customary to enjoy soup and always meat with potatoes, vegetables or salad, or try meat razbrat, schmorbraten, schnellklops, Hamburg steak.
Soups are prepared with fish or meat, potatoes and lentils, even with nettles. Gourmet soup with snails is common in the south of the country, and soup with eels is prepared in the north. Bread and beer soups are popular.
It should be noted that vegetables in a variety of forms are held in high esteem among the residents of the republic - they eat boiled, raw, fried vegetables, but sauerkraut deserves special attention, its taste is a little similar to the sauerkraut we know, but has its own unique taste. The national German dish is potato salad.
Unlike the “Fish Thursday” customary in Soviet times in our country, in Germany they like fish for lunch on Fridays.
The portion sizes are very surprising; one serving of a German dish in our country would feed 2 or 3 people.
Young people in today's rapidly changing life, especially in Berlin, often run to fast food establishments for a snack. Here they buy various sausages with mustard, chicken or the very favorite Denard Kebab, which is made from beef.
Mittag, Mittagessen – lunch
Essen - formal lunch

For dinner, Germans eat the least, mostly quick sandwiches with cheese, ham, sausage, butter and fish.
Abendessen, Abendbrot – dinner
beim Abendessen - at dinner

Beer is considered a traditional drink; Germany is even called the country of beer madness. The popularity of the intoxicating drink has led to the organization of numerous beer festivals, the most popular of which is Oktoberfest in Munich.
German beer halls (Kneipe) can be considered a library of German cuisine; in addition to beer, you can taste pork knuckle, chop cutlet, meatballs, potatoes and salads, dumplings, deep-fried ribs

A small collection of German cuisine:
Kotelett - chop cutlet
Klops - bits
Currywurst - fried sausage with curry sauce
Berliner Weisse - weak Berlin white beer with syrup, a real dessert for locals
Brezel - pretzel
Suppe - soup
Fleischsuppe - meat soup
Eintopf is a thick soup that is considered a complete meal.
Sauerkraut - sauerkraut
Brötchen - bun, bread ein belegtes Brötchen — sandwich ( with sausage, cheese, etc.)
ein süßes Brötchen — bun
Pfannkuchen - Berlin-style pancakes with marmalade inside
Bratwurst - fried sausage, fried sausage
Eisbein - boiled pork knuckle
Hackepeter - a snack made from raw minced meat with egg, salt and seasonings, usually spread on bread

In this article you will learn:

The Germans work meticulously, have fun on a grand scale and eat tastefully. Traditional cuisine in Germany is famous for its great variety. In addition, each German state has its own original dishes, which are their calling card. For example, these are the well-known sausages for which Bavaria is famous or the snail soup in Baden-Baden.

Features of national cuisine

The variety of gastronomic preferences is explained by the influence of the culinary characteristics of other nationalities on various regions of Germany. Thus, in the southwest of the country, French notes clearly appear. Here white wine is not only drunk, but also added to all kinds of dishes. Many soups, clay pot dishes and puddings are prepared.

The Rhineland region is dominated by Belgian and Dutch cuisine. They are represented by blood sausages, horse meat dishes, potato pancakes and rye cheese buns.

In Bavaria there is a clear presence of Austrian and Czech cuisine. A variety of flour dishes are especially common here. A variety of noodles, soups with dumplings, salted cheese pretzels. Also popular are sauerkraut, which is added to many dishes, and liver pates. And, of course, the famous Bavarian beer.

The north-west of Germany is famous for its rye bread, and all kinds of root vegetables and fish are used to prepare various dishes. And in the northeast, pork dishes and an abundance of sweets predominate. Even the omelets here are mostly sweet.

The nutrition of the Germans, as in all areas of their life, cannot do without their national practicality and thoroughness. Germans love rich, tasty and satisfying food. Perhaps this is due to ancient traditions, when chefs loved to prepare dishes that should look very appetizing and taste great. In addition, traditional German beer has always been combined with the consumption of not only salty, but also smoked and fatty foods.

Sausages with sauerkraut

Popular daily main courses include meatloaves with mushrooms and other fillings, schnitzels and, of course, sausages. Pasta, French fries and stewed cabbage are often used as a side dish. Sauerkraut occupies a special place in the national cuisine of Germany; it is considered a favorite dish of the Germans. And they prepare it here in all known ways. In addition to adding to salads, it is boiled, fried, stewed and even mashed.

It should also be noted that there are special dishes served on major national holidays and prepared in full accordance with ancient recipes. These include: asparagus with braised pork sauce, braised pork leg with a side dish of potatoes and sauerkraut, and baked suckling pig.

Dessert dishes occupy a special place in German cuisine. Sweets are amazing in their variety: airy buns, shortbread pies, fruit muffins, sponge and custard pies, rice puddings, waffles, and gingerbread cookies. This is just a small list of common, everyday desserts.

German rice pudding

But there are special sweet products that are usually eaten only during the Christmas holidays. These include stollen - fruit bread. It is a hard muffin with candied fruits, nuts and marzipan added to the dough. It is baked a month before consumption and aged until it acquires a special taste and aroma. German confectioners add strong alcoholic drinks to many recipes for their dishes. They believe that this reveals fruit aromas in a special way, highlighting the taste of almonds and chocolate.

German fruit bread - stollen

In addition to traditional beer, which is prepared with special love and according to ancient traditions, Germans drink cider, schnapps and mulled wine. Good wines are also popular.

German mulled wine with cinnamon stick

If we talk about diet, the Germans are used to eating up to five times a day. These are traditional breakfasts, lunches and dinners, as well as a few snacks in between.

Breakfast in German

No German breakfast is complete without bread or rolls. Special attention is paid to these products in Germany. No one can say how many varieties of bread there are here. It is made from a variety of dough (for example, potato, carrot) with the most unusual additives (olives, pumpkin seeds). Fresh baked goods are served with jam, honey, ham and cheeses.

Breakfast can be supplemented with eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt and fruit. Drinks traditionally include coffee or tea.

As a rule, this happens between seven and eight o'clock in the morning. Breakfast times can of course vary depending on people's work schedules.

Dinner

The Germans start having lunch at twelve o'clock in the afternoon. A complete dinner table consists of soup, main course, appetizer and dessert.

Snacks include a variety of sandwiches. To prepare them, sausages, cheeses, fish and, of course, butter are used. There are many snack dishes made from eggs, which can be boiled, stuffed, or served with sauce. Omelettes with various additives are very popular. Herring and sardine snacks are very popular.

Soups also amaze with the variety of ingredients: beer, potato, cheese, lentil, fish, noodle soup. The soup can also contain pumpkin, spinach, cauliflower, and broccoli. Ginger is often used as an additive.

The main course consists of fried or stewed meat, schnitzels, steaks, fish or minced meat dishes. Vegetables, potatoes or rice are served as a side dish.

Desserts can be very different: cakes, muffins, gingerbreads, marzipans and a huge number of other options. They can be served with compote, which is prepared from a large amount of fruit with a minimum amount of water.

Dinner

Dinner takes place from six to seven o'clock in the evening and mainly consists of cold dishes. But, nevertheless, it is quite satisfying and plentiful. These include fish dishes, baked pork, beef rolls with sauerkraut and pickled cucumbers, sausages and cheeses. During dinner, Germans allow themselves to drink traditional beer.

(function(w, d, n, s, t) ( w[n] = w[n] || ; w[n].push(function() ( Ya.Context.AdvManager.render(( blockId: "R-A -220137-3", renderTo: "yandex_rtb_R-A-220137-3", async: true )); )); t = d.getElementsByTagName("script"); s = d.createElement("script"); s .type = "text/javascript"; s.src = "//an.yandex.ru/system/context.js"; s.async = true; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); ))(this , this.document, "yandexContextAsyncCallbacks");