Sports nutrition is almost always the neglected factor when someone
isn't making any progress with their fitness training. And why shouldn't
it be? It can be quite confusing.
But understand that without a grasp of proper muscle building and fat
burning nutrition, you won't be able to make the progress that you
desire, and you won't reach your potential. With a well implemented
sport nutrition plan, you'll be on your way toward achieving your
fitness goals.
Why does sports nutrition seem so confusing? For starters, there are too
many choices. This makes it very difficult to decide the appropriate
course of action.
We have the hollywood diet, the cabbage diet, the grapefruit diet, the
juice diet, the zone diet, high carb, low carb, no carb, high protein,
low protein, no protein (okay, maybe not but it wouldn't surprise
me),high protein foods, high fat, low fat, slim fast, weight watchers,
la weight loss, jenny craig, nutri-system, etc, etc.
Obviously, sports nutrition is big business.
It can become very frustrating trying to sort through all this
information.
I've read hundreds of articles, books, and medical journals on sport
nutrition, and I've come to decide on some fundamental principles that
all sports nutrition programs to include. Remember, we are all different
but all essentially the same.
What this means is that the principles of proper sports nutrition apply
to all of us, but we will need to make certain adjustments for the
indvidual. The important thing is to understand the general principles
of a sports nutrition program so that you can tailor it to your specific
needs, whether it be to build muscle, burn fat, get stronger, or
nutrition for your specific sport.
Let's take a look at some general principles of a proper sports
nutrition program.
We'll start with a brief introductory look at the three macronutrients -
carbohydrates, protein, and fat. All play an important role in your
sports nutrition program.
Carbohydrates - Carbs are your muscles preferred energy source for
short, intense muscular contractions, weight training.
They supply the energy for these sessions as well as play a crucial role
in recuperation and muscle growth.
Ingesting carbs signals your body to release insulin, which transports
the amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and the carbs into your
muscle cells. This absorbtion by your muscles is a very important part
of the muscle growth and repair factor.
Carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in your body's muscles, and it's
this glycogen storage that gives the muscles their fullness. This is the
basis of the idea of carb depleting and then loading before a contest,
the idea that when you deplete your body of glycogen and then "carb up",
your body will store even more glycogen then before in the muscles,
making you look larger, tighter, and more ripped than ever. In addition,
the consumption of carbs creates a "protein sparing", in that more of
your protein will be used for the muscle building process instead of
being burned as energy. As you'll see below, this "protein sparing" is a
key element in your sports nutrition program. Some important rules to
keep in mind with regard to carbohydrate consumption are...
1 - Avoid all processed foods. Processed foods are 'empty' calories that
do nothing for your health or your fitness. By dropping them from your
sports nutrition program, you'll go far in improving your results -
building muscle, losing fat, improving sports performance, increasing
energy - not to mention vastly improving your health. Processed foods
include things like cookies, chips, donuts, pastries, soda, candy - your
basic junk food. But beware, processed foods can be dressed up in
"healthy" packaging. Read labels. Stay away from these foods, especially
one's that contain high fructose corn syrup That low fat muffin you're
about to eat... put it back. It's loaded with unhealthy sugar. The
regular muffin would actually be a better choice. Processed foods should
never be a part of your sports nutrition program, no matter what your
fitness goals are.
Instead of processed foods and high fructose corn syrup, get the
carbohydrates in your sports nutrition program from whole grains,
fruits, and vegetables.
Protein - Protein, as most of you know, is the building block of
muscles. Without adequate protein consumption, you will be spinning your
wheels with regard to your resistance training program. No sports
nutrition program is complete without proper adequate protein intake.
You should consume at least 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body
mass every day.
And you may find better results taking in up to 2 grams per day per
pound of body weight. At 220 pounds, I've found that roughly 250 grams
of protein per day works very well for me, which is about 1.37 grams per
pound of body weight.
It's important to note that I have a high metabolism, requiring a lot of
calories just to maintain my body weight.
Fats - Ah, fats. A macronutrient that is more misunderstood than
carbohydrates, if that's possible.
Here's a neat little factoid for you. The United States went on a low
fat, high carb craze in the 80's and began to get fatter and fatter as a
nation.
Fat is not your enemy. Good or "healthy" fats such as omega 3's and
omega 6's are essential to good health and a properly functioning body.
Hey, maybe that's why they are known as Essential Fatty Acids.
Here's the problem with most people's sports nutrition. They are taking
in enough fat but they are taking in the wrong fats by consuming too
many trans fatty acids and saturated fats, and not enough good fats.
Try and eliminate the bad fats (in things such as margarine, shortening,
snack foods, and most fast foods).
Consume more of the good fats, such as cold-water fish (salmon),
walnuts, ground flax seeds of flax seed oil, hempseed oil, safflower
oil, sunflower oil, fish oils, and olive oil. In addition, consider a
CLA (Conjugated Linoleic acid) supplement as well - about 3 grams daily.
CLA In addition, taking in enough EFA's is imperative when trying to put
on muscle.
Low fat diets suppress the body's ability to produce testosterone, a
definite no no when trying to build muscle. The late Dan Duchaine
considered EFA's to be the most anabolic (muscle building) supplement
you can buy.
Fats also supply chemical substrates that are necessary for proper
hormonal production, as well as protect our vital organs and carry the
fat-soluble vitamins to where they are needed. Fats are an important
part of your sports nutrition program to develop muscle, burn fat (yes,
burn fat) and get fit and healthy.
Water - Drink it. A lot. And often.
Seriously, you should be consuming at least 8 - 10 8 ounce glasses of
water every day. Our bodies are made up of 60 - 75 percent water. It's
not uncommon for people to dehydrate by 2 percent to 6 percent of their
body weight during exercise. The result isn't good. Cell function is
disrupted, muscle growth stops, you become mentally and physically
sluggish, have a general sense of fatigue and can no way be on the top
of your game.
Sports supplements have become an integral part of any sports nutrition
program.
Even with all the useless junk in the sports supplement industry, there
are a number of high quality supplements that should be part of your
overall sports nutrition strategy.