"You have to eat every 3 hours to keep your
metabolism burning"
"If you skip a meal that's your day
ruined.."
"Protein shake straight after you finish or
your workout is a waste"
Hands up
if you've heard of these statements before.. hands even higher if you've
followed them.
Don't
worry my hands up high aswell!
Along
with many others I have also followed these nutritional necessities.
What
difference did it make? Not much, if any!
Welcome
back to the fourth instalment in our guest blog Nutrition Series. In parts 1,2
and 3 we covered 'The importance of Nutrition to athletes', 'Beginning to set
up your diet' and 'Breaking down your diet into different macronutrients' I
highly recommend you check them out before going any further with this
one!
Today we
are going to take a look at a pretty controversial subject - Nutrient timing
within sporting performance
What is nutrient timing?
Put
simply, this is the amount of time you
leave between your meals and when and
what you eat around your workouts to enhance your performance.
However,
before going any further we need to sum up the actual difference nutrient
timing has on athletic performance or physique enhancement.
Dr. Mike
Israetel attributes it's worth to ~5% of your results
Furthermore,
Eric Helms is also in agreement and has designed a spectacular pyramid which
shows how many people are missing the forest for the trees.
Helms et al. (2015)
The above
image is layered this way for a reason - without the foundations below nutrient
timing it's essentially useless!
For
example, your goal is to gain muscle. For this we need a caloric surplus and
some form of progressive overload in our training program. You smash back your
protein within 1 minute of finishing your last set and you are eating a protein
source every 3 hours - great, doing what you are meant to! However, 6 weeks
down the line and you haven't made any progress - you haven't gained any muscle
or bodyweight. Why? You have violated the pyramids principles!
Instead
of ensuring the foundations for gaining muscle - a caloric surplus, adequate
protein intake - where in place, you focussed on the nuances - timing of intake.
I'm not
saying that timing doesn't matter - eating protein every 4-6 hours will likely
be better than once a day, however, you need to ensure that the most important
parts of your diet (calories and macronutrients) are in place first, before
worrying about
timing.
What actually matters
Once we
have our foundations in place we can then focus on aligning our nutrient intake
throughout the day to give us better results.
The most
important points we need to consider are;
Protein
intake through the day
Protein
intake pre and post exercise
Carbohydrate
and fat intake in relation to exercise time
Protein intake through the day
I am sure
we have all heard and followed the age old myth of eating a protein source
every 3 hours to keep our muscles happy.
You may
have even carried a protein shake on trips out to ensure you had something to
feed your muscle with!
However,
this may be unnecessary. Studies conducted by Helms et al. (2014) and Schoenfeld et
al. (2015) found little difference between protein intakes of 3x per day
and 6x per day, stating that an intake within these ranges is likely optimal
for muscle growth and performance.
Since we
are most likely eating our protein sources as part of a meal, a more important
question is one of adherence.
Adherence
is of primary concern when setting up our nutrition (Schoenfeld et al. 2015) and how often we are eating
protein is likely going to be individualized. For example, some people
may prefer to eat smaller meals, more often to keep themselves full and
therefore, will opt for a higher frequency of protein intake e.g. 6 meals per
day. On the other hand, someone may like to eat larger meals, less often and
then aim for 3-4 meals per day.
My
recommendation would be to stay within the 3-6
meals or protein feedings per day recommendation - if we go lower or higher
ie 2 or 6+ issues begin to develop with adherence.
For
example, two meals or protein feedings per day can have you going for a long
time without food, making you more susceptible to eating everything and kitchen
sink come meal time and is likely less optimal for muscle development as you
are only providing nutrients at two points during the day. At meal intervals
above 6, it can seem like you do nothing but cook or the meals are so small you’re
never really full. Both situations can lead to varying problems with hunger
control.
Simply,
take your daily protein intake (1g per lb
of bodyweight) and split it between the numbers of meals you wish to
consume and you have your protein target for each meal and can easily meet your
daily total. After this point, assign a time interval from 3-6 hours between
each meal that will allow you to adhere best to meeting your protein intakes
and allow you to be as full as possible. Simple!
Protein intake pre and post exercise
Again, a
very controversial topic - we have all heard the recommendation of consuming
protein within 30 minutes of finishing our exercise for that 'post anabolic
window of gains'
However,
it really isn't necessary!
A meta analysis
on post workout protein intake found that consuming protein within 1 hours of
finishing exercise does not have a
significant benefit on muscle size or strength (Schoenfeld et al., 2013)
An
additional meta analysis conducted by Schoenfeld and Aragon (2013), suggests
that pre and post exercise protein feedings should
not be separated by more than 3-4 hours. Most training sessions will last
around 1-2 hours and therefore, will leave plenty of time to consume a meal
post training, as opposed to slamming a protein shake.
Therefore,
practical applications of the above would be consume a protein source around
1-2 hours pre and post training and don't worry if you don't slam your protein
shake post workout - it won't make a difference!
Carbohydrate and fat intake in relation to exercise
This
topic doesn't receive as much light as protein intake as quite frankly it's not
as important or 'sexy' to mainstream media. However, it likely is important if
your goal is peak athletic performance.
So, why
is carbohydrate intake in relation to exercise important?
Carbohydrates
fuel our performance during high intensity sports such as weightlifting, rugby
or sprinting. Therefore, we want to make sure we have adequate glycogen
stores before exercise to enable us to perform at a consistent high intensity
and we need to ensure we replenish depleted glycogen stores after exercise to
enhance recovery.
Pre exercise Carbohydrate intake
There is
mixed literature on the performance enhancing benefits of pre exercise
carbohydrate ingestion (Helms et al., 2015). However, through coaching
individuals, I have seen most people perform at their best if they ingest at least some carbohydrate before
exercise. The amount you consume will be individual dependant. For example,
some individuals may consume large amounts of carbohydrates pre exercise and
not experience any stomach or GI distress. On the other hand, some individuals
will prefer to consume smaller doses as they find they can digest the smaller
dose easier and still perform well. A practical take away would be to
experiment and see what makes you feel best and allows you to train best.
Furthermore,
when dieting and on limited carbohydrate intakes, it may be a good idea to
place your carbohydrate intake around your workout. For example, consuming the
majority of your carbohydrate intake pre and post workout, while opting for
relatively lower carbohydrate intakes throughout the day when carbohydrates may
not be necessary. This can enable you to feel better during your workout and
therefore, improve your performance.
Post exercise Carbohydrate intake
Like most
sub sections within this post, quite a controversial topic with many seeking to
replenish their lost glycogen stores as quickly as possible with high GI 'fast
digesting' carbohydrates. However, do we really need to do this?
If we are
a strength athlete or physique competitor there really isn't any need!
We are
not training at a high intensity multiple times per day! If you have a sensible
training program you will train a muscle group one day and then have a break
for at least around 24 hours. This is a 24 hour period where your muscles can
replenish lost glycogen from your training session - this is more than ample time! A practical take away would
be consume your carbohydrates at a convenient
time post workout and one which promotes adherence. You may feel alot
better taking them in your meal after training or some may be able to push it
back until 2 meals after training without going crazy - it's whatever suits you
best!
However,
if you are a high intensity games player or train 2x per day there may be some support for consuming
carbohydrates in your post workout meal. Since you are training 2x per day, you
will need some form of carbohydrate to fuel your second session. If you deplete
your glycogen stores in your first session and do not replenish them, you are
effectively operating on a half tank of gas and could be negatively effecting
your second session. To avoid this, simply ensure there is some form of
carbohydrate in your meal(s) between sessions.
A second
argument of post workout ingestion is to spike our body's insulin to enhance
muscle growth and nutrient uptake. However, protein has also been shown to
spike insulin (Boelsma et al. 2010; Tentolouris et al. 2008). Therefore, if you
consume a protein source by itself you will still spike insulin and be 'driving
the nutrients into your muscles'
The best
reccomendation is to follow an approach which allows you to hit your overall
carbohydrate intake (Aragon and Schoenfeld, 2013) and if you are training 2x
per day, consume some form of carbohydrate between sessions.
Fat intake around exercise
This
topic relates to potential GI or stomach issues during exercise. When we eat a
meal containing fat, it slows disgestion, causing us to feel fuller for
longer.
If you
are performing close to a meal containing or high in fat, this can cause
problems with your digestion. For example, it could make you feel sick as you
are still trying to digest your meal. Therefore, you will not be able to
perform optimally as most likely you will be more focused on your upset stomach
and not emptying your last meal over the squat rack.
Therefore,
it is a good idea to limit the amount of fat in your pre workout meal, opting
to keep it a lower fat and higher carbohydrate option to enable comfortable
performance.
Summary
In
summary, alot of myths surround nutrient timing for athletic performance and
physique enhancement.
From this
article I hope you have found the general jist to be they are just that -
myths!
They will
make little difference and certainly make none at all if you don't have the
foundations or lower tiers of the pyramid in place.
This is
why the most important considerations are and always will be; adherence,
caloric intake and macronutrient totals.
Anything
past his point won't make massive differences - likely 5-10% of overall
success.
Practical
take aways from this article are;
Consume
protein every 4-6 hours and eat anywhere from 3-6 meals based upon personal
preference.
Consume
protein 1-2 hours pre and post workout and don't worry if you don't slam a
shake within 30 seconds of finishing your last set!
Consume
your carbohydrates at any time of the day to replenish glycogen if training
once per day but ensure you aren't ingesting too much close to training to
cause stomach issues.
If
training 2x per day it's a good idea to consume carbohydrates between sessions
Try to
minimize the amount of fat in your pre workout meal to help with digestion
As stated
before your overall caloric intake and macronutrient intake needs to be inline
with your goals for any of the above to make a significant difference or
benefit.
It
doesn't have to be more complicated than that!
If you
have any questions, please contact me through the links below!
About the Author
Dave Carleton is a powerlifter who competes in the 66kg class and has represented Great Britain at European and World Championship level. He is currently study Sports and Exercise Science in Edinburgh and runs a nutrition and training coaching service, helping individuals improve their sporting performance, get stronger and achieve their body composition goals. He creates regular articles and tips through his blog and facebook page which are linked below. He also has a free facebook group with members interested in strength training, nutrition and sports performance. Within the group, helpful tips, training feedback and nutritional support is provided – if this sounds like it would be beneficial to you, request to join on the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/Davy-Carleton-Performance-Nutrition-1650952501824022/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
carletonperformanceandnutrition.co.uk/blog-3
https://www.facebook.com/groups/eat.track.lift/
References
Aragon, A. and Schoenfeld, B. (2013). Nutrient timing revisited: is
there a post-exercise anabolic window? Journal of International society
of Sports nutrition. 10 (5).
Boelsma,
E., Brink, E., Stafleu, A. and Hendriks, H. (2010). Measures of postprandial
wellness after intake of two protein-carbohydrate rich meals, Metabolism.
54 (3), pp. 456-464.
Helms, E., Aragon, A. and Fitschen, P. (2014). Evidence-based recommendations
for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and
supplementation. Journal of the International Society of Sports
Nutrition. 11(1). pp. 20.
Helms, E., Valdez, A. and Morgan,
A. (2015).The Muscle And Strength Pyramid – Nutrition
Schoenfeld, B., Arragon, A., Krieger, J. (2013). The effect of protein
timing on muscle strength and hypertrophy: a meta analysis, Journal of
International society of Sports nutrition. 10, pp. 53.
Tentolouris,
N., Pavlatos, S., Kokkinos, A., Perrea, D., Pagoni, S. and Katsilambros, N.
(2008). Diet-induced thermogensesis and substrate oxidation are not different
between lean and obese women after two isocaloric meals, one rich in protein
and one rich in fat, Metabolism. 57 (3), pp. 313-320.
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Thank you Davey for another great post
Andrew Richardson, Founder of Strength is Never a Weakness Blog
I have a BSc (Hons) in Applied Sport Science and a Merit in my MSc in Sport and Exercise Science and I passed my PGCE at Teesside University.
Now I will be commencing my PhD into "Investigating Sedentary Lifestyles of the Tees Valley" this October 2019.
I am employed by Teesside University Sport and WellBeing Department as a PT/Fitness Instructor.
My long term goal is to become a Sport Science and/or Sport and Exercise Lecturer. I am also keen to contribute to academia via continued research in a quest for new knowledge.
My most recent publications:
My passion is for Sport Science which has led to additional interests incorporating Sports Psychology, Body Dysmorphia, AAS, Doping and Strength and Conditioning.
Within these respective fields, I have a passion for Strength Training, Fitness Testing, Periodisation and Tapering.
I write for numerous websites across the UK and Ireland including my own blog Strength is Never a Weakness.
I had my own business for providing training plans for teams and athletes.
I was one of the Irish National Coaches for Powerlifting, and have attained two 3rd places at the first World University Championships,
in Belarus in July 2016.Feel free to email me or call me as I am always looking for the next challenge.
Contact details below;
Facebook: Andrew Richardson (search for)
Facebook Page: @StrengthisNeveraWeakness
Twitter: @arichie17
Instagram: @arichiepowerlifting
Snapchat: @andypowerlifter
Email: a.s.richardson@tees.ac.uk
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-richardson-b0039278
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew_Richardson7
