My approach to Workout Nutrition.

Hey Guys,

I often get asked about what my take is on workout nutrition and how to implement it. As I believe strongly in the method (it can transform athletes recovery and performance) I thought I would share an article I wrote on the subject. In it I cover what to take and when plus the principles behind the method.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Workout Nutrition

Workout nutrition has always been a hot topic for discussion. Everyone wants to know what to take and when so that they will maximise their gains under the bar and on the mat.

There is a general consensus that taking some sort of fast acting carbs (simple sugars) and protein straight after training, possibly some branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) during. This has worked for athletes for a long time.

What if I told you it was flat out wrong? Ok, maybe not wrong but simply mis informed. What if there was a better way that you could literally transform your training sessions and feel like a different athlete?

Now that I have your attention, I’ll talk a little about this concept. However firstly, I must say that I have no data to back up this theory. Only my own research and my own work with top level athletes and the results they achieved. If you want to try something a little different that could literally transform your training, then read on.

Firstly I’m going to assume that 95% percent of you are taking in a mix of protein and carbs in sort of post workout drink. So lets talk about that. Most of you are going to be using a whey protein (most probably an isolate) and a fast acting carbohydrate (such as dextrose or waxy maize), now lets say that you are incredibly organised and have the shake made up to drink as soon as you finish your last rep or set foot off the mat. Now this is what just about every single article and publication will tell you to do. But why are you doing this? Seriously. This is the single question you should be able to answer about your training and nutrition. To answer my own question, the reason that most people drink a post workout drink is to get nutrients into their body (any therefore blood stream, thus muscles) as quickly as possible. After exercise of a strenuous nature your body is crying out for nutrients to repair the damage that you have done to it (such as breaking down muscle fibres and depleting glycogen stores).

So why would you specifically take protein and a fast acting carb straight after training? Well firstly, after training your body requires a nutrient to rebuild muscle (protein) so this makes sense. However lets say you have a very high quality whey isolate, this means that it will take about 25-30 mins just for it to be digested and enter your muscles. 30 MINUTES!! So basically when you have a massive anabolic window to repair and grow, your muscles are just hanging around waiting for nutrients after they have been broken down (also known as catabolism). This is why people add the fast acting carb.

What happens when you ingest a fast acting carb (basically simple sugar) is your body produces a fantastic little hormone called insulin. What insulin basically does is to help shuttle nutrients to muscles and organs when released in the right amounts. This means that in theory when you drink your post workout shake your insulin spikes, the amino acids that your body has derived from the protein (muscle building blocks) is shuttled to your muscles and anabolism can occur. Great in theory right? Mission accomplished. Well not quite.

The problem is two fold really. The first is that still this process isn’t that quick and the second is that as soon as you take in a fast acting carb you kill your GH level. What is GH I hear you cry?! GH stands for growth hormone (the lovely, amazing hormone that is responsible for growth in the human body). So you spend all this time getting your GH level up by training, then kill it off! So now, as you can see, the typical way of looking at workout nutrition is far from optimal.

So what would be optimal?

Well, you want to take in protein and branch chain amino acids, carbs to fuel your workouts, spike insulin so that all these goodies are available to the body in the blood stream, and do it all without killing off your GH level. Sounds tricky right? Well good old Mike is here to help. Below I am going to out line a rough guide on how to supplement a training session. This is based on a 170 pound fighter that is in good shape (visible abs and no love handles). If this doesn’t sound like you, then you can tailor the basic idea to fit all situations but as always, I recommend seeking the help of a professional.

The supplements that I am going to recommend for this are all available through MyProtein. I believe their products are ideal for this (others are available from other companies if you follow the stated guidelines). I will say that the products that I am recommending are not being used in the prescribed manor from MyProtein. MyProtein provide their own instructions on how to use their products and again, have no link to myself at this present moment in time.

OK, so what is the plan? This is to be used on a single training session per day. It can be tailored to a twice a day regime but again, consult someone who knows what they are talking about.

·      60 mins before training – 1 serving MyProtein Karb-olyn, 10g L Leucine

·      30 mins before training – 1 serving MyProtein Karb-olyn, 10-20g BCAA

·      During training – 10-20g BCAA in 2 litres of water (sip through out)

·      30-60 mins after training have a solid meal with protein and carbs (no fat).

There you go. This ensures that you have good quality carbs and aminos available for a great training session plus maximising your GH out put. Give it a try for a few weeks and see what results you gain. I’m not kidding when high level athletes have used the term ‘Super human’.

Who wouldn’t what to be super human…

Stay healthy.

Mike