- HOT TOPICS:
- An American start for the Giro? •
- 2010 Routes: Giro | California | TdF •
- LA doc guilty on all counts
The feed zone - Nutrition for Resistance Training
Depending on your current training cycle, resistance training or weighttraining is often part of the program, while the goals and emphasis ofthe resistance session may progress from an endurance to a power emphasisduring your season. Following specific nutrition guidelines for weighttraining can make the most of these muscle and power building sessions.Hormones in your body, specifically growth hormone, testosterone, insulin,and insulin like growth factor, largely control muscle growth. Nutritioncan very effectively support your efforts to increase lean body mass byaffecting these hormone levels and providing your body with the nutritionaltools that is required for optimal muscle building. Much of the nutritionalstrategies for muscle building center not only on your daily training diet,but also on the intake of certain nutrients timed specifically around yourweight training sessions. Some of the keys to optimizing muscle buildingefforts include:
Consuming enough calories so that your body has the energy required to build muscle tissue. This includes your basic daily calorie needs, caloric intake to replace fuel during regular training sessions, and adequate fuel to support the resistance-training session.Consuming enough carbohydrates so that you meet the fuel demand for both resistance-training and carbohydrate needs for your regular training.Consuming enough total protein in your daily diet.Timing your nutrient intake before and after resistance training, particularly for protein.Consuming fluids and carbohydrate during your workout.Calories and carbohydrates
During weight training sessions, the stored fuels of creatine phosphateand muscle glycogen serve as important energy sources. When combined withother components of your training program, resistance training can providea further drain on your body carbohydrate fuel stores. While you may typicallythink of increased protein intake in relation to strength training, youshould also focus on consuming adequate energy to build muscle tissue.Because of the increased energy it takes to build body tissue, fallingshort on your calorie requirements will impair your rate of muscle building.An additional 350 to 500 calories daily are needed to gain one pound ofmuscle mass per week. Further increases in muscle building require additionalcalories. Once you gain the muscle and strength that you desire for yourbody composition goals and performance, it also takes an adequate amountof energy to maintain this increased weight. Keep in mind that these additionalcalories are the calories required above your energy needs for regulartraining and recovery.Muscle glycogen is an important fuel source during weight training,and an intense session may deplete 30-percent of your muscle glycogen stores.Clearly when this type of training is combined with your endurance training,muscle glycogen stores can become significantly depleted in one day orover several days. Regardless of how quickly you deplete these stores,it is important that you replenish glycogen stores adequately after training,whether in the weight room or after endurance training.While strength training requires that you pay attention to your carbohydrateintake, just as you do for your regular training, protein of course isan important construction material for the repair and growth of your musclefibers. Strength training causes the breakdown of muscle fibers,which respond by making bigger and stronger muscle fibers to protect againstfurther stress. Protein is one of the major construction materials forthis repair process. While this means that athletes who strength trainhave higher protein requirements than sedentary individuals, the amountof protein that your consume for your regular training in your daily diet,is likely more than adequate to put you in positive protein balance formuscle building, But what seems to be especially important is the timingof your protein intake.
Timing your nutritional intake
After weight training, your body synthesizes new muscle protein andreplenishes muscle glycogen. Several research studies indicate that yournutritional intake in the hours before and the hours after weight trainingcan have a significant impact on supporting your muscle building efforts.Consuming a combination of carbohydrate and protein both before and afterweight training is more effective in improving protein building than justincreasing your overall daily protein intake to build muscle.Consuming some protein prior to your resistance training efforts isprobably the most important nutrition strategy to facilitate improved proteinsynthesis, and may be even more effective than what you consume after training.Aim for about 15 to 20 g of protein, emphasizing high quality sources suchas skim milk dairy products, whey protein, and protein from animal foods,as essential amino acids are the most potent stimulators of muscle proteinsynthesis. Combine this protein with 35 to 50 g of carbohydrate.You can also include both carbohydrate and protein in the next snackor meal that you consume after weight training to continue to facilitatethe recovery and muscle building process. Carbohydrate and protein consumedafter resistance training should also work to stimulate both muscle glycogensynthesis and protein synthesis. This form of supplementation increasesblood levels of insulin and growth hormone, both of which are tissue buildingagents. High glycemic carbohydrates can be emphasized after resistancetraining, just as they can after your regular training sessions. Aim for15 to 20 g of protein and 50 g of carbohydrates or more in your recoverysnack or meal.Often your nutritional choices before and after weight training maybe related to the practicality of your food and fluid choices and availability. Keep snacks on hand to consume both before and after resistance training.Aim for convenience choices like a low fat shake or smoothie. Pack proteincontaining snacks such as yogurt with fruit, a peanut butter and honeysandwich, or low fat cheese ands crackers. You may find that a commercialsports supplement containing a mix of carbohydrate and protein is convenientand meets your nutrition requirements in the hour before weight training.What you consume during resistance training may also be beneficial toyour recovery and the quality of your training sessions. While ATP andcreatine phosphate in the muscle are your primary fuel sources while weighttraining, muscle glycogen can become somewhat to significantly depletedbetween training sets, depending on the intensity and duration of yourtraining. Between sets, your muscle will use the glycolysis energy pathwayto regenerate ATP stores. Consuming a sports drink for the carbohydrateit provides can help you maintain muscle glycogen stores and provide energyduring your workout. These drinks also provide fluid and assist you inmaintaining adequate hydration levels. Of course, consuming plain waterduring resistance training is also recommended. As with any training session,try to start your workout well-hydrated.
Protein supplements and weight training
Protein supplements are a convenient way to consume protein beforeand after resistance training workouts. As discussed previously, this nutritionalstrategy can optimize muscle building as timing of protein intake is key.Currently, there are a variety of protein supplements on the market.Whey protein is an increasing popular protein supplement. Whey is thecomponent of milk that is separated when making cheese and other dairyproducts. It is a high quality protein and easy to digest. Whey proteincan also be lactose free in the form of whey protein isolate. Soy proteinis also an excellent source of protein, especially soy protein isolate.It is also a high quality protein choice for vegetarians and is lactosefree. Casein is another protein obtained through cheese production. Itdoes not have a strong as an amino acid profile as whey protein, but isstill a good protein source.Egg protein is obtained from egg whites and it considered the referencestandard which to compare other proteins. Eggs may not be as convenienta protein source as other supplement depending on the timing of your training. Of course, high quality protein can be obtain from real food sources, sucha milk and yogurt, tofu and other soy products, and poultry and lean meats.Like many other sports nutrition strategies and choices, use of proteinsupplements before and after resistance training may be a matter of convenience.These products should be taken with a carbohydrate source such as juice.Often, only a relatively small portion of these concentrated protein supplementsare needed to provide the required 15 to 20 g, though higher doses maybe encouraged on the label.Some practical protein and carbohydrate combinations to be consumedbefore and after weight training include homemade smoothies that use avariety of quality protein ingredients such as soymilk, yogurt, and dairymilk. Fruit juice or fruit can be added for carbohydrate. A generous servingof yogurt with fruit can make a good protein and carbohydrate combination.Low fat cheese is also a high quality protein source that can be consumedwith fruit or a granola bar.
Monique Ryan, MS, RD, is author of "Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition,"and "SportsNutrition for Endurance Athletes," from VeloPress, and the upcoming
