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Nutrition Principals for Strength Trainers*
From Power Eating-2nd Edition
If you are serious about improving your physique and your strength-training performance, you’ll do everything you can to achieve success. Unfortunately, advice given to strength trainers today is a hodgepodge of fact and fiction. What I’d like to do is separate one from the other by sharing several basic principles with you—principles that all strength trainers can follow to get in shape and achieve their personal best in performance. These principles are the same ones I have advocated for world-class athletes, Olympic contenders, and recreational strength trainers for more than 15 years. Let’s review them here.
1. Vary Your Diet
You have probably admired the physiques of bodybuilders in magazines. And for good reason. They are muscular, well defined, and in near-perfect proportion. The picture of health, right? Wrong—in many cases. The first study I ever conducted investigated the training diets of male competitive bodybuilders. What I found was that they ate a lot of calories, roughly 6,000 calories a day or more. The worrisome finding about this study was that they ate, on average, more than 200 grams of fat a day. That’s almost as much fat as you’d find in two sticks of butter! Short term, that’s enough to make most people sick. Eaten habitually over time, such an enormous amount of fat will lead to heart disease.
Bodybuilding diets, especially precontest diets, tend to be monotonous, with the same foods showing up on the plate day after day. The worst example I’ve ever seen was a bodybuilder who ate chicken, pepper, vinegar, and rice for three days straight while preparing for competition. The problem with such a diet is that it lacks variety, and without a variety of foods, you miss out on loads of nutrients essential for peak health.
Bodybuilders, on average, don’t eat much in the way of fruit, dairy products, and red meat. Fruit, of course, is packed with disease-fighting, health-building antioxidants and phytochemicals. Dairy products supply important nutrients like bone-building calcium. And red meat is an important source of vital minerals like iron and zinc.
When such foods are limited or eliminated, potentially serious deficiencies begin to show up. In studies I’ve done, and in studies others have done, the most common deficiencies observed are those of calcium and zinc, particularly during the precompetition season. In fact, many female bodybuilders have dangerous shortages of these minerals, and they may have the shortages year round. A chronic short supply of calcium increases the risk of osteoporosis, a crippling bone-thinning disease. Although a woman’s need for zinc is small (8 milligrams a day), adequate zinc is an impenetrable line of defense when it comes to protecting women from disease and infection. In short, deficits of these minerals can harm health and performance. But the good news is that some skim milk, red meat, and dark meat poultry added back into the diet will help alleviate some of these problems. A three-ounce portion of lean sirloin beef has about six milligrams of zinc; nonfat, 1, or 2 percent milk has about one milligram of zinc in one eight-ounce glass; and three ounces of dark meat turkey have about four milligrams of zinc.
Another nutritional problem among bodybuilders is fluid restriction. Just before a contest, bodybuilders don’t drink much water, fearing it will inflate their physiques to the point of blurring their muscular definition. Compounding the problem, many bodybuilders take diuretics and laxatives, a practice that flushes more water, plus precious minerals called electrolytes, from the body. Generally, bodybuilders compete in a dehydrated state. In one contest, I saw two people pass out on stage—one because of severe dehydration, the other because of an electrolyte imbalance.
After a competition, bodybuilders tend to go hog wild. There’s nothing wrong with this, as long as it’s a temporary splurge. But such dietary indulgence over a long time can lead to extra fat pounds you surely don’t want.
Bodybuilders, however, do a lot of things right, especially during the training season. They eat several meals throughout the day—a practice that nutritionists recommend to the general public.
2. Follow a High-Energy Diet
It’s well known, too, that most athletes, strength trainers included, don’t eat enough carbohydrates, the primary fuel food. Most athletes eat diets in which only half of their total daily calories come from carbs, when seven to nine grams per kilogram of body weight daily should be consumed as carbs. Lots of bodybuilders practice low-carbohydrate dieting because they believe it promotes faster weight loss. The problem with these diets is that they deplete glycogen, the body’s storage form of carbohydrate. Once available glycogen stores are emptied, the body starts burning protein from tissues (including muscle tissue) to meet its demand for energy. You lose hard-earned muscle as a result.
Fitness-minded people, athletes, and others shy away from carbs, particularly breads and pastas. They think these foods will make them fat—a food myth that is partially responsible for the lopsided proportion of carbohydrate, fat, and protein in strength-training diets, which are typically too high in protein.
Carbs are probably the most important nutrient for losing fat and building muscle. By the time you finish this book, you’ll be convinced of this truth!
3. Consume Enough Calories
A key to feeling energized is to eat the right amount of calories to power your body for hard training. A lack of calories will definitely make you feel like a wet dishrag by the end of your workout.
A diet that provides less than 1,600 calories per day generally does not contain all the vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy, prevent disease, and perform well. Very low-calorie diets followed for longer than two weeks can be hazardous to your health. Nor do they provide the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) of enough of the nutrients needed for good health.
Historically, the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) were the national standard for the amount of carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals we need in our diets to avoid deficiency diseases and maintain growth and health. Recently the DRIs were established to update the RDAs based on more functional criteria rather than criteria based on deficiency diseases. But under certain conditions—stress, illness, malnutrition, and exercise—we may require a higher intake of certain nutrients. Studies have shown that athletes, in particular, may have to exceed the DRI of many nutrients. Some competitive bodybuilders have estimated their caloric intake to be greater than 6,000 calories a day during the off-season—roughly three times the DRI for the average person (2,000 calories a day for a woman and 2,700 calories a day for a man).
How much you need of each nutrient depends on a number of factors, including your age and sex, how hard you train, and whether you are a competitive or recreational strength trainer, among other considerations. Generally, we find that strength trainers need to eat more carbohydrates and may be wise to supplement with antioxidants and certain minerals. You’ll learn more about these issues as you read this book. If you are trying to gain muscle and lose body fat, eating enough calories and taking in enough nutrients will make the difference between success and failure.
4. Time Your Food and Nutrients
To achieve superb shape and maximum performance, forgo the usual “three squares a day” approach to meals. Active people must fuel themselves throughout the day. That means frequent small meals and snacks every two to three hours.
There are numerous research-confirmed benefits to eating small, frequent meals and snacks. For example, eating multiple meals (four or more a day) increases “thermogenesis,” the production of heat by the body as it digests and absorbs food. During thermogenesis, metabolism steps up, and your body processes nutrients more efficiently. Increased meal frequency also stimulates fat burning, improves the body’s use of protein, preserves lean muscle, and reduces appetite.
Another advantage of multiple meals is mental performance. Regular, timed meals help you think and process information more effectively, increase your attention span, and boost your mood.
So, the question is: What should you eat and when? The key is to time your meals around your workout schedule. In a nutshell, exercise and food intake work in concert to build lean muscle. Table 1.1 provides a step-by-step look at how to time your meals properly and the benefits of doing so. The supplements listed in the table are discussed in detail elsewhere in this book.
5. Stop Megadosing
A writer in a popular bodybuilding magazine once wrote: “Bodybuilders seem to believe that nothing succeeds like excess. That if something is good for you, twice as much is even better. That too much is never enough.”
In many ways, this statement prevails as a motto in strength-training nutrition, particularly when it comes to protein and supplements. Thus, strength trainers and bodybuilders tend to megadose on supplements and foods, thinking that the more they take or eat, the more muscle they’ll build. Nothing could be further from the truth. You require a specific amount of nutrients for muscle building, based on your individual needs. Eat more food than you need and it turns to unsightly fat. And if you megadose on supplements, the surplus is excreted or can be toxic to your body.
From Power Eating-2nd Edition
If you are serious about improving your physique and your strength-training performance, you’ll do everything you can to achieve success. Unfortunately, advice given to strength trainers today is a hodgepodge of fact and fiction. What I’d like to do is separate one from the other by sharing several basic principles with you—principles that all strength trainers can follow to get in shape and achieve their personal best in performance. These principles are the same ones I have advocated for world-class athletes, Olympic contenders, and recreational strength trainers for more than 15 years. Let’s review them here.
1. Vary Your Diet
You have probably admired the physiques of bodybuilders in magazines. And for good reason. They are muscular, well defined, and in near-perfect proportion. The picture of health, right? Wrong—in many cases. The first study I ever conducted investigated the training diets of male competitive bodybuilders. What I found was that they ate a lot of calories, roughly 6,000 calories a day or more. The worrisome finding about this study was that they ate, on average, more than 200 grams of fat a day. That’s almost as much fat as you’d find in two sticks of butter! Short term, that’s enough to make most people sick. Eaten habitually over time, such an enormous amount of fat will lead to heart disease.
Bodybuilding diets, especially precontest diets, tend to be monotonous, with the same foods showing up on the plate day after day. The worst example I’ve ever seen was a bodybuilder who ate chicken, pepper, vinegar, and rice for three days straight while preparing for competition. The problem with such a diet is that it lacks variety, and without a variety of foods, you miss out on loads of nutrients essential for peak health.
Bodybuilders, on average, don’t eat much in the way of fruit, dairy products, and red meat. Fruit, of course, is packed with disease-fighting, health-building antioxidants and phytochemicals. Dairy products supply important nutrients like bone-building calcium. And red meat is an important source of vital minerals like iron and zinc.
When such foods are limited or eliminated, potentially serious deficiencies begin to show up. In studies I’ve done, and in studies others have done, the most common deficiencies observed are those of calcium and zinc, particularly during the precompetition season. In fact, many female bodybuilders have dangerous shortages of these minerals, and they may have the shortages year round. A chronic short supply of calcium increases the risk of osteoporosis, a crippling bone-thinning disease. Although a woman’s need for zinc is small (8 milligrams a day), adequate zinc is an impenetrable line of defense when it comes to protecting women from disease and infection. In short, deficits of these minerals can harm health and performance. But the good news is that some skim milk, red meat, and dark meat poultry added back into the diet will help alleviate some of these problems. A three-ounce portion of lean sirloin beef has about six milligrams of zinc; nonfat, 1, or 2 percent milk has about one milligram of zinc in one eight-ounce glass; and three ounces of dark meat turkey have about four milligrams of zinc.
Another nutritional problem among bodybuilders is fluid restriction. Just before a contest, bodybuilders don’t drink much water, fearing it will inflate their physiques to the point of blurring their muscular definition. Compounding the problem, many bodybuilders take diuretics and laxatives, a practice that flushes more water, plus precious minerals called electrolytes, from the body. Generally, bodybuilders compete in a dehydrated state. In one contest, I saw two people pass out on stage—one because of severe dehydration, the other because of an electrolyte imbalance.
After a competition, bodybuilders tend to go hog wild. There’s nothing wrong with this, as long as it’s a temporary splurge. But such dietary indulgence over a long time can lead to extra fat pounds you surely don’t want.
Bodybuilders, however, do a lot of things right, especially during the training season. They eat several meals throughout the day—a practice that nutritionists recommend to the general public.
2. Follow a High-Energy Diet
It’s well known, too, that most athletes, strength trainers included, don’t eat enough carbohydrates, the primary fuel food. Most athletes eat diets in which only half of their total daily calories come from carbs, when seven to nine grams per kilogram of body weight daily should be consumed as carbs. Lots of bodybuilders practice low-carbohydrate dieting because they believe it promotes faster weight loss. The problem with these diets is that they deplete glycogen, the body’s storage form of carbohydrate. Once available glycogen stores are emptied, the body starts burning protein from tissues (including muscle tissue) to meet its demand for energy. You lose hard-earned muscle as a result.
Fitness-minded people, athletes, and others shy away from carbs, particularly breads and pastas. They think these foods will make them fat—a food myth that is partially responsible for the lopsided proportion of carbohydrate, fat, and protein in strength-training diets, which are typically too high in protein.
Carbs are probably the most important nutrient for losing fat and building muscle. By the time you finish this book, you’ll be convinced of this truth!
3. Consume Enough Calories
A key to feeling energized is to eat the right amount of calories to power your body for hard training. A lack of calories will definitely make you feel like a wet dishrag by the end of your workout.
A diet that provides less than 1,600 calories per day generally does not contain all the vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy, prevent disease, and perform well. Very low-calorie diets followed for longer than two weeks can be hazardous to your health. Nor do they provide the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) of enough of the nutrients needed for good health.
Historically, the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) were the national standard for the amount of carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals we need in our diets to avoid deficiency diseases and maintain growth and health. Recently the DRIs were established to update the RDAs based on more functional criteria rather than criteria based on deficiency diseases. But under certain conditions—stress, illness, malnutrition, and exercise—we may require a higher intake of certain nutrients. Studies have shown that athletes, in particular, may have to exceed the DRI of many nutrients. Some competitive bodybuilders have estimated their caloric intake to be greater than 6,000 calories a day during the off-season—roughly three times the DRI for the average person (2,000 calories a day for a woman and 2,700 calories a day for a man).
How much you need of each nutrient depends on a number of factors, including your age and sex, how hard you train, and whether you are a competitive or recreational strength trainer, among other considerations. Generally, we find that strength trainers need to eat more carbohydrates and may be wise to supplement with antioxidants and certain minerals. You’ll learn more about these issues as you read this book. If you are trying to gain muscle and lose body fat, eating enough calories and taking in enough nutrients will make the difference between success and failure.
4. Time Your Food and Nutrients
To achieve superb shape and maximum performance, forgo the usual “three squares a day” approach to meals. Active people must fuel themselves throughout the day. That means frequent small meals and snacks every two to three hours.
There are numerous research-confirmed benefits to eating small, frequent meals and snacks. For example, eating multiple meals (four or more a day) increases “thermogenesis,” the production of heat by the body as it digests and absorbs food. During thermogenesis, metabolism steps up, and your body processes nutrients more efficiently. Increased meal frequency also stimulates fat burning, improves the body’s use of protein, preserves lean muscle, and reduces appetite.
Another advantage of multiple meals is mental performance. Regular, timed meals help you think and process information more effectively, increase your attention span, and boost your mood.
So, the question is: What should you eat and when? The key is to time your meals around your workout schedule. In a nutshell, exercise and food intake work in concert to build lean muscle. Table 1.1 provides a step-by-step look at how to time your meals properly and the benefits of doing so. The supplements listed in the table are discussed in detail elsewhere in this book.
5. Stop Megadosing
A writer in a popular bodybuilding magazine once wrote: “Bodybuilders seem to believe that nothing succeeds like excess. That if something is good for you, twice as much is even better. That too much is never enough.”
In many ways, this statement prevails as a motto in strength-training nutrition, particularly when it comes to protein and supplements. Thus, strength trainers and bodybuilders tend to megadose on supplements and foods, thinking that the more they take or eat, the more muscle they’ll build. Nothing could be further from the truth. You require a specific amount of nutrients for muscle building, based on your individual needs. Eat more food than you need and it turns to unsightly fat. And if you megadose on supplements, the surplus is excreted or can be toxic to your body.
