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Where’s an athlete to begin? When it comes to nutrition and eating the right foods to build strength, size
and stamina, there seems to be a never ending array of information that’s often conflicting and confusing.
One person makes one claim while another weighs in with a totally different and subjective opinion. Then
there’s the supplement issue. Do they really help? And if so, which ones work and which ones are simply
a bunch of advertising jargon slickly packaged in an effort to take away your hard earned money. These
are some of the many issues facing the young athlete today.
Three hundred pound linemen, baseball players hitting 60-plus homers in a single season, high
school athletes looking as buffed and muscular as top collegiate athletes. How are athletes progressing
so fast and furious? A radical change in nutrition and sports supplementation! Years ago - actually less
then 20 years ago, the collective wisdom among sports professionals; weight training contributed to
slower athletes, a lack of flexibility and impaired performance. These days, the opposite is known, and to
be truthful, nothing enhances athletic performance like weight training coupled with sound nutrition. In
fact, pick any top athlete in any sport and you’ll find he or she spends quite a bit of time in the gym
pumping iron in order to excel in their activity. Furthermore - and this is all new in the last 5-7 years - you’ll
find that athletes are discovering what you eat and how you eat exerts a dramatic effect on athletic
performance, muscle size and muscle strength. So vital is nutrition, many athletes are now considering it
more important than their actual training! A prevailing concept is brewing which says ultimately, when all
is said and done, the foods you eat are just as important as the workouts you perform. Since foods and
proper nutrition are the fuel and building blocks the body needs to power an athlete,
it’s thought that nutrition is becoming the most important component in athletics.
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If you’re a young athlete, training, going to school and working, you’re burning a lot of energy
each day. Just as cars and trucks require gas - another form of energy - to move from point A to point B,
the athletic body needs plenty of energy to keep it going. When you hear the word energy, think calories.
They can be used interchangeably as calories are nothing more than the body’s "gas" - the energy it
needs to move from one place to another. In the young athlete’s case, he or she often needs large and
sometimes huge amounts of energy to improve or support athletic performance. How crucial are calories?
Imagine a large car trying to travel 200 miles on 4 gallons of gas. After 80-100 miles, the gas tank runs
low and the trip becomes an impossibility. The same is true with athletes. If you fail to eat enough calories
or energy, the body will fail to perform, fatigue sets in and athletic performance suffers. So while dieters
are often concerned with curtailing calories in hopes of shedding body fat, athletes must look at calories
through a completely different prism. To move that body, to get it to perform at peak levels of intensity
and to get it to grow and respond to training, you got to make calories an ally, not a despised enemy.
Training Handbook Copyright 2008 by Elite Athlete Training Services, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Carbohydrates have a terrible reputation these days due to low carb and no-carb diets that many resort
to as a quick fix to shed fat. You’ve heard of the lopsided diet ideas. No Bread, no pasta, no potatoes.
Rice or fruit? No again. For the athlete a low carbohydrate diet is athletic suicide. In fact, an adequate
carbohydrate intake plays an important role in athletic performance and muscular growth.
Carbohydrates are an athlete’s main source of calories and serve as fuel for all sorts of athletic events.
What happens when you skimp on this valuable commodity? Fatigue sets in - hardly the hallmark of a
great athlete. Worse, if carbohydrates are too low, the body often chews up its own muscle. Ironic right?
An athlete turns to weight training as a means to bulk up or add size, yet without carbohydrates - or
enough of them - the body ends up tearing down and burning up its existing muscle mass. That’s where
protein comes into the picture. When carbohydrate reserves start to dwindle, protein needs increase.
Additional protein helps protect an athlete from losing muscle mass. Rather than chew up its own muscle,
supplying the body with more protein helps prevent a loss of muscle mass.
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Carbohydrates are found in everything from the sugar you add to your coffee to bread, yams, rice
and fruit. What’s the basic difference between the carbs in each of these foods? For the active athlete, it
boils down to the vitamin, mineral and fiber content. Sure muffins, bagels and fat free ice cream are a
decent source of carbohydrates, but they have fewer vitamins, minerals and fiber than more natural
sources of carbohydrates such as fruit, yams, sweet potatoes, brown rice, potatoes and whole grains.
While the first rule of carb consumption is "to eat enough" the second rule is to - for the most part
- consume mostly natural sources. What They Do: When an athlete eats a bagel, rice, or pasta, it digests
into a small unit of energy called glucose. In turn, glucose powers your training. It’s the fuel or energy
used to give you that ‘go’ in the gym. Besides providing fuel = be it weight training, sprinting and running -
carbohydrates work with protein to put your body in an anabolic or growth state. Anabolism - which
means - "to grow, to get bigger & stronger"- is dependent on carbohydrates. Carbohydrate foods help
support growth by proving the body with the calories and energy to initiate recovery. Secondly,
carbohydrates help protein "work better." Yes, protein builds muscle - that’s a reason athletes love protein
powders = yet, carbohydrates help protein foods reach your muscles. As we’ll see, carbohydrates and
protein work together and the ideal nutrition plan includes copious amounts of both.
Protein foods are essentially "builders", serving as the backbone and key ingredient for muscle repair and
growth. Make no mistake, an athlete who fails to get enough protein simply will not grow nor reach his or
her full athletic potential. That’s why athletes turn to protein powders, meal replacement packets and
nutrition bars. They’re quick and easy to consume and provide a near fat-free source of muscle
supporting protein.
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Though protein is found in small amounts in many foods, athletes look to "animal derived" foods like fowl,
meat, low fat dairy, eggs, egg whites and fish. These foods contain a full spectrum of essential amino
acids required for muscle growth and repair. Amino acids are the "building blocks" found in protein foods
and they do just that - they build muscle. The athlete hoping to build his or her body needs more protein
than the inactive individual. Plus, the harder you hit the weights to improve your strength and size, the
more you’ll need. While carbohydrates are certainly an important aspect of sports nutrition, make no
mistake, the body will fail to grow, to become bigger and stronger with insufficient protein. Protein is an
essential nutrient and the most important element in muscle repair. Failing to eat enough will not only
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result in a failure to grow, but will set off a cascade of undesirable events leading to impaired athletic
performance. Called "overtraining" it’s a state of extreme fatigue which short-circuits athletic performance
and promotes a loss of muscle. Eating the right amount of protein can keep the body well nourished with
its building blocks - amino acids - helping the athlete to stay in a growth state while avoiding overtraining.
Besides building the body, amino acids prevent a loss in muscle mass in yet another way. As glycogen
stores - the body’s storage reserves of carbohydrates fall, the body begins to burn amino acids. If protein
intake is insufficient, lower glycogen stores set off a chain of events that cause muscle breakdown and
loss! Essentially, muscles which are made up of amino acids are torn down and burned as fuel. Providing
your body with enough protein each day will ensure muscles are rarely - if ever -burned, even if glycogen
levels plummet.
Of the ‘big 3 nutrients’ carbohydrates, protein and fat, one could say carbohydrates and protein
work as a team to help the young athlete perform and excel - and to build muscle. Carbohydrates fuel the
body enabling the athlete to pay his dues in the gym or on the field while protein is used to build the body.
Remember, if you miss out on eating enough carbohydrates, you’ll lack energy and put your muscles at
risk. A low carbohydrate intake can promote a loss of muscle mass. On the flip side, when carbohydrates
intake remains high, not only does the athlete have plenty of energy to train and work hard, but the
carbohydrate intake virtually assures amino acids from protein will support muscle growth. Where does
that leave dietary fat? It’s part of the energy equation. Similar to carbohydrates, dietary fat supplies
energy and a positive energy balance - eating more calories than your body burns off each day - is
essential in helping an athlete perform at peak levels of intensity while supporting the ability to add new
muscle and strength.
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Athletes, especially younger athletes like to talk about the big 3 nutrients; carbohydrates, protein
and fat. It’s common locker room discussion these days. Lost in the conversation is the importance of
vitamins and minerals. Vitamins and minerals are found in common protein and carbohydrate foods. For
example, B vitamins and minerals such as zinc and iron are found in meat and chicken, while potassium
and vitamin C are common to potatoes. Their importance; they participate in thousands of processes that
help maintain one’s health. On a more basic level, vitamins and minerals are akin to spark plugs; they
help harness the energy from food and help the body make use of amino acids found in protein. The
better way to obtain vitamins and minerals; by eating the widest variety of foods possible as different
foods have different types and amounts of vitamins and minerals. Don’t just stick to chicken all the time,
eat a variety of protein - beef, turkey, eggs, milk and fish. Avoid eating the same fruit each day. Mix it up.
Sometimes replace bananas with apples or a glass of orange juice. And give other fruit a try such as
melons, grapes, cherries and blueberries. Point is; variety yields an entire spectrum of nutrients not
obtained from eating the same foods day in and day out.
Here’s the tricky part. In general, the younger you are, greater your energy demands. That’s because the
metabolic rate -the total calories or energy one needs each day - varies quite a bit. Check out a newborn
or toddler. They’re constantly drinking milk or eating. Did you ever stop and think a single bottle of milk
can supply 150 calories with balanced amounts of carbohydrates, protein and fat. Imagine 5-6 bottles a
day equally 750-900 calories. While it might not sound like many calories, for a baby that’s the equivalent
of a 150 pound athlete eating 5400 calories a day! The other end of the life spectrum; the 70 year old
might eat as little as 1200-1500 calories daily. The reason for the wide variance - as we age we need less
fuel each day. So, the young athlete will need more calories than probably any other time in his life. In
addition, the level of activity each day effects how many calories you need. Super active with sports and
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exercise; you’ll need to meet those demands with added calories. In order to perform, to hit your peak,
you need to fuel your body. You need food and lots of it.
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Sorry mom. The 3 square meals a day rule simply will not suffice for the young brute hitting the
gym and engaging in his favorite sport. Though three squares are OK for the inactive individual, the
athlete’s requirement for calories is so high, it presents a unique conundrum. If he or she were to resort to
3 huge meals, the result may likely be insufficient absorption, bloating or intestinal gas. Furthermore,
three large meals could possibly contribute to an addition in body fat as there is a prevailing idea that
when an individual eats too much at one sitting - all at one meal - some of those calories and energy
gets deposited as body fat. Athletes looking to excel want a lean bulked up physique lacking unnecessary
body fat. The solution to 3 squares? Five to six blocks. Meaning; take 5 to 6 blocks of time each day to
replenish your body with a balanced amount of energy yielding carbohydrates, muscle supporting protein
and small amounts of dietary fat. The 5 to 6 meals per day approach is a radical overhaul from the 3
square approach, yet is the single most important factor that helps an athlete keep his or her body fueled
and energized to the max, while limiting the build up of unwanted body fat.
While food is the basis for sound sports nutrition, supplements play a strong role in two ways.
Due to the young athlete’s great demands for energy, obtaining all the carbohydrates and protein one
needs every day - day in and day out - can pose quite a challenge. That’s where supplementation comes
in. Sport drinks, weight gain powders, meal replacements and energy bars that are dense in
carbohydrates allow the young athlete to fuel up without having to eat a lot of carbohydrates foods. The
on-the-go lifestyle of many young people can make the 5 to 6 meal a day strategy seem overwhelming
and nearly impossible. Thus, carbohydrate supplementation via drinks is a viable alternative to round the
clock eating. The other barrier to eating 5-6 times a day is the protein issue. We learned protein foods are
derived from animal sources such as meat, fish, chicken turkey and low fat dairy products. Aiming for 5 to
6 meals a day with protein at each meal is the ideal, yet putting these ideals into practice can be difficult.
After all, what young athlete - no matter how serious his or her ambition - wants to carry around a chicken
breast or a piece of fish, attempting to stick to a perfect nutrition plan? Very few. Here, protein powders
offer quite an advantage. First, they’re easy to absorb. While the digestive system has to work fairly hard
to break chicken, meat, fish and turkey into the raw building blocks called amino acids, powders are
much easier to digest and absorb. It’s thought easier to digest and absorb proteins are potentially better
sources of protein that those that are harder to digest. Certainly, it makes reaching your daily protein goal
a whole lot easier. Toting about a couple protein drinks mixed with cold water and chopped ice ensures
the young athlete will neither miss one of his or her 5 to 6 meals each day. Powders and especially
powders known as Meal Replacement Packets contain added nutrients – a full array of vitamins and
minerals an active athlete needs for peak performance.
Pretty common question; "Should I take supplements or just follow a good diet." The answer;
both. Those hoping to "hit their peak" should start with a sound nutrition plan designed with these
guidelines: high carbohydrate to fulfill energy needs, adequate protein for muscle repair and growth, with
low to moderate amounts of fat. Five to 6 meals a day is a must if serious progress is the goal and
creatine and glutamine help support a sound diet by adding extra amounts of these naturally occurring
substances. That said, ill-informed athletes sometimes spend a fortune on all kinds of different
supplements promising miraculous results. Truth be told - supplements like creatine, glutamine, sports
drinks and protein work together with a sound diet. Take away practical nutrition - that is, real food - and
all the supplements in the world will be a futile attempt to build a stronger and faster athlete. Likewise, a
sound diet that lacks the turbo-boost of easy to digest powders, sports drinks, creatine and glutamine is
not as effective as taking advantage of both.
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