Furthermore, many athletes have a goal to continually increase their strength, power and thus muscle mass, so further attention to nutrition is required. This article will look at the key dietary requirements for strength and power athletes, both in preparation and training for events.

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All you need to do to attend is click here to register your free spot. Many people believe strength and power to be of the same type of physical fitness, but it is not the same.

Strength is the ability of a muscle or muscle group to generate force. Strength is purely a measure of how much weight can be successfully lifted by an athlete.

Power is the ability of a muscle or muscle group to generate force at high movement speeds. Instead of maximal weight, power is the ability to run, throw, and quickly change direction. In this article, strength and power athletes are those who are involved in explosive exercise, from track and field events to weight training and wrestling.

Essentially, strength and power athletes require near maximal muscle force production. We described in previous articles how ATP is required for nearly every action in the body; it is therefore essential to all athletic endeavors.

We use ATP at all times of the day, including exercise. Our ATP stores are created from nutrients and stored as energy in the body. When it comes to high energy and intense exercise, the body will be using the ATP-PCr pathway for energy transfer.

This ATP-Pcr pathway provides energy transfer when energy demands suddenly increase. This process which uses stores of creatine phosphate in the muscle, is able to transfer energy very quickly.

However due to limited stores, this energy output is very short lived. Strength and power athletes will also use another anaerobic energy supply, the glycolytic pathway, when ATP-PCr is depleted.

This pathway has a higher capacity as it uses glucose molecules and glycerol to transfer energy. It can provide energy for about 80 seconds before being maxed out. Strength and power athletes primary use the ATP-PCr and glycotic system during their training, placing high nutrient and energy demands on these energy transfer processes.

During the recovery period, the aerobic energy system replenishes ATP and CP levels, which recharges the phosphagen system and delaying onset of fatigue.

Energy requirements, as for all athletes are of prime importance, and they must at least be matched to energy in vs. energy out. Unlike endurance or physique athletes there is no single macronutrient more important for strength and power athletes, and aside from a greater caloric intake, macronutrient breakdown are similar to that of healthy non- athletes.

Energy needs are based on multiple factors, including age, gender, body mass and sport specific activity levels. We therefore calculate these needs in the same manner as before.

Example: Jack is a 32 year old strongman who trains 6 days a week using combination of weight training, sprints and event training each week.

His weight is pounds and his goal is to increase athletic performance while gaining lean bodyweight. We therefore need to calculate his basal metabolic rate BMR , as in his daily energy expenditure in calories without any contribution from exercise or digestion:.

We can do this using the below calculation:. Just like Jack, many strength and power athletes will have periods of time when they wish to increase strength and possible weight. Tissue growth of approx. Because 1 pound of muscle weighs grams, an estimate of total calories needed to produce 1 pound of muscle is a range of calories.

In general, no more than pounds of weight gain is recommended per month half this for females. Therefore an athlete would need to consume approx. Or calories extra for a 4 pound lean weigh gain. It should be noted that modest increases should be made, and athletes must be patient with the muscle building process.

The body can only construct so much lean muscle tissue at a time, so further excess calories will likely only be stored as body fat.

This can be done in the same manner used from weight management and physique athletes, and a kcals daily reduction below their total daily energy expenditure is advised.

This will see a reduction of 1 pound fat loss per week the ideal. Strength and power athletes appear to do well by constantly sticking to the same caloric intake, similar to weight management clients.

Lie endurance athletes, for intense exercise sessions, such as competition, daily, energy intake may need to be significantly increased, for example and activity level of can be used to compensate the energy demands for this type of exercise.

These above average energy demands for these athletes make for a high volume of daily calories, which is commonly their biggest nutritional downfall. Want to learn the proven nutrition coaching strategies of elite trainers? Get access the exact nutrition coaching methodologies with this workshop!

Due to the intensive and excessive practice of strength and power exercises they are very demanding on the body. This leads to the breakdown of muscle tissue, which results in microscopic tears in the muscle that require repair and rebuilding. It is protein, or more specifically, amino acids that are synthesized by the body or from nutrients that are involved in the repairing phase.

Therefore strength and power athletes require higher protein intake that the average person. Insufficient protein intake will lead to suboptimal improvements that many athletes seek, such as recovery, energy levels and performance.

Adequate protein intake for these athletes is a must to ensure constant recovery from their training. Amino acids are critical to maximizing muscle protein synthesis MPS and therefore important to muscular growth and development.

Research suggests that 1. Of course, this provides a broad range of possibilities for the athlete. This usually results in approx. It can be difficult to state a more specific intake, as each athlete will be different and must be assessed and monitored as an individual.

It is important to find the ideal intake with the athlete as muscle growth and development are largely caused by enhanced MPS and a positive nitrogen balance. Common practice for many athletes is to consume excessive amounts of protein daily in order to ensure they are reaping all the benefits.

This has diminishing returns as once they hit a peak of protein assimilation; additional protein will not be used for building muscle. Training is a stimulus for increasing strength and power while nutrition simply supports this.

Too mush protein results in an unbalanced diet and a possible reduction in performance. Excess protein levels can also result in greater urine production, thus causing more fluid to be excreted by the body, possible leading to dehydration.

A high quality and complete protein will supply all 22 amino acids to the body. Sources such as diary, eggs, meat, fish and protein supplements when required. This will have a significant effect on MPS too and thus strength and mass results.

Just like for all athletes carbs will play a key role in the diet for strength and power athletes. Due to the nature of their exercise, anaerobic metabolism requires glycogen for energy. Insufficient glucose from the diet will mean reduced glycogen stores in the muscle which can lead to decreased athletic performance.

Some athletes will perform very short yet intense activity eg. sprints, while other will conduct longer lasting anaerobic exercise lasting 30 seconds plus. Although all of these activities will use glycogen as primary fuel source, the rate of depletion of it depends on the length of time for the exercise.

Strongmen, bodybuilders or rugby players will therefore need higher levels of carbohydrates than say a power lifter or sprinter, due to the increased length of their activity.

For those athletes undertaking exercise that lasts less than 30 seconds at a time e. sprinter, more moderate carb consumption on a daily basis is sound practice. Greater carb consumption will be needed for athletes training more often.

Aside from glycogen replenishment, strength and power athletes will see strength and size benefits from having crabs in the diet. Carbs stimulate insulin production, which is considered an anabolic hormone. By driving nutrients into cells, we see a metabolic process of activity that results in tissue repair or growth.

Insulin is a hormone that stimulates anabolism. As a result, with adequate amounts of carbs within a balanced diet and with appropriate nutrition for strength training , athletes will see greater responses in muscle recovery and growth.

Many athletes will do well with grams per kg in weight. This should still always relate and conform to the overall energy balance to maintain a healthy macronutrient spit for the athlete. For example, Jack our strongman: ÷ 2. To provide Jack with a balanced diet, the higher end of these recommendations could not be used anyway.

Therefore you should typically use carb intake as a percentage of daily energy requirements, but the higher end of the spectrum may apply in certain athletes. Always assess each client on an individual basis and be prepared to adjust this daily intake based on feedback and results. The type of carbohydrates consumed should also be considered.

The glycemic index ranks carb foods accordingly to blood glucose response after intake. Therefore lower GI foods, such as oats, whole grains, fruits and vegetables should be the bulk of carb intake during the day.

For a more rapid supply of glucose, higher GI foods would appear most beneficial around training e. white rice, potatoes and carb supplements. The anaerobic nature of strength and power activates requires for little fat to be utilized by the athletes.

This means it can make up a smaller percentage of the diet. There exist 20 different amino acids, of which 11 are non-essential, meaning they do not have to be obtained in the diet since the body can make them from other compounds, and 9 which are essential, meaning they must be obtained through the diet.

It is these essential amino acids that are necessary for various biochemical processes within the body, but specifically for tissue growth and repair. Bottom line: Without the appropriate intake of dietary protein, repairing damaged tissue and maximizing strength and power along with the adaptations to exercise and training cannot occur.

For example: I am lbs. The 1. Please understand that I am not trying to attack them. I just believe that the research backing a high protein diet must not be ignored.

A specific study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology and conducted by Tarnopolskyet. looking at the protein requirements of power athletes showed that in order to maintain a positive nitrogen balance ingesting enough protein for tissue repair and growth , these subjects had to ingest 1.

Both the National Academy of Sciences and the Harvard School of Public Health conclude in their reviews of literature on high protein ingestion that this type of diet does not increase risk for coronary heart disease.

Along with that, no study has ever shown or reported either kidney or liver damage in individuals who begin a high protein diet with properly functioning kidneys and liver. High protein intake was once thought to weaken bones since calcium is needed to buffer acidity associated with protein metabolism; however, we now understand that phosphate in protein rich foods negates the need to pull calcium from bones, and there is thus a high correlation between bone strength and protein intake.

I do want to dedicate an entire paragraph to the next issue: Hydration. Since protein contains nitrogen, and this dietary nitrogen is processed via the urea cycle and then removed via the urinary system, it is very important to monitor hydration levels when on a high protein diet.

Be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day to help maintain both a proper hydration status as well as healthy urinary system. Taking grams of protein in 1 sitting would not be a very wise thing for me to do since the body cannot adequately utilize that much at a time.

I would be much better off to spread my protein intake throughout the day. Some say 10 grams or less can be fully utilized per hour. Others say the body is so good at adapting to what is ingested, that double or triple that can be digested and utilized per hour.

My suggestion is to spread it out in approximately gram chunks throughout the day, beginning with breakfast as soon as you can upon waking, and right before you go to bed to maximize recovery.

Probably the most important aspect of nutrient timing deals with the time around your training session. Research is quite clear that ingestion of grams immediately before, immediately after, or both before and after physical activity results in greater muscle protein synthesis as well as strength and power gains.

A specific study conducted by Anderson et. published in the journal Metabolism compared young men who supplemented 25 grams of protein before and after strength training to a group who supplemented 25 grams of carbohydrate before and after strength training.

So the total amount of protein is very important…but even more important is when you get it. Whether its right before or right after…just make sure you get it! Tarnopolsky, M. Evaluation of protein requirements for trained strength athletes. Journal of Applied Physiology. Anderson, L. The effect of resistance training combined with timed ingestion of protein on muscle fiber size and muscle strength.

Ziegenfuss, T. Antonio, D. Kalman, J. Stout, M.