Protein for endurance athletes

You have all your nutrition sorted out. You’ve stocked up with gels, you know how to time your electrolyte intake just right, you’ve done the 2 -3 days of carbohydrate loading. You are set to train and race at your optimal capacity...right? Sure, with all that carbohydrate you are restoring your muscle glycogen to some extent and fueling yourself during training, but have you ever wondered why you feel so wrecked for a few days after a big training session or race? Or why your muscles feel so sore and heavy? Why your training performance diminishes the week after a big race?

Have you ever considered that protein could be one of the most important macronutrients for a triathlete?

You must be crazy...I can hear you saying. All I need is energy to train, and that means more carbs. But what about your poor muscles that are broken down to supply your body with essential amino acids during prolonged exercise.

Yes, that’s right...your body catabolizes it’s own muscle to supply you with amino acids for essential body purposes, like your brain function and your immune system. How can you expect the muscle damage to be repaired after training, if you don’t consume enough protein foods like lean meats, chicken, turkey, fish or vegetarian proteins like tofu?

For years now all nutritionists and dieticians have talked about are carbs, carbs, carbs. But please get some protein in too.

Did you know that:

during prolonged exercise up to 15% of the working muscles’ energy can come from protein?
when carbs are consumed with protein, the transfer of the carbs into the muscle becomes more efficient than if you consumed the carbs alone? This effect not only spares muscle glycogen and enhances endurance, but it also STOPS the muscle breakdown that would otherwise create muscle soreness, delayed recovery and injury.

If you want research to prove what I’m telling you...the evidence is all there. Recent studies have shown that a sports drink containing a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein enhanced endurance by 24% over a regular carb drink and 57% more than water alone! Exercise physiologists at Springfield College in Massachusetts reported similar results with a protein-containing sports drink. When they compared the effect of a carb-only sports drink to a carb-protein sports drink, the carb-protein drink won hands down by 20%.

Protein is not only beneficial when consumed during training, but it plays a role in post training and race recovery. Researchers have seen 6 fold increases in protein synthesis of cyclist’ leg muscles when they consume a protein-carb recovery drink. This drink enhanced the repair of muscle protein and sped up recovery time. The effects of the protein are enhanced by the carbs and vice versa. It’s best to consume both carbs and protein after training or racing to stimulate insulin, replenish muscle glycogen faster and speed up the recovery process.

So how does that translate to a plan you can action right now? Here goes:

Any exercise over 90 mins - consume a 4-6:1 ratio drink like High5 4:1 or Endura Optimizer as directed. If it is an ultra distance or extremely hot conditions you may require extra electrolytes such as Nuun Hydration effervescent tablets.
Post exercise - consume 1 serve of Ascend Recovery Protein with 30 – 60g of a carbohydrate blend like Redbak Carb Up or GenR8 Vitargo mixed in water (not milk).
During the day - enhance your recovery by eating 5 -6 protein containing meals (chicken, fish, turkey, lean red meats, eggs, tofu, protein shake or bar).

It’s also essential for any endurance athlete to take a multi vitamin containing B6, B12, folic acid and antioxidants. We recommend BSC Sports Multi, 1 -2 per day.

So there you go, protein really is the key. Go forth and destroy the competition with your secret weapon....protein!

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