When
discussing the role of nutrition in recovery from training for both athletes
and members of the general public it’s important to first establish the primary
goals of the individual and understand that every individual will respond to
specific strategies in their own way. It’s also important to understand that
fatigue can manifest itself in more than one way and if we don’t understand the
origin of the individual’s fatigue we will likely fall short in our attempt of achieving
optimal recovery.
According
Bishop, Jones, and Woods (2008) perturbed homeostasis in the soft tissues can
be referred to as peripheral fatigue. This origin of fatigue is a result of
tissue damage that has left the muscle biochemically or mechanically incapable
of responding as effectively as it does in its optimal state. This is likely
the mechanism of fatigue that can be best modulated through properly prescribed
dietary interventions and strategies.
The second
hypothesized, and in my opinion, the most often overlooked origin of fatigue is
known as central fatigue, which suggests that the brain is constantly acting as
a protective mechanism to prevent excessive damage to the muscles (Bishop et
al., 2008). It’s important to note that central fatigue is widely recognized as
the chief mechanism in training recovery, so even if we are implementing all
the right dietary strategies, our recovery will still be less than optimal if
we aren’t providing our central nervous system with the rest that it needs to
fully recover.
When
explaining this to athletes I’ve found it useful to refer to our musculoskeletal
system as our “hardware” and our central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
as our “software.” Explaining that the hardware will always be governed by the
software, helps them to conceptualize the key role that sleep quantity and
quality play in optimal recovery from training. I’ve found it useful to explain
that sleep is akin to re-booting your computer each day while practices like
meditation and mindfulness are akin to ensuring the proper upgrades are
discovered and downloaded. I mention the importance of recovery from central fatigue
to establish that, no matter the precision of our dietary recovery strategies,
they alone will not provide us with optimal recovery from intense bouts of
training and competition.
Long term
recovery from peripheral fatigue requires that our nutrition strategies are
well formulated and adhered to. If the individual’s goal is to recover from a
specific training stimulus and increase their stores of fat-free muscle mass
(FFM), then their dietary strategies must ensure that they undergo muscle
protein synthesis (MPS) at a higher rate than muscle protein degradation (MPD).
Tipton and Wolfe (2001) showed that resistance exercise improves muscle protein
balance, but in the absence of food intake, the balance will remain negative
(catabolic). This means that if you fail to consume sufficient protein prior to
resistance training you may actually lose muscle mass (MPD). Muscle protein’s
metabolic response to a bout of resistance exercise can last 24-48 hours (Tipton
& Wolfe, 2001) so any dietary strategies implemented in that window can
have an impact on your body’s ability to pack on muscle. This evidence suggests
to me that the “anabolic window” a number of individuals are so eager to
discuss while waiting to perform their next set of bench press at your local YMCA
is probably not as important as they’d like you to think. Aragon and Schoenfeld
(2013) shine light on the over-reaction to the timing of protein ingestion in
their 2013 paper by writing:
“If
protein is delivered within particularly large mixed-meals (which are
inherently more anticatabolic), a case can be made for lengthening the [feeding
window] to 5–6 hours. This strategy covers the hypothetical timing benefits
while allowing significant flexibility in the length of the feeding windows
before and after training. Specific timing within this general framework would
vary depending on individual preference and tolerance, as well as exercise
duration. One of many possible examples involving a 60- minute resistance
training bout could have up to 90- minute feeding windows on both sides of the
bout, given central placement between the meals. In contrast, bouts exceeding
typical duration would default to shorter feeding windows if the 3–4 hour pre-
to post-exercise meal interval is maintained. Shifting the training session
closer to the pre- or post-exercise meal should be dictated by personal
preference, tolerance, and lifestyle/ scheduling constraints”
Aragon and
Schoenfeld (2013) go on to suggest that 20-40 g (depending on your age) of
protein ingestion should suffice to maximize the acute anabolic response
necessary to achieve muscle hypertrophy. I think we should all be able to
conceptualize with the availability of this data that consistent and sufficient
protein intake is required if an athlete wishes to accumulate fat free muscle mass,
but the timing of the protein intake can be highly variable with little to no detrimental
effects.
My current
recommendations for athletes attempting to accumulate body mass in the form of
fat free muscle mass are:
1.
Consume
.5 gram of protein per pound of your bodyweight daily.
2.
Get
at least 75% of your protein intake from real foods. Learning to properly
prepare a variety of animal products (sorry vegans) makes this relatively
simple.
3.
Supplement
with whey protein throughout the day if necessary.
4.
Don’t
worry about the timing of your consumption, worry about being consistent.
5.
Stop
carrying your blender bottle around the weight room and start wearing shirts
with sleeves. You look stupid.
References
Aragon,
A.A., Schoenfeld, B.J. (2013) Nutrient timing revisited: Is there a
post-exercise anabolic window? Journal of
the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 10(5), 1-11.
Bishop,
P.A., Jones, E., Woods, K.A. (2008) Recovery from training: A brief review. Journal of Strength and Conditioning
Research, 22(3), 1015-1024.
Tipton,
K.D., Wolfe, R.R. (2001) Exercise, protein metabolism, and muscle growth. Interntional
Journal of Sports Nutrition. 11(1),
109-132.
