Training Volume*
Energy From Workout Drinks**
0 hours of training (day off)
Baseline intake + 0 extra calories
1 hour of training
Baseline intake + 180 extra calories
2 hours of training
Baseline intake + 360 extra calories
3 hours of training
Baseline intake + 540 extra calories
4 hours of training
Baseline intake + 720 extra calories
*Of course, intensity of training can also be taken into account, however this is beyond the scope of this article and, to be honest, this level of detail isn't necessary for a large percentage of my athletes.
**These calorie calculations assume the athlete is using the baseline recommendation of 30g carbs and 15g protein per hour of training.
Finally, another question I'm often asked is this:
"This applies only to strength and power athletes, right? After all, everyone knows endurance athletes shouldn't eat all that protein."
Once again, nonsense. This information is applicable to all types of hard training high performance athletes. In fact, these recommendations were derived from a combination of a) my PhD studies, done with endurance cyclists and triathletes, b) my early coaching work with the Canadian National Cross Country Ski Team, and c) my early coaching work with the US National Bobsled Team.
And these recommendations continue to work with all my athletes — from short burst, speed/power athletes (the Spike Cycling Team and Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton) to intermittent, anaerobic athletes (The Toronto Maple Leafs), to long duration cyclists and skiers (Cross Country Canada).
Wrap Up and My Challenge to You
In the end, it's important to recognize that workout nutrition is an important piece of the high performance puzzle. Drinking nothing during training is a mistake of colossal proportions so don't be a buffoon and skip the workout drinks. Drinking water-only is marginally better but certainly very far from optimal. Adding carbs to that water is better, yet it also has its limitations.
The absolute best way to optimize your workout nutritional intake is to ingest a workout drink containing protein and carbohydrate. For all the reasons above, this type of workout nutrition can take your game to the next level.
If you're looking for an example of such a drink, the best on the market is one I helped develop while I was a PhD student - Biotest Surge.
Surge is a product that contains both fast-digesting, hydrolyzed protein (this is faster digesting and better tolerated than even whey protein isolate) and fast digesting carbohydrate.
Now, at this point, I'd like to close out this article with a challenge to you. Here's the deal — if you're an athlete or a coach who's already down with optimal workout nutrition, I want you to help me spread the word. Seriously, don't be selfish; don't keep this information locked away in the vault. Send this article to your friends, colleagues, and athletes.
Simply copy the following web address and paste it into an email that you're going to send to absolutely everyone who can benefit from this information.
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1173228
Seriously, help pull them out of the primordial slime; help them graduate from the 3rd grade and get working on their advanced degree. They'll certainly thank you for it. And, as a side benefit, you'll be making my life much easier. After all, it'll be one less thing that I'll eventually have to teach them.
About The Author
Dr. John Berardi, CSCS, faculty member at the University of Texas, is a world renowned author, speaker, and consultant to at least a dozen elite athletic programs. For more information about Dr Berardi and his nutrition programs for both athletes and recreational exercisers, check out
www.precisionnutrition.com.
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