Last Friday, I made a last minute decision to go up to Loughborough University to the Fit Pro convention (www.fitpro.com), a meeting of some of the leading international names in sports specific fitness, holistic exercise and nutrition.
It involved an early 5am start and bleary eyed driving but it was well worth the effort.
I met with Nick Morgan who is a sport scientist at The Lucozade Sport Science Acamdemy (http://www.lucozade.com/sport/science/about/LSSATeam.aspx) who talked about the impact optimal nutrition can have on physiological adaption.
In short, the fact that training break down the muscle fibres so if you get the right amount of protein, you will see the best results.
This doesn't have to mean gulping down protein shakes and spending a fortune on bars as you can get all this from food sources. But if you are training hard as triathlete Michelle Bletso (who was at Fitpro), then shakes and supplements can be the only way. Once a Ironman competitor, Michelle has just qualified to race in the European Championshis at Olympic distance.
Her training comprises of: 2 x 6k swims, bike interval/brick sessions, a 3hr bike rid and 3 x runs comprisinga base build and 2 interval sessions.That's a week. Not surprisingly, her calorie intake is high (over 4000) and in order to eat enough, she has to supplement or face having to graze all day. Plus, the first hour straight after training is when you need to get the food in for maximum repair. For this situation protein shakes seem like a sensible choice.
So, if you're going to have protein supplements what should you look out for? It shold contain the eight amino acids, the most signifcantbeing leucine. This acts as a trigger mechanism for protein synthesis although it won't work alone. Of all the protein supplements available, Whey Protein contains the best source at 14%.
Phew, god that was a serious posting!
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