Once in a blue moon a distance or endurance athlete (contra fortitudo) will approach me for
questions or for training programs. Like a timid dear they are very slow when
approaching my advice and counsel. I don’t know why, but even with our modern
age of science and research distance runners avoid weight rooms like hillbillys
avoid the dentist. My guess is that runner magazines keep pumping out silly
articles based on opinion. The fact that I get any kind of attention from long
legged athletes is a positive sign that the truth is getting out there. That
being said, not enough distance runners (or even mid distance) spend quality
time improving the force and power production of their, normally, very mild
muscles.
On top of the lack of iron being moved by road warriors, a
lack of proper nutrition is rampant among them. CARBS! All a runner needs is a
healthy amount of carbs, right? True, they do need sufficient blood glucose and
muscle glycogen (fuel) to kick it into the next gear, they also need plenty of
fat (low intensity fuel) and protein (muscle retaining and building) to create
a complete package.
We’ve all heard of carbo-loading. Whether you heard a hefty
man weighing 3-hundo joke about it at the golden corral, or a serious marathon
runner talk about their pre-race feeding you’ve had to have heard about it. But
there’s more to carbohydrate storage than just eating a whale-sized amount of
them. Let me introduce you to a runner’s secret and neglected friend: Protein.
Amongst things like promote muscle growth and recovery,
protein has been shown to do marvelous things with carbohydrates. When
carbohydrate-protein feedings where studied among Type II diabetics, like in
this study (Mary C Gannon 2003), blood glucose levels were more controlled and
less spastic. This hints at the fact that protein has some kind of complimentary
effect on how the body handles carbohydrates. In another study (Zawadzki 1992)
protein was shown to improve muscle glycogen storage after a workout – as in
protein puts the carbohydrates in the muscle more efficiently and faster. In
yet another study (Michael J Saunders 2004) no drink, carbohydrate drinks, or
protein plus carbohydrate drinks were consumed during aerobic exercise. The protein
plus carbohydrate drinks reduced time to fatigue and reduced muscle damage the
most when compared to all of the other drink combinations. Guess what, another
author (Eric S. Niles 2001) showed that protein+carbohydrate beverages consumed
after high intensity exercise improved glycogen storage and it also improved
performance in exercise done later that same day. That means whether you’re
sprinting miles or grinding through two a days, protein-carbohydrate drinks are
a must go.
The list literally goes on forever. Protein-carbohydrate
consumption is unquestionably a solid combination for muscle glycogen
improvement. It’s just an added bonus that it may also improve performance.
However, many runners will friend-zone protein for the same reasons they avoid
the gym.
“I don’t want to gain too much muscle, it will make me
heavy, I don’t want to be fat, etc. etc. etc.” Here is the truth behind all of
this. Protein will promote protein synthesis, but it will not turn you into the
hulk. Taking 25 grams of whey protein is not the equivalent to shooting
steroids for the past 10 years. For endurance athletes, gaining weight can be a
win lose situation. When a person with the same cardiac output becomes heavier
their VO2 max decreases. That being said more muscle mass can result in more
force and power production resulting in faster sprint speeds. All of that
information is mute though when we realize that protein is the leanest of all
calories (25% of protein calories are used to digest and process protein),
making weight gain on lean proteins very hard. As for making you fat, protein
is turned into glucose if it’s not used (gluconeogenesis), and distance runners
burn plenty of calories. All in all, there is literally NO REASON NOT TO TAKE PROTEIN IF YOU’RE A DISTANCE OR MIDDISTANCE
RUNNER.
Can you hear me loud and clear?
As a runner you should aim to consume 60-70% of your
calories from carbohydrates (4-5 grams per lb bodyweight). But you should also
want to consume ~20% of your calories from protein (~1 gram per lb bodyweight).
The remaining 10%– 20% should come from fat. [*NOTE: carbohydrate and fat
levels should alter between training intensities and seasons]. If I haven’t convinced
you to add more protein to your training nutrition then I don’t know what will
(maybe a flashy add in a runners magazine?). The science is there, you just have
to use it!
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