We all want it. The lean muscle, the trim midline, and to be smashing in the gym. As we have discussed extensively, its not all made in the training environment or the competition floor, its built in the kitchen. Protein intake has a huge impact on the body composition you want and the performance you deserve. But the question always arises, "How much do I need?" & "When should I eat it?". In the pursuit of greatness, science has devoted a lot of time to optimizing the amount and timing of your protein intake. I have deciphered many studies and have come to 3 easy to follow strategies for Protein consumption.
But how does the meat you eat or whey you drink actually make it to your muscles? ( Of course you are going to get some background on the digestive processor my blog!!) The protein you intake first makes its way through the digestive process in the stomach. The stomach environment is one akin to the fires of a volcano. Stomach acid and the digestive enzyme, peptin first break the chemical bonds of the proteins and make it more easily pliable as it passes into your small intestine. Once the protein has passed into the intestine, the pancreas fires its digestive enzymes at the broken down protein which extracts all amino acids that move into the blood stream and are delivered to the muscles. The process happens seamlessly if all nutritional points are met; your GUT bacteria are on point, fibers a large part of your diet, and you dont consume destructive oils, trans fats and inflammatory grains. Just sayin, if you want gains... you better be eating right homie!
So your diet is good to go right? Well then you are ready to get on the gain train. We first need to up our protein intake by up to 30% during heavy training or during bouts of competition. The price the muscles pay during training is real. Just as we go hunting through the refrigerator when we are hungry, so does your muscles when they have been trained. Keeping protein in your system immediately after sessions will ensure the anabolic damage to muscle will be minimal. Carbohydrates and fat work as fuel to synthesize protein as well as muscle repair during rest periods. Increasing protein intake helps burn fat and develops better body composition secondary to maintaining muscle mass .
Secondly, its all about timing. As I alluded to it previously, making sure your body has the nutrients it needs at the TIME it needs them is internal to maintaining and increasing muscle mass. Across the board, Bodybuilders are the most dialed in this regard. When you look at a professional bodybuilder it is hard to argue with their routine of nutrient timing. They train, they eat... sometimes they eat while they train probably! Most other sports and arduous physical professions are set up to run athletes at a deficit before they are allowed to fuel the muscles. I remember as a firefighter I would be doing grueling work for hours with no breaks and in turn I lost muscle mass and got skinny as shit! In training we have the power to control our protein intake. Having 30 g of a nutrient dense protein up to 1.5 hours before training is optimal. Consuming 30g of a Whey protein post workout (food allergies adjust as necessary to plant based) delivers a fast digesting protein to the small intestine that is quickly taken up by muscles.
When you are not on or around training time, Protein intake should occur every 3-5 hours. If developing Lean muscle mass is a goal, I have seen great success with more frequent meals (every 3 hours) where the key is more about consistency rather than big meals with large amount of protein. There is a lot of back and forth about just how much protein your body can actually consume at one time. Being mindful of a 30g protein meal stays within the digestible amount.
Finally, working in a Caesin protein to your pre sleep routine has been shown to do a number of things to body composition as well as building muscle mass. As I brought up before, Protein requires the body to boost its metabolism in order to break it down through the digestive system. The process is called the "thermogenic effect" and is a good way to ensure that fat burning happens while your body is recovering at night. Casein protein is like a slow drip of protein during sleep. Unlike Whey, Casein hits the stomach and congeals forming almost curd like forms. The Peptin and other digestive enzymes take a long time to break it down and slowly feed it into the blood stream. Sleep is an incredible process of repair and the slow release of protein all night can yield great results since the muscles and other organs are fueled appropriately. If you are messing around with intermittent fasting, your body will respond well during times of restriction during double the fat if there is protein to work on as well as the normal metabolic processes that require fat for fuel!
Looking good and preforming at your peak levels take protein. Strategizing about how and when to consume the protein may take a little outside the box thinking. These simple tips can help you on the way to achieving your goals. Remember that no matter how much protein you put in your body it will all be for naught if the BCAA's are not present. I recommend consuming organic, grass fed, hormone free forms of protein. Do not overcook protein and certainly dont microwave it. Keep looking good, striving for the best and spread positivity is all aspects of your life.
Love,
Eric
Programming Notes 4/2-4/6
4/2
Baseline:
Agility Warm Up @ 10m Each
High Knee Pull
Quad Pull
Squat 180 **stepping the leg high over hip, swing opposite leg to 180, squat
High Knees
Butt kickers
Marching High Kicks
Groiners
Straight leg shuffles
Fig 4 Drill
Lateral Shuffle
Carioca
Lateral Bounding
Sprint W/ Change of Direction
Squat Flow: Kang Squat, Internal Rotation, Hip Bridge, Ankle Roll Outs, Boot Straps, PNF, Squat W/ T Spine Rotation
*spend 8 Minutes working Overhead squat and back squat
WOD:
For Time
1 Mile Run
25 Back Squat 225/135
1 mile Run
25 Overhead Squat 135/95
Cool Down:
1:00 Side Plank Hold (each side)
1:00 Couch Stretch
4/3
Baseline:
Baseline:
200m Med Ball Run
20 Med Ball Overhead Lunges
20 Med Ball Side Lunges (held in Front Rack)
20 Single Arm Ring Rows
20 Med Ball Russian Twist
20 Med Ball Single Leg Deadlift
200m Med Ball Run
Pull Up Prep:
-10 Kip Swings
-10 Jumping Pull Ups
-5 Negative Pull Ups >5 Seconds
-10 Australian Pull Ups
-10 Banded or Kipping Chest to Bar Pull Ups
WOD:
24 Min EMOM
A- 15/12 Cal Row
B- 15/12 Pull Ups
C- Rest
D- 20/ 15 Wall ball
E- 15/12 Cal bike
F- Rest
*Compare timing of completion to 2 weeks ago, next week we will be putting your capacity in these movements to the test!!
4/4
Baseline:
Modified KB Warm Up: (W/ Light KB)
10@ Each
-halos
-Strict Press
-Windmills
-Lateral Trunk Rotations
- Single Arm Swing
-Bow/ Bend
-Single Leg Toe Touch
-Goblet Squat
-Burpee Over KB
Banded Shoulder Prep-
-Lat band Mobility
-Bully Stretch
-Scapula Distraction
-Single Arm Banded Press
WOD:
15 Min AMRAP
100m HEAVY KB Suitcase Carry
15 DB Push Press 50/35
20 Squats
Cool Down:
3X :20 Hip Extension Hold
-200m Jog In Between Sets
4/5
Baseline:
3X
250m Row
10 Barbell Good Mornings
10 Barbell Muscle Cleans
10 Deep Side Lunges
Power Clean Prep:
5 Sets Building
-Tempo Lift Off X 1
-Hang Power Clean @ Knee X 1
-Touch and Go Squat clean X 1
WOD:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Power Clean 155/115
Pistol Squat
*scale the pistol to box pistol or Bulgarian split squat. Ensure full Range of Motion!
4/6
Baseline:
3X
50 High Knee Single Unders
25 Flutter Kicks
20’ Lateral Plank Walk (10’ each way)
5 Negative Ring Muscle Ups (*these should be tempo lowers and slow turn overs)
Deadlift Prep:
20’ Banded Lateral Walk
20 Banded Good Mornings
:45 Hip Hinge Hold *bending at the waist with arms held overhead, focus on extending the spine long while static hip hinge is held
-Then-
3X 8
-Bent Over Barbell Row
-Romanian Deadlift
WOD:
5 Rounds For Time
50 Double Unders
5 Ring Muscle Ups
9 Deadlift 315/245
*scale muscle ups to jumping Muscle Ups, rings set at shoulder height.
