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Muscular preparation: food serving the musclesThe winter season is the ideal time to put the finishing touches to your muscular preparation. Each sport requires specific qualities to perform well (agility, coordination, balance, endurance, power, speed). Muscular development depends directly on the individual's level of training and diet :
- Exercise usually takes the form of a succession of movements and mechanical work brought about by muscular contractions.
- Diet plays a key role in supplying the necessary energy for physical activity.
Thanks to our nutritionist's advice, find out how to optimise your food intake and help yourself develop your muscle bulk.
Make up of reserves: each sport has its needs
The body draws on its reserves during exercise and makes them up afterwards. Food allows you to compensate for the depletion of reserves.
Three systems provide the body with energy and are involved in the resynthesis of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) - energy the muscles need for contraction. Whether you are a bodybuilder, 400m runner or a fan of cycling classics, each type of activity demands a particular energy system according to its duration and intensity. It also affects the training model. Marathon runners will avoid intense muscle building sessions at the risk of developing significant muscle mass that would damage their performance. In the same way weightlifters wanting to develop their muscle mass will favour short, rapid barbell lifts rather than long jogs in the forest. Furthermore, protein metabolism in sportsmen and women practicing strength events differs from that for those in endurance events; protein requirements therefore vary depending on the sport undertaken. See Table 1.
Table 1. Energy use and protein requirements according to physical activity.
| Energy systems | Anaérobie alactique | Anaérobie lactique | Aérobie |
|---|---|---|---|
| Definition | No oxygen required for muscular contraction Restricted energy system. Short, intense movements, locking | Not oxygen required but production of lactic acid in the muscle is a limiting factor. Sustained short term movements. | Contractions demand oxygen in the muscles. Unlimited system. Prolonged, long lasting exercise. |
| Type of activity | Power, speed | Strength | Endurance |
| Duration of activity | 0 to 20 seconds | 20 seconds to 2 minutes | More than 2 minutes to several hours |
| Examples of events | Sprint (100 m flat), jumping, throwing, bodybuilding, weightlifting, wrestling, martial arts | 400m, 800m, 100m swimming, track cycling, football, basketball | 1500m to marathon, 1500m swimming, road cycling |
| Energy reserves used | Muscle ATP | Muscle glucose | Glucose and glycogen in muscle and adipose tissue |
| Protein requirements - Maintenance of muscle mass - Development of muscle mass | 1-1.2g/kg body weight / day; 2-3g / kg bw / day (for < 6 months) | 1.5-1.7 g/kg bw / day | 1.5-1.7 g/kg bw / day |
| Energy intake | <- | Very variable depending on the activity: from 1600 kcal/day (6.5 MJ) for ballerinas to 6500 kcal/d (26 MJ) for cyclists in the Tour de France. | -> |
Source: Guilland et al. In: Martin et al. Recommended nutritional intake for the French population. 3rd edition. Tec et Doc. P. 338-394. 2001.
Note: besides the level of training and nutritional status, several factors - that we won't cover in this article - must also be taken into account in muscular development, such as genetic potential, age, body composition, muscular power, cardio-vascular capacity and individual motivation.
The key role of proteins
Proteins are complex molecules, make up from a chain of amino acids. There are 20 amino acids, of which eight are essential and must come from our food because the body cannot synthesise them.Proteins come from plants (cereals, especially legumes) and animals (meats, fish, eggs, dairy products).
They have several essential roles:
- maintenance and renewal of tissues and muscular mass,
- growth and development of bones and the skin,
- repairs to micro-lesions in cellular membranes and muscles,
- oxygen transport,
- energy source as a last resort when reserves are exhausted,
- essential to functioning of our body as constituents of hormones, peptides, enzymes, neurotransmitters and muscle fibres.
Proteins: a helping hand for power sport
Regularly practicing power sports and those with weight categories (martial arts, bodybuilding, combat sports) lead to an increase in muscle mass and energy expenditure. The target is to increase muscular mass as well as the amount of proteins stored there. Protein intake is often increased and their renewal rate is accelerated. Protein intakes supply between about 12 and 16% of total energy intake in order to prevent potential deficits caused by the use of amino acids during muscular contraction and to encourage the protein construction process. In all cases, increasing protein consumption to develop muscular mass must be for a limited time (6 months). Discover Whey Protein Plus, the hyperprotein formulation in the Isostar range, specially designed to promote development of muscular mass. (hyperlink to the product focus) (hyperlien vers le focus produit).At least two-thirds of proteins must come from the normal diet and less than one third by means of possible supplements. Power sportsmen and women are interested in developing a low fat bulk while limiting the mass of fat, so these sportsmen and women favour foods with a protein to lipid ratio "P/L" greater than 1.5; in other words, those foods particularly rich in good quality proteins and low in lipids. Essentially these are found in red and white meats, offal products and sea food. See Table 2.
able 2. Protein to lipid ratios of a few cooked meats or sea foods.
| Beef, veal and pork | P/L | Produits tripiers / Volailles | P/L | Poissons et fruits de mer | P/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roast beef | 12 | Tripe | 5 | Cod | 22 |
| Cushion of veal | 12 | Beef heart | 5 | Hake | 20 |
| Rump steak | 10 | Calf liver | 5 | Sole | 16 |
| Shin | 7 | Cow's kidneys | 3 | Bass | 15 |
| Rindless, fatless cooked ham | 7 | Calf sweetbreads | 3 | Whelks | 9 |
| Filet steak | 4 | Turkey | 10 | Mussels | 7 |
| Top of sirloin | 4 | Chicken breast with skin | 4 | Turbot | 5 |
| Sirloin | 3 | Duck | 2 | Oysters | 5 |
| Rindless, fatless cured ham | 3 | Chicken thigh | 2 | Rainbow trout | 4 |
Sources: General Food Directory (Répertoire Général des Aliments). CIQUAL. 2nd edition. 1995. Meat Information Centre (Centre d'Information des Viandes -CIV).
Although protein requirements are increased in fans of power sports or those with weight categories, the main energy source in the diet remains carbohydrates - more than 50% of daily energy requirements - that are found in foods such as starchy foods, bread, pasta, rice, semolina, cereals and dried vegetables. With the lipid intake being limited to about 30% of total energy requirements, there's still plenty of room for polyunsaturated fatty acids such as vegetable oils (colza, soya, walnut) with raw vegetables, for example.
Since muscle is 75% water, adequate hydration is an essential element of success. What's more, water plays an important role in protein synthesis. Practising a power sport intensively requires water and drink intake of at least 2 to 3 litres per day, spread regularly throughout the day.
Finally, the power sportsmen's and women's diet must above all combine variety and taste. Nowadays the classic "boiled fish/steamed potatoes" can at last be put to one side in favour of more appetising dishes. Numerous ways of cooking have been developed that use very little fat and preserve the taste - steamed, pressure cooker, grilled, poached, foil wrapped, wok, etc. - and the list of available seasonings (spices, herbs, condiments) goes on forever.
Diet and performance: make the right choices
The development and media exposure of fitness activities, power sports and sports with weight categories in numerous countries has enabled numerous companies and Internet sites flourish, offering varied products with very promising claims accompanied by dubious advice.Faced with all these temptations, sportsmen and women are advised to remain on their guard and to seek reliable and credible sources of information from certified trainers or healthcare professionals well-known in the sports world.
Based on several years of study, the scientific team at Isostar recently created its commitment to sportsmen and women , healthcare professionals and official healthcare bodies by developing the 1st anti-doping charter: "Isostar Quality contract".
This charter guarantees that Isostar products satisfy the requirements of a strict specification, that they are manufactured in its factories using food grade ingredients free from drug substances, in accordance with WADA-AMA (World Anti-Doping Agency) recommendations and are subject to regular inspections.
This measure reflects a genuine company ethic based on qualitative measures implemented by Isostar many years ago. To find out more about the Isostar Quality Contract approach, click here.
Happy New sporting Year with Isostar!
Isostar nutritionist, January 2007.