We all know the meatheads in the gym cant be parted form their protein shakes in their quest for a “Schwarzenegger – esque” physique.
But you don’t want massive muscles, you want to be light, lean, fast and strong, so whats the deal with protein for triathletes?
As I see it the role of protein for triathletes is three fold.
– Firstly it acts to help with recovery following training
– It also starves off catabolism (muscle breakdown for fuel) which can leave the triathlete weak.
– The third is it can help with improving body composition (ratio of muscle to fat)
In terms of recovery taking on a combination of protein and carbohydrate post training is sensible but you know that already.
So what are the best options?
Most people don’t want to, or cant sit down for a fully fledged meal post training, so we need something convenient and relatively easy. There are many products (shakes/bars) on the market for this but all are relatively heavily processed and will have excess sugar to make them taste good.
For me the best option is a good quality organic whey protein along with some fruit. You can mix the fruit with the shake by blending some frozen berries and adding a scoop of strawberry whey or you could just eat a banana and have the shake – your call.
Secondly how do we fight off muscle breakdown?
This won’t be an issue in short duration exercise but as the length goes up and your energy expenditure increases this is more relevant.
If you have sufficient protein in your diet (meaning eating some with breakfast, lunch and Dinner) you will be fine but most people don’t.
It is becoming more common place for people to have protein for breakfast but it is still not the mainstream. If you skip your protein hit here and train hard you will be low.
So firstly make sure you have sufficient with each meal – 1 palm sized piece of meat is a good guide here or 2-3 eggs for breakfast is a good option.
If however you find that you are losing too much weight or feel as though muscle breakdown is an issue, it can help to add some branch chain amino acids (bcaa’s) to your training nutrition.
Meaning add 5g to your current drink.
Finally proteins role in body composition is key when attempting to lose fat.
One of the main reasons is due to the thermic effect of feeding. Meaning that it takes more energy for the body to break down protein and use it for fuel.
It also has a greater effect on overall satiety than carbohydrate based foods hence making you feel fuller.
So yes in short, protein is relevant for triathletes. You don’t need as much as strength athletes or bodybuilders but it is worth checking your daily percentage using an app like my fitness pal.
I would aim for roughly 30%.
LINK:
In case you’re wondering where to get some bcaa’s:
RECIPE:
Protein at breakfast is easy and tasty:
2 poached eggs
2 rashers of bacon fried in coconut oil
Wilted spinach
1 fist full of blueberries for breakfast pudding
Jamie “carnivore” Leighton