TrainerRoad,
Is it possible that in the future that you give us an estimate of the nurticions (proteins, fat, electrolytes etc) we need after a workout?
Of course it is always an estimate because everyone is different. But it could be a great addition.
There are a myrad of (free) apps that track calories and macro’s allready.
Trainerroad is for training…for them to build an app that exceeds the usability/functionality of something like myfitnesspall would take years and lots of money. Time and money that would normally go to improving the training part.
It’s simply not part of their core business and almost impossible to make financially worthwhile when there are so many free, big name, apps for food tracking dominating that market
Maybe they could add a sync feature that automatically uploads your kcals burned to MFP, but even that is probably low on their priorities list as adding it manually takes seconds.
That’s so personal, and so in depth that we’re all better off learning and planning our own based on the knowledge/info Chad and Pete drop in the podcasts.
For me, I like when Nate talks/posts about his nutrition. I need to eat a ton more, so learning a lot by his trial and error lol
What @Warhound said.
Nutrition is so individual. Think of high fat/low carb vs high carb/low fat. Advice for one would not meets the demands of the other.
As individual example I try to intake carb/protein on a 4:1 ratio immediately after hard workouts. And keep in mind that more than x grams of protein per hour won’t get used (think it’s around 30g).
This has come up a few times lately. Here’s my thread with Nate’s response:
tl;dr - probably not gonna happen
For those who enjoy reading the primary literature to help you train:
There are some interesting pieces from the article (Areta is the author of the original 20-25g of protein limit):
It also should be noted that subjects in Areta et al. [3] ingested nothing but whey protein throughout the post-exercise period. Whey is a “fast-acting” protein; its absorption rate has been estimated at ~ 10 g per hour [5]. At this rate, it would take just 2 h to fully absorb a 20-g dose of whey. While the rapid availability of AA will tend to spike MPS, earlier research examining whole body protein kinetics showed that concomitant oxidation of some of the AA may result in a lower net protein balance when compared to a protein source that is absorbed at a slower rate [10]. For example, cooked egg protein has an absorption rate of ~ 3 g per hour [5], meaning complete absorption of an omelet containing the same 20 g of protein would take approximately 7 h, which may help attenuate oxidation of AA and thus promote greater whole-body net positive protein balance. An important caveat is that these findings are specific to whole body protein balance; the extent to which this reflects skeletal muscle protein balance remains unclear.
I thought this part was interesting detailing the increased net positive nitrogen balance of egg white protein vs. whey protein consumed as a shake. Another win for real food if real.
More recently, Macnaughton et al. [22] employed a randomized, double-blind, within-subject design whereby resistance-trained men participated in two trials separated by ~ 2 weeks. During one trial subjects received 20 g of whey protein immediately after performing a total body resistance training bout; during the other trial the same protocol was instituted but subjects received a 40-g whey bolus following training. Results showed that the myofibrillar fractional synthetic rate was ~ 20% higher from consumption of the 40 g compared to the 20 g condition. The researchers speculated that the large amount of muscle mass activated from the total body RT bout necessitated a greater demand for AA that was met by a higher exogenous protein consumption. It should be noted that findings by McNaughton et al. [22] are somewhat in contrast to previous work by Moore et al. showing no statistically significant differences in MPS between provision of a 20 g and 40 g dose of whey in young men following a leg extension bout, although the higher dose produced an 11% greater absolute increase [23].
So the research is conflicting now. It is important to note that the subjects were in resistance training protocols vs. endurance athletes.
Although insulin is often considered an anabolic hormone, its primary role in muscle protein balance is related to anti-catabolic effects [26]. However, in the presence of elevated plasma AAs, the effect of insulin elevations on net muscle protein balance plateaus within a modest range of 15–30 mU/L [27, 28]. Given evidence that a 45 g dose of whey protein causes insulin to rise to levels sufficient to maximize net muscle protein balance [29], it would seem that the additional macronutrients consumed in the study by Kim et al. [24] had little bearing on results.
This stood out to me as I never really learned of amino acids being a large signal for insulin release. It also demonstrates that the body can readily absorb >40g of whey protein as sensed by the associated insulin release. I think this could be important for those looking to lose weight. I doubt this is detailed anywhere in the literature, but one could rationalize through some steps.
Say, if you were to complete a rigorous workout on TR, but want to lose weight. Normally, you’d be aiming for a substantial calorie deficit which would slow muscle recovery and impact subsequent workouts. However, if you were to consume a large (>40g) serving of whey protein with a small amount of glucose, you could get the insulin spike that would drive the AAs and glucose into the damaged muscles. The insulin signal would then result in the storage of the glucose as glycogen and allow you to continue to train. The level of glycogen synthesis vs someone consuming a high carb meal is likely to be lower and this is all speculation, but in theory could work.
Also important to note that the microscopic muscle damage endured in a cycling workout is vastly different from an intense lifting session. Sweet spot work is likely the most similar.
I’m really tired so if this doesn’t make sense, I’ll know tomorrow lol
Any thoughts, @Nate_Pearson ?
Short answer: I don’t know.
Longer answer: I’ve too wondered about maximum absorption rate of both protein and carbs. I also wonder if a recovery drink is even needed if you’re not doing 2x/day workouts (research shows you end up at the same point either way).
Carbs weren’t covered here, but I feel like you need to spread them out throughout the day rather than trying to get them all in 2-3 meals.
Weight should be the same (CICO) but maybe body composition would improve as more could be used for glycogen replenishment and less would be stored as fat?
If anyone has any info on this I’d really appreciate it!
A recent project om kickstarter does exactly what you request: Calculate your nutrition demand based on your power file. They achieved their funding goal so hopefully we’ll see their app go live soon. I’ve seen a beta of the app and it looks very promising.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/58837649/instantly-create-the-best-foodplan-for-your-cyclin
Along with what has already been stated above, TR already tells us one of the most important pieces of information, kcals. If you’re training with power you have a pretty good estimate of calorie expenditure, far better than RPE or HR.
You can factor this easily into your own nutritional plan to best determine what is best for you.