Nutrition and Strength Training - How to get the most out of our 6 week program

By Emily Commerford, Accredited Practising Dietitian, Accredited Nutritionist & Accredited Sports Dietitian

To obtain maximum benefits from your strength program, it is imperative that you fuel your training correctly. You’re putting in the hard work, so you want to make sure you’re reaping the rewards.

Strength training creates the stimulus for the muscles to grow and adapt, but the real magic happens during recovery. During training, the muscles develop small microfibre tears, then during recovery the muscle fibres are repaired, growing back stronger than before. Protein is essential for repairing these tears and creating strength gains. Without adequate protein and energy consumption after training, your strength gains will be significantly less than what they could have been. Lack of adequate nutrition can also cause you to feel tired and sluggish, like you’re not achieving progress with your training and increase your risk of muscle soreness and injury. 

WHAT SHOULD I EAT BEFORE A STRENGTH SESSION?

It is not essential to eat before an early morning pilates session, however if you get hungry, something light like a banana or a piece of toast would be ideal. If you train in the afternoon, a mid-afternoon snack with a combination of protein and complex carbohydrate would be beneficial to manage energy levels and appetite. 

WHAT SHOULD I EAT AFTER A STRENGTH SESSION?

As mentioned above, protein is vital for recovery, but we can’t forget about carbohydrates. When you train, you burn the carbohydrate stored in your muscles as energy, so we need to replace this after the session. If your recovery meal contains only protein without carbohydrate, your body will first use the protein to replace energy, leaving only the leftover protein to be used to rebuild muscle. So combining carbohydrate and protein after training helps to “spare” protein for muscle repair. The quantity of protein and carbohydrate you require depends on your size, metabolism, the length and intensity of the workout and your goals. 

Consume your recovery nutrition within a minimum of four hours after exercise, however as soon as practically possible is usually best. 

Recovery meal ideas:

• Overnight oats with high protein yoghurt

• Smoothie with either high protein yoghurt or protein powder + 1 serve of fruit (any) + water/milk (any) + 1tsp honey or maple syrup (optional)

• 2-3 eggs + 2 slices of sourdough or wholegrain toast 

• Sandwich with chicken & salad

• Fish with potato/sweet potato & veg

• Stir fry with chicken and rice or noodles 

HOW MUCH PROTEIN DO I NEED?

As a general guide for strength training, aim for 1.6-2.2g per kg body weight per day and 0.4g/kg body weight after training. As an example, a 60kg person should aim for 96-132g of protein per day, with at least 24g of protein in the recovery meal (i.e. one serve from the below table).

SNACKING: HOW TO SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS 

Snacking between meals is not a fundamental requirement for a healthy diet, but it can be a helpful way to manage blood sugar levels and appetite. If you frequently feel ravenous at the end of the day and struggle to manage either your dinner portion or snacking on the couch, you could  benefit from a nourishing snack mid-afternoon. Be guided by your hunger: aim for gentle hunger before each meal and snack.

When it comes to snacking, preparation is key. If you wait until your blood sugar is low to decide what  to eat, you’ll go for the convenient and often high energy option every time. Plan for nourishing snacks that are tasty (don’t make it too healthy or you’ll still crave the tasty thing) with both protein and carbohydrate to keep you satiated. 

As an alternative to snacking, you could make a larger portion of lunch and have half at lunchtime and the other half 2-3 hours later. This is a great way to get more veggies and whole foods in, rather than relying on convenience options. 

Here are some snack ideas:

• 1 serve of fresh fruit (i.e. 1 apple, 2 nectarines or 1 cup of berries) + 30-40g nuts (any)

• Sandwich or 1 slice of multigrain or sourdough bread. Nourishing and tasty filling/topping options include peanut butter, ham/cheese/tomato, avocado & goats cheese etc. 

• 2-4 wholegrain crackers with avocado & hummus or cheese & vegemite (or any other topping you enjoy)

• Veggie sticks with hummus 

• Chopped apple with nut butter

• 150-200g Greek or high protein yoghurt +/- 1tb toasted seeds & berries or honey 

• Protein bar (Try to find one that has mostly natural ingredients, i.e. True Protein or Koja) + 1 x fruit

• 1 x Rokeby Farms smoothie

• 3-5 x Smooshed protein balls 

• 1 x slice of homemade banana bread (add protein powder or Greek yoghurt to make it more filling)

• 1 x higher protein muesli bar (i.e. Nice & Natural Wholeseed Bars, Sam’s Pantry, Carman’s) 

• 1 x Edgell Snack Time tin (i.e. chickpeas with olive oil, garlic & rosemary) + 2-4 x vita-weats

• 1 x Up & Go Energize 

Emily Commerford

@melbourne.nutrition

https://www.melbournenutrition.com.au/

References

1. Witard OC, Jackman SR, Breen L, Smith K, Selby A, Tipton KD. Myofibrillar muscle protein synthesis rates subsequent to a meal in response to increasing doses of whey protein at rest and after resistance exercise. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2014;99(1):86-95. 

2. Macnaughton LS, Wardle SL, Witard OC, McGlory C, Hamilton DL, Jeromson S, Lawrence CE, Wallis GA, Tipton KD. The response of muscle protein synthesis following whole-body resistance exercise is greater following 40 g than 20 g of ingested whey protein. Physiol Rep 2016;4(15). doi: 10.14814/phy2.12893. 

3. Trommelen J, van Lieshout GAA, Nyakayiru J, Holwerda AM, Smeets JSJ, Hendriks FK, van Kranenburg JMX, Zorenc AH, Senden JM, Goessens JPB, Gijsen AP, van Loon LJC. The anabolic response to protein ingestion during recovery from exercise has no upper limit in magnitude and duration in vivo in humans. Cell Rep Med. 2023 Dec 19;4(12):101324. 

4. Thomas DT, Erdman KA, & Burke LM. Nutrition and athletic performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 2016;48(3), 543–568.