First post - thanks ahead of time for your input. First meet coming up this weekend at the TCO and I would like to hear what you guys are doing in terms of nutrition the day of and throughout the meet.
Basic info about me - 275 open class (currently 270), I anticipate lifting earlier as my openers won't be close to the other guys at 275. My initial thoughts are to keep it very close to what I normally eat although I don't usually have more than a protein shake before 7:30am - my system doesn't generally tolerate much before then. I had planned on having proteins shakes throughout the day, water/propel, bananas, and maybe a bagel. I may start off with oatmeal before weigh ins. Let me know if I am on par and what you guys typically do.
Thanks for taking the time. I have enjoyed reading the topics already posted.
as for food: *fast absorbing carbs/sugar are ideal for gameday strength (poptarts are dynamite IMO) *a few apples would be best breakfast food because of their low glycemic they will give sustained energy throughout the day, then the high glycemic carbs for between lifts. *oats right after weigh in as they are medium absorbtion rate so you will get the full benefits of that right when lifting begins, then the poptarts or snickers bars or any other high glycemic carb in between lifts to give you the quick jolts of energy. *sports drinks are great, especially a little bit watered down *protein isn't necessary in the amount shakes give you, and not really that necessary on game day because muscle breakdown is the least of your worries. For recovery so you don't die the few days after the workout, I suggest a few steaks after the meet!
for supplements: *creatine: creatine + its creatine phosphate phorylation mechanism in the body plays a huge role in the production of ATP, which will essentially play a role in recruitment of maximum amount of muscle fibers to lift the weights (at least I'm pretty sure how that all works, in very simplified terms).
Hope that helps, and if I'm wrong in any of the stuff I said please feel free to correct me.
Thanks Andrew, I appreciate your insight. I didn't really have the mindset that the shakes were necessarily going to help me from a strength "output" standpoint. I was thinking more along the lines of something quality I can quickly ingest that will help me control the appetite & not bloat me.
I am a big fan of poptarts - they once helped me get up to 317. I haven't heard that yet and am curious to hear what other people think about that concept(not necessarily just about poptarts ha ha). Makes complete sense to me - just wonder what effects that has over the period of a few hours. Thanks again Andrew.
For me, I usually don't feel like eating before a meet. I don't have a big apetite in the morning anyway and a meet just makes it worse.
But regardless, I try to eat *something* before the meet. Usually right after weigh-ins.
The theme continues, because at the meets I'm going to, the pace is too quick to eat hardly anything. I've even tried things as quick as candybars, but I never have time to take more than a bite or two. So I drink. I used to just drink plain Gatorade, but I got so ridiculously hungry. Now I have my own concoction I make.
1/2 gallon of gatorade 2x Quest Plex (20 carbs, 45 protein, 5 fat) 10g Creatine 2x BCAA Extreme from Quest 1/2 oz of liquid B-12 150mg Caffiene (I'm pretty sure this was the dose)
Here's why: The Gatorade is the Carbohydrate base. Duh. The Quest Plex contains protein and fats to slow the absorption of the carbs and to give me a sense of fullness. Powerlifting occurs in the ATP/CP energy system, so Glycogen replacement plays only a minor role. That's why I want to keep my blood sugar high, but level. The Creatine is obvious, but I honestly don't know how effective it is. The BCAA's are to stop muscle protein breakdown. I'm drinking stuff anyway -- might as well pay attention to recovery while I'm at it. Also, the sooner I can stop muscle from being broken down for amino acids, the less damage I'm going to have when it comes time to deadlift. The B-12 is thrown in for neural function. Again, not sure how much it does. The caffiene is obviously for artificial energy. I am careful not to use too much, though. I've use too much before and it's not pretty. You are nervous anyway, so if you add caffiene jitters to that, it can make for some shakey squats.
Thanks Mike. I have come into this with a sense - like most anything else - there are numerous ways do this and it really boils down to finding what works best for you. I appreciate you guys sharing your approach to "gameday" nutrition. It is nice to see somewhat different approaches.
I'd rather be a little hungry than feel like I am still digesting something. I know I am going to be anxious but it helps to come in with the midset I just want to learn & have some fun. I'm still a long ways off of hitting PR's and the other guys in my class are "Dudes" so I am looking forward to seeing them do their thing.
Oh yeah Andrew - I haven't been able to stop thinking about poptarts since I read your response. Thanks a lot.
First - I had a blast at my first meet. Here how things went as it applies to the thread topic. My weight on Monday was 270 - then by Wed AM it was 275. We are moving, got a puppy, work is nuts - so I was stressed & eating poorly. Cleaned up the diet and really increased the amount of water I was drinking through the remainder of the week and got it back down to 271 (just retaining fluids I am sure).
I had a 6 hour drive on the way down and ate pretty clean & drank a lot of water. I stopped half way & did about 12 min's of really light cardio & went through my stretch routine. Ate at Qdoba & pounded the water. Repeated the same thing about an hour out of Minneapolis (except it was 7 min of light cardio). Felt really good.
Protein shake/creatine at 6:45am - 7:30 weighed in at 270. Protein bar w/carbs right after weigh in/during equipment check in. Wanted to do pancakes but couldn't find a McD's & I didn't want to miss anything so I had a bagel/banana/water. After rules meeting I had a shake & started on a bag of trail mix (nuts, raisens, M&M's). After squats I ate about 1/2 of a protein bar w/carbs & had a few small handfuls of the mix. I routinely tooks drinks from a poweraid & also drank water (should've just watered it down as I was drinking just water after the bench). The entire meet ran about 4 1/2 - 5 hours and I never got hungry & I never felt like I was trying to digest anything so it worked out perfect.
There was A LOT of great energy at the meet so that probably helped me not fade as the meet came to a close.
I'll do a few things differently but I felt good about how it all went. One thing I will do differently is maybe eat at OCB afterwards but I was in a hurry to get back to the hotel and watch college FB.
