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Optimal Nutrition For Strength

Performance
If your diet sucks youll never reach your true strength potential.
I dont care how effective your training program is, how badly you want to
succeed, or how good your genetics are. If you want to be as strong as possible you
need to get your nutrition dialed in.
This doesnt mean you need to eat clean (I hate that term) all the time or suffer
through every meal. Rather, whatever constitutes the best diet will depend
entirely on the individual and their specific needs, goals, and preferences.
That being said, the topic of this article is strength. Not aesthetics. Not general
health. Simply brute strength. As such, I will only cover the essentials of optimal
nutrition for strength performance.
Want to tone up? Try this instead
Want to get stronger? Continue reading.
How Much Should You Eat?
Before we get into specifics such as meal frequency, timing, and composition, its
necessary to discuss total daily caloric intake.
While strength performance is affected by a variety of factors, I am of the opinion
that total daily caloric intake and macronutrient composition are paramount for
success.
In other words, the total amount and overall macronutrient composition of food
consumed is, in my opinion, the most important nutritional factors related to
strength performance.
That being the casehow much should you eat?
As noted above, it all comes down to your goals. We already established our main
goal of increased strength but, among strength athletes and enthusiasts, there are
three major goal subsets:

Fat Loss

Mass Gain

Weight Maintenance

While our overarching goal is increased strength, the subset goal will determine how
much we eat on a daily basis. As such, below Ive outlined general calorie and
macronutrient guidelines to follow based on the three goal subsets.
Fat Loss

Losing strength during fat loss is unacceptable. If your training and nutrition are in
check then, at the very least, you should be able to maintain (if not gain) strength
during a cut.
To effectively lose fat, though, it is necessary to create and maintain a caloric
deficit. While some professionals advocate creating the deficit through exercise, I
prefer to do it through strategic dieting.
To make things as simple as possible, below Ive provided the general calorie and
macronutrient recommendations that I use for myself, as well as my clients, during
a fat loss phase:
Total Calories per day*

10 12 calories per pound of


bodyweight

Protein per day**

1.3 1.6 grams per pound of


bodyweight

Fat per day***

20-25% of total calorie intake

Carbohydrates per day***

Fill in the rest

To illustrate, a 175lb male would adhere to the following guidelines:


Total Calories: 11 x 175 = 1,925kcals/day
Protein: 1.4 x 175 = 245g/day
Fat: .22 x 1,925 = 47g/day
Carbs: 131g/day
*Total calories do NOT need to remain constant throughout the week. If youd prefer
to cycle calories based on the day (i.e. training days and rest days) that is a
perfectly viable option.
**During fat loss protein should never drop below 1g/lb of bodyweight.
***Carbs and fats can be manipulated to include more or less of each depending on
needs and preferences.
Mass Gain
Mass gain is frequently used as an excuse to let the diet go to shit and gain
unnecessary amounts of weight. A well executed mass gain phase, however, will
minimize fat gain while maximizing muscle growth and strength gains.

To gain mass it is necessary to create and maintain an adequate caloric surplus. To


help you accomplish this, below Ive provided the general calorie and macronutrient
recommendations that I use for myself, as well as my clients, during a mass gain
phase.
Total Calories per day*

16-18 calories per pound of


bodyweight

Protein per day**

1 1.5 grams per pound of


bodyweight

Fat per day***

20-25% of total calorie intake

Carbohydrates per day***

Fill in the rest

To illustrate, a 175lb male would adhere to the following guidelines:


Total Calories: 17 x 175 = 2,975kcals
Protein: 1.4 x 175 = 245g
Fat: .20 x 2,975 = 66g
Carbs: 350g
*Total calories do NOT need to remain constant throughout the week. If youd prefer
to cycle calories based on the day (i.e. training days and rest days) that is a
perfectly viable option.
**During mass gain protein should never drop below 1g/lb of bodyweight and need
not exceed 1.5g/lb of bodyweight.
***Carbs and fats can be manipulated to include more or less of each depending on
needs and preferences.
Weight Maintenance
As the name suggests, the goal of weight maintenance is to sustain your current
bodyweight while increasing strength. Needless to say, this is desirable for a variety
of reasons, not least of which includes improvements in both relative and absolute
strength.
To simplify the process, below Ive provided the general calorie and macronutrient
recommendations that I use for myself, as well as my clients, during a weight
maintenance phase.

Total Calories per day

13 15 calories per pound of


bodyweight

Protein per day

1 1.5 grams per pound of


bodyweight

Fat per day

20-25% of total calorie intake

Carbohydrates per day

Fill in the rest

To illustrate, a 175lb male would adhere to the following guidelines:


Total Calories: 14 x 175 = 2,450kcal
Protein: 1.4 x 175 = 245g
Fat: .22 x 2,450= 60g
Carbs: 232g
*Total calories do NOT need to remain constant throughout the week. If youd prefer
to cycle calories based on the day (i.e. training days and rest days) that is a
perfectly viable option.
**During weight maintenance protein should never drop below 1g/lb of bodyweight.
***Carbs and fats can be manipulated to include more or less of each depending on
needs and preferences.
When Should You Eat?
Now that weve covered how much, its time to discuss when (or at what times)
you should eat for optimal strength performance.
As noted above, I am of the opinion that total amount and overall macronutrient
composition are the most important nutritional components related to our goal. That
being said, I also believe that meal timing (specifically pre-workout) can
dramatically influence strength and recovery.
Pre-Workout Meal
Pre-workout nutrition is, in my opinion, more important than post-workout nutrition.
Reason being, the body takes a relatively long time to digest a meal that includes a
variety of whole foods. As such, if we consume a balanced meal prior to training,
our bodies will continue to receive a steady supply of nutrients (particularly amino
acids) throughout the entire session and even into the post-workout window.

My recommendation: Eat a moderate-to-large pre-workout meal 1-3 hours prior to


strength training.
Post-Workout Meal
Assuming an adequate pre-workout meal was consumed, there is no reason to rush
the post-workout meal as your body will still be receiving nutrients. Furthermore,
the so called anabolic window has been shown to last for up to 24 hours postworkout. As such, unless you plan on waiting an entire day to eat, theres no reason
to rush the post-workout meal.
My recommendation: Eat a moderate-to-large post-workout meal when you feel
ready and comfortable. If thats 1 hour, 3 hours, or 5 hours post-trainingI dont
care. Just make sure you eat lots of protein, some starchy carbs, and some high
quality fats.
Anytime Meals
Pre and post workout meals aside, it honestly doesnt matter when you eat. It
doesnt matter if you eat breakfast, practice Intermittent Fasting, or stop eating
after 8pm. All that matters is that the total amount of calories consumed and overall
macronutrient composition are in line with your goals.
My recommendation: Eat whenever works best for you. It honestly doesnt matter.
Stick to a meal schedule that makes your life easier and more enjoyable.
What Should You Eat?
Im not going to waste your time by breaking down the macronutrients and
explaining how various foods affect our bodies; thats for a different article at a
different time. Instead I am going to provide you with a list of my personal favorite
foods sorted by macronutrient that my clients and I eat on a regular basis.
Id note, theres nothing inherently special about these foods other than that theyre
whole, natural, and unprocessed; theyre nutrient-dense, often high in protein, and
are my go-to options for improved strength performance as well as living a healthy
lifestyle.
Proteins

Fats

Carbohydrates

Beef

Fish

All vegetables

Fish (salmon, tuna, haddock,


etc)

Whole Eggs

All fruits

Chicken

Nuts/Nut Butters

Oatmeal

Turkey

Avocado

Rice

Whole Eggs

Olives/Olive Oil

Quinoa

Greek Yogurt

Higher Fat Dairy

Potatoes

Protein
Unquestionably the most important macronutrient in the diet, protein must be
emphasized at each and every meal. I dont care what sources you get it from (refer
to the table above) but make sure to eat protein at every meal.
Fats
Arguably the most misunderstood and underappreciated macronutrient, fats offer
myriad health benefits. While I dont believe we need to focus on adding more fat
into our diet per se, I do believe we need to focus on emphasizing more high
quality fat sources. In other words, dont focus on adding more fat into your diet;
instead, make a concerted effort to eat fats from a variety of high quality sources
such as the ones outlined in the table above.

Carbohydrates
Easily the most overemphasized macronutrient, carbohydrates are important but
not essential to our success. By all means incorporate carbohydrates into your
routine (especially pre/post workout) but they should never be treated as the most
important component of a well-rounded diet.
Supplements
Supplements have a time and a place but its important to understand that
absolutely nothing (aside from special supplements) will benefit you more than a
well rounded diet. Be mindful and dont allow anyone to fool you into believing that
you can out-supplement a poor diet.
Real food comes first!
That being said, there are some supplements that you may find useful on your
quest to achieving superhuman strength. These supplements are listed below:

Creatine

Vitamin D (if you dont live in a warm/sunny environment)

Calcium (if youre lactose intolerant and/or dont eat dairy)

Fish Oil (if you dont eat fish at least 3x/week)

Protein Powder (for convenience)

Wrapping Up
You could train harder than everyone else.You could be the most determined lifter
in the world.You could have the absolute best training program
Butif your nutrition sucks you will never achieve your ultimate strength potential.
Never Minimal. Never Maximal. Always Optimal.

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