Issue 084
January 2012
Why ready-made performance drinks are the perfect quick fix for fighters when the shrinking temperatures cut short your day
Ed Vizard is part of the elite sports nutrition team at Maximuscle, one of the world’s leading sports nutrition suppliers
When I’m consulting fighters who are struggling to train and perform over the winter, apart from suggesting that they “man up” and get organized (make meals in advance, get to bed at 9pm, etc.) I frequently recommend they add a good-quality RTD (ready-to-drink), pre-mixed protein shake to their nutrition plans.
RTDs are a great way to combat the problem of optimizing your nutrition during the winter, when daylight, and thus training time, is at a premium in colder climates. The following are my favorite ways for a fighter to support their winter training with a quality shake.
THE RTD BREAKFAST
During the winter it’s easy to over-sleep following brutal MMA sessions and training, leaving you hitting the snooze button in preference to making a high-quality breakfast. By the time you’re up and showered, you’ll often be forced to grab a poor-quality breakfast or rush to work with zero fuel in the tank.
Five-minute solution: Drink one high-protein RTD shake and two tablespoons of natural peanut butter on wholegrain toast or rice cakes – you can even add sliced apple and cinnamon on top if you have time. A good high-protein RTD shake contains around 200 calories, 30g of quality protein and 15g of nutritious carbs – making it comparable to eating a large chicken breast in a small wholegrain pita bread.
PRE/POST-WORKOUT RTD
Most fighters these days know the benefits of consuming fast-acting protein and carbs before and after training, with minimal fat intake which may slow digestion. Good RTDs do the job perfectly – a high-protein RTD shake contains multi-source protein, with whey protein for rapid digestion and casein protein for a slower amino acid release. A large helping of carbs in every bottle accelerates energy recovery, plus naturally high levels of glutamine, BCAAs and leucine will support growth, performance and well-being.
Pre-workout: One bottle of a chocolate-flavor high-protein RTD shake. I like to add 1–2 teaspoons of coffee to boost training intensity and it tastes great.
Post-workout: One bottle of a strawberry-flavor high-protein RTD shake with 1–2 bananas if you need more carbs
PRE-BED RTD SNACKS
A nutritious pre-bed snack has several potential benefits for fighters, especially the power to support deep sleep and rapid muscle recovery. Furthermore, you can make up for a lack of nutrition during the day. However, a quality pre-bed snack needs to be fast, mess-free and packed with balanced levels of protein, natural fats and quality carbs, to promote a slow-release of nutrition during the night. These also taste fantastic:
Snack 1: One bottle of chocolate-flavor high-protein RTD shake with handful of almonds.
Snack 2: One bottle of strawberry-flavor high-protein RTD shake and one sliced apple, spread with two tablespoons of natural almond butter.
RTDs should never be your main source of nutrition, which needs to come from good quality whole foods. However, when it comes to effortlessly hitting the sweet spot with your eating, the stress-free benefits of instant, good quality nutrition makes them a great option for the busy fighter, especially during the winter.
