Fighters Only

Issue 068

October 2010

Even Brock Lesnar eats like a yoga freak nowadays. So chow down for a fighter’s feast.

Turning a knife and fork into your most valued weapons isn’t totally new. At the sport’s inception, legends like Royce Gracie had eating nuances such as never mixing two carbohydrates (rice or potato) in the same meal. He’d also refuse meat during the daytime to abet his digestion and feel lighter on his feet. Seem extreme? So was Royce’s domination of early MMA.

And nowadays, with bigger purses up for grabs, fighters are looking to optimize every facet of their skills, which starts with the food on their plates. “Up to 70% of your muscle gains, fat loss and overall fighting athleticism can be put down to a good diet,” says Josh Green, personal chef and nutritionist to UFC fighters like Rashad Evans and Frank Mir. So if you think you can flourish on a Brock Lesnar-style diet of burgers, sugary cereals and beer then, like him, you’ll eventually sideline yourself to a life of poor health and performance. And after Brock’s recent health scare even he’s had to do a complete overhaul of his pie-hole’s vices. “I’ve had to change my diet by making food part of your life and getting rid of a lot of bad things,” says Lesnar. “I feel better. I recover faster. If I wasn’t seeing the results I am, it would be very hard to do.” And his comeback bout answered every question. You see, the trick to becoming a better fighter is to earmark the foods that separate the champs from the chumps. So to do this we got the scoop from the MMA industry’s best sports nutritionists. In the following pages you’ll learn how to go bite for bite with the pro’s habits by changing your current eating regime to one that’s perfectly suited to improving your fighting performance and recovering faster between bouts. We hope you’re hungry because you’re about to become a fighter who’s better at ground ‘n’ pounding more than just steak.

1 Timing is everything

“My goal was to pack on lean mass so John Berardi made a distinction between the meals I ate any time and those I ate after training,” says Georges St Pierre (GSP). St Pierre’s post-workout meals needed to be higher in protein, higher in carbs and lower in fat. His ‘any time’ meals – eaten at any other point in the day than during that after-workout window – needed be high in protein, lower in carbs and higher in fat. This strategy delivers the right muscle-building nutrients to your body when it needs it the most.

2 Eat for your bodyweight

Embrace your uniqueness and eat for your future-self, not the guy in the mirror. “Figure out how much you need, or want, to weigh. Then eat the correct amount of calories for that bodyweight,” explains Josh Green, a personal chef to Brock Lesnar and Rashad Evans. “There isn’t a concrete formula to determine how many calories is the perfect amount for each person so learn how your body responds to calorie intake. However, the most important nutrients for this are protein and carbs, so eat about 3g of protein per pound of bodyweight every day. And eat as many carbs as you need to fund your training sessions.” So if you train twice a day eat more carbs for energy. But if you’re only there twice a week don’t be a mug and carbo-load huge plates of pasta.

3 Recovery is where you make your gains

You don’t make gains when you’re belting the bag. “After you give your muscles a thrashing, it’s your ability to recover that determines whether you make gains or not,” says Matt Lovell, a qualified karate instructor and sports nutritionist to several UK professional boxers (www.sportsnutritionvlog.com). So by paying attention to your recovery you will make a massive difference in your performance. “To do this, make sure you drink at least one liter of water and have a whey shake with carbs after every workout.”

4 Feed your brain

John Berardi has a Zen-like philosophy about feeding body and mind. He’s reported to tell his clients that they need to write down their goals and engage in specific behaviors (such as eating correctly) to achieve these outcomes. When your behaviors match your goals you’ll get the results you’re looking for. Berardi wisely notes that if your results are bad, it’s not that there’s something wrong with you, it’s that your behaviors aren’t correct. Fix them and the results will follow. And deep down, you know that the goodness of the nuts in your post-workout Snickers bar is cancelled out by the unsavory locals they hang out with.

5 Keep it natural

It took hundreds of years of evolution to craft the foods we eat today. So don’t make Darwin spin in his grave by grazing on processed crap. “Eat as natural as you can and watch out for hidden fats and additives in foods, as they’ll slow your performance,” says Green. “The best energy sources are foods like brown rice, couscous and quinoa, as they digest quickly and leave you feeling light on your feet. Try to go for light protein sources like lean and organic meats as these won’t rest in your stomach and make you feel bloated when you train.”

6 Dodge colds and flu to make consistent gains

A cold or flu can make you lose three weeks of training benefits – the week you are coming down with it, the week you have it and another week to recover. “And if you get two colds a year you’ve lost 15% of your performance improvements,” says Lovell. “Stay sniffle free, have scrupulous personal hygiene, wash your hands well before eating anything after training and ensure your diet is full of fruit and veggies. Also use vitamin supplements, green drinks and herbs like echinacea to give your immune system a boost.”

7 Eat for your metabolism

If you’re a man you’re no doubt skilled at not paying attention but there is one person you should listen to: yourself. “Learn how your body works and feels, so if you add weight quickly then you may not need to eat as much as your sparring partner who has a faster metabolism,” says Green. “So if you add mass quickly then eat fewer calories and if a food makes you feel tired and sluggish then try to avoid it.” Lesson over, you can tune out again.

8 Plan ahead

“I’ve never dieted in my life and have always eaten mostly junk food,” says UFC superstar GSP. “I’ve started working with Berardi and now at the start of every day I get my chef to pack everything into a cooler, which I take with me when I leave the house. After training I have the right food to eat, so I can reach another level and gain more muscle mass.” Berardi famously reported that GSP was chronically underfed, which was why he was so lean. Berardi claims to have doubled, if not tripled, GSP’s calorie intake, helping him gain 10lb of lean muscle in eight weeks. Next time you’re lured by the golden arches even though you feel full it could be your muscles, rather than your belly, that’re starving.

9 Get fishy

If there’s one supplement worth taking it’s fish oils. “They cough up a host of benefits such as protecting your joints, fat loss and boosting mental focus,” explains Lovell. “Every elite athlete, without exception, that I have ever tested is chronically low in fish oils, so a no-brainer that you need to supplement with fish oils. Look to have at least 1,000mg of EPA and DHA per day, but most hard-training athletes need 2,000mg per day.”

10 Never go hungry

A grumbling gut might make you angrier than Nick Diaz. This might work for the cage (sometimes) but it’s no good for your muscles. “You must eat up to six small meals a day to give yourself the energy to train and repair and build muscles,” says Green. “You can also drink 2 or 3 whey protein shakes a day to do this if you’ve got a hectic schedule. And if you feel like snacking late at night have a piece of fruit or add it to a protein shake, as this will help you sleep better and recover from training faster.”

11 Get ripped sensibly

If you’re trying to shed weight fast for a weigh-in don’t wrap yourself in bin bags and hit the bike. Fighters are explosive athletes so the last thing you want to do is to teach your muscles to move slowly by drudging through hours of treadmill work. In his book – The Grappler’s Guide to Sports Nutrition (Advanced Sports Fitness, $32.99 from amazon.com) – Berardi suggests that nutrition is the number one factor for influencing a fighter’s body composition and bodyweight. And don’t try to dehydrate yourself either. A 3% drop in body water can cause a 10% loss of strength and an 8% loss of speed. Instead, reduce the amount of calories you’re eating and train as normal to make sure you’re the one forcing a tapout.

12 Soup-erman recovery

Sometimes old wives tales have a new twist. “Immune-boosting chicken soup is full of blood-thinning spices such as turmeric, ginger and cayenne pepper [to] help your blood flow round your body more efficiently, enabling it to heal and restore your muscles,” says Lovell. Try the Thai Soup Tum Yum as a variant – it’s got some kick.

13 Beware the ‘SS’

There’s nothing more dangerous to your health than the SS: salt and sugar. “In order to digest sugar and its substitutes, your body has to divert nutrients away from your muscles and energy systems,” says Green. This’ll leave you feeling lackluster. “And salt will make you retain water, which is no good for making weight and increases your blood pressure. Both of these inhibit your performance and ability to make weight, so rather embrace the natural taste of food. This strategy will enhance your athletic ability and help maintain the mental focus you need to concentrate on your upcoming fights.”

14 Forget FIVE a day – take down nine

Discount what the average Joe needs – you’re far from normal. “Five servings of fruit and veg is not enough for combat athletes,” says Josh. “Aim for nine servings with six of them in favor of veggies. Shoot for a variety of different coloured veggies on every plate so try butternut squash, sweet potatoes, fresh beetroot and red cabbage. These have different antioxidants that help protect your body from the stresses and strains of training and keep your immune system in tiptop shape.”

FIGHTER DIET STAPLES

Oily fish

These are swimming with omega-3 fats that’ll boost your recovery from training so you won’t walk like Pinocchio after your next grappling session. They’ll also bolster your ability to gain muscle and improve your brain function – so if you fail to overpower, you can always out-think your opponent.

Eggs

Give these a crack because you’ll absorb more muscle-building protein from eggs than any other protein source. Yes, even steak. What’s more, they’re rich in choline, which researchers at Boston University found enhances memory and reaction times plus minimizes mental fatigue. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out where these skills could be useful.

Quinoa

This South American staple is the grain with the highest protein content but still offers you a solid serving of energy-yielding carbohydrates. A small bowl will give you a huge dose of vitamin B6, thiamine, niacin, potassium and riboflavin, so you could practically turf out your multi-vitamin. More importantly a mere cup of the stuff will give you your RDA of calcium – the mineral responsible for snap-proof bones and fast-flexing muscles.

Oats

To be strong do as mom said and eat your oats. They’re low GI, so take ages to digest and will leave you feeling full all morning. You can even blend them up in your protein shakes for an extra-long energy kick. They also have anti-inflammatory properties so niggling knee injuries, for example, will heal faster.