This is a rant. If you’re easily offended please re-direct your browser to www.cuteoverload.com

Over the last couple of years I’ve got an increasingly number of clients who turned to me out of despair. These athletes originally turned to, what they assumed as knowledgeable people, for help with diets, training and contest preparations. But soon they discovered that they didn’t get the results they hoped for and as the competition approached they were way behind their schedule. So who are these people they turned to for help? They’re Internet gurus and book smarts and their playground is the Internet forums.

To tell you the truth, I’ve never been impressed with book smarts, and I’m certainly not impressed by today’s Internet gurus citing studies and science reports on Internet discussion boards. You’d be amazed to find out how few real athletes these so called experts have helped, let alone trained. Some of them do have some heavy theoretical knowledge in some areas, but they all obviously lack the practical side of training and coaching people and thus the most important key of all - experience. When you only have knowledge in some areas you easily get caught up in minor details that really don’t matter. And when you lack field experience, you don’t see all the variables and how they fit together; you don’t see the whole picture. I know, I’ve been there myself.
And no Bubba, that somebody has been training for years and has the body to show for it does not count in my book. We’re all different and thus there are hundreds of parameters influencing nutritional- and training program design. The fact that someone have packed on a bit of muscle and burnt some fat does not automatically translate into the ability to evaluate and create individualized programs for others that will accomplish the same (or better) results.

I’ve helped people to get results since 1995, first as a hobby and later on as a business. Nowadays I design programs and train people for a living. I’ve always respected practitioners and unless you have to get results to make a living, I’m actually not that interested in what you have to say. This may sound arrogant, but I only have so many hours a day to keep educating myself. I rather spend this time corresponding with other coaches that produce results. And sure, I do read some studies and reports, but most of the time it’s only to validate what we have been doing for years and to help us understand what’s really is going on in a scientific matter.

If I had to rank the steps I take when I design programs after making an assessment of a new client, it would look like this:

1. My own knowledge and experience.
2. The knowledge and experience of my colleagues.
3. Consulting books, journals and established research.

If you’re a trainer and in the same boat as me, I bet you agree with me on the statements above. If you’re an athlete this might give you a few things to ponder. Choose your help wisely.

I recently received a couple of questions regarding workout drinks and I thought I could start of the nutrition category in this blog with a few tips and pointers in that area.

The first thing to keep in mind is that the body is far better at utilizing protein and carbs during and after training versus the rest of the day. Recent studies actually show that type II diabetics can handle carbs just as well as non-diabetics during and directly after training. If you need to boost your energy intake to pack on muscle mass, this is the best time to do it.
And if you’re on a diet and cutting carbs, those carbs around your workouts are the last to be touched.

So if you have your diet in order, here are some ideas:

If you want to build muscle mass but aren’t growing, then you probably lack in calories. Add more to your workout drinks. Before, during and especially after. Just get the extra calories when they are best utilized.

The amount of carbs and protein depends on factors like lean body mass, carb tolerance and a lot more. A good starting point is 25-30 grams of protein per hour trained and the double amount of carbs (2-1 ratio). If you’re a skinny bastard with a furious metabolism, double or triple it.

Add BCAA during and after the workout for best results. Take 5g per serving if you’re below 200lbs and 10g if you’re above. If you’re on a calorie deficient diet the BCAA and creatine combo is a real blessing! Just add 2-3g of creatine to each serving of BCAA.

Do not underestimate the power of a workout drink during training if you want to gain muscle or keeping your performance level as high as possible. Just make sure to sip it and have it well diluted.

These are a few simple tips that go a long way.