Part Three in a Series
AMINO ACID BALANCE © People on high-protein diets tend to be protein starved, paradoxically; those on a high-carbohydrate diet generally are in much better amino acid balance. Over the years it’s been customary for athletes to think, “If I want to excel in my sport, if | want to become big and strong, | must eat more protein — specifically, animal protein. Yes, there seems to be a certain logic in football players, wrestlers, bodybuilders, weightlifters and boxers making meat the main course of their diet. After all, these strength athletes are the “lions” of the sports world, and who Editor’s Note: We are extremely fortunate to have Dr.
Fred Hatfield share some of his insightful training ideas on achieving peak athletic performance without drugs. Dr. Hatfield is a prolific and creative writer of over fifteen books on weight training. After spending years as a track and field athlete, soccer player, gymnast, olympic weightlifter and bodybuilder, Dr. Hatfield turned to the sport of powerlifting. He is known as Dr. Squat and his 1014 squat in Hawaii this year was another world record; one of many set by this champion of champions. ever heard of lions sitting down to a meal of nuts, fruits and vegetables?
Yet when biochemical analysis is done, revealing how the So the elite modern athlete intent on maximum performance of sports nutrition just doesn’t hold up. The direct feedback can — and should — take steps to ensure that the body is biochemically correct and balanced. It’s important to check whether the thyroid, adrenals and liver are functioning from athletes on a high-protein diet (consisting of more than 2 properly.
Is there a sufÏcient amount of vitamins and minerals grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day) is that they are very unhealthy, tend to suffer from nutritional athlete to make sure there are no blocks in any of the amino body is functioning, that traditional, seemingly logical theory allergies, have problems with their kidneys and other organs, in the body? Most important of all, it’s crucial for such an and — remarkably — are protein starved (as was the case with acid cycles, the metabolic pathways in the body. And how do you make sure there are no blocks? The only the karate instructor mentioned earlier). way to find out is by undergoing an amino acid analysis.
Scientists in Georgia tested athletes who were taking in more than 2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight of animal protein a day, yet their bodies were assimilating only about 30 grams. These individuals actually were losing muscle weight and strength because they were intolerant to that excessive amount of protein. Their bodies were not able to break it e Athletes should not take the amino acids arginine and ornithine in high down. If you take in too much protein, the body gets toa point doses (2,000 or more milligrams per day).
Despite what Durk where it actually seems to turn off the assimilation process, as Pearson and Sandy Shaw say in their bestselling book, Life if to say, “Hey, you’re putting in too much. I can’t handle it.
Extension, supplementing with these amino acids is not the last There’s too much for me to break down and de-toxify. So, word. Large doses of arginine and ornithine throw off the forget it, I'm shutting down.” amino acid metabolism. It’s also known that taking large As far as amino acid analysis is concerned, no one seriously amounts of arginine causes an increased susceptibility to oral would suggest that such testing is imperative for everyone herpes. For best results, take these amino acids in small active in sports. The weekend or recreational athlete really quantities (1200 mg/day).
doesn’t need to worry about body chemistry and maximum e When supplementing the diet with vitamins, pass on the Vitamin D. performance. Most serious athletes may not see a need for sophisticated biochemical testing, either. For such individuals, a basically sound diet (minimum 70% carbohydrate, with 1.2- Tests show that Vitamin D can affect amino acid cycles in the body. If you’re taking a multi-vitamin, choose one that has a low amount of D — no higher than the RDA.
1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day), daily vitamin-mineral supplementation, and a careful, intelligent amino acid program (high in branch-chain amino acids; ie., a formula specially designed for athletes) should serve the nutritional needs adequately.
BOOKS BY HATFIELD Ultimate Sports Nutrition But at the elite level in athletics, sophisticated bioanalytic techniques such as amino acid analysis are important, if not imperative. After all, athletic performance has entered the high-tech age. And it hardly makes sense to use highly scientific training techniques and the most advanced equipment while leaving one’s nutrition up to chance. 56 $10.95 plus $1.50 postage Write: Sports Conditioning Services P.O. Box 222 Canoga Park, CA 91305 Toll Free call: 1-800-544-5485 In California call: (818) 993-8251
From BFS Magazine — January/February 1988. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
