A couple of days ago I put one question to a room of chefs.
Same athlete. Same recovery day. Same total amount of protein across the day.
Which way of serving it builds the most muscle?
A. One very large dose at night
B. 40g every 6 hours
C. 20g every 3 hours
D. 10g every 90 minutes
The room split four ways. As, Bs, Cs and Ds all came through the chat.
The answer is C.
Muscle can only use so much protein at one time. Around 20 to 40g at a meal, depending on the size of the athlete and how hard they trained. Spread that every 3 to 4 hours and you get the most out of it.
Go past that at one meal and you get very little extra for it.
So here's the problem with "more protein, more muscle."
On tour in America with the Chelsea first team, we had a barbecue after a double training day. Amazing food. Great atmosphere.
The chef served one player a whole T-bone steak.
The player was happy. The chef was happy. Everyone was happy.
But that steak was far more than 20 to 40g of protein. And it took up the space where his carbohydrate, fibre, fruit and veg should have been.
Less carbohydrate means slower recovery and a harder session tomorrow. Less fibre and veg means worse gut health.
Every time protein is over-served, something else gets pushed off the plate.
None of this is the chef's fault. Protein has the loudest marketing in food. Shakes, bars, "high protein" on every label. Players hear it in the gym and bring it straight to the chef.
What nobody gave chefs is the other half of the picture. How much. How often. And what it's pushing off the plate.
The way I coach it is food formations.
Players are coached formations every single day. Why can't we do it with food?
1. Rest day.
One fist of fuel, one palm of protein, three fists of fruit and veg. A defensive formation.
2. Training day.
Two fists of fuel, one palm of protein, a little less veg.
3. Match day, plus the day before and the day after.
Three fists of fuel, one palm of protein, and the fibre comes right down.
Look at what never moves.
One palm of protein. Every formation. Every day.
What changes is the fuel. That's where the day is won or lost.
That said, here's one thing to do this week.
Plate protein by the palm, not by the cut.
(Subscribe to my email below, reply and tell me what changed. I may feature it, with your permission.)
Try this:
- read the training schedule before you plan the plate
- one palm of protein, whatever the day
- fill the space with fuel to match the session
- when a player asks for the bigger steak, show them the formation
Anyone can serve a big steak. The chef who can explain why it got smaller is the one the performance team trusts with the plate.
That's the difference between serving food and defending it.
See you next Monday,
Ness.
