The latest blog post, as is often the case, is by James Kennedy. Who has recently passed his PhD, so a massive congratulations to him! 

​Enjoy!

Pre-workout. An essential component to a good workout or an expensive placebo? Pre-workouts are ubiquitous in gym culture, especially on TikTok. For strength athletes, it's rare to see someone *not* using pre-workouts in the warm-up area before a big lift. So does it work, and if so, why? An essential component to a good workout or an expensive placebo? Look at the back of a pre-workout supplement, and you'll find a list of ingredients with scientific-sounding names, but what do they do? Do you need them? Are they dosed correctly? 
​
To find out, we googled and picked a generic-looking pre-workout from a significant player in the UK supplement market. The ingredients are listed below:

The first step is to evaluate the ingredients (behind the fancy ® brand names). What is the ingredient meant to do, and is there evidence that it does this? Is it a WADA-approved supplement (a critical point for our IPF and IWF competitors!)? If the ingredient works, is it correctly dosed? Does the ingredient need to be 'loaded' (i.e. taken daily) to produce optimal results? Finally, when should this ingredient be taken to boost performance best? 
Ideally, at the end of this article, you will know what to look for in a pre-workout, what ingredients are necessary and how to take pre-workout supplements to best optimise your performance in the gym. Let's break it down!

First up, Creatine Monohydrate, at 3500mg (3.5g). Creatine is well-researched and has a moderate boost in performance outcomes. It's safe, effective and cheap. Creatine is stored in the muscles and allows for rapid replenishment of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the muscle during intense exercises, allowing the muscle to continue to work at a higher intensity and thereby improving athletic performance. Creatine builds up in the muscles over time and requires daily supplementation to maintain high muscle creatine levels. Usually, the recommendation is for 3-5g, taken daily (supplement guide link). 

Within this supplement, the dosage is on the lower side. In addition, there is no specific time window to take creatine. The benefits from taking creatine accumulate from a daily intake and is likely best sourced from a creatine powder rather than a pre-workout (the same supplement company selling this pre-workout for £1.33 per serving is currently selling creatine monohydrate for £0.40 per 5g serving …. spend your money wisely guys!) Overall, it's good that an effective supplement like creatine is in this pre-workout. However, the dosage is low and buying creatine monohydrate and taking 5g daily is probably more cost-effective. 

The second ingredient is L-Citrulline (3g). Evidence shows that L-Citrulline improves nitric oxide metabolism, increasing muscle blood flow and enhancing the pump you get from training (https://examine.com/supplements/citrulline/#effect-matrix). Additionally, studies have shown a performance increase from L-Citrulline supplementation - as it improves reps to failure performance. This is where the good news ends, however. L-Citrulline is a second-tier supplement with the potential to move into the top tier (supplement article link) - meaning it's currently either understudied or underwhelming but with potential benefits worth exploring. 


Where L-Citruline is effective, the minimum dosage is 6g daily, with typical recommendations of 8-10g. This pre-workout provides half the dosage required to see a benefit. The second issue is timing. Pre-workout supplements are commonly taken immediately before or during warm-ups. L-Citrulline requires 1-2 hours to enter the bloodstream and reach the muscles. Within this supplement, the combination of dosage and recommended usage (30 minutes pre-workout) means you will get minimal benefit.

An alternative option would be buying some L-Citrulline (roughly £10/100g) … although this works out at around £0.80 per serving. You could also not buy it; the magnitude of benefit from taking it is small, and it's doubtful you're missing out by not taking it. It's also worth remembering not to fall into the trap of thinking that taking the small doses present within this supplement will be enough to see a benefit and use that to justify buying the pre-workout! 

The third primary ingredient is Beta-Alanine, with 1.5g per serving. Beta-Alanine acts as an acid buffer in the body, preventing lactic acid build-up in the muscles, primarily when performing exercises in the lactic-aerobic zone (for example, a 400m sprint). For powerlifters, doing relatively low reps, you are almost exclusively using the anaerobic system with minimal lactic acid build-up; therefore Beta-Alanaine supplementation will likely be of minimal benefit to you. However, suppose you are a CrossFit athlete or bodybuilder. In that case, studies have shown an improvement in reps to failure in the 10-15 rep range (Effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise performance: a meta-analysis - PubMed). 

Like creatine, the benefits of taking Beta-Alanine come from the build-up of Alanine in the muscles. Unfortunately, whilst the ingredient is beneficial, it is underdosed again within this supplement. It would be best if you took a larger daily dose to benefit from Alanine supplementation - similar to L-Citrulline, meaning the amount of Alanine in this supplement is too low for you to help your performance.

The Nootropics

The following two ingredients, L-Tyrosine and L-Theanine, belong to a group of substances called nootropics. Nootropics, as a group, improve cognitive function and mental performance. Typically, L-Tyrosine and L-Theanine are used to offset the stress and anxiety associated with higher dose caffeine consumption, thus allowing you to benefit from the caffeine (improved focus and alertness) without suffering the downsides. The pre-workout contains a well-dosed amount of both substances, which will enhance the benefit of caffeine. 

Taurine

Dosed here at 0.5g, Taurine is an amino acid with diverse bodily functions. It is most relevant to energy metabolism and its anti-inflammatory properties here. Whilst the extract mechanisms are unclear, Taurine does increase fat burning for fuel and improve mitochondrial function (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34039357/). In addition, it is beneficial in treating inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5933890/). In studies, the effects of taking Taurine are relatively minor to non-existent with doses of ~3g. Sadly, as this ingredient works, it is massively underdosed in this supplement. 

Caffeine 

Caffeine is an effective stimulant - as anyone who's tried to function before having a morning cup of tea or coffee can test - which occurs naturally in tea and coffee. Alongside the obvious mental benefits, it also improves strength and endurance. The literature, and probably everyone's personal experience reading this, is that caffeine is an effective and relatively safe performance enhancer and should be used in pre-workouts. The dosage present in this pre-workout is reasonable - 200mg - broadly the same as a double espresso. 

At higher doses, caffeine can interfere with sleep - hampering recovery. The sleep interference effect is especially pertinent if you take caffeine within ~8 hours of trying to go to sleep. So, suppose you're tired before a workout in the evening or afternoon. In that case, there are better options than reaching for a pre-workout. Get through the workout, get some sleep, and recover; caffeine will temporarily mask the problem without addressing the cause.

The Vitamins

The next group of ingredients are the vitamins - Vitamin C, B6,9 and 12. Vitamin C does (slightly) reduce muscle damage (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15024666/); however, that study used a 200mg dose to achieve a small impact. In what should not be a surprise, Vitamin C is underdosed in this pre-workout, with only 80mg present. 

Vitamins B6,9 and 12 are common ingredients of pre-workouts and energy drinks, included to improve energy metabolism. The theory goes that they help you metabolise more energy, making you feel more energetic. Sadly, this is untrue. If you have a Vitamin B deficiency, you will likely have low energy, as a Vitamin B deficiency stops your body from breaking down food, leading to low energy levels and potentially anaemia. If you don't have a vitamin B deficiency - your body will filter the excess out into your urine, making this ingredient a waste of time. 

The Proprietary Blend - EnXtra

EnXtra is a proprietary extract of the Alpinia galanga plant, sometimes known as Blue Ginger. This plant is part of the ginger family and is used as a herb and spice in South Asian and Arabic cuisine and traditional medicine. Its use in traditional medicine has led to it being investigated for various properties - most pertinently as a stimulant. A study has shown that EnXtra can improve alertness and limit or prevent post-caffeine energy slumps when consumed with caffeine (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07315724.2017.1342576). The caveat? This study was funded by the company that sells EnXtra. This doesn't make it wrong, but it is context! This ingredient is harmless and potentially beneficial, although its purpose overlaps significantly with the well-researched and non-proprietary nootropics within the pre-workout. 
Conclusions / Discussion

This pre-workout does contain practical, well-studied and effective ingredients. However, it underdoses most of them, and the benefits of these ingredients come from long-term, daily usage - not 3 or 4 times a week before a workout. In addition, the performance-enhancing impact of these supplements is related to when you take them around the workout. With that in mind, let's learn how to use these ingredients to optimise your training. Firstly, creatine monohydrate and beta-alanine. Both of these supplements build up in the body over time - 5-10g of creatine and beta-alanine should be taken whenever is convenient throughout the day. 

The next group of supplements are time dependent. L-Citrulline needs to be taken 1-2 hours before the workout to maximise the benefits of using the supplement and needs to be dosed effectively to guarantee to achieve this. Ideally, you would take a 6-8g dose around 90 minutes before training. Around the same time, you should take the nootropics and Taurine, as these can take up to 2 hours to begin working. 

Moving closer to the workout is where you should start to take the stimulants. It would help if you consumed caffeine 15-30 minutes before starting the activity to give you the ergogenic benefits but prevent the caffeine crash from happening mid-workout. This outline of how much and when you should take these supplements shows the fallacy of cramming all these ingredients into one super pre-workout. If you took this pre-workout and began drinking it on the way to the gym, the only ingredient which would benefit you in the workout is the caffeine. Besides being underdosed, the other ingredients would only help you at the end of the workout or on the journey home. Overall, this is an important point. The ingredients in this pre-workout are fine if underdosed. But taking them in one go at the start of the workout likely inhibits the benefits you should feel from taking them. If you are determined to use these ingredients, follow the protocol outlined in this article and ensure you hit the effective dosage outlined. However, if that sounds like too much effort for minimal reward, take creatine monohydrate every morning in your water and have a cup of coffee before your workout. Save your money - hire a coach instead! Your performance, progress and achievements will be because of your hard work and dedication - not your supplements. 

Our 1 Week Trial is free again for this month - with which you will get - 

• 1 Week of Open Gym Membership.
• Access to 2 group sessions of your chosen discipline. 
• A fun time. 

​Get in touch here.

The latest blog post is written by Coach Beá, and it's about a very important topic - Cutting for Competition. 
If you've been coached by me you will know that I feel quite strongly about cutting, or rather not cutting, for competition - particularly in your early competitions. 

​I'll let Beá explain the rest.

You'll see Beáta next competing in Olympic Weightlifting in July, but if you'd like to be coached by her then get in touch via the website or find her on instagram @prhousecoaching. 

The latest article from James Kennedy for you here. It's all about Fat Burning supplements - should you buy them and are they worth it?

Fat burners and weight loss pills are nutritional supplements which *claim* to increase fat metabolism and energy expenditure, speeding up fat loss and allowing people to lose weight quicker. They are popular supplements, with over $2 billion spent annually in the US alone on fat burners and weight loss supplements (1). In strength (powerlifting and weightlifting) and physique (bodybuilding) sports, fat burners are commonly used to help athletes manage weight loss and reach lower weight classes whilst maintaining as much lean body mass and muscle as possible. Sounds great right? 

Well, let’s go back to 2011. The Manchester City football player, Kolo Toure, was suspended for six months after failing a drug test which he blamed on taking his wife’s weight loss pills which contained a banned substance unbeknownst to him or his wife (2). Does this still occur? What’s actually in a fat burner? Do they work or are they just a way of supplement companies getting even more of your money?

To find out, I decided to break down every listed ingredient in the fat burner which appeared at the top of the Google search results. I then searched the internet and the scientific literature for the supplement’s ingredients, finding what the ingredient is claimed to do, what the evidence supports and whether the ingredient would be effective in the supplement.

​

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We also have our 1 Week Trial on offer for free throughout all of April. 

Word count - 2022 words.
Read time - 6.7 minutes.
Author - James Kennedy.
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Veganism for Strength Athletes?
​
 Vegan and vegetarian diets are becoming increasingly popular, due to the ethical and environmental impact of eating animal produce, as well as the health benefits of veganism. However, bro-science has argued for years that the only way to get jacked and ripped is to eat steak, with a side of eggs and a glass of milk 3-6 times a day, making a lot of strength athletes nervous about trying a vegetarian diet, despite the purported health benefits. In this article we’ll explore the health benefits of a vegan or vegetarian diet and whether strength athletes can eat a vegetarian diet and still maximise their training. 

 Firstly, definitions. There are several types of vegetarian diets - all vegetarian diets involve some restriction on the amount of meat and animal produce consumed within the diet.  The five main types of vegetarianism are, in order of flexibility:
 

• Flexitarianism: A flexitarian diet involves reducing the amount of meat and other animal products in the diet. This involves an occasional consumption of meat and fish,  but eating a vegetarian diet including dairy and eggs most of the time. 

 

• Pesco-vegetarianism: ‘Pesco’ refers to fish - a pesco - vegetarian eliminates meat from the diet but continues to eat fish, shellfish, eggs and dairy. 

 

• Lacto-Ovo Vegetarianism: Lacto refers to dairy and Ovo eggs.  This variation of vegetarianism eliminates meat and fish from the diet, but includes eggs and dairy produce. 

 

• Lacto Vegetarianism: A lacto vegetarian diet eliminates meat, fish and eggs, but still consumes dairy. 

 

• Veganism: Veganism is the most restrictive vegetarian diet, and involves the exclusion of all food products derived from animals.

 Longevity

 It’s commonly claimed that vegetarians live longer than omnivores (1). This reinforces the notion that vegans or vegetarian diets are healthier - if a vegan diet is healthier, we would expect vegans to live longer.  It’s true that vegan diets are associated with a range of health benefits, including lowering obesity rates, type 2 diabetes and heart disease - which are all common diseases increasing mortality rates (2). 

 However,  it’s not quite that simple. Plant based diets (i.e. flexitarian through to vegan diets) which rely on nutritious food lower your risk of heart disease by 25%. In contrast, plant based diets which are high in processed foods increase the risk of coronary heart disease by 32%! (3). Further, a recent meta-analysis (4) between vegetarians and *comparable* non-vegetarians have similar all cause mortality, with vegetarians having lower mortality rates from pancreatic and lymphatic cancers and meat-eaters having lower mortality rates from respiratory disease and all-cause mortality rates (the authors suggest more research is needed into why specific causes of death differ between the groups - though this is unnecessary. Meat eaters have lower all cause mortality because they’re less annoying than vegans, therefore they get beat to death less). 

 The longevity impacts of a vegan diet are overstated because of a series of confounding factors. Generally, vegans or vegetarians are more health conscious than the general population, as well as being higher educated, more physically active, sleeping more and smoking and drinking less (5). These confounding factors mean that the health benefits that vegetarians enjoy could be a result of the lifestyle, with the studies focusing on comparison between vegetarians and comparable meat-eaters suggesting that the health benefits are actually from the lifestyle that vegetarians adopt, rather than the diet. 

 So, no, a vegan or vegetarian diet will not make you live longer if you are a generally healthy person. But does it have any health benefits?

 Inflammation

 Inflammation, or chronic inflammation, has started to be blamed for a lot of disease over the past half-decade or so (6,7). Whilst some inflammation is a good thing, elevated levels of inflammation for long periods of time (chronic inflammation)  can cause health issues. It has been found that adopting a vegetarian diet over an extended period (over 2 years) does reduce inflammation, however, no study has been done comparing between vegetarians and comparable non-vegetarians (8). Once again, the chronic inflammation reduction seen in vegetarians may just be a result of the lifestyle choices vegetarians make. 


 Weight loss


 Yes for general population - probably not for athletes 

 Vegan and vegetarian diets do cause more weight loss than non-vegetarian diets for the general population (9). However, no data exists on the body composition lost (fat, muscle or water), or on the impact on weight loss for vegan strength athletes. 

 Speculatively - this is not based on any studies, just what I *think* might happen - it may be difficult to eat enough protein as a strength athlete whilst losing weight. When trying to lose weight, we should be aiming to eat around 2.2g/kg of protein. This could be challenging to achieve in a vegan diet, as most vegan protein sources also contain high levels of carbohydrates. Consequently, eating a vegan diet when cutting could make it challenging to retain muscle mass. Eating a lacto-ovo or lacto vegetarian diet may make it easier to hit their protein targets without going over their calorie or carbohydrate targets. 

 Having established that the health benefits of vegan and vegetarian diets are overstated, with comparable people who eat omnivorous diets seeing similar health outcomes, the next step is to see if there are any impacts on athletic performance from eating vegan or vegetarian diets. 

 Advice for athletes

  Athletic performance in general 

 A systematic literature review comparing the athletic performance of vegetarians and omnivores found that, over eight short term studies (12 weeks in length) there was no difference in athletic performance between vegetarians and non-vegetarians (10). Theoretically, there could be long-term impacts on health and performance from eating a vegan diet but no empirical studies on athletes has been done (11).  The impact, or potential impact, of these shortcomings can be alleviated by careful food and supplement selection by vegan athletes. 

 The first consideration is protein. Generally, protein from plants is less well digested and lacks essential amino acids which are essential in building muscle. Whilst lacto-ovo vegetarians generally will get enough of these amino acids from dairy and eggs, vegans should make sure they eat a source of lysine (beans, legumes), leucine (soy beans and lentils) and other BCAA rich foods (seeds, tree nuts and chickpeas. To make sure that vegans are getting enough digestible protein to support muscle growth, they should also consider boosting protein intake to around 2.2g/kg. 


 **what about whey?**

 **Whey protein is obviously not vegan, as it is made from dairy. However, Whey is a waste product from cheese production, with 10L of milk making 1kg of cheese and 9L of whey (think of the nursery rhyme, separating curds and whey). Whey is also an incredible environmental toxin, thought to be 175 times more toxic than human sewage (12).  For environmental vegans, whey could be used as a sustainable option. Since whey protein is a by-product of the dairy industry, the environmental impact of whey is itself, small. The environmental impact of whey protein is really low; the carbon and pollution emissions occur during the cheese production process. For vegans, this may mean a cheap, higher quality protein source could be utilised.** 
 
The second potential issue to address is fats. Vegans eat less fat in general which can be linked to lower testosterone levels (note - *vegans do not have lower testosterone vs omnivores*) , so this may be a non-issue.  Vegans also eat less omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for the immune system, growth and development. 

However,  the solution is pretty simple. Eat avocados, nuts and seeds and take a micro algae or omega 3 supplement. There isn’t overwhelming evidence that any of the potential side effects of eating a vegan diet (i.e. the most restrictive vegetarian diet) has a negative impact due to low fat content. It theoretically could however, so make sure you’re still getting enough dietary fat from oil, avocado, nuts and seeds as well as taking an omega-3 supplement. 

 Finally, we get onto micro-nutrition. Whilst this may seem counterintuitive as vegetarian diets are generally higher in fruit and vegetables, they are deficient in a few key vitamins and minerals. First up is vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is an essential mineral used in the nervous system, blood and DNA, which primarily enters the diet through animal and dairy products. A deficiency in vitamin B12 causes tiredness and lethargy in the short term and can lead to anaemia and central nervous system damage in the long term. Vegans and vegetarians are therefore commonly advised to take about 6 micrograms of vitamin B12 supplementation a day. THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE but a can of monster energy has 13 micrograms of  vitamin B12 … just saying.

 The other major micronutrient which can be difficult for vegans to get into their diets is Calcium. Calcium is important for bone and muscle health, with vegans and vegetarians consuming less than non-vegetarians. This one does have evidence of it being a problem, with vegans having an increased risk of bone fractures and lower bone mineral density (11). The primary source of calcium in mixed diets is dairy - vegans are limited to high calcium vegetables (broccoli and kale) or calcium fortified foods. 


 Summary


 So, can a vegetarian diet ever be appropriate for a strength athlete? Easily. If you’re a strength athlete, eating a flexitarian diet (i.e. not eating meat or fish 2-4 days a week), will have no noticeable impact on performance or physique goals. Pesco-vegetarianism and Lacto-ovo vegetarianism are also vegetarian diets which would reduce the ethical and environmental impact of your diet without hindering strength training outcomes. 

 The most  restrictive vegetarian diets - veganism - could, potentially, have some long-term drawbacks. These drawbacks can easily be addressed however by supplementing the diet with vitamin B12 and calcium, as well as some vegan friendly omega-3 sources. The one case where it may be difficult to maintain a vegan diet is if you are attempting to get very lean - sub 10% body fat. In this scenario, you are trying to reduce body weight and maximise muscle mass retention. Most vegan protein sources are higher in calories than their non-vegan alternatives, which could make managing a cut difficult. 

 Overall, there is no reason why eating a vegetarian diet would have a negative impact on your strength and physique goals.  If you're interested, start by going flexitarian and slowly progress through pesco-vegetarian and lacto-ovo vegetarian diets and see how it goes!!!


 References

1. [Vegans live longer than those who eat meat or eggs, research finds | The Independent | TheIndependent](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/vegan-meat-life-expectancy-eggs-dairy-research-a7168036.html#:~:text=Vegans%20have%20substantially%20lower%20death,a%20major%20study%20has%20found.&text=This%20increased%20to%20an%20eight,drop%20of%2012%20per%20cent.)
2. 2.  [Do Vegans Live Longer Than Non-Vegans?](https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/do-vegans-live-longer)
3. 3. [Healthful and unhealthful plant-based diets and the risk of coronary heart disease in US adults](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5555375/)
4. 4. [Mortality in vegetarians and comparable nonvegetarians in the United Kingdom - PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26657045/)
5. 5. [Vegetarian Dietary Patterns and Mortality in Adventist Health Study2] (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4191896/)
6. 6.  [Chronic inflammation is long lasting, insidious, dangerous …](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/chronic-inflammation-is-long-lasting-insidious-dangerous-and-you-may-not-even-know-you-have-it/2020/01/17/93ab0fa2-316f-11ea-9313-6cba89b1b9fb_story.html)  [https://www.washingtonpost.com › health › 2020/01/17](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/chronic-inflammation-is-long-lasting-insidious-dangerous-and-you-may-not-even-know-you-have-it/2020/01/17/93ab0fa2-316f-11ea-9313-6cba89b1b9fb_story.html) 
7. 7. [Why You Should Pay Attention to Chronic Inflammation](https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-you-should-pay-attention-to-chronic-inflammation/)  [https://health.clevelandclinic.org › why-you-should-pay…](https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-you-should-pay-attention-to-chronic-inflammation/) 
8. 8. [Association of vegetarian diet with inflammatory biomarkers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies - PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28836492/)
9. 9. [Vegetarian Diets and Weight Reduction: a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4699995/)
10. 10.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283495301_Vegetarian_and_Omnivorous_Nutrition_-_Comparing_Physical_Performance
11. 11. [Veganism, vegetarianism, bone mineral density, and fracture risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis | Nutrition Reviews | Oxford Academic](https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article/77/1/1/5146363?login=false)
12. 12. [(PDF) Life Cycle Impact Assessment and Allocation Methods Development for Cheese and Whey Processing](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269848154_Life_Cycle_Impact_Assessment_and_Allocation_Methods_Development_for_Cheese_and_Whey_Processing)

If you'd like to get in touch with myself, you can do so via media@dannyleeonline.co.uk.

For the author, James Kennedy, you can email at - jlk@dannyleeonline.co.uk

If you'd like to join the mailing list to get these articles directly to your inbox, check out this link.

What to Know - 

Word Count - 1200 words. 

Time to Read - 4 minutes ish.

 In Part 1 of our diet setup guide, we outlined the 5 components of a diet:
 1. Calories. Calories provide the fundamental control on whether weight is gained or lost. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. If you eat less calories than you burn, then you will lose weight

 2. Macros. Macros (Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats), are important in helping you reach physique goals more quickly than if you just focus on calories alone.

 3. Micronutrients. Micronutrients aren’t massively important in attaining physique goals - however long-term deficiencies will impact your health and ability to train and recover. 

 4. Meal timing/frequency. Meal timing and frequency is a topic which generates a lot of discussion and catchy slogans but it doesn’t really matter, if you are hitting your calorie and macro targets. These will be discussed in more detail in a future article.

 5. Supplements. Supplements are the smallest part of the puzzle - I wrote about supplements in a previous article (link here). For now, all we need to know is that supplements, supplement your diet and help you reach your calorie and macro targets. 

 The first article focused on the two most important factors in determining diet success - Calories and Macros. Part 2 is focusing on the other three components of diet; micronutrients, meal timing and frequency and supplements. Whilst these are less important than calories and macronutrients to determining success, they do play a role in your long term health and diet success. 

 Micronutrients 
Micronutrients are nutrients required in the diet in small amounts for optimal health and performance. Whereas macronutrients are measured in grams, micronutrients are usally measured in the diet in miligrams. In the short term they aren’t super important, but long term micronutrient deficiencies cause serious health issues and will impact your ability to train effectively.  
 Micronutrients can be divided into two groups - vitamins and minerals. Minerals are non-organic (e.g. Iron, Zinc, Sodium etc.) whereas vitamins are organic. Vitamins are further subdivided into water-soluble and fat-soluble. Water soluble vitamins (e.g. Vitamin C) pass through the body in urine (which is why your pee turns a bright colour when you take a vitamin C tablet). Fat soluble vitamins are absorbed in the stomach and build up in the body. This means that deficits and surpluses build up in the body over time and can’t be quickly corrected. 

 How do I make sure I get enough micronutrients?

 Tracking your micronutrition is not recommended unless you have a specific micronutrient deficiency that needs addressing. For most people the micronutrients contained in meat (B-minerals), dairy (calcium, zinc and vitamin A) and starchy carbohydrates (Zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6) will be present in the diet in ample quantities. The micronutrients present in fish (primarily omega-3 fatty acids) and fruits and vegetables (Vitamin A, C, D, E and others) are more likely to be under-represented in the diet..  
 The simplest way to make sure you’re covering all the bases in terms of micronutrition is to eat a varied diet, with 2 meals of fish a week and plenty of fruit and vegetables each day. Eric Helms gives the following guidelines for his bodybuilding competitors on specific quantities of fruit and veg per day: 

Calories.                       Cups of fruit & vegetables / day.

1200 - 2000.                  2 cups each.

2000 - 3000.                  3 cups each.

3000 - 4000                   4 cups each.

 The reason that these recommendations decrease with calorie intake is twofold:
 

1. The less calories you eat, the less carbohydrates you eat, therefore the less fruit and vegetables you’ll be able to fit into your macros. 
2. The more food you eat, the more fibre is needed in the diet to digest the food and pass it through the gut. 

 Can i just take a multivitamin and not eat fruit and vegetables?

 No. 

 To quote Alan Aragon: 
‘a poor diet with a muti(vitamin) is still a poor diet’.


 Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables is essential for optimising health and performance. A multivitamin is a good insurance policy - if there are gaps in your micronutrient intake from your diet, then the multivitamin will help cover them. However, they will not provide you with the total health benefits that eating a variety of fruit and vegetables will. 


 Nutrient Timing and Meal Frequency

Nutrient timing and meal frequency is overrated. It certainly can have a small impact on body composition and help with diet adherence, particularly when cutting, but the overall success or failure of a diet will be controlled by calories and macronutrients. There is evidence that meal frequency (specifically intermittent fasting), does have health benefits but it’s debated as to whether these impacts are due to intermittent fasting or just caloric restriction and weight loss. 

 For beginners, or those new to tracking calories and macros, simplicity is key. The best diet for you is the one you can stick to. To begin, there are three main considerations:

1. How many meals?
2. Nutrient timing and training
3. Breakfast - do you need it?

 The number of meals you eat is related to how many calories you have to eat that day. If you are cutting, splitting those calories into 2-4 meals is probably best. If you’re bulking, eating 3-4 meals will work better - trying to cram a calorie surplus into two meals is probably going to be unpleasant. When you’re cutting, eating fewer meals can be psychologically beneficial because you can eat 2 normal meals and one smaller meal or even skip a meal.

 It is also important, especially when cutting, to space your meals around your training. If you’re training in a calorie deficit, making sure you are fueled properly around the workout is essential for getting the most out of your training that you can. 

 Firstly, never train completely fasted. Even if you are training at 6am, take a protein shake to the gym with you and sip it throughout your workout (p.s. If you find protein shakes too milky to drink during a workout, try MyProtein’s clear whey - it’s excellent for intra-workout shakes). Once you have finished your workout, make sure you eat within two hours of finishing a session. Make sure you eat more in the post-workout meal than the pre-workout meal and try to split your macros evenly between the meals.  

 Finally, breakfast. Skipping breakfast - or having a low calorie meal like a protein shake - can be helpful if you’re cutting. It makes calculating your calories and macros easier as you can just split them between two meals. Typically, people in a calorie deficit find it easier to skip breakfast and then eat two more or less normal meals. 

 Supplements

The final piece of the puzzle is supplements. These are supplements to the diet - not a magic bullet. Broadly, protein powder is a worthwhile investment as it can help you boost dietary protein without the addition of excess calories. Make sure your protein powder doesn’t contain a large amount of filler - a good powder will contain 18-20g protein per 25g scoop. There are a range of other supplements which can help your performance - link here - but they are non-essential to your dieting goals. 

 Summary
​
 The keys to a successful diet are your calories and macros (link this to article 1). Your micronutrition, nutrient timing and meal frequency have a smaller impact on the overall success of a diet, but cause a huge amount of confusion. Fundamentally, eating 2-4 meals per day, with a varied diet including fruit and vegetables and using high quality protein powders and supplements to fill in the gaps will take care of your basic micro-nutritional and meal frequency needs. 

This is another article written by Daniel Lee Fitness coach James Kennedy. 

If you'd like to get in touch with him directly you can email him on - jlk@dannyleeonline.co.uk 

The low down - 

Word Count - 1910.
Time to Read - 6.3 minutes. ​

Setting up a diet 
​
According to survey data from the US 41% of gym-goers attend the gym to lose weight and 38% go to look better (Source - https://www.statista.com/statistics/639169/reasons-behind-gym-exercise-in-us/
) . Whilst exercising is a key component of improving your physique and losing weight, your diet is essential to help maximise both muscle growth and fat loss. 

Diet is a topic for which there is no end of bullshit on the internet. If you don’t get the fundamental parts of a diet sorted, then you will be wasting your time and money. This article will explain what the key components of a diet are, what you should focus on and how to get started with your diet whether you want to build muscle or lose fat. 

TL; DR

• Your weight is controlled by calorie balance. Eating more than you need will cause weight gain, eating less than you need will drive weight loss. 
• Macronutrients are important to track in order to make reaching physique goals easier.
• Setting realistic weight loss or muscle gain targets is essential to establishing long term success. 

Nutritional Importance

There are 5 components to a diet, in order of importance: 

1. Calories. Calories provide the fundamental control on whether weight is gained or lost. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. If you eat less calories than you burn, then you will lose weight

2. Macros. Macros (Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats), are important in helping you reach physique goals more quickly than if you just focus on calories alone

3. Micronutrients. Micronutrients aren’t massively important in attaining physique goals - however long-term deficiencies will impact your health and ability to train and recover. 

4. Meal timing/frequency. Meal timing and frequency is a topic which generates a lot of discussion and catchy slogans but it doesn’t really matter, if you are hitting your calorie and macro targets. These will be discussed in more detail in a future article.

5. Supplements. Supplements are the smallest part of the puzzle - I wrote about supplements in a previous article (link here). For now, all we need to know is that supplements, supplement your diet and help you reach your calorie and macro targets. 

This article is primarily going to focus on the first two points; calories and macros with micronutrients, meal timing and frequency discussed in a subsequent article. 

Setting up your diet

When setting up a diet - whether your goal is muscle gain, fat loss or to maximise sports performance - the most important thing is calorie balance. There are 3 main components to a diet:

1. Choosing appropriate fat loss or muscle gain targets based your current levels of body fat or training experience

2. Calculating your target energy intake

3. Calculating your macronutrient breakdown 

Most people want to lose fat or gain muscle, or ideally do both simultaneously. Your ability to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time decreases with body fat percentage and training experience. The less time you’ve been training and the higher body fat percentage you have, the easier it will be to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. However, if you are a complete beginner to training, you may be better focused on just trying to gain muscle - your ‘noob gains’ will be much greater and training will be easier. 

When we are deciding about whether to lose or gain weight it is important to establish what our goals are. Should we try to gain muscle and add weight (bulk)  or try to lose body fat (cut)? 

The first question to ask yourself is what your training goals are. Are you a powerlifter or strongman competitor who just wants to maximise the amount of weight you can lift? Are you a powerlifter looking to move up or down a weight class? Or are you a bodybuilder or fitness enthusiast who is looking to maximise your physique? 

Generally, if your body fat percentage is above 15% for a male athlete or above 25% for a female athlete, you can cut your body-fat levels down to 8-10% without losing much strength. For the powerlifters out there, if you are near the bottom of your current weight class and carrying higher levels of body fat, cutting to reach the weight class below may allow you to become highly competitive. 

For example, if you weigh 85kg and have 20% body fat and compete in the 90kg weight class, you could easily lose 5-8% body-fat and move down to the 82.5kg weight class without losing any strength. This will make you relatively stronger and more competitive in the lower weight class. If you are already fairly lean, below 8-12% body fat levels, deciding to bulk may be more appropriate. 

Once you have decided whether to bulk or cut, the next step is to calculate how many calories you should eat. Thankfully, there is a helpful tool available to do this (http://dannyleeonline.co.uk/macro-calculator.html). 

To use this tool, firstly weigh yourself and measure your body fat percentage. The two easiest ways to measure your body fat percentage at home are either the calliper method 
(https://www.myprotein.com/thezone/nutrition/how-to-use-skin-fold-calipers-measuring-body-fat-percentage/) or the tape measure method developed by the US Navy (https://rippedbody.com/how-calculate-body-fat-percentage/)
 
Once you have these numbers, it’s possible to calculate your lean body mass (LBM). The next step is to establish your target LBM and target body-fat percentages. For those deciding to cut, you are aiming to maintain LBM and lose body-fat. Broadly, the following fat-loss targets are appropriate:


Body Fat %.                   ->30.     20-30.        15-20.       12-15.   8-12.    <8
Target fat loss/week -   1.1kg.      0.9kg.       0.7kg.    0.5kg.  0.3kg.  0.2kg
(source: https://rippedbody.com/)

So, if we go back to our 85kg powerlifter with 20% body fat who is aiming to lose around 8% body-fat (7kg), they should be aiming to lose 0.7kg a week. This means their initial cut should take ten weeks (7kg / 0.7 kg = 10 weeks), and their target body mass is 77kg. 

What about if we wanted to build more muscle? How much muscle could we expect to gain and how quickly? The first step in assessing how much muscle we could expect to gain is to assess how long you have been training seriously. If you are unsure about where you fit in, ask your coach. 

Training Status -           Beginner.       Intermediate      Advanced
Muscle Gain per month - 0.9-1.2kg.  0.45kg-0.9kg.        0.25kg
(source: https://rippedbody.com/)

There are several strategies around bulking. A dirty bulk (gain weight as quickly as possible), a controlled bulk (maximise muscle gain without gaining unnecessary fat levels) or a lean bulk (maintain maximal leanness while adding muscle). A dirty bulk is usually a bad idea. Your maximal rate of muscle growth is controlled by training experience, not by calories. Eating more calories above an appropriate level just leads to elevated fat gains.  In contrast, the so-called lean bulk or lean gains strategy, aims to build muscle without gaining fat. This can be done, but it will take much longer to build significant muscle mass. The best way, in my view, is to take the middle ground and perform a controlled bulk. This maximises your muscle gain whilst controlling the fat gain. For most people, a ratio of 1:1 muscle : fat gain is realistic. 

So, to use another example, what if we had a beginner to training, who weighs 70kg at 8% body fat. In this case, the lifter should be trying     to gain muscle. As they are a beginner, setting a target of 1kg of muscle a month is a realistic goal. If they aim to gain 1kg of muscle a month, they should expect to gain 1kg of fat per month. Over a 6 month bulk, they should aim to gain 6kg of muscle and 6kg of fat, leaving them at 82kg and 15% body fat. 


Calories 
So what happens now? We’ve established what we weigh, what body fat levels and our goals. The next step is to calculate your calories. The first step is to assess your daily, non-exercise activity level. Fundamentally, if you’re an office worker, set it at taking it easy. If you work in a more physically demanding job, set the activity level to beast mode. 
The second step is to enter how many hours of exercise a week you perform. If you’re training 4 times a week, using 6 hours of exercise as a baseline is typical. Once these have been entered, you’ll be able to calculate your daily calorie targets. 
Going back to our cutting powerlifter - the output is for them to eat 2546 calories a day. Our bulking beginner has a target of 2711 calories a day. Alongside these numbers, there are then the target macros - Protein, Carbs and Fat. What are these numbers and what should you do with them? 
Macros 
Macros or macronutrients refer to a food type required in large amounts in the diet; principally Fat, Protein and Carbohydrates. A common idea is that whilst calorie balance determines weight loss and gain, macronutrients control whether fat is lost or muscle is gained. This isn’t entirely right, but if you get the macro-nutrients correct then it will be much easier to reach your physique goals. 
The three major macronutrients are Protein, Carbohydrates and Fat. Each macronutrient has a certain amount of calories. Protein and carbohydrates both contain 4 calories per gram, with fat containing 9 calories per gram. The calorie target is then made up of a certain amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates per day. 

Protein 
Protein is essential for strength and physique athletes. Primarily, protein is essential for muscle repair and growth, thereby helping us recover from training. When we are trying lose weight, eating enough protein is essential to maintain as much lean muscle mass as possible. When we are trying to gain muscle mass, protein is important to help us to build as much muscle as possible. 
The amount of protein that you consume is dependent on your lean body mass and your diet goals. If you’re cutting, protein intake should be slightly higher than if you’re bulking, with a range of 2.3-3.1g/kg of LBM when cutting and 1.6-2.2g/kg of LMB when bulking. Using the Danny Lee Macro calculator*, we are given 5 options for the protein multiplier (0.8-0.9-1.0-1.1-1.2). If you are cutting, select a value of 1.0-1.2 for the protein multiplier, and a value for 0.8-1.0 if you’re bulking. 
The reason that protein is boosted in a calorie deficit is two fold; firstly higher levels of protein in the diet when you are in a calorie deficit helps preserve muscle mass. Secondly, protein is a high satiety macronutrient - it helps you feel fuller. When you are in a calorie deficit, eating a higher proportion of your diet from protein will help you feel fuller, making it easy to stick to the diet. 
Fat
Dietary fat is an essential macronutrient - it has a key role in maintaining normal hormonal function, especially testosterone. It should never be completely removed from your diet as this will have adverse health effects over the long term. 
Fat is the most calorie intensive of the macronutrients, with 9 calories per gram. During a cut, the easiest way to reduce calories is therefore to reduce fat consumption. As fat is over twice as calorie rich as carbohydrates, reducing fat intake can cause a big drop in calories. There is a minimum value that you shouldn’t go below - broadly below 0.9g/kg LBM. During a bulk, fat should make up around 20-30% of the total calorie intake. 
Using our trusty macro calculator, we have a range of values for the fat multiplier (0.4-0.5-0.6). If you are trying to cut, select the minimum value, 0.4. If you are trying to bulk, select 0.5 or 0.6, to see which value results in a fat intake between the 20-30% range. 
Carbohydrate
The final piece of the macronutrient puzzle are carbohydrates. When setting up a diet and setting your macronutrient targets, carbohydrates make up the remaining calorie amounts once your protein and fat goals have been set. Whilst carbohydrates are technically just the ‘rest’ of your diet, they are still important. Carbohydrates have important roles to play in feeling your workouts, replenishing muscle glycogen and play a role in hormone regulation. 

Putting it all together 
Let's go back to our two examples. 
Our 85kg powerlifter who is trying to cut has calculated they have 20% body fat, giving them a LBM of 68kg. They want to cut down to 12% body fat, giving them a target weight of 77kg. They have a relatively sedentary job and do 6 hours of training a week. 
This gives them a calorie target of ~2546 cal/day. They are cutting, so they select a protein multiplier of 1.1 and a fat multiplier of 0.4, giving them final macro targets of 186g Protein, 296g Carbohydrates and 67g Fat. 

The second example is our 70kg beginner who wants to pack on some muscle. 
They have a calculated body fat of 8%, giving them 64.4kg LBM. They are aiming to gain a kilo of muscle per month over the next six months, giving them a target LBM of 70.4kg, and a body fat percentage of 15%.  They have an active job and also do 6 hours of training a week, giving them a calorie target of 3073 calories per day. As they are bulking, they are choose a protein multiplier of 0.9 and a fat multiplier of 0.5, giving them final macro targets of 162g Protein, 402g Carbohydrates and 90g Fat. 

Summary 
In this guide we have outlined the key components of setting up a diet, what the components of a diet are and how to calculate your calorie and macronutrient targets. This should serve as the basis for your diet. In the next article we will discuss in more detail how you can use different strategies to hit your calorie and macronutrient targets, as well as discuss the importance of micronutrients.
*
The Macro calculator is available to clients in the website's 'Client Portal'.

This article was written by James Kennedy, if you'd like to get in touch with him directly you can email him via - jlk@dannyleeonline.co.uk

Nutrition Tips for the Beginner. ⁣
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Getting a handle on your diet can be hard. Especially if things like calories and macros seem alien to you as maths is hard sometimes. ⁣
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Precision Nutrition has a handy (that's a pun) way of dealing with this. For women it is suggested to have - ⁣
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- 1 palm sized portion of protein. ⁣
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- 1 fist of vegetables.⁣
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- 1 cupped handful of carb dense foods.⁣
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- 1 entire thumb of fat dense foods. ⁣
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For men it is the same but double that. ⁣
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Now once you get used to this style of meal building you can assess how you feel after a couple of weeks. ⁣
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Are you gaining weight from this but want to lose? Maybe have a smaller portion of the carbs or fat.⁣
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Are you losing weight but want to maintain or gain? Add in a little to the carbohydrates and see how that goes. ⁣
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Nutrition isnt easy, and while calorie counting, if done correctly is the surest way,it is also the hardest. ⁣
So to begin with, try this "handy" method. ⁣

This post is taken from my instagram in May of this year. It received plenty of good feedback so I thought I would lay it out here also. 

If you find that you need a more specific route to tracking your food then I would recommend educating yourself on calories, macronutrients and how to get what's right for you. If you need help with this then message me, by all means. 

​I hope you enjoyed this!