Pre-workout nutrition on a low carb diet

[hailtotheking]

Just wanted to put a few ideas down and see what folks think. Nothing really new - more like an amalgamation of what has already been said.

An article by Chris Thib a while back called 'Refined Physique Transformation' suggested this:

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Replace the carbs with other ingredients that might have a similar effect. Carbs themselves are not anabolic; they can help muscle growth through glycogen replenishment and via an insulin spike, which prevents muscle breakdown and facilitates the uptake of amino acids in the muscle. If we can get these same benefits without using carbs, the anabolic response will be adequate too.
A good strategy to use is this:

Pre-Workout (30 minutes prior)
5g glutamine
5g creatine
5g BCAA
Half scoop of whey isolate (12-16g)

In his "Supplementation for Newbies" Article he suggests:

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Strategy 1 — Pre-workout
• [Competitor nootropic stack with caffiene]
• Taurine: 3-5g (neural activation)
• Vitamin C: 1000-1500 mg (increase fat mobilization, lowers cortisol)
• BCAAs: 10g
• Whey isolate: 10-15g
• Creatine: 5g*

* A lot of people think taking creatine prior to a workout isn't a good idea, but recent research has shown that it's actually one of the most effective times to take it.

Dr Eric Serrano, a well respected sport nutritionist and retired competetive powerlifter, also recommends taking a similar coctail of aminos before training on a low-carb diet without any carbs, but his formula contains all of the EAA's and NO promoters like arginine.

Mauro DiPasquale is also a fan of using all of the EAA's, glutamine, taurine, arginine, orthinine, and alanine, as well as electrolytes pre-trainng for work capacity, muscle cellular hydration, which in turn increases intra-muscular pressure and is an anabolic signaler.

With regards to the creatine pre-training question, i noticed in DiPasquale's 'Metabolic Diet' book he states:

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Although there have been literally hundreds of studies on the effects of creatine on
performance most of these studies were done to measure the immediate effects of
creatine on power and strength. A study published this year also shows that creatine
may decrease neuromuscular fatigue.291 Another shows that creatine, contrary to
what we might expect, seems to be effective in boosting low intensity exercise.292

Two other pre-workout supps i am intrigued by are glycerol and MCT's

From DiPasquale's 'Metabolic Diet':

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Glycerol is useful in the higher-fat/lower-carb diet as an alternate energy substrate for
those who initially have some problems adjusting to the diet, especially in cases
where hypoglycemic symptoms (low blood sugar) are a problem. Glycerol can also be
used in limited amounts at those times (say on Thurs or Fri) when you might run out
of steam during training. However, the unlimited use of glycerol by those who have
successfully adapted to the Metabolic Diet may be counterproductive since it may be
used by the body directly or used to make glucose and thus may bypass the very
metabolic shift we're trying so hard to make and maintain.

Chapter 10: Other Nutritional Supplements

If you are having difficulty adjusting to the diet, or having some hypoglycemic
symptoms, using glycerol along with some allowable food might be beneficial and
make the transition smoother. Other compounds that could also be used and
mentioned elsewhere are pantothenic acid and the amino acid glutamine. One or
more of these compounds are usually all that's needed to take care of some of the
hypoglycemic rough spots and in anyone having problems adjusting to the diet.
Glycerol has other beneficial properties. As your muscles work during an exercise
session, they have a tendency to dehydrate and lose water. As they lose water, they
will fatigue. What glycerol does is keep water around the muscle longer to keep it from
fatigue. For example, if fatigue is a problem in your workouts glycerol could help.
Since glycerol by itself is not very palatable, you could mix a few ounces in with, say,
a buffer drink, or any diet drink, and take it during your training session.

Also from the aforementioned 'Refined Physique Transformation' Article:

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The late Dan Duchaine was the first one to recommend using glycerol/glycerine for bodybuilding purposes. More recently, authorities such as Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale and yours truly have been recommending glycerol/glycerine when on a low-carb diet. It helps keep you feeling pumped and full and allows you to train harder (muscle dehydration equals loss of strength).
I recommend 5g of glutamine, 5g of creatine, and 15g of glycerin/glycerol taken four to five times a day (morning, two to three hours pre-workout, 30 minutes pre-workout, during the workout) for maximum results.

However in a discussion between Cy Wilson and John Berardi in 'The Carbohydrate Roundtable':

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CW: Next topic — glycerol. Glycerol is classically described as a hygroscopic, trihydroxy alcohol, which simply means that it contains three hydroxyl groups and is able to take up moisture out of the air and retain it. It's also a clear, syrupy liquid that has a very distinct sweet taste. With those properties in mind, it's easy to see why those manufacturers were putting it into bars in order to keep them sweetened as well as provide some texture and moisture. The only problem was that they weren't counting the carb content since it's not a carbohydrate but instead an alcohol.
Well, that's fine provided that you inform customers that glycerol still has a caloric value and thus you should keep track of it just as you would any macronutrient. This was a very misleading and shady thing to do. Essentially, when you consider the calorie content of the glycerol in those bars, they'd be better off using sucrose. My suggestion would be to stay away from glycerol and whatever you do, don't combine it with sulfuric acid, Jared!
JB: I've written about glycerol in a previous "Appetite for Construction" column and the bottom line was that it can certainly be converted into a carb (for every 10 grams of glycerol you may get somewhere around 3 grams of glucose), therefore it's not necessarily calorie or carb-free, so to speak.

With regards to MCT's, i know that a few of you guys are using coconut products pre-workout.

From DiPasquale again:

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Medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) also get a big thumb down for use with the
Metabolic Diet. Very few foods actually contain MCTs, but you'll find some popular
MCT supplements out there, mostly derived from coconut oil. Many people in a
higher-fat regimen are bullish on these products. They say, "It's fat, why can't we use
it?" The fact is that MCTs bypass the whole energy pathway we're trying to establish
with the Metabolic Diet and can be very counterproductive.
Not that MCTs can't be helpful. They can be of great use on a diet high in complex
carbs because of their protein sparing effects. But on the Metabolic Diet, the body
ends up using the MCTs for energy instead of the long chain fatty acids that make up
most body fat. As such, we end up bypassing the very metabolic goals the Metabolic
Diet is set up to achieve: to burn its own fat and use those triglycerides as a primary
energy source.
The long chain triglycerides utilized in the Metabolic Diet also have several
advantages over the MCTs. They have an even greater protein-sparing effect than the
MCTs.301 And along with decreasing the formation of body fat, they increase the
amount of existing body fat broken down302 and greatly decrease body fat levels.303
Don’t be tempted to run down to the health food store and buy some MCTs figuring
it's the kind of "good fat" you should use on this diet. They'll actually work against the
diet in terms of fat breakdown and body shaping.

The thing is, surely the bit about them being protein-sparing and easily useable for energy is a good thing for perfomance? I think *** Erasmus was also a supporter of MCT's for sports performance, but he acknowledged that large doses are needed for effect.

From Berardi in "The F-Word - All You Ever Wanted To Know About Dietary Fats":

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MCTs (medium chain triglycerides) are also noteworthy. These unique fats have a shorter chain length than many of the other fats discussed in this article. As a result of their unique structure, they are more readily burned than the other types of fat, meaning more energy with less fat storage.

and in his 'Lean Eating' articles:

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MCT's, due to their medium chain length, are easily oxidized by skeletal muscle. This is due to the fact that MCT's are quickly and easily transported to the fat furnace, the mitochondrion. As a result, research (Hill et al 1989) has demonstrated that TEF (thermogenic effect) with MCTs is double that of other fats, making it comparable to protein in this regard.

What is other folks experiences with MCT's before training?

[radicalry00]

Very good informative post HTK. Repped

I definately recommend Creatine, taurine and BCAA's before workout. Once I finish my pulse I'm just going back to these 3 supps.

And I can't really comment on using MTC's before training but it's definately worth a look.

[mxd]

Top quality, well though out post as per usual HTK.
specially good information on the MCT's it kind of makes sense doesn't it?

[myprotein.com]

Great post HTK!

[Ripped Barbarian]

Juice some raw liver, drink it.

If you hold it down you'll have one of the best pre workout drinks ever.

[Gareth83]

what's good about the juice of raw liver?

not that I intend trying it

[Bison]

I kinda trust my body's natural reactions to most things. Now I'm pretty sure if I tried the liver thing it'd throw it straight back up.... why would it do this to something so nutritious?

[Ripped Barbarian]

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what's good about the juice of raw liver?

not that I intend trying it

Raw liver makes me go psycho.

It's loaded with every mineral and vitamin known to man practically, enzymes and many other 'factors' including pro testosterone/anti estrogenic factors.

It fills you with energy like nothing else.

Raw and juiced the body does a much better job of digesting it quickly, ideal for a pre workout drink.

Taste is a different matter however, you must pinch your nose and swallow, whilst still holding nose wash mouth out with water then gulp something strong and fruity.

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I why would it do this to something so nutritious?

Because it's so rich in taste/nutrition.

Btw you only need to juice about 100g liver.

[Bison]

This is a good read on liver http://nourishedmagazine.com.au/blog...hing-the-liver

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It is widely known by all ancient societies that liver is the most nourishing food on the planet. Liver contains more nutrients, gram for gram, than any other food including:

* High-quality protein
* Vitamin A - nature’s most concentrated source
* All the B vitamins in abundance, particularly vitamin B12 if consumed raw
* One of our best sources of folic acid
* A highly usable form of iron
* Trace elements such as copper, zinc and chromium; liver is our best source of copper
* A yet unidentified but proven to exist anti-fatigue factor
* CoQ10, a nutrient that is especially important for cardio-vascular function if consumed raw
* A good source of purines, nitrogen-containing compounds that serve as precursors for DNA and RNA.

But isn’t Liver Dangerous?

In spite of widespread tradition and abundant scientific evidence on the health benefits of liver, conventional nutritionists now warn against its consumption.

Toxins

“What about the Toxins” is a common response to the suggestion of consuming liver. Indeed, one of the roles of the liver is to neutralize toxins (such as drugs and pesticides); but the liver does not store toxins. Instead, poisonous compounds that the body cannot neutralize and eliminate are likely to lodge in the fatty tissues and the nervous system. The liver is not a storage organ for toxins but it is a storage organ for many important nutrients (vitamins A, D, E, K, B12 and folic acid, and minerals such as copper and iron). These nutrients provide the body with some of the tools it needs to get rid of toxins.

So why would you want to clean something that is not dirty? Practitioners who recommend liver cleansing usually mean, deprive your body of any substantial food so your liver doesn’t have to work on digestion and can clean your blood of toxins. Again, this will only work well if your digestion is strong and you are not deficient of energy. Still, healing through nourishment is, in most cases, more valid a protocol.

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Eat it Raw

If you are trying to balance Liver yin deficiency eating your liver raw will nourish the yin more than cooked. Eating Liver raw ensures you get the full dose of B6 and B12, CoQ10, enzymes and possibly the anti-fatigue factor. It’s yin energy soothes dried liver symptoms (itchiness, headaches, dry eyes, muscle tightness, irritability).

The best way to eat raw liver is to freeze it for 14 days to avoid any parasitic infection (unlikely but possible especially in those with impaired immune systems). When frozen, cut it into teaspoon sized pieces and put them into little coin bags. Keep them in your freezer and use one baggie at at time, chopping into little pills to swallow with a drink. The primary benefit of swallowing liver pills frozen, is you can’t taste it. I take my liver pills with raw milk for the extra nourishment and so I don’t burp up the taste.

The physician Max Gerson used raw liver juice, extracted with a special juicer that pressed out the liquid, in his original healing protocol with pancreatic cancer patients. His daughter, Charlotte Gerson, later dropped this part of the protocol because of the unavailability of fresh clean liver without bacterial contamination. Now a crude liver extract injection or desiccated liver tablets are used in the current protocol. However, Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez, a New York doctor who treats cancer holistically, insists that all his patients eat raw liver.

Also grate frozen liver into the yolk of an egg or add it to tomato juice.

[Gareth83]

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The best way to eat raw liver is to freeze it for 14 days to avoid any parasitic infection (unlikely but possible especially in those with impaired immune systems). When frozen, cut it into teaspoon sized pieces and put them into little coin bags. Keep them in your freezer and use one baggie at at time, chopping into little pills to swallow with a drink. The primary benefit of swallowing liver pills frozen, is you can’t taste it. I take my liver pills with raw milk for the extra nourishment and so I don’t burp up the taste.

Interesting! A teaspon or two's worth a day is probably better than consuming 200g every 3/4 days would you think??