In my first post about periodization of nutrition I looked at a block/mesocycle or medium length cycle to training with a low carbohydrate approach. I suggest that this would be best used in the GPP phase as ‘Low carb training increases signaling for mitochondrial biogenesis (telling the body to increase the number of mitochondria, which are the ‘power house’ of the cell), but reduces training intensity’. The goal of using more of a ‘block’ with this approach would be to set you up for success down the track, however it would detrain your carbohydrate metabolism pathways. In this post I will outline how training low and energy balance can fit into 5 micro/mesocycles within a macrocycle with the goal of avoiding this detraining effect. Additionally, we will very briefly go over energy balance to help you make weight if needed. This will allow you to use this approach to nutrition periodization in both the GPP and SPP phase. Everyone is unique and no one plan will work 100% for anyone, below are just some ideas to get you thinking about some other approaches.
There a number of different ways to perform train low glycogen sessions;
- You can do fasted exercise first thing in the morning
- you can perform a second session and not refuel carbohydrates after the first session
- you can perform a long easy session for greater than 90 minutes
- follow a low carb diet
There may also be some benefit to not refuelling carbohydrates during recovery or sleep. This approach may work well with lighter sessions to augment the body adaptation and help build the body’s endurance capacity.
Again, it is worth noting that training low is best used on easier cross training sessions or lighter GS sessions. Training low will reduce intensity and make the session feel harder and may make it harder to maintain good technique.
Some great info can be found here:
http://www.mysportscience.com/#!6-Ways-to-trainlow/cjds/55a2cf280cf25b8bf7e77e7f
You store carbs in your muscles, liver and a little in the kidney. Sugars stored in your muscle are called glycogen they are locked away in the muscle for when they are needed. However, liver glycogen is depleted overnight, so if you train before breakfast you have some carbohydrate availability, but there is limited ability to replace them once they are depleted. If you perform a long session or a session later in the day and don’t consume any carbs you will enter a low glycogen state during exercise. When the body goes into a low energy state there are various signalling pathways that are triggered in super duper simple terms – (AMPK – PGC1-aphla- mitochondrial biogenesis…).
We taper off using the train low and negative energy balance approaches as we get closer to competition. As most GS events go for 10 minutes, we use the train low to help build an endurance base and make easier sessions harder (primarily burning carbohydrates in kettlebell events). Thus as we get closer to completion we want to train at a higher intensity, so we reduce the amount of train low sessions and the amount of time in a negative energy balance (if we can).
Below I have outlined a 5 phased approach to take advantage of train low and minimise the negative effects of energy balance to make weight (if needed). Again, as everybody is unique, each individual will need to practice strategies to optimise performance, and this approach may help offer some guidance on that path. I recommend you practice and refine various approaches for more minor competitions to perfect these approaches before more important competitions as outcomes will vary from person to person.
It worth noting that being in a negative energy balance can be a bit of a moving target. Common wisdom suggests you aim for a 500kcal deficit daily which will result in 1 lb of weight loss (hopefully fat) over a week. However, your non-exercise activity thromogenesis (NEAT) can vary more than this 500 kcal, even as much as 2000 kcal. As a trainer, on days that I work I will walk 17,000+ steps and days that I have heaps of uni stuff on I may not even reach 7,000 steps. So what I’m saying is you might train hard, but you may feel so tried that you just sit on the couch all day and in the end you may not be in a negative energy balance because your energy intake factored in walking around as well as training. One way you can reduce the variability of your NEAT is to get a pedometer. It might not account for everything however it should reduce the variability of your daily energy expenditure.
Acute weight loss
If you are not at your goal weight the week before your competitions you will need to employ some acute weight loss strategies. As most GS comps make you weigh in before the competition you shouldn’t dehydrate yourself as little as a 2% dehydration will reduce performance. If you can weigh the day before or if it’s only a very small amount of weight you need to lose (think 1%, I would practice this to ensure it doesn’t affect performance) you may wish to use dehydration. Another area you can lose weight is the weight of food within your stomach. You can eat light energy dense food or follow a low residue diet (some people can use high fibre diets also). Low residue diets were designed for people with gastrointestinal issues to avoid/minimise processing by the lower intestine. All these strategies you need to practice to get right, I once went a bit crazy and weighed in at 77kg for an 80 kg comp (I’m normally 83-85 kg), it affected my performance negatively.
Phase 1
| AM | Moderate GS/resistance training | Train lowLSD | Heavy GS/ resistance | Off/walk | Light GS/HIIT | LSD (90+minutes) | Off/walk |
| PM | Off | Off | Train lowLSD | off | Train lowLSD | off | off |
* If you need to lose weight/fat eat high protein with a negative energy balance 7-5 days a week and maintain the other days.
* If you are very lean and need to loss weight inducing muscle mass eat lower protein with a negative energy balance 7-5 days a week and maintain the other days.
Phase 2
| AM | Moderate GS/resistance training | Train lowGS/LSD | off | Heavy GS/ resistance | Train lowGS/HIIT | LSD (90+minutes) | off |
| PM | Off | Off | off | Train lowLSD | Off | off | off |
* If you need to lose weight/fat eat high protein with a negative energy balance 4-7 days a week and maintain the other days.
* If you are very lean and need to lose weight inducing muscle mass eat lower protein with a negative energy balance 4-7 days a week and maintain the other days.
Phase 3
| AM | Moderate GS/resistance training | Train lowGS/LSD | Moderate GS | Off | Heavy GS/resistance training | Light GS/HIIT | LSD (90+minutes) |
| PM | Off | Off | Train lowLSD | off | Off | off | off |
* If you need to lose weight/fat, eat high protein with a negative energy balance 3-6 days a week and maintain the other days.
* If you are very lean and need to lose weight including muscle mass eat lower protein with a negative energy balance 3-6 days a week and maintain the other days.
Phase 4
| AM | Moderate GS/resistance training | Train lowGS/LSD | Moderate GS | Off | Heavy GS/resistance training | Light GS/HIIT | Train lowLSD |
| PM | Off | Off | HIIT | off | Off | off | Off |
| Sleep low |
* If you need to lose weight/fat, eat high protein with a negative energy balance 1-5 days a week and maintain the other days.
* If you are very lean and need to lose weight including muscle mass eat lower protein with a negative energy balance 1-5 days a week and maintain the other days.
Phase 5
| AM | Moderate GS/resistance training | Light GS | Moderate GS | Off | Heavy GS/resistance training | Light GS | LSD |
| PM | HIIT | off | HIIT | off | Off | HIIT | Off |
| Sleep low |
You should be at your goal weight (at comp weight or slightly over it), you should eat to maintain the other days
Additional reading:
Skeletal muscle adaptation: training twice every second day vs. training once daily
http://jap.physiology.org/content/98/1/93.abstract
A practical model of low-volume high-intensity interval training induces mitochondrial biogenesis in human skeletal muscle: potential mechanisms.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20100740
Daily training with high carbohydrate availability increases exogenous carbohydrate oxidation during endurance cycling.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20466803
Mitochondrial lactate oxidation complex and an adaptive role for lactate production.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18379211
Carbohydrate Availability and Training Adaptation: Effects on Cell Metabolism
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