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Applied Nutrition in Strength and Conditioning for Health and Performance

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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Sports Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (26 November 2021) | Viewed by 66241

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Fernando Naclerio

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Guest Editor

Department of Sport Science and Physical Education, School of Human Sciences, University of Greenwich, Avery Hill Campus, Sparrows Farm, Sparrows Lane. Eltham SE9 2BT, UK
Interests: sports supplements; ergogenic aids; performance enhancement; diet design for athletes; nutrition timing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Several nutritional strategies are currently used to optimize training adaptation and recovery in physically active individuals, including strength and conditioning athletes. Adequate energy intake to meet the needs of regular training along with appropriate balance and proportion of macro and micronutrient is needed: carbohydrate to maintain glycogen stores, protein to support muscle growth and remodelling, and fat to maintain energy balance along with supporting essential biological functions. Furthermore, different athletic disciplines have specific nutritional needs. For example, the recommended daily protein consumption ranges between 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg/d or even more for people following a general fitness exercise programme or hard weightlifting training aiming to gain muscle mass, respectively. Consequently, appropriate and individualised diet designs, considering different amounts and proportions of nutrients, throughout the day or during and after exercises, have been proposed as an effective nutritional countermeasure to optimise training adaptation.

Along those lines, the use of natural supplements could be considered a valid strategy to achieve optimal nutrition. For example, there is currently robust evidence supporting the benefits of creatine to maximise training benefits, reduce musculoskeletal injuries and heat stress, and optimise rehabilitation periods after injuries. Similarly, the integration of high-quality protein extracts or multi-ingredient supplements providing specific nutrient proportions would also be considered as acceptable alternatives in the design of an optimal diet.

A diet that does not the nutritional demands will lead to training-induced suboptimal nutrition, which is a condition associated with decreased performance, poor resistance to illness, and increased susceptibility to injuries.

You are invited to submit proposals for manuscripts that fit the objectives and topics of this Special Issue focused on “Applied Nutrition in Strength and Conditioning for Health and Performance”.

The aim of this Special Issue is to publish selected manuscripts detailing specific aspects of nutrition that could play a role in optimising strength training adaptation in physically active individuals, including athletes. Particularly, papers (reviews and/or experimental studies) dealing with the role of specific nutrients in food or natural supplements on exercise adaptations across different ages (children, youth, adults, and older adults) will be included.

Dr. Fernando Naclerio
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

sport dietetics
resistance training
weightlifting
power lifting
ergogenic aids
nutraceutics
protein and amino acid supplementation
hypertrophy
muscle protein synthesis
nutrition and recovery

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1751 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Effects of Two Months of Very Low Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet on Body Composition, Muscle Strength, Muscle Area, and Blood Parameters in Competitive Natural Body Builders

by Antonio Paoli, Lorenzo Cenci, PierLuigi Pompei, Nese Sahin, Antonino Bianco, Marco Neri, Massimiliano Caprio and Tatiana Moro

Nutrients 2021, 13(2), 374; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13020374 - 26 Jan 2021

Cited by 48 | Viewed by 27643

Abstract

Background: Ketogenic diet (KD) is a nutritional approach that restricts daily carbohydrates, replacing most of the reduced energy with fat, while maintaining an adequate quantity of protein. Despite the widespread use of KD in weight loss in athletes, there are still many concerns about its use in sports requiring muscle mass accrual. Thus, the present study sought to investigate the influence of a KD in competitive natural body builders. Methods: Nineteen volunteers (27.4 ± 10.5 years) were randomly assigned to ketogenic diet (KD) or to a western diet (WD). Body composition, muscle strength and basal metabolic rate were measured before and after two months of intervention. Standard blood biochemistry, testosterone, IGF-1, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and inflammatory cytokines (IL6, IL1β, TNFα) were also measured. Results: Body fat significantly decreased in KD (p = 0.030); whilst lean mass increased significantly only in WD (p < 0.001). Maximal strength increased similarly in both groups. KD showed a significant decrease of blood triglycerides (p < 0.001), glucose (p = 0.001), insulin (p < 0.001) and inflammatory cytokines compared to WD whilst BDNF increased in both groups with significant greater changes in KD (p < 0.001). Conclusions: KD may be used during body building preparation for health and leaning purposes but with the caution that hypertrophic muscle response could be blunted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Nutrition in Strength and Conditioning for Health and Performance)

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Review

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21 pages, 409 KiB

Open AccessReview

Achieving an Optimal Fat Loss Phase in Resistance-Trained Athletes: A Narrative Review

by Carlos Ruiz-Castellano, Sergio Espinar, Carlos Contreras, Fernando Mata, Alan A. Aragon and José Miguel Martínez-Sanz

Nutrients 2021, 13(9), 3255; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13093255 - 18 Sep 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 24835

Abstract

Managing the body composition of athletes is a common practice in the field of sports nutrition. The loss of body weight (BW) in resistance-trained athletes is mainly conducted for aesthetic reasons (bodybuilding) or performance (powerlifting or weightlifting). The aim of this review is to provide dietary–nutritional strategies for the loss of fat mass in resistance-trained athletes. During the weight loss phase, the goal is to reduce the fat mass by maximizing the retention of fat-free mass. In this narrative review, the scientific literature is evaluated, and dietary–nutritional and supplementation recommendations for the weight loss phase of resistance-trained athletes are provided. Caloric intake should be set based on a target BW loss of 0.5–1.0%/week to maximize fat-free mass retention. Protein intake (2.2–3.0 g/kgBW/day) should be distributed throughout the day (3–6 meals), ensuring in each meal an adequate amount of protein (0.40–0.55 g/kgBW/meal) and including a meal within 2–3 h before and after training. Carbohydrate intake should be adapted to the level of activity of the athlete in order to training performance (2–5 g/kgBW/day). Caffeine (3–6 mg/kgBW/day) and creatine monohydrate (3–5 g/day) could be incorporated into the athlete’s diet due to their ergogenic effects in relation to resistance training. The intake of micronutrients complexes should be limited to special situations in which there is a real deficiency, and the athlete cannot consume through their diet. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Nutrition in Strength and Conditioning for Health and Performance)

16 pages, 998 KiB

Open AccessReview

Effects of Combining a Ketogenic Diet with Resistance Training on Body Composition, Strength, and Mechanical Power in Trained Individuals: A Narrative Review

by Pedro L. Valenzuela, Adrián Castillo-García, Alejandro Lucia and Fernando Naclerio

Nutrients 2021, 13(9), 3083; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13093083 - 01 Sep 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 12415

Abstract

Ketogenic diets (KD) have gained popularity in recent years among strength-trained individuals. The present review summarizes current evidence—with a particular focus on randomized controlled trials—on the effects of KD on body composition and muscle performance (strength and power output) in strength-trained individuals. Although long-term studies (>12 weeks) are lacking, growing evidence supports the effectiveness of an ad libitum and energy-balanced KD for reducing total body and fat mass, at least in the short term. However, no or negligible benefits on body composition have been observed when comparing hypocaloric KD with conventional diets resulting in the same energy deficit. Moreover, some studies suggest that KD might impair resistance training-induced muscle hypertrophy, sometimes with concomitant decrements in muscle performance, at least when expressed in absolute units and not relative to total body mass (e.g., one-repetition maximum). KD might therefore be a beneficial strategy for promoting fat loss, although it might not be a recommendable option to gain muscle mass and strength/power. More research is needed on the adoption of strategies for avoiding the potentially detrimental effect of KD on muscle mass and strength/power (e.g., increasing protein intake, reintroduction of carbohydrates before competition). In summary, evidence is as yet scarce to support a major beneficial effect of KD on body composition or performance in strength-trained individuals. Furthermore, the long-term effectiveness and safety of this type of diet remains to be determined. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Nutrition in Strength and Conditioning for Health and Performance)

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