Abstract
Nutrient timing involves manipulation of nutrient consumption at specific times in and around exercise bouts in an effort to improve performance, recovery, and adaptation. Its historical perspective centered on ingestion during exercise and grew to include pre- and post-training periods. As research continued, translational focus remained primarily on the impact and outcomes related to nutrient consumption during one specific time period to the exclusion of all others. Additionally, there seemed to be increasing emphasis on outcomes related to hypertrophy and strength at the expense of other potentially more impactful performance measures. As consumption of nutrients does not occur at only one time point in the day, the effect and impact of energy and macronutrient availability becomes an important consideration in determining timing of additional nutrients in and around training and competition. This further complicates the confining of the definition of “nutrient timing” to one very specific moment in time at the exclusion of all other time points. As such, this review suggests a new perspective built on evidence of the interconnectedness of nutrient impact and provides a pragmatic approach to help frame nutrient timing more inclusively. Using this approach, it is argued that the concept of nutrient timing is constrained by reliance on interpretation of an “anabolic window” and may be better viewed as a “garage door of opportunity” to positively impact performance, recovery, and athlete availability.
Highlights
Nutrient timing is a dietary strategy in which specific nutrients are ingested at certain times surrounding training in order to bolster acute performance and/or chronic adaptations [1]
Researchers began investigating the role of acute protein (PRO) ingestion on performance, recovery, and adaptation following both endurance and resistance exercise
Very few chronic interventional studies have assessed the role of nutrient timing on outcome variables related to performance, recovery, and adaptation
Summary
Nutrient timing is a dietary strategy in which specific nutrients are ingested at certain times surrounding training in order to bolster acute performance and/or chronic adaptations [1]. This post-exercise time period was seen to represent an opportunity to enhance adaptation and recovery though nutrition and became known as the “metabolic or anabolic window” due to the enhanced sensitivity of skeletal muscle to nutrient uptake and metabolism This period was hypothesized to last approximately 45 min while GLUT4 activity remains elevated and glycogen synthase action increases even without stimulation by insulin [10]. CHO and PRO supplement may have had a larger insulinogenic response and, this hormone does not affect MPS, insulin has been shown to attenuate muscle protein breakdown in the post-exercise period [16] This anticatabolic effect of insulin may have contributed to the significant differences in body composition changes between groups over the 10-week period in one study but not the other. This may help provide a new perspective on a pragmatic approach to maximize outcomes through nutritional intervention
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