Training for Climbing, 2nd: The Definitive Guide to Improving Your Performance (How To Climb Series)

make eating right easy.
    I was fortunate to realize the causal connection between nutrition and performance many years ago. Though I occasionally fall from the wagon, I credit sound nutrition—about forty-eight weeks per year—for my ability to train exceedingly hard, avoid injury, recover quickly, and still climb at a high level in my forties and despite over thirty years of climbing abuse to my joints, tendons, and muscles. I hope I can help you do the same, too!

Macronutrients
     
    There is no single perfect diet for climbers, just as there is no single perfect training program. To some extent, the amount and best type of foods for you depend on your climbing preference. For instance, alpine climbers have significantly different nutritional needs and energy requirements than those of folks who partake in cragging or bouldering.
    Our study of performance nutrition begins with a look at the three macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbohydrate. As in the prior chapters, the focus will remain on the best strategies for rock climbers, with only general information for alpine climbers.

Protein
     
    Protein has many functions in the body, including building and repairing of tissue, acting as a major component of the immune system, and making up enzymes, which facilitate every reaction that goes on in the body.
    According to registered dietitian and nutritionist Barb Branda Turner, growing individuals need more protein than adults do simply because they are actually laying down large amounts of new tissue. Healthy adults have a fairly extensive protein pool to draw on; that is, the proteins we consume are recycled several times for different functions in the body. For this reason daily protein requirements for adults are modest, even if they are training to increase muscle mass. Successful training is much less a factor of consuming a lot of protein than of using the appropriate training strategy and eating enough carbohydrates to fuel your training.
DAILY REQUIREMENTS
     
    Between 1.2 and 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day is adequate for most climbers. For a seventy-two-kilogram (160-pound) individual, this translates to 86 to 108 grams per day. This is higher than the 0.8 to 1.0 gram per kilogram recommended for sedentary individuals by the FDA. Some studies have shown a slightly higher need in athletes, not just to increase muscle mass but also to facilitate recovery from exercise and compensate for the catabolic (tissue-consuming) effects of long, intense exercise. Still, I (and most nutritionists) do not buy in to the massive protein-intake guidelines (as much as 2.0 to 3.0 grams per kilogram per day) prescribed in some fitness magazines.
BEST PROTEIN SOURCES
     
    Low-fat dairy products such as skim milk and yogurt, plus grilled chicken and fish, and lean red meats provide you with the best protein value for your calorie. For example, a 3-ounce piece of lean red meat such as tenderloin contains only 180 calories and 25 grams of high-quality, complete protein. A glass of skim milk contains about 10 grams of complete protein and almost zero fat. If you prefer not to eat much meat (like me) or dairy products, whey protein powder mixed into skim milk, 100 percent pure fruit juice, or water is an excellent source of high-quality protein. Incomplete proteins—these sources that do not contain all twenty amino acids—are also useful when eaten in combination. This is of particular importance to vegetarian athletes, who, by the way, are more likely to be protein-deficient.

     
    Table 9.1 Caloric Content of Macronutrients
     

Fat
     
    It’s true that most Americans eat far too much fat, which contributes to our high incidence of heart disease, cancer, hypertension, and obesity. Still, getting too little fat has serious implications as well. Dietary fat is necessary as a source of essential fatty acids, which are involved in critical physiological processes such as the functions of the immune system and hormone production. Furthermore, our cell membranes consist largely of phospholipids (fatty acid derivatives), without which we would not be able to make healthy new cells, including muscle cells. A dietary fat deficiency in female athletes has been shown to cause amenorrhea (menstrual cycle irregularities), which may affect the development and maintenance of bone tissue.
DAILY REQUIREMENTS
     
    On average the body’s minimum fat requirement is 15 to 25 grams per day. Usually fat-intake