BOXERS strive to be in as good a condition as possible before entering the ring for a fight, ideally, having a high amount of muscle mass compared to a small amount of fat mass. Therefore, it is important for a boxer to understand how to maximise muscle building through their nutrition. One key component is their hit of bedtime protein!
As always, if in doubt seek advice from a qualified sports nutritionist as they will be able to advise you on the specific types, timing and volume of your protein intake, to best facilitate your training and performance needs.
Next: page 2 of 5 – Why is bedtime protein so important?
Robert Seaborne BSc (Hons), MS
@RobbySeaborne1
1. Why is bedtime protein so important?
DURING sleep, a boxer will usually be without nutrient ingestion for around seven hours. This means, that for this period a boxer will be in a state of muscle breakdown rather then muscle growth. It is therefore important to minimise this time of breakdown and try to replace it with a period of muscle maintenance or growth. That’s when a bedtime protein hit becomes a nutritional.
Next: page 3 of 5 – What type of bedtime protein do you need?
Robert Seaborne BSc (Hons), MS
@RobbySeaborne1
2. What type of bedtime protein do you need?
A CASEIN-BASED protein is ideal for this period as it releases its muscle-building nutrients slowly and therefore maintains a longer period of muscle building. However, casein-based protein does not maximise muscle building, and therefore a combination of fast and slow-release protein is ideal for a bedtime snack.
Next: page 4 of 5 –How much bedtime protein do you need?
Robert Seaborne BSc (Hons), MS
@RobbySeaborne1
3. How much bedtime protein do you need?
AROUND 40g of casein-based protein is ideal to help maintain muscle maintenance/building during a sleep period. If you are looking to have a combination of fast and slow-release protein, 20g of each type of protein is perfect.
Next: page 5 of 5 – What does this look like in food?
Robert Seaborne BSc (Hons), MS
@RobbySeaborne1
4. What does this look like in food?
SLOW-RELEASE protein comes from dairy-based produce, such as milk, cottage cheese, yoghurt and casein protein supplements. Fast-release proteins come from fish, meat and whey protein supplements. To combine the two, a perfect bedtime protein snack would be 500ml of milk and a salmon and cream cheese bagel. A whey-and-casein-mixed protein shake (with milk) is a good alternative to food.
Robert Seaborne BSc (Hons), MS
@RobbySeaborne1
