A Quick and Dirty Guide to Performance Nutrition for Lifters

Jay Ashman

So you want to perform optimally and look decent in the process?

We all do, well most of us do who aren’t SHW powerlifters. Yes I am looking at
you guy who weighs 350 eating the large pizza as a pre-workout snack.

The thing about performance nutrition is this, abs aren’t the goal, maximizing
performance is the goal. Optimal performance also requires a level of leanness
that is sustainable and manageable for your sport. Rugby players are encouraged
to not play at a super lean level as the extra cushion will protect vital areas of
their bodies during physical contact.

Strength sports are that one anomaly where it seems bulk for the sake of bulk is
rewarded but why? When you think about it, most of you aren’t going to set
records nor win money in this sport. You probably won’t be a legend or be talked
about by lifting fans 20 years later. That sounds harsh but it’s 100% true. This is
why it’s important to maximize your time in this sport intelligently and allow your
body to be fueled properly for the sake of longevity.

You want to train smart, eating smart is a major part of this.

Unless you are winning medals on a regular basis, chances are you don’t need to
walk around with all that extra weight holding you back. After all you have a life
to live, bills to pay, health to take care of, and an aerobic capacity to work on.

All that is fuel for another e-novella so let’s stick to the plan with this one.
 Calories

Calories are king with all diets. There are exceptions to the rule but those
exceptions are medical which are out of my pay grade.

Calories need to be tracked, not guessed. Sure you can adopt the “hand
measure” method but you are still guessing because, guess what, you aren’t
measuring.

As my good friend, Jon Montgomery, says “what is measured is managed”.

Performance Nutrition is about feeding the machine for optimal performance so

the rules are simple.

You need a baseline of calories to start with and we will use the multiplier of 11
to start for men under 20% bodyfat and women under 30%.

For example:

250 pound person x 11 = 2750 Calories per day

If you are higher than 20% as a man or 30% as a woman, your multiplier will be
10 because you have extra fat to lose. I will reiterate something my old training
partner Matt Dawson once said, “you don’t have to be fat to be strong”.

250 pound person (>20% BF) x 10 - 2500 Calories per day

We are going to assume, as a person who is concerned about performance, you

are lifting hard, doing cardio, and resting properly.

If you are skipping cardio, do it. I don’t care if you are just a powerlifter, heart
health is important and you won’t get weaker. I promise.

This multiplier is important because you will have a baseline to work off of with
your diet.

Where do we go from here?

Read on.
 Protein

Protein is the building block of muscles and your first macro to calculate and the
one that needs to be met first and foremost.

This is highly weight dependent.

I have a rule of thumb with this one.

2.2g protein/kg of bodyweight for men under 20% bodyfat and women under
30% body fat.

So that 250 pound person would be:

250/2.2 = 113.6/2.2 = 250 grams.

Protein is 4 calories per gram so this equals 1000 calories

Why not 1g per pound? Because you will measure food in grams so get used to
thinking in grams and kilograms. Since America decided to be idiots and not
adopt the metric system, we have to learn what 99% of the world uses.

If that same 250 pound man was 25% bodyfat the calculation used would be
1.8g protein/kg

250/2.2 = 113.6/1.8 = 204 grams.

Protein is 4 calories per gram so this equals 816 calories

Why so much less protein for the excess bodyfat peeps?

Simple, less lean mass and getting excess fat off is priority number one, not
satisfying your ego with mounds of food for no point other than being afraid of
being smaller. As a man who cut from 310 pounds to 230, trust me on this one.

You can revisit this calculation as your BF% drops below 20% or when you start
to see a significant amount of progress with your body composition.

Understood?
 Fat

Fat is the second macro we will calculate.

Fat is important, we are not bodybuilders in contest prep. You need to perform.

Fat is vital for hormones, a major component of cell membranes, important for
immune system response, blood clotting, brain development, and absorbing fat
soluble vitamins.

Basically, it’s important, so you need it.

Ideally you want a nice mix of saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, and
polyunsaturated fats.

Saturated fats are found in meats, coconut oils, and palm oil. You don’t want to
eat an excess of saturated fat which is why I am a huge pusher of lean meats
(93% lean or greater) for your dietary protein needs. If you believe coconut oil is
healthy because it’s a plant - think again:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/12/31/676198472/is-coconut-oil-all-
its-cracked-up-to-be-get-the-facts-on-this-faddish-fat

Monounsaturated fats are found in avocados, certain nuts, and olive oils. These
are “good fats”.

Polyunsaturated fats are found in seafood, some nuts, and other plant based
fats.

Trans fat is to be avoided like Ebola. Some trans fat naturally occurs in meat but
that is vastly different from trans fat in processed food. If you see it on the label,
grab something else.

It is ideal to have saturated fats be minimal - use lean meats - while mono and
poly be the predominant fat in your diet.

Yes, I know this is hard for some of you. You like that greasy ass burger, huge
fatty steak, and deep fried food.
I have a hard and fast rule of thumb here, 20-25% of your daily calories MUST
be from fat. The only exceptions I have are contest prep bodybuilders which you
are not and probably never will be.

Let’s look at the 250 pound person as an example.

We have two calorie loads for them, one is 2750 for the person below 20% BF
and 2500 for the one above 20% BF.

2750 x .25 = 687 Calories

Fat is 9 calories per gram

687/9 = 76 grams of fat

2500 x .25 = 625 Calories

625/9 = 69 grams of fat

The two people so far have this set up

250 pound person <20% BF 250 pound person >20% BF

2750 Calories 2500 Calories

250 Pro - 1000 Calories 204 Pro - 816 Calories

76 Fat - 687 Calories 69 Fat - 625 Calories

Step two is set.

 Carbohydrates

Carbs are your body’s preferred source of energy and responsible for the
glycogen loading of your muscles.

I don’t care what keto disciples say, carbs are preferred for fuel over fat. They
are more efficiently used by your body, are stored for future energy and much
more productive as an energy source over fats.

Carbs give you that “pump” and assist muscle growth more effectively than a
high fat/low carb diet.

Plus any “diet” that essentially wants to remove a macronutrient isn’t true
balance, it’s restrictive. Nevermind the science showing keto to be an inferior diet
for athletes and performance, that is worth a short book in itself.

Carbs are your friend, too many carbs are not.

We have this chart from the last section:

250 pound person <20% BF 250 pound person >20% BF

2750 Calories 2500 Calories

250 Pro - 1000 Calories 204 Pro - 816 Calories

76 Fat - 687 Calories 69 Fat - 625 Calories

All we have left to do is fill in carbs.

250 pound person who is <20% BF

2750 Calories - 1000 Calories - 687 Calories = 1063 Calories left

Carbs are 4g per calorie

1063/4 = 265 grams

250 pound person who is >20% BF

2500 Calories - 816 Calories - 625 Calories = 1059 Calories left

1059/4 = 264 grams

And now we have a chart filled in:

250 pound person <20% BF 250 pound person >20% BF

2750 Calories 2500 Calories

250 Pro - 1000 Calories 204 Pro - 816 Calories

76 Fat - 687 Calories 69 Fat - 625 Calories

265 Carb - 1063 Calories 264 Carb - 1059 Calories

This is your starting point so where do we go from here?

Water - a gallon a day is a good start. After that, let’s continue.

 Monitoring weight

Once you start this plan you will need to weigh daily and use the aggregate gain/
loss over the week to determine your total gain/loss.

Daily fluctuations aren’t important as water weight can add a few pounds or take
off a few weekly.

If you lose 2 or more pounds a week from the first week of eating
CONSISTENTLY, I mean you are within 3-5% of your macro and calorie
goals DAILY, you will increase calories 2% the next week. The idea is
to eat as many calories as you can until weight loss stalls.

If you gain weight you will subtract 2% from the calorie load weekly
until you start to see some weight loss.

Here’s where it gets tricky.

For the people on normal protein intake, you will not touch the protein. You are
eating enough, you will add/subtract your extra calories to/from your
carbohydrate intake.

For those forced to eat less protein because you are over the BF% limit, you will
ADD calories to your protein intake OR subtract them from the carbohydrate
intake depending upon your weight loss or gain.

The first priority for an overweight person is to have them eating more protein as
it’s the only macronutrient which has a thermogenic effect. To put it in layman’s
terms, your body burns more calories using protein than it does with carbs or
fats.

You will keep adding or subtracting that 2% weekly until your weight
loss or gain stabilizes.

If you are overweight your end goal would be to match your protein
intake to your bodyweight before you add to carbs.

Once your weight stabilizes you will maintain that calorie load for 2-3 weeks to
get comfortable with it and have the chance to feel maintenance for a while.
If you are pleased with your body composition we can maintain this for
a long term with a +-2% for recomposition or a stabilized gain in lean
mass.

If you are over the BF% limit, you have work to do.

Once you hold maintenance for a few weeks you have two options:

1. If you are overweight you will subtract 2% from your calories intake (carbs)
until your weight stalls. Don’t subtract 2% weekly, only subtract 2% when
weight loss stalls.
2. If your body composition is favorable you can play with the +-2% range to
lean up a little more or work on lean gaining.

I am not expecting every lifter to be sub 14% bodyfat, but we need to

understand it is healthier and more optimal to be leaner. Embrace it.

This is NOT A fast process and it is not recommended for fast weight cuts or
gains. Fast means you will lose muscle mass, gain excess fat, and generally rush
a process that takes a long time to do effectively. I recommend this when you
don’t have a meet for several months and have the time to focus on the little
things that build a total and future.

Moving calories up or down is predicated on a few things:

1. Weight moving either direction

2. DRINKING ENOUGH WATER! I can’t stress the importance of this. Buy a
gallon a day, it’s cheap, drink the whole damn thing daily. Add Crystal Light if
you need to, lemon juice, salt, I don’t care what it takes to make you enjoy it.
Drink the damn stuff.
3. YOU ARE WITHIN 3-5% OF YOUR MACRO GOALS DAILY. Consistency is very
important. If you are not hitting your protein goal and your calorie goal, you
CANNOT tell what works. THIS IS PRIORITY. Protein - calories - fat - carbs.

Remember - protein and fat remain where they are (once protein hits that
bodyweight number for overweight folks) and carbs are the equalizer.

This e-book will get your started on the journey to self-coaching and laying out
your nutrition.
If you want personal accountability and coaching for this, please email me at
[email protected] and we can set up a consultation to go over your diet and set
up a customized plan for your needs.

Eat well, be strong, profit.

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