The Ultimate Guide To Performance Nutrition

Representing the greatest combination of speed and handling ever devised, a Formula One race car is a marvel of mechanical engineering. Every square inch of the car is exhaustively scrutinized in pursuit of tweaks that can mean as little as a tenth of a second difference in lap times on race day.

When you bear in mind that Lewis Hamilton's closest margin of victory in winning 11 of 19 races in his 2014 championship campaign was a mere 0.636 seconds, the dedication to infinitesimal details becomes understandable. In this 225-mile-per-hour world, where teams vie for $800 million in prize money each season, every input matters, from the petrol to the tires to any of the hundreds of exquisitely calibrated pieces that make up the V-6 turbo engine.

Such a level of dedication to detail should sound eerily familiar to a committed fitness enthusiast, because inputs also matter when it comes to the world's most complex living machine: the human body.

"To maximize your strength, muscle mass, agility, speed, and stamina, you need the correct food, supplements, and training in the optimal amounts."

To maximize your strength, muscle mass, agility, speed, and stamina, you need the correct food, supplements, and training in the optimal amounts. Otherwise, like an F1 car powerlessly rolling to a stop, your relentless pursuit of your physical goals could come up short.

With that in mind, and with help from the research team at RSP Nutrition, we've assembled an ideal day of performance nutrition. This plan will take the average 180-pound male from start to finish!

Starting Line

Immediately upon waking, you'll need to do two things (after, of course, your personal pit stop). First, drink a glass of water, says RSP Nutrition Athlete Tiffani Bachus, an Arizona-based nutritionist and 2009 Fitness America World Champion. "It's always good to start the day rehydrating the body with water first thing in the morning," she says. "Our bodies are in a dehydrated state after losing fluid via respiration, urination, and sweating over the course of the night."

Second, you need to break your overnight fast and put key nutrients to work. While you'll go light on food—a banana blended into a whey protein shake is always a good choice—you'll want to supplement a number of key substances, including branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine), a nitric-oxide (NO) booster, and glutamine. This is, by the way, not your breakfast, which will come a bit later.

Morning

Banana 1 medium

Benefit: Helps to refill glycogen stores

Whey protein powder 20 grams

Benefit: Helps to stimulate protein synthesis

BCAAs 5 grams

Benefit: Provides aminos that promote anabolism

Nitric-oxide booster 5 grams

Benefit: Helps dilate blood vessels for nutrient delivery

Glutamine 5 grams

Benefit: Promotes muscle repair and immune function

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving

Calories 225

Total Fat 2 g

Total Carbs 31 g

Protein 21 g

First Turn Breakfast

An hour or so after that you'll want to sit down for a more substantial breakfast, which can include scrambled eggs, steel-cut oatmeal (which is lower on the glycemic index than rolled oats), and a handful of berries. Black coffee is okay here too. With this meal, take your multivitamin/mineral, along with additional vitamin C for its host of benefits to your immune system and its ability to guard your NO levels.

Carnitine is also a solid choice. By taking carnitine each morning, you're loading your muscles with this important amino acid. According to a September 2013 study in The Journal of Physiology, supplemental carnitine was found to control muscle metabolism, energy expenditure, and body composition over a period of 12 weeks.¹

Breakfast

Egg whites 2 whites

Benefit: 7 grams of complete protein

Whole egg 1 egg

Benefit: Fat in the yolk aids nutrient absorption

Avocado 1/2 avocado

Benefit: Anti-inflammatory properties

Steel-cut oatmeal 2-1/2 cups

Benefit: 13 grams of fiber

Blueberries 1 cup

Benefit: Contains a wealth of antioxidants

Multivitamin 1 dose

Benefit: Vitamin and mineral insurance policy

Vitamin C 500 milligrams

Benefit: Immune-boosting vitamin

Carnitine 1 gram

Benefit: Support for metabolism and body composition

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving

Calories 776

Total Fat 28 g

Total Carbs 103 g

Protein 34 g

Caution Flag

The enemy of anyone seeking physical improvements—whether strength, muscle mass, or endurance—is long stretches of fasting throughout the day.

It may sound like a good idea to starve yourself and avoid food if you're looking to drop body fat, but that approach backfires. Within your body is a constant yin and yang, where you're either growing and repairing (an "anabolic" state) or breaking down tissue to use as fuel (a "catabolic" state). Going too long without food will activate the latter process. Unfortunately, when that happens, your body's preferred source of sustenance is your circulating amino acids and even muscle, meaning you could be losing the very tissue you're working so hard in training to build.

To remain anabolic, eating small, frequent meals throughout the day is important. Eat every few hours. Have clean, healthy snacks on hand when you get hungry between meals. For instance, 2-3 hours after breakfast, have a small meal of protein, complex carbs, and some unsaturated fat. Protein can be turkey or chicken breast, jerky, cottage cheese, or eggs, or even a protein shake. Complex carbs can be whole-wheat bread, sweet potatoes, or brown rice. And your dose of healthy fat can come from peanut butter, almond butter, or avocado.

Second Turn Lunch

Around noon, it's time to refuel again, this time with a clean, simple meal of protein and quality carbohydrates. Chicken breast, turkey breast, or a lean cut of beef paired with broccoli and carrots is perfect; you can also add a green salad topped with olive oil and vinegar. Take this opportunity too for a dose of vitamin D, which boasts health benefits and aids in muscle contraction.

Lunch

Top round steak 6 ounces

Benefit: 38 grams of protein

Vegetables 1 cup

Benefit: Loaded with critical nutrients

Green salad 2 cups

Benefit: Low-calorie, high in antioxidants

Sweet potato 1 large

Benefit: Valuable energy-producing carbs

Olive oil and vinegar 1 tablespoon

Benefit: 14 grams of heart-healthy fat

Vitamin D 1,000 IU

Benefit: Aids in healthy bone formation

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving

Calories 611

Total Fat 24 g

Total Carbs 52 g

Protein 46 g

Straightaway Pre- And Intra-Workout

About 30 minutes before training, it's time to start revving your engines and priming your body for the high-octane work to come. To make it easy, stick with supplements, anchored with a whey protein shake, along with arginine, BCAAs, glutamine, and creatine. A pre-workout supplement that includes a range of beta-alanine, caffeine, L-tyrosine, L-glycine, and taurine can give you an edge as well. And during your workout, stay hydrated with plain ol' water for shorter workouts, and a sports drink diluted with water for longer endurance sessions.

Pre-Workout