Here at Climbing Nutrition, I spend a lot of time trying to define the edges of what makes “good nutrition” for a climber. I do this on purpose. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve never worked with a climber who didn’t “eat healthy”—but I’ve also never worked with a climber who ate “healthy for a climber”. It seems […]
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Five Basic Lessons on Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are deceptively complex. While their place in the diet is relatively easy to understand because their main function is provide energy, many people don’t realize some finer points about carbohydrates and as a result wind up with skewed or illogical beliefs. Since carbohydrates will play a central role in many of the articles on this […]
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The Best Sources of Protein
Protein is ubiquitous. Unless you’re poor and in a developing country where the staple crop is extremely low in protein, there’s no doubt that you’re getting enough to survive on a daily basis. But despite the low bar for sufficiency, not all proteins are equal drivers of muscle protein synthesis. To reach this higher bar, […]
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How Do Nutrition Needs Differ Between Types of Climbing?
The term “climbing” encompasses a diverse array of sports. Just as “running” includes everything in the spectrum from 100 meter sprints to 100+ kilometer ultramarathons, “climbing” could mean bouldering, sport climbing, big wall ascents, or mountaineering (with other disciplines like ice climbing in the mix, too). Despite many similarities, each discipline differs in important ways. Not only do […]
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Is There Such a Thing as a “Good Fat” or “Bad Fat”?
It’s been a good year for fat. In March, the US revised its guidelines on dietary cholesterol to allow unlimited consumption, and just earlier this month the FDA formally ruled that trans fat is not safe to put in food. Now, there’s even news that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are going to remove the “recommended […]
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Your Diet Has Plenty of Magnesium—Really!
You’ve heard the headlines, right? Your diet is low in magnesium! If you’re like most adults (45-85% of all men and 48-70% of all women), then you only get an estimated 352 milligrams of magnesium per day—even less (256 milligrams) if you’re a woman. Considering that the official RDAs for men and women are 400-420 and 310-320 […]
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Don’t Be a (Carb) Hater
There is a camp amongst athletes that favors a high-fat, low-carbohydrate approach. Their enthusiasm is fueled almost entirely by the work of three researchers (Stephen Phinney, Jeff Volek, and Tim Noakes), who despite over 30 years worth of research have yet to produce any notable studies that demonstrate a low-carb diet to work better than—or […]
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How Much Protein Does a Climber Need (Part III)
In Part I of this series, I discussed a new model of protein intake (20 grams of protein every three hours). In Part II, I addressed some common misunderstandings and misconceptions about protein. If you haven’t read these first two parts, then I recommend you go back and do so now! In this final part, I’m going […]
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Is Salt Really So Bad?
I’m about to take off on a short trip to San Francisco, so I probably won’t be writing anything for the next few days—but I didn’t want to leave you completely empty-handed for an entire week! So instead of a full post I’m going to write a really brief one and link you to a […]
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How Much Protein Does a Climber Need (Part II)
In Part I of this series of articles about climbers and their protein needs, I described a new model for determining how much protein you need, a model that doesn’t rely on your bodyweight, sex, or chosen sport: Aim to get about 120 grams of protein per day. Divide that 120 grams into six meals […]
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