Where are you getting it wrong? Webster’s defines explode as a verb; meaning to expand with force, to burst, as dynamite. In sports, being explosive is really just the quality of being able to generate great power over a short time frame. ‘Explosive’, is becoming one of those catch phrases that everyone is hearing and using. Sadly, people think that being explosive is something that people are simply born with, like being explosive is passed down from some grandparent like eye color. Well, it’s not. Being explosive is acquired, not inborn, and yes some athletes have a higher ceiling to work with, but turning this verb into an adjective that people use to describe you is much more dependent on choices and actions, then genetic code.
Think of our bodies as cars for a second, a Formula 1 race car is going to defeat a 1964 Volkswagen 100% of the time. Why? The engine and all other aspects of the formula 1 car have been built in such a way that it has the potential to generate 10X the horsepower and torque of the VW. But what actualizes the potential energy of the race car into explosive, kinetic movements? Fuel. Our bodies work much in the same way, strength training creates an engine with potential to generate great amounts of power and torque, but if we don’t give our bodies the right fuel to burn, then all the time spent trying to get stronger is a waste. There is a huge nutritional component to training, thinking, and performing like a champion, and it’s time that you became aware of it.
Observing first hand several world champions, and combining that with research is allowing me to better understand how performance, recovery, and improved body composition can all be accomplished simultaneously. Applying proper nutrition to the hormonal environments your metabolism and exercise creates will enable you to be more lean, and explosive than ever.
Carbohydrate vs. Fat Metabolism for Performance
This is probably review for most of you, so I will make it quick. Our muscles use ATP as the catalysts to generate movement, these resources must be continually replaced or fatigue will set in (1). Unfortunately, there is only enough ATP stored in our muscles to fuel 3-5 seconds of explosive exercise, and 15 seconds of aerobic exercise (2). If you don’t replenish these stores, you will be sitting on the sidelines or getting overpowered by your opponent, no matter how much heart you compete with. Fats and Carbohydrates are the two fuel sources the body will use to replace the ATP stores in our muscles during exercise (1). As you see below, fats are processed through one pathway (the left) and carbs (glucose) are processed in another (the middle), but both end up as the same compound, Acetyl-CoA (blue square), that propel your muscles to continue working during exercise.
Great, then both are the same and it doesn’t matter which path I choose, right? Wrong. Fat metabolism doesn’t come close to generating the explosive power or aerobic capacity that carbohydrate metabolism does (3,4). Carbohydrate metabolism occurs faster that fat metabolism, refilling ATP stores quicker, and improving short range (10-60 seconds) recovery better than Fats (1). With carbs, muscles can contract with maximal force repeatedly, what does this mean, you go hard every play and come back for more. Don’t believe the myth that carbohydrates are limited to just improving short-term explosiveness, fats can not support aerobic intensity over 60% of VO2 max either, carbs can (3). This is where the necessity of carbohydrates for repeated explosive performances really gets serious. Researchers found that both anaerobic (short bursts) metabolism and aerobic (endurance) metabolism are simultaneously activated the instant exercise begins; and they work together throughout the duration of exercise to replenish muscle ATP (5, 6, 7, 8). Carbohydrates have been found to serve as the superior fuel for both of these systems (1), and when fatigue begins to set in it is due to glycogen (carbohydrate) depletion, not a lack fatty acids (fat) (9, 10, 11, 12, 13). From this research we can then say that athletes should eat carbs all the time, right? After all, the Formula 1 car only takes one type of fuel. That’s why it’s important to combine research with observation and practice, in doing this I have found that the human body is much more complicated a machine than people try to make it. This is where many go wrong.
Carb Storage and Fat Burning,
I think most of us have seen examples of those who have too many carbs in their diet, the evidence of doing this usually hangs over their waist line or out the back of their spandex. Quick review, when carbohydrates are introduced into the body, insulin is released, when this occurs mass gain ensues. If this is done over prolonged periods of time, then no matter how much explosive potential someone’s muscles have, ‘fat don’t move’ and you are stuck on the ground.
Because of this some people go in the opposite direction and totally remove carbohydrates from their diet in an attempt to lighten the load they are trying to move in an explosive manner. Like we have discussed previously, carb depletion leads to fatigue. I have witnessed this first hand, and it’s frustrating to see someone who is a great athlete and a warrior lose their fire because they have no energy on a low carb, high fat diet. Dropping carbohydrates and increasing fat is a great way to lose weight and explosiveness, unfortunately. Fortunately, the body is complex enough to manage fat loss and intense exercise at the same time if proper nutrient timing of fat and carb servings is accomplished.
Preparing for Explosive Performances
With the previous paragraphs in mind, we know that explosive movements and being able to maintain a high level of performance requires carbohydrates. But, continuous carb servings often times can lead to weight gain that does not improve body composition or athletic performance (yes, there are the instances of the 6’2”+, 160 lb. high school boy that needs to eat everything in sight in order not to blow away in the wind, I’m speaking to the majority here). What we want to do is maximize carbohydrate metabolism and utilization during exercise and fat burn away from exercise. Carbohydrate usage and ATP restoration increases during exercise when pre exercise levels of muscle glycogen are high (4, 14, 15, 16, 17). This is where most people go wrong, you must eat carbs prior to exercise in order to use carbohydrate metabolism more effectively, i.e. be more explosive. I have seen many performance nutritionists that recommend going low carb all day until you begin warming up, then start gorging yourself with high amounts of carbohydrates in order to catch up to your metabolic needs. Not smart, unless your goal is fat loss, in that case, you should not introduce carbs in the first place. We will get to the specific food types and macronutrient cycling in ‘Explosive Nutrition Part II’; but carbs need to be eaten about 90 minutes before exercise takes place, eating them any closer to exercise and the high blood sugar levels set you up to hit a wall rather than jump over it.
Refill and Dominate
During exercise, as intensity increases so does glycogen uptake and demand (18, 19, 20, 21, 22). The same is true with endurance exercises and glucose utilization, where exercise intensity is considered moderate (20). Maintaining carb intake during exercise is crucial, liquid carb sources, which are quickly digested, will further increase the amount of glucose uptake by muscles, taking your work capacity for explosive movements to an even higher level (10, 11, 23, 24, 25). Finally, during exercise glucose maintenance will increase central nervous system activity, perhaps the most important characteristic of carbohydrate metabolism (26). The central nervous system is responsible for relaying messages from brain to body, the better this system works the faster reactions will be, the stronger muscle contractions will be, and because of this, the more explosive you will be. Where are you getting it wrong, you MUST have carbohydrates to perform like the athlete you have trained to become. Eat right, train hard, recover, and repeat. Become that Formula 1 car and start treating your competition like that ‘64 Volkswagen.
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References
1. Hargraves, M., Spriet. Skeletal Muscle Carbohydrate Metabolism During Exercise. Exercise Metabolism. 29-44, 2006.
2. Bryant, N.J., Govers, R., James, D.E. Regulated transport of the glucose transporter GLUT4. Nature Review (Molecular Cell Biology). 3: 267-277, 2002.
3. Costill, D.L., Coyle, E., Dalsky, G. and others. Effects of elevated plasma FFA and insulin on muscle glycogen usage during exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 43: 695-699, 1977.
4. Richter, E.A., Galbo, H. High glycogen levels enhance glycogen breakdown in isolated contracting skeletal muscle. J. Appl. Physiol. 61: 827-831, 1986.
5. Parolin, M.L. Regulations of skeletal muscle glycogen phosphorylase and PDH during maximal intermittent exercise. American Journal of Physiology. 277: E890-E900, 1999.
6. Bangsbo, J. Anaerobic energy production and O2 deficit-debt relationship during exhaustive exercise in humans. Journal of Physiology. 42: 539-559, 1990.
7. Spencer, M.R., and P.B. Gastin. Energy contribution during 200-to-1500m running in highly trained athletes. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 33: 157-162, 2001.
8. Spriet, L.L., R.A. Howlett, and G.J.F. Heigenhauser. An enzymatic approach to lactate production in human skeletal muscle during exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 32:756-763, 2000.
9. Coggan, A.R., Coyle, E.F. Reversal of fatigue during prolonged exercise by carbohydrate infusion or ingestion. J. Appl. Physiol. 63: 2388-2395, 1987.
10. Coyle, E.F., Coggan, A.R., Hemmert, M.K. Ivy, J.L. Muscle glycogen utilization during prolonged strenuous exercise when fed carbohydrate. J. Appl. Physiol. 61: 165-172, 1986.
11. Coyle, E.F., Hagberg, J.M., and others. Carbohydrate feeding during prolonged strenuous exercise and delay fatigue. J. Appl. Physiol. 55: 230-235, 1983.
12. Hermansen, L. Hultman, E. Saltin, B. Muscle glycogen during prolonged severe exercise. Acta Physiol. Scand. 71: 129-139. 1967.
13. McConell, G., Snow, R.J. Proietto, J., Hargraves, M. Muscle metabolism during prolonged exercise in humans: Influence of carbohydrate availability. J. Appl. Physiol. 87:1083-1086, 1999.
14. Gollnick, P.D., Pernow, B., Essen, B., Jansson, E. Saltin, B. Availability of glycogen and plasma FFA for substrate utilization in leg muscle of man during exercise. Clin. Physiol. 1: 27-42. 1981.
15. Gollnick, P.D. and others. Diet, exercise and glycogen in human muscle fibers. J. Appl. Physiol. 33: 421-425, 1972.
16. Hargreaves, M. McConell, G.K. Proietto, J. Influence of muscle glycogen on glycogenolysis and glucose uptake during exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 78:288-292, 1995.
17. Shearer, J., Marchand, I., and others. Pro-and-macroglycogenolysis during repeated exercise: Roles of glycogen content and phosphorlyase activation. J. Appl. Physiol. 90: 800-888, 2001.
18. Kjaer, M., Kiens, B., Hargraves, M. Influence of active muscle mass on glucose homestasis during exercise in man. J. Appl Physiol. 71: 552-557, 1991.
19. Hargraves, M., Meredith, I., Jennings, G.L. Muscle glycogen and glucose uptake during exercise in humans. Exp. Physiol. 77:641-644, 1992.
20. Katz, A., Broberg, S., Sahlin, K., Wahren, J. Leg glucose uptake during maximal dynamic exercise in humans. Am. J. Physiol. E65-E70, 1986.
21. Katz, A., Sahlin, K., Broberg, S. Regulation of glucose utilization in human skeletal muscle during moderate dynamic exercise. Am. J. Physiol. 260: E411-415, 1991.
22. Kristiansen, S., Hargraves, M., Richter, E.A. Progressive increase in glucose transport and GLUT4 in human sarcolemmal vesicles during moderate exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 272: E385-E389, 1997.
23. Angus, D.J., Febbraio, M.A., Hargraves, M. Plasma glucose kinetics during prolonged exercise in trained humans when fed carbohydrate. Am. J. Physiol. Physiol. 283: E573-E577, 2002.
24. Chen, H.C., and others. Activation of the ERK pathway and atypical protein kinase C isoforms in exercise- and aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-B-D-riboside (AICAR)-stimulated glucose transport. J. Biol. Chem. 277: 23554-23562, 2002.
25. McConell, G., Snow, R.J., Proietto, J., Hargraves, M. Muscle metabolism during prolonged exercise in humans: Influence of carbohydrate availability. J. Appl. Physiol. 87: 1083-1086, 1999.
26. Nybo, L. CNS fatique and prolonged exercise: Effect of glucose supplementation. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 35: 589-594, 2003.
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Nate Winkler, 25, is co-owner and Head Performance Coach at Juggernaut Training Systems. A Division 1 basketball player, Nate also won two conference championships in the 100 and 200 meters in Track & Field, with a 10.58 second PR in the 100m. He has his Bachelor’s Degree in Biology with a pre-medical emphasis, and a Masters Degree in Business Administration. Nate specializes in speed training for all sports and nutritional counseling, working alongside Chad Wesley Smith at Juggernaut. Learn more about Nate and Juggernaut Training Systems at JTSstrength.com. 
Great read… So are you suggesting a zero carb or keto approach if fat loss is the goal?
Good article but, you should have given a brief example of some of the foods that will help with carb loading for energy during exercise days.
Awesome article, looking forward to part 2.
When is Part 2 coming out? I’m very interested to hear the specific food types and macronutrient timing.
Chris…did you read the whole article??
This is a great article. Nutrient timing is the key. Even on a fat loss diet, one should consume CHO, but this has to happen approx. 90 mins prior (as said in the article) during and post exercise. If you tinker with the amounts you can lose weight and still perform. For me personally I consume about 150-200g CHO on heavier leg/back days and 100-120g on upper body days. The rest of the day and non-lifting days I keep the CHO intake low. I cycle carbs with the exception of good sports nutrition supplements, and do a re-feed on sat night/sunday morning. I am more of an endomorph, and I seem to stay about 235lbs and approx. 14% body fat using this approach. I usually keep the fat intake for the mornings and later on after the workout. I feel I get the most out of my supplements this way because fat consumption seems to inhibit and slow glucose metabolism as well as gastric emptying…can’t wait for the next article!
Without numbers this article is meaningless.
Really enjoyed this article; roll on part II!! Be good to see some working examples!!
Good work.
It would be interesting to see an article like this in regards to specific sports ‘game day’ nutrition. I coach wrestling, and while dual meets against one team would be easy to prepare for nutritionally, managing nutrition at all-day tournaments gets to be pretty tricky. When it isn’t done right (and I’m not claiming to have done it right, I’m still learning) the kids are gassed from earlier, less challenging matches and can’t bring their A game to the crucial games as easily as possible.
I would love to do carbs 90 minutes prior to training, but I workout first thing in the morning. I already wake up 45 minutes early to get some carbs in. Any suggestions? Looking forward to Part II.
Nice read, Nate.
@Espy…why would he include numbers as the CHO:FAT ratio would be specific to the individual (i.e. goals, body weight, composition, etc?).
Great exercise physiology review!
Thanks for the support here, Part II will address all these questions and provide a case study/example of how this method worked for a BJJ fighter that finished runner up in the black belt division of the Pan Am championships this past weekend. It will talk about the 6 week plan/nutrient cycle leading up to the competition, and competition day nutrition, including carb feeding while cutting weight. The article will show how they lost 7 lbs in 7 weeks (after being very lean to start with), while increasing training sessions, aerobic capacity, and strength totals. This isn’t rocket science, I’m not claiming to be a visionary with this method. My goal is to simply inform great athletes, and give you the nutrition to perform at your best.
@Angry Coach- Wow with all those letters beside your name you must be highly qualified to criticize other people’s work. Thanks for your support!
Good stuff man!
This is basically the idea of Metabolic Flexibility.
Under high intensity exercise —> use carbs
Under lower intensity exercise —> use fats
We can push this a bit by altering insulin levels. Insulin is probably the one hormone is under the most control via nutrition.
Increase insulin —> carb metabolism for high intensity exercise
low insulin —> burn more fat during low and moderate intensity exercise
Keep in mind that the body has stores of glycogen (albeit limited) in muscle and the liver to fuel intense exercise, so pre training carbs are not always needed, but in most I too find them to be beneficial (also jack insulin levels).
Looking forward to part 2!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson PhD(c)
Good read. Looking forward to Part II.
Nate,
This article has some really useful information. I’m looking forward to part 2.
I notice from your bio that you competed in track and field. Could you include some guidelines for someone who is long jumping, high jumping, and triple jumping in the same day?
This is something I have been tinkering with for a while and it would be really helpful to see what has worked for you in events where there is one explosive event (100m) or repeated bouts of short explosive movements (long jumps, triple jumps).
Nice work.
how would you go about helping an athlete get lean and maintain performance if he trains twice a day? am- strength training pm – sports. basically every meal is a pre and post workout meal. carbs with all meals? sample day would be:
meal 1 – breakfast pre workout
strength train
pw shake
meal 2 – post workout meal
meal 3 pre sports workout meal
meal 4- post workout meal
@Tyler- the nutrition here for you is going to be much the same. As long as you have the proper nutrients for your muscles to fire explosively there is no need to specifically eat a ‘jumpers diet’. Glycogen in the muscles allow muscles to contract forcefully. Not all carbs are created equal however, and you can’t expect your CNS to fire at maximum capacity after eating a burger and fries. I will elaborate more on this topic in Part II.
@Diego- I will absolutely cover this in Part II. The case study with the fighter will be perfect for this question. Stay tuned alright.
Good stuff.
I’m hoping part 2 covers how to calculate how many carbs we need based on weight and exercise level for the day.
Nate, great read, I am anxious to read part 2. Nutrition is something I am learning more about so stuff like this is what I appreciate reading.
Angry Coach looks like a smart guy….
I got some explosive nutrition it’s called the New Delhi diet
Very good read. I like the use of science. I am wondering when part 2 is coming out.
Let’s have part 2!
part 2….where is it?!?!
Nate, could you post part 2 of your article.