Show Notes
Everywhere you look, someone is telling you to eat more protein. If you are over 45 and your power is going backwards, more protein is not the fix you have been promised. Back in January the US dietary guidelines roughly doubled their protein recommendation, and that was overdue. But guidelines written for a sedentary population are a very different thing to guidelines for an athlete training 10 to 15 hours a week. Something real does change in your muscles as you get older, and the research on masters triathletes makes for uncomfortable reading. What it does not show is that eating more protein fixes it. In this episode I take you through what is actually happening in ageing muscle, what happened when researchers doubled the protein after a muscle damaging session, and the 5 protein levers to pull instead of just reaching for more. WHAT YOU WILL TAKE AWAY • What anabolic resistance is in plain English, and why the rules changed at about 35 without anybody sending you the memo • Inside the Australian study that compared masters triathletes with younger ones, and what happened to their muscle repair and their cycling time trials • What doubling the post exercise protein dose actually bought masters triathletes, and what it did not • Why your total protein intake stops paying you back once you are in a reasonable range • The 5 protein levers, and why most triathletes only ever pull number 5 • Why your breakfast is almost certainly the weak link in your day • Why the same mistake is happening right now with carbohydrate TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Everywhere you look, eat more protein 00:27 Over 45 and your power is going backwards 00:55 The number is the easy part, eating it is not 01:22 Welcome 01:43 What actually changes in your body as you get older 02:10 Anabolic resistance, in plain English 02:41 Inside the study: masters versus younger triathletes 03:40 What happened over the 3 days 04:04 It is not your fault, the rules changed at 35 04:43 So should you just eat more protein? 05:08 The follow up study: double the dose 05:57 What doubling the protein actually bought them 06:43 Why simply more is not the fix 07:17 The bit that is genuinely hard for an age-grouper 08:01 What happens in the real world, week by week 09:14 The internet gives you a number and walks away 09:51 The barbecue study, Episode 141 10:14 You are a human, not a snake 10:51 Masters swimmers: the total was fine, the pattern wasn't 11:28 The 5 protein levers 12:17 Eating more is not a strategy 12:48 The recap 13:22 What to actually do about it ALSO MENTIONED • Episode 179 with Joe Friel on how masters athletes can get fast and stay fit after 50: https://www.dietitianapproved.com/podcast/episode-179 • Episode 141, affectionately dubbed the barbecue study, on large protein doses in one sitting: https://www.dietitianapproved.com/podcast/episode-141) STUDIES MENTIONED • Doering, T. M., Jenkins, D. G., Reaburn, P. R., Borges, N. R., Hohmann, E., & Phillips, S. M. (2016). Lower integrated muscle protein synthesis in masters compared with younger athletes. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 48(8), 1613-1618. [https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000935](https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000935) • Doering, T. M., Reaburn, P. R., Borges, N. R., Cox, G. R., & Jenkins, D. G. (2017). The effect of higher than recommended protein feedings post-exercise on recovery following downhill running in masters triathletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 27(1), 76-82. [https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2016-0079](https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2016-0079) • Santos de Souza, M., Zaleski Trindade, C. D., de Souza Castro, F. A., Buss, C., & Schneider, C. D. (2025). Protein intake by master swimmers: Implications for practice in sports nutrition, a cross-sectional study. Nutrition and Health, 31(3), 1095-1101. [https://doi.org/10.1177/02601060241276918](https://doi.org/10.1177/02601060241276918) READY TO STOP GU
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Two of the best triathletes on the planet came undone in the Kona heat in back-to-back years, so how do you fuel a hot race without falling apart on the run? After two decades of working with triathletes, I can tell you that most hot races are won or lost before the gun even goes off. As an age-grouper you’re out on course for hours longer than the pros, in the hottest part of the day, often on a race nutrition plan you built and tested through winter. I break down what the heat actually does to your body, why falling apart in a hot race comes down to much more than toughness and what should change in your plan when the forecast says it’s going to be a scorcher. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN Why your body burns through stored carbohydrate faster in the heat, and why your aid stations can only top up so much The 3 ways triathletes fall apart in a hot race that look identical from the side of the road, and why they need opposite fixes Why “it’s hot, drink more” is the advice that puts age-groupers in the medical tent What heat does to your gut, and why backing off your fuel can make it worse The 4 mistakes I see over and over when the forecast is hot How one of my Academy athletes went from walking between poles at Spudman to crossing the line at the 70.3 World Championship in Nice
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Why is your triathlon nutrition strategy still not working when you already know what to do? I asked the triathletes who just finished my Triathlon Fuel Camp what they had spent money on to improve their performance. 70% had paid for a bike fit, 66% had a coach and 50% had bought a power meter and faster wheels. Only 20% had ever invested in a dietitian or nutritionist, and 57% told me they were winging their nutrition. These are smart, driven athletes with more information at their fingertips than any triathlete in history. So why is it still not working? IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: Why more information is not what is missing from your nutrition What a strategy specific to you is actually built on (and why generic advice never holds for long) The 3 ways triathletes try to build a nutrition strategy, and the only one that lasts your whole racing life The 3 questions that keep triathletes on the precipice of dialling in their nutrition for years How Kelly, Steve and Julia from the Triathlon Nutrition Academy finally got off the fence TIMESTAMPS 02:02 Why your triathlon nutrition strategy isn't working 10:15 3 questions holding triathletes back EPISODES MENTIONED Episode 235 with Julia Episode 237 on why DIY nutrition is not working Episode 259 with Kelly and the TNA crew at the 70.3 World Championship in Nice Episode 261 with Steve, Curt and Jade READY FOR A STRATEGY THAT IS SPECIFIC TO YOU? The Triathlon Nutrition Academy is my 9-month program where I teach you how to fuel your own training and racing, step by step, with an Advanced Sports Dietitian checking your work along the way. Find out more about the Triathlon Nutrition Academy here. SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE CONNECT WITH TARYN Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube The Triathlon Nutrition Academy® is a podcast by Dietitian Approved®. All rights reserved. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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