Sports | Ideal Nutrition

13 Apr 2020

Citrulline Malate Supplementation for Lifters

Citrulline malate is a supplement that is typically used to increase strength and endurance. The main benefit of it is to increase nitric oxide levels, which can improve blood flow to muscles. What is Citrulline Malate? Citrulline malate contains L-citrulline bonded with malic acid. L-Citrulline is an amino acid that gets converted by the body into L-arginine. Arginine is converted into nitric oxide, therefore increasing blood flow. Citrulline malate enhances creatine phosphate regeneration - meaning quicker recovery between sets. Research doesn't appear to support that this happens for L-citrulline alone, so this aspect is attributed to the malic acid. The…

31 Mar 2020

By Aidan Muir

Beta Alanine: A Simple Guide Covering Everything You Need to Know

Beta alanine has slowly become one of the few supplements that have developed a good reputation for consistently producing positive outcomes for performance in sports nutrition. Up there with the likes of creatine and caffeine. It is used as a performance aid mostly because of its ability to improve muscular endurance. What is Beta Alanine? Beta alanine is an amino acid that is not used in the production of protein. It is naturally produced by the liver. The benefits from beta-alanine supplementation mostly don’t come from the beta-alanine directly; they come from the increase in muscle carnosine that occurs. What…

15 Mar 2020

By Aidan Muir

Weight Cuts for Powerlifting – Everything You Need to Know

Weight cutting (also known as a water cut) is an area of powerlifting that I see not being done well on a frequent basis. Honestly, I see it as a bit of a gap in the sport where people are missing out on a massive potential advantage. In a lot of combat sports where making weight is a requirement as well, it is at the point where almost everybody undertakes a significant weight cut. If an athlete chooses not to do one, it puts them at a noticeable disadvantage due to the difference in size and muscle mass. Interestingly enough,…

03 Dec 2019

By Aidan Muir

The Vertical Diet: Everything You Need to Know

Outside of the niche community of serious strength athletes, The Vertical Diet is pretty unknown. But due to quite a few elite-level athletes following the diet (including Hafthor "The Mountain" Bjornsson), there is a large reputation behind it. Another massive influence on this is that the founder Stan Efferding is both charismatic and jacked. He is also clearly intelligent and knowledgeable when it comes to nutrition. He makes compelling arguments as to why a lot of the aspects of this diet are beneficial for health and performance. As a dietitian who specialises in working with strength athletes, with a focus…

06 Feb 2018

By Tyler Brooks

Carbohydrate Loading – What It Is and How To Do It

What is Carbohydrate Loading? Carbohydrate loading is a nutrition technique used by athletes in an attempt to prolong optimal athletic performance and delay the onset of fatigue, or, ‘hitting a wall’. It is also referred to as carb-loading, or carbo-loading. Transforming Carbs in Food to Energy for Muscles Throughout digestion, carbohydrate-containing foods are broken down into simple sugars such as glucose. These sugars are then absorbed into the bloodstream. Insulin is secreted by the pancreas which enables uptake of glucose from the blood by our liver and muscle cells. Following this it is stored as potential energy in the form…

14 Dec 2017

By Jessica Spendlove

How to Fuel Yourself as an Athlete

As an athlete, it is not only about eating a healthy balanced diet. Don’t get me wrong of course that is important, but it is equally if not more important that you consider one main thing – performance! What does that mean? It means optimising intake to ensure your intake to ensure you are well fuelled and recovered for your training and performance requirements. An athlete’s requirements could be considered abnormal when you compare them to the general population. After all, an athlete can train as much as 4 to 8 hours per day, compared to the average person who…

17 Sep 2017

By Aidan Muir

Lisa Middleton Q & A

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your career? I work predominantly in sports nutrition and I basically became interested in it just from my own personal interest in sport. I did a lot of sport when I was younger and was just interested in the link between what you ate and how that affected performance. I used to experiment with my own diet and was enthusiastic about learning more. When I was in early high school, probably Year 8 or Year 9, I decided I wanted to work as a sports dietitian. I headed down…

06 Aug 2017

By Aidan Muir

Jessica Spendlove Q & A

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your career? I grew up in Sydney and did a lot of sport when I was younger, particularly swimming, that was my sport of choice. There were many hours in the pool and lots of training before and after school. While I was Swimming, I actually saw a sports dietitian (Helen O’Connor), and it was at that point I thought, “This nutrition thing is pretty interesting, maybe that’s what I want to do with myself.” By the time I finished high school, I was really interested in sports nutrition…

20 Jul 2017

By Aidan Muir

Simone Austin Q & A

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your career? I always wanted to work in sports nutrition and community nutrition. After graduation, I started working at a community health centre and then shortly after, part-time at the Western Bulldogs AFL club. So, I was doing what I wanted. And then, to cut a long story short (because it’s been 23 years), I increased my sports work when my son was born. It’s been nearly 18 years since then! The next thing I did was work with the Australian cricket team part-time for seven years. I have always…

04 Mar 2017

By Aidan Muir

Caffeine and Athletic Performance: Everything You Need to Know

Caffeine can be found in a huge range of commonly consumed beverages and foods, and it’s no secret that it delivers an energy hit. Not as common knowledge, however, is the way it can literally improve athletic performance. Caffeine is derived from a range of nuts, seeds and leaves and acts as an adenosine receptor antagonist throughout the body. It increases the production of adrenaline, pushing your body into that “fight or flight” mode. Over the years, caffeine has been shown to enhance athletic performance, with the bulk of these benefits thought to be due to its effect on the…