How Much Protein You Need Per Day as a Footballer:
One of the most common questions I get asked is:
“Should I take protein powder as a footballer?”
The answer I always give is; “if you can’t get all of your protein from whole foods; I highly recommend it.”
Unfortunately, I am not yet sponsored by any company. The firms who have reached out to sponsor me haven’t impressed me, so I cannot recommend a specific powder.
Here are My General Guidelines Regarding Protein Powder for a Footballer:
- Make sure it has at least 20-40 grams of protein per serving.
- Make sure it has at least 3 grams of L-Leucine per serving.
- READ THE INGREDIENTS! There shouldn’t be many ingredients, and you should be able to pronounce every ingredient without struggling.
- Make sure it’s third party (and heavy metal) tested.
- Stay away from artificial sweeteners.
You may ask, “But Ric, why is protein an essential nutrient in my diet as a footballer?”
That is What this Article is all about, so make sure you keep reading :)…
If you are a competitive footballer; I am sure you are putting miles on your body (kilometers if you’re into the metric system ☺), and logging a lot of training hours.
We can both agree that the reason you are doing this is because you want to become a better footballer and a better athlete to make sure you are performing as well as you possibly can on match day.
The Importance of Proper Nutrition:
If you aren’t fueling the machine properly, you will not make yourself better, and you can actually make yourself worse, and possibly injure yourself…
You may not realize that your body is built outside of the gym via proper nutrition and sleep. When you train, you are actually breaking your body down, and causing inflammation in your body.
If your nutrition and sleep aren’t on point, you will become very sore, and will not recover and adapt properly. You can even injure yourself.
I am positive that you go to team training and to the gym, and put in the extra hours on the pitch in order to adapt and get better, not to get worse!
The Most Under-Consumed Macronutrient:
After working with hundreds of athletes in my Elite 1 on 1 Coaching Program, I have found that one of the most under-consumed nutrients in a footballers diet is protein.
I had a Premier League player (can’t use his name due to player’s rights) come to me, telling me that he felt super sore all the time and under recovered, even though he felt he was doing everything right.
After taking an in-depth look at his diet, I saw he was consuming less than 50 grams of protein per day!
After we ramped it up, and he began taking in an adequate amount of protein (based on his bodyweight and workload), he felt miles better.
Another example is my client Cosmin, who is from Madrid, Spain. He wanted to get leaner but also build muscle at the same time..
So, we slowly ramped up his protein, increased his vegetable intake, and whether he knew it or not, I got him into a very slight caloric deficit, so his performance didn’t suffer..
His performance actually improved, he felt much better and looked much better as a result:
What is Protein:
Protein is an essential macronutrient that is responsible for building and repairing cells and tissues in your body. Protein is literally part of every cell in your body, and is a key component of the muscle, bone, organs, hair, skin and nails.
Without adequate protein, you will not reach your maximum potential, because you will not be able to recover properly from intense training.
What is Protein Comprised Of:
Protein consists of chains of amino acids (there are 20 total). There are both essential and non-essential amino acids.
There are 9 essential amino acids that the body cannot make, so these need to come from the diet. The other 11 amino acids (non-essential) are formed in the body.
Complete/Incomplete Proteins:
Depending on the amino acids contained within the food/supplement, proteins may either be considered complete or incomplete.
Animal products (chicken, beef, eggs, etc.) are generally classified as complete proteins; which are high-quality proteins that contain an adequate amount of all 9 essential amino acids.
Plant proteins are generally classified as incomplete proteins because they are low in one or more of the essential amino acids.
Vegetarians and Vegans, don’t be angry at me…
This does not mean that you can’t get all of the essential amino acids from plant products. You will just have to work with a nutritionist, or do a lot of research (to have a precise and structured plan to make sure you are rebuilding your body and taking in enough proper protein)..
More Training means More Protein!
As a footballer, you should aim to consume high-quality protein several times daily, in order to maintain a positive protein balance in your body and consume enough for the day.
Here are some examples of proper protein sources:
1.Eggs
2. Chicken Breast
3. Lean Beef
4. Salmon
5. Cod
6. Sardines
7. Mackerel
8. Tuna (only eat maximum twice per week due to mercury content)
9. Cottage Cheese
10. Greek/Turkish Yogurt (you guys know I got you! :))
11. Tofu/Tempeh
12. Protein Supplements
13. Protein Bars
14. Shrimp
15. Turkey
Post-Workout Protein:
After training, muscle protein breakdown and muscle protein synthesis are significantly increased, specifically in muscles that you trained.
24-48 hours after training, anabolism (tissue building) will occur as long as enough amino acids are present.
If not, catabolism (tissue breakdown) will occur, and the athlete will most likely become very sore and under recovered.
The Anabolic Window:
I’m sure you have heard of the “anabolic window,” stating that you have to consume as soon as possible post-training to make sure you recover properly.
While this is not entirely false, I don’t want you rushing out of training, not stretching and cooling down, and rushing to get your shake in.
The most important thing is that you are consuming enough protein for the whole day.
Carbohydrates are Actually Just as Important Post-Training:
In the post-training period, carbohydrates actually just as important as protein in order to refill your glycogen stores.
As a general rule of thumb, I suggest that my athletes consume a 2:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein, if they trained for more than 60 minutes at a high-intensity. Carbohydrate with protein will enhance muscle recovery (protein synthesis) and anabolism (growth).
For Example:
60 Grams of Carbohydrate: 30 Grams of Protein
2 Bananas with 1-2 scoops of protein powder (depending on your powder).
The protein source should contain all essential amino acids (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine), especially leucine
At the end of a 24 hour period, your main goal as a competitive footballer is to be in a positive protein balance, instead of a negative protein balance for the day.
This additional protein will increase fat-free mass, muscle fiber cross-sectional area (muscle growth) and help increase your strength.
How Much Protein Do You Need:
Protein is an essential macronutrient and a key building block in the recovery equation. As a footballer, you need up to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
If you weigh 70 kilograms, you will need at least 140 grams of protein per day to recover and adapt properly.
If you are looking to gain a significant amount of muscle; you can take that up to 2.5 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight (but I wouldn’t go higher than that, unless you want to spend your day on the toilet bowl) ☺.
Do You Need Supplements?
Your goal should be to consume your protein from whole foods, because it will also supply you with other essential nutrients.
If you can afford a protein supplement, it will aid in increasing your protein intake for the day, as you won’t have to consume as much food, and it will be more convenient.
If you do buy a protein powder, make sure you follow the tips that I pointed out in the beginning of the article. If you have any doubts or any questions, just shoot me an email and I will be glad to help you out!
If you have any other questions about nutrition as a footballer, make sure you check out this video:
My 1-on-1 Elite Program:
If you are interested in more individualized and specific tips on how to build your diet specifically for your goals and body type, and you decide that you want to commit to developing your mind and body and changing your life….
My One-on-One Coaching Program might be for you. My program is 100% individualized, so you receive 24/7 support from me.
You have to be willing to commit for at least 6 months and work as hard and diligently as possible for that time.
We will develop a nutrition plan centered around your goals and your lifestyle. This will allow you to develop a better relationship with food, perform better than anyone else, while reducing body fat so you can feel confident, perform better than anyone else on the pitch and look better than you ever have!
We will team up and help you get the best results possible.
After you fill out a very specific questionnaire of your exercise, sport and nutrition history, I will have you do a 3 day meal diary will allow me to see your specific eating behaviors and your relationship with food. We will tune into your emotions and why you eat what you eat.
If you’ve never looked into your emotions, why you eat what you eat, and how you feel after you eat, you are missing out…
If you are interested in my program, apply here:
https://ricfittraining.com/online-coaching-ricfit
But, please make sure you know, this program is NOT for everyone. I have a selective process of who I accept because I hold you to the same standard I hold myself to, and if you know me, you know it’s not an easy one.
The program requires a lot of hard work and discipline. But, if you put in the work and follow the blueprint I lay out for you to a tee for 6 months, and you don’t get results, I will give you all your money back plus an additional $500.
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