Customer Reviews

Nutrient Timing

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I actually heard about this book at this year's Arnold Expo in Columbus, OH. The book is fantastic because it really explains how nutrient timing has evolved, and more importantly it does a remarkable job of explaining "what" nutrients you need and "when" with hard science to back it up. As a female who works out regularly at the gym to build muscle and stay toned, I often want to take something before or after my workout, but haven't been convinced of what I should be doing. It was fascinating to read just how misinterpreted carbs are and why it's so critical to consume them immediately following intense exercise to build muscle and for faster recovery.

This best part of the book is the simplicity.I didn't realize that building muscle is a 24 hr process. Knowing what the 3 phases of muscle development are and what nutrients are needed at what time of the day is already having considerable impact on my workouts....I truly notice the difference and am looking forward to great results.

Thank you Dr. Ivy & Dr. Portman....this book is long overdue!

First , i would like to say that it's a good book . But i think it is more oriented towards beginners in the field of nutrition . I've been bodybuilding for 5 years and educating myself a lot in this sport . If your a person like me who have enough experience in this sport by reading magazines , books and surfing the Internet i recommend you this book only as a add-on for your library . However if your a newbie in the sport and don't have any idea about good nutrition this book will set you on the good way .

The Book provides good informations . Beginners will find them breakthrough while advanced trainers will pass on them quickly as they have been mentioned hundred of times in reputable books and magazines . The Content of the book , while about 250 pages can be resumed in no more than 100 pages if not less . The Only real thing you can take from it is to always mix Protein with Carbohydrates for better Insulin Spike wich is a very well known information in the field of bodybuilding at least for the educated trainers . There's a lot of emphasis on The Carb/Pro Drink and Insulin wich is another well known fact . I find the Percentage of protein and carbohydrates that they recommend during and after training very low . I don't see how a 200lbs + bodybuilder can benefit from 6 g of protein and 20 grams of carbs . While a Carb/Pro drink is a good thing during training the ratios must be a lot higher .
To sum up , the book titled " The Future Of Sports Nutrition " is very far to be considered the Future of sport nutrition. I am not saying there's better books on the market about the subject and i honestly say it's one of the best book talking about nutrition but like i said Nothing new for the Educated Bodybuilder or Athletes seeking to learn more about Nutrition . The Timing the Authors suggests are well known at least by me and i didn't learn anything new in the Field . Persons who get results applying their instructions didn't get serious about training until they read the book . So Final point , Nothing new , good pass time no more . Great Buy For Beginners , Good Add-On for Library for advanced Bodybuilders.

A must read for any strength trainer or bodybuilder. Great insight on what to eat/take and when for your training. The mention of studies got a little monotonous, but the book is well done. Overall, it's a very good buy.

Well, the Bad News, first: Let' be honest - this is not easy reading. It's not like one of "Men's Health" articles that say, "Eat this -- not that," with pictures.

I've read it through a dozen times now.

The Good News? EXCELLENT INFORMATION.

It has given me amazing results and gotten me off my plateau. It has really changed the way I work out, for the better.

Thank you Ivy and Portman!

This book is incredible. If you are well versed in recent sports nutrition research you are probably already familiar with a lot of what is presented here, however, this is definitely the best presentation of this information I have come across yet. The only other book I know of to discuss many of the topics presented here is "Optimal Muscle Performance and Recovery", by the late Edmund Burke, which was my favorite before "Nutrient Timing". As strength athletes, however, our specifics are usually relegated to a single chapter in a book focusing primarily on nutrition for endurance athletes. From there we are usually left to interpolate information not necessarily targeted to us. No more is this the case. We now have a book based entirely on recent research tailored specifically to our needs. This is a very quick and easy read and is the best presentation of nutrition for strength athletes I have yet to encounter. Keep in mind, it does assume a previous understanding of basic nutrition principles. Money spent on this book is money well spent... terrific.

I'm always so focused on working out and trying to eat the right things that I never really thought about the importance of when i was eating. This new book is a godsend. Not only does it show you how to maximize the results of your workouts by simply timing the appropriate nutrition, but it also lets me know why. I like to know why my body is receptive to nutrient intake differently at different times. The book also makes it very easy for you to incorporate the principals of nutrient timing by mapping out the type of foods and nutrients you need at the precise time you need them in relation to exercise.

I've been timing my nutrient intake according to the book's direction and after two weeks have already been experiencing some more mass (and i had been plateauing recently), less soreness and faster recovery.

So even though the concept of the book may be scientific, it's given me a natural and simple way to get the most out of my training regimen and maximize my performance potential.

If anyone is going to place forth the effort to exercise, not knowing the goldmine of information in this book is doing themselves a disservice.

If you have read more than one book on sports nutrition, you know that practically every reasonable book is the same. If you run, you may need to eat more carbs. If you lift, you may need to modify your protein intake. No matter what you do when you train, eat less fat.

The way I figure it, too many athletes think nutrition, exercise, and their body are like driving a car. They drive the car and then fill it up whenever they get near their favorite gas station. When they fill up and what they fill it up with is more a matter of convenience. But Ivy and Portman show that the human body is far more than an inanimate car. The pipe to our gas tank is more complex and our gas tank is more than an empty container.

To me, it makes intuitive sense that the time when the body is most receptive to refueling is right after training. And that a lot of adaptation goes on between training sessions.

Ivy and Portman have done two terrific things. First they educate us about just what all goes on in the body during the hours between workouts. Second, they add a time factor to all the verbiage out there about nutrition - not only what to eat, but also WHEN to eat to get the most out of both training and food. Can't help but train better and get better results by doing things their way.

If you're serious about gaining strength and lean muscle mass and improving your body composition, you should get this book. Written by two respected sports nutrition researchers, it presents a novel supplementation program for bodybuilders and strength athletes that is vastly different from what most gym rats are now doing yet is fully supported by the best and latest research.

The book's "bombshell" contention is that timed carbohydrate intake is more important than protein when it comes to building muscle. Nutrient Timing takes direct aim at what the authors call the "bulk nutrition" mentality: if protein is good, then more protein must be better. "Unfortunately," they say, "you can consume the protein of an entire cow, but if your muscles are not receptive at that particular time, the protein will be wasted." Ivy and Portman cite two conditions that make the muscles receptive to protein. The first is training. By disrupting muscle tissue, high-intensity lifting creates a short-term demand for protein in the muscles.

The second key is insulin. Studies show that insulin increases net protein balance in three ways: 1) it increases amino acid transport into the muscle, 2) it stimulates the enzymes that make protein from amino acids, and 3) it reduces the breakdown of protein. To get the full anabolic benefits of insulin requires that you maximize its release after your workouts. Protein is a weak stimulator of insulin. Carbohydrate is a much stronger stimulator of insulin. When carbohydrate and protein are taken together after a workout, insulin release is much greater than when protein is taken alone and it acts as a kind of fuel injector that drives protein synthesis.

According to Ivy and Portman, the ideal post-workout supplement will have three to four times as much carbohydrate as protein, and they've got the science to prove it. For example, in one study they cite, a carbohydrate-protein supplement taken after a workout resulted in 38% more protein synthesis than a regular protein shake of the kind that most gym rats use.

Nutrient Timing slays many sacred cows of muscle-building nutrition, but in the end it is thoroughly convincing. It is also very practical, explaining exactly what to take and when. The only thing left for you to do is work out!

Don't tell anyone you have this book -- let it be your secret weapon! Let them wonder why your putting on the pounds more quickly than normal, with less soreness, and more energy. They'll see you with your odd drink *during* your workout (while they have their clear water), but just act like it's a regular protein mix or something. Just tell them your gains are from the extra sleep your getting, or HMB, or new fancy vitamins. But don't let them break you!

The fewer people who know about this book, the better it makes us (who know) look. Let's keep this a small club, and let everyone else try to play catch up to our much easier attained gains. I know the book's authors hate my advice, but before the world finally discovers this "bible" of nutrient timing, I want to have my fun on the top of the heap.

So, um, that 5-star rating above. It's a mistake. I meant to give this lousy book 1 star. Yeah...that's it. Hopefully Amazon staff will see my error and fix it pronto. Go check out an Atkin's book or something. Nothing more to see on this page.

I carefully read the reviews of this book and purchased it hoping to improve my weight and aerobic training. I reached a plateau in my training and definitely reached the overreaching/overtraining phases. I had hoped this book would provide me some answers.

Unfortunately, after the first 50 pages (of which the pertinent information could fit in two paragraphs) I got the point: buy overpriced sports supplements. It is almost as if the authors were commissioned by the sport supplement industry (e.g. Accelerade).

Having just recently reclaimed my physical health by designing and following an all natural balanced way of eating I found this book to be disappointing.