Master Athletes Protein Requirements

Growing old does not determine one’s eligibility to still continue to participate in sports. Master athletes are athletes who are 35 years of age or older who still participate in the sports they love. Master athlete competitors are bracketed into five year increments according to their age group, where they can compete in cross country, track and field, road running, and others. They are the model group for disproving the stereotype that as one grows older, physical activity and muscular strength decreases, and ‘anabolic resistance’ to dietary protein increases. This puts into question that as an athlete ages, do their dietary requirements change as well? The article “Protein Requirements for Master Athletes: Just Older Versions of Their Younger Selves” by Daniel Moore discusses these physiological changes and addresses the specific protein requirements that Master athlete participants should take into account when participating in high level competitions.

As people age, it is crucial to maintain the recommended levels of physical activity pertaining to their particular age group. Becoming more sedentary with age contributes to muscle loss, cardiovascular health, and decrease in overall fitness, and promotes the idea that these detrimental changes are associated with aging. However, it has been researched that deterioration can be avoided with higher physical activity levels, and the physiology of exercise at an older age is similar to their younger counterparts. Master athletes have “similar muscle characteristics, physiological responses to exercise, and protein metabolism as young athletes and, therefore, are unlikely to have protein requirements that are different from their young contemporaries” (Moore, 2021). Protein requirements for master athletes are comparable to young athletes, primarily because they maintain such a high level of fitness into their later years.

Protein requirements for master athletes vary depending on whether they are competing in endurance or resistance (strength) athletics. The recommendations are as follows:

Endurance master athletes (i.e triathlons)

Post-Exercise: 0.5 g/kg per meal

-Rapidly digested, leucine-enriched (e.g. cottage cheese, eggs, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, lentils etc.) 

Daily: 0.3–0.4 g/kg per meal

-High quality, nutrient dense (e.g. whole foods like whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes etc.)

-Enriched in branched chain amino acids (e.g. whey, milk, soy, corn, beef, chicken, eggs, baked beans, chickpeas etc.)

-Consume 4–5 equally spaced meals

Considerations: Target a daily intake of ~ 1.8 g/kg/day with adequate energy

-Include ~ 10% buffer with lower quality proteins (e.g. plant-based like peanut butter, grain or cereal-based products such as bread etc.)

-Requirements may be increased ~ 10 to 15% with low carbohydrate availability training

-If tolerable, target last meal ~ 1 to 2 h before sleep

Resistance master athletes:(i.e CrossFit, power lifting)

Post-Exercise: 0.3–0.4 g/kg per meal

-Rapidly digested, leucine-enriched foods (e.g. cottage cheese, eggs, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, lentils etc.) 

Daily: 0.3–0.4 g/kg per meal

-High quality, nutrient dense (e.g. whole foods like whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes etc.)

-Consume 4–5 equally spaced meals

Considerations: Target a daily intake of ~ 1.6 g/kg/day with adequate energy

-Include ~ 10% buffer with lower quality proteins (e.g. plant-based like peanut butter, grain or cereal-based products such as bread etc.)

-If tolerable, target last meal ~ 1–2 h before sleep

The protein requirements for younger athletes serves as a prominent foundation for the current protein recommendations for master athletes. Incorporating these protein recommendations into daily food consumption will provide for better training outcomes, and will allow the master athlete to continue to compete at high levels of fitness and improve their muscular strength and endurance.

References

Moore, D. R. (2021, September 13). Protein requirements for master athletes: Just older

 versions of their younger selves. Sports Medicine. From https://link.springer.com/article

/10.1007/s40279-021-01510-0#Sec19. 

Written by Kaylee Arthur, student of Dr. Natasha Hastings