Diet for Powerlifting
Powerlifting is a high intensity strength sport that requires a proper diet to make maximum progress and to fuel grueling workouts.
In this article, we will discuss many aspects of powerlifting nutrition.
- Calorie Intake
- Calorie Intake for Male Powerlifterns
- Calorie Intake for Female Powerlifters
- Carbohydrates
- Protein
- Fats
- Meal Frequency
- Meal Timing
- Pre-Workout Meals
- Post-Workout Meals
- Within Workout Nutrition
- Nutrition in the Off-Season
- Nutrition Before a Meet
- Supplementation
Let’s discuss each of these factors in more detail below.
Calorie Intake
As a powerlifter, you need more calories than the average person due to your increased body weight, increased muscle mass and the energy cost of your training sessions.
Calorie Intake for Male Powerlifters
Male powerlifters have increased calorie needs compared to female lifters. According to the American Dietetic Association, male powerlifters should aim to eat roughly 44 to 50 calories per kilogram of bodyweight daily. This translates to roughly 20 to 23 calories per pound of body weight.
Calorie Intake for Female Powerlifters
Female powerlifters have increased energy needs compared to the general population. However, female powerlifters need fewer calories compared to male powerlifters due to hormonal differences, less muscle mass and higher body fat percentage.
According to the American Dietetic Association, female powerlifters should aim for 39-44 calories per kilogram of bodyweight, or 17-20 calories per pound of bodyweight.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the primary fuel for high intensity activity and should be included in your powerlifting diet.
For most athletes, daily carbohydrate intake should be set between 2 to 3 grams per pound bodyweight or about 4 to 7 grams per kilogram of bodyweight.
Powerlifters should focus on quality carbohydrate intake. Here are some good examples.
Roughly 25 percent of total carbohydrate intake can be consumed in the windows before and after training.
- Rice
- Pasta
- Whole Grain Products
- Potatoes
- Sweet Potatoes
- Oats
- Quinoa
- Couscous
- Berries
- Melon
- Vegetables
- Beans
Protein
Protein consumption is important to increase muscle growth. Powerlifters should aim for 1.4 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram body weight per day. However, you can also safely consume more protein than that. It is best to break the protein up into 20-40 gram doses 3 to 4 times per day.
Protein intakes up to 4.4 grams per kilogram–might help you lose more fat. However, you do not want to set protein so high that your carb or fat intake has to be reduced below optimal levels.
Here are some examples of good sources of protein to include in your diet.
- Ground Turkey
- Ground Beef
- Steak
- Chicken Breast
- Chicken Thighs
- Pork
- Greek Yogurt
- Whey Protein
- Salmon
- White Fish
Fat
Fat is important as a long term energy source and for hormone production.
Most sources recommend that protein intake can vary from 20-35 percent of daily calorie intake. Some athletes may benefit from fat intakes between 30-35 percent of their daily calorie intake.
Here are some examples of healthy fats to include in your diet.
Animal based fats like those naturally occurring in meat and animal products are ok to consume in moderation as well.
Meal Frequency
Powerlifters should aim to eat between 3 and 5 meals per days. Each meal should provide about 20 grams of protein or more to maximize muscle growth.
3 to 5 meals per day is the sweet spot for meal frequency for most people.
Meal Timing
You want to make sure you eat before and after workouts. Aim to eat about 1 to 2 hours before training and within a 3 hour window after training. Eating a healthy and well-balanced meal in the next couple hours after training will help maximize the response to your training.
You may also consider eating at least every 4 to 5 hours. This helps you avoid large energy fluctuations throughout the day. Large energy fluctuations are associated with more body fat and less muscle growth.
Pre-Workout Meals
Pre-workout meals should help you perform better during your workout and recover faster.
You should aim for a balanced meal containing protein, carbohydrates and fats about 1 to 2 hours before your workout. This meal should be easy to digest. Go easy on the vegetables and fatty foods. Those two things can make you feel bloated and lethargic during a workout.
For most people, this meal should be about 200-500 calories. Here are some sample meal suggestions before a workout. If you have more time before a workout, you can aim for more normal sized meals. If your workout is less than one hour away, aim for a small 200-250 calorie snack so you do not get sick during the workout.
- Pasta, Red Sauce with Ground Beef
- Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with Cottage Cheese
- Greek Yogurt with Fruit
- Eggs and Toast
This meal should include 20-40 grams of protein, 30-100 grams of carbs and 5-10 grams of fat depending on your daily intakes.
Post Workout Meals
For your post-workout meal, you can follow similar guidelines as the pre-workout meal. Your goal is to replenish muscle glycogen and repair muscle tissue.
Here are some good suggestions for the post-workout meal.
- Whey Protein Shake with Avocado Toast
- Bowl of Whole Grain Cereal with Skim Milk
- Chocolate Milk and Graham Crackers with Peanut Butter
- Chicken Stir Fry with Rice
Just like the pre-workout meal, this meal should contain proteins, carbs and a bit of fat. This meal can also contain about 20-40 grams of protein and 50-100 grams of carbs depending on your daily intakes.
Aim for 20-30 grams of protein if female and 30-40 grams of protein if male in this meal. You can also include between 50-100 grams of carbohydrates depending on your sex and weight and overall calorie needs. You can also consume a moderate amount of fat in this meal.
Aim for a relatively normal meal and don’t feel like you need to eat as soon as you take your sneakers off. As long as you eat within three hours after your workout, you are well on your way to maximizing your workout results.
Within Workout Nutrition
Most people do not need to consume energy during workouts, but powerlifters may benefit from 25-50 grams of carbs during long or hard workouts. You could choose a sports beverage if you find that fatigue limits your strength during long workouts. You probably do not need sports beverages for workouts under 60 minutes, low intensity cardio sessions under 60 minutes or for upper body workouts.
Make sure to factor any sports drinks into your daily calorie intake. Also keep in mind that sports drinks can cause tooth decay.
If you consume carbs during the workout, you can lower the carbs in your post-workout meal.
Nutrition in the Offseason
Nutrition in the offseason should be focused on helping you train hard, put on some muscle mass and recover from your workouts.
While you want to stay close enough to your weight class, you can allow a bit of weight gain during this time period.
You may consider increasing your calories slightly. Depending on how many years you have been lifting and how close you are to your genetic potential, you may consider increasing your calories by 10-15 percent in the offseason to support muscle growth. You can aim to eat slightly more carbs and fats during this time.
Nutrition in the Weeks Leading up to a Meet
For about six weeks before the meet, you might need to decrease your energy intake slightly to help you make weight.
Ideally, you are already within a few pounds of your weight class. If not, you may want to reconsider lifting at a heavier class.
If you are already in range, you can make your target by dropping your calorie intake very slightly.
You could also consider adding small amounts of very low intensity cardio like walking before the meet to help make weight.
Additionally, you can also consider using a low carb diet the week before the meet to lose water weight and help make weight. You can use my guide to weight cutting to help you make your weight class.
Finally, you can curtail food and drink about 12 hours before your meet to help you make weight the next morning.
Nutrition the Day of the Powerlifting Meet
The nutrition the day of the meet can either make or break your competition performance!
You should not eat anything on meet day until after you weigh in and make weight.
Then you can eat and drink to get ready to compete. If you did a weight cut, you can drink Gatorade or Pedialyte so that you can rehydrate. You should also eat a normal meal that you tolerate well before workouts. Now is not the time to try anything new.
If you normally consume caffeine before workouts, consume 3-6 mg of caffeine per kilogram of bodyweight on meet day too! If you are sensitive to caffeine or you do not normally consume it, skip the caffeine on meet day.
You also want to pack some snacks like pretzels, fruit, energy bars and sports drinks to eat and drink throughout the day to help keep your energy levels up throughout meet day.
Aim to include some more salt too, especially if you cut weight. You can get some extra salt with salty snacks or more electrolyte beverages.
Depending on how you feel, you can also add some more caffeine throughout the day to make sure you have energy for the deadlift. Aim to consume caffeine about 1 hour before your deadlift attempts if you are feeling tired.
Supplementation
Powerlifters can also benefit from a few supplements.
I would recommend taking Vitamin D if you do not get a lot through your diet or sunlight. It can help your recovery, strength and mood as well as your immune system health.
Creatine Monohydrate can also help you increase strength, muscle mass and reduce body fat. Supplementation will be most useful for vegetarians, but might also provide some benefit for omnivores. If you do choose to supplement with Creatine Monohydate, you can use about 5 mg per day.
Otherwise, you can monitor your nutrient levels by getting regular bloodwork and talking to your doctor about nutrient supplementation
Reach out
Hopefully this article helped you to set up your nutrition for powerlifting. If you liked the article, please leave a comment below.
