Since last year, Tokyo Powdered Foods has been developing a nutritional food product mainly based on protein, which is scheduled to be released this spring or summer. You may be thinking Why?, but we have our own reasons and thoughts, which we have learned from our own failures.
Importance of Protein
“My nails break easily,” “I’m the type of person who has trouble building muscle…” When my skins split, it takes a long time to heal.” “I can do the moves, but I don’t feel like I’m getting stronger…”
I am sure you have heard these conversations or can think of your own experiences. In many cases, these are signs of protein deficiency.
As you know, climbing is a very high-intensity exercise in which one performs a series of anaerobic, maximal muscle-strength moves. It is said that even a person who does not exercise on a daily basis needs 1g of protein per body weight per day, and a climber who performs high-intensity exercise on a daily basis needs about 2g of protein per body weight per day (*depending on age and gender). In climbers who are concerned about weight gain, this is likely to be insufficient. The result of not enough is the aforementioned signs.
The most important point of all is the symptom of “difficulty in building muscle,” which is strongly attributed to the phenomenon that the muscles used during climbing do not store the amount of protein they need to consume to generate power, so they break down other muscles and consume them as protein. Because of this, muscle is not being built, but rather is being reduced. Although you are training hard to get stronger, you may actually be just getting used to the moves, but your body’s muscle mass is decreasing, fatigue is accumulating, and muscle strength is weakening. Conversely, if you are getting enough protein, the muscles you use will recover normally, grow, and increase in strength. This can make a very big difference. I have been doing this very wasteful training for over 15 years. And I was very diligent, took a lot of supplements and thought I was getting stronger. And many climbers still do the same kind of training over and over again.
Muscle is built in the kitchen.” These are the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, a well-known figure in the muscle training community. We want to share this fact with all climbers. And if we can, we want to create a flow where people enjoy taking protein, study the amount they need, and enjoy bragging about their strength training menus and muscles.
TOKYO “PROTEIN” POWDER
We are currently developing a protein powder suitable for climbers and a protein bar that can be easily eaten between climbs. Completion is expected sometime in the spring or summer. We have hit a few big walls over the past few months, but we are finally on track to manufacture the product and are pleased to announce it this way.
Protein is the basis of nutrition, as it is one of the three major nutrients and is particularly important and difficult to obtain. Likewise, there are basics in the training cycle throughout the year. (Again, climbers are always losing weight + Try hard problems with max grade. (It is obvious that neither recovery nor bulking up is the norm.) Protein is the first step in rethinking healthy climbing.
We hope that our efforts and products will help as many climbers as possible to understand the importance of nutrition and recovery, and to enjoy a strong and healthy climbing life.
We also hope that these nutritional products, along with the basic knowledge and advice related to them, and such new communication, will become one of the attractions of the climbing gym/shop. We will announce on Twitter and our business page when the product is ready, so please stay tuned.
(Mitsuo Yamamoto)
- If you are interested in this entry, try searching on youtube or elsewhere for keywords such as “protein deficiency” or “training nutrition”. They will surely have a positive impact on your future climbing.