Tag Archive for: nutrition

A Simple Way to Identify Personal Food Sensitivities

Nutrition Preparation for Race and/or Ride Day

Key Components to Early Season Fitness and Speed

In an attempt to make up for the lost time associated with winter, motocross riders and other athletes have a tendency to get a little overzealous during early season workouts, which frequently results in injuries and/or performance frustrations. By implementing these four strategies, you will make early season training both productive and injury free.

Establishing Your Physical Weakness Profile – Maximize Your Training Efforts

“Strengthen your weaknesses and race your strengths” is the motto that I say to all of my clients, because as humans, we spend the majority of our time doing things that we like and that we are good at. To make the greatest progress within your training program, you must identify what you are not good at and start there. Establish where you are lacking muscular strength, endurance, lactate tolerance, and don’t forget the non-sweating disciplines of flexibility, plus consider nutrition and realistic goal setting. Begin where you are the weakest or have room for the most improvement (relevant to your personal goals). Early season baseline testing will help pinpoint your weaknesses as well as capture your current maximum heart rate for that specific discipline.

Establishing Heart Rate Zones – Avoid Injury and Burnout

By not knowing how hard you are actually training (versus perceived exertion), athletes and riders run the risk of injury and burnout. Actual intensity levels need to be monitored with a heart rate monitor to ensure you are training within your aerobic zone for the majority (not all) of your early season efforts. Please note that you must establish your heart rate training zones for each discipline that you train. For example, if you use the Concept 2 rower as a cross training tool for motocross, you cannot use your heart rate zone from the bicycle; more muscles are engaged during rowing than cycling which results in a different max heart rate number and associated heart rate zones. Over my last 37 years of coaching, I have seen the use of generic formulas (i.e., 220-age) have a margin of error as high as 30%. The assessment of your pre-season max heart rate can be captured with a simple pre-season max heart rate assessment.

Establishing A Personalized Eating Plan – Determining What Works and What Doesn’t

The food you eat has both a long- and short-term effect on your body. An immediate influence of food is reflected in your energy levels and mood. A long-term influence includes the building and repairing of lean muscle tissue and bones. Research has validated that the muscles, bones, connective tissue, and skin that is on you now is the result of your food intake over the last six months. By keeping a detailed food log and comparing it to your training log, you can get feedback on what is working immediately (i.e., energy levels to complete a high-quality workout or early season race), as well as the long-term (i.e., body measurements indicating increased muscle and decreased body fat). Don’t be intimidated by this process. Humans tend to eat 15-20% of the same products each day. By following a consistent eating plan, you can determine the positive or negative effects of a new food item added to your eating plan.

Establishing A Soft Tissue Maintenance Plan – Maximizing Power and Endurance

Chiropractic and massage are two modalities that should be a part of every athlete’s routine for one simple reason: tight muscles pull bone out of alignment, and misaligned bones keep muscles tight. It is the same as if you pulled the ends of a rubber band far part. No matter how much you rub the center, the band is still tight. You have to get the attachments of the muscles to the correct position before you will get the tension out of the muscle. The reverse is true as well. If you get an adjustment and the muscles are tight, the muscles will simply pull the bone back out of alignment. Lining up the spine and removing tension within the muscles will result in better strength and improved endurance.

 

This article first published in Issue #75 of Endurance News, June/July 2011

 

The Nutritional Benefits of Coffee on Performance

While coffee and specifically caffeine can have negative side effects for some people, there is overwhelming evidence that it can enhance athletic performance naturally by 11-12%, on average. When you drink a cup of coffee, the caffeine is readily absorbed into the bloodstream with levels remaining high for 3-4 hours. Unlike most supplements, the caffeine found in coffee is an ergogenic that can affect cells throughout the body, including muscle cells and the brain. The performance benefits are considerable.

  • Improves Focus – Caffeine blocks the inhibitory neurotransmitter adenosine, which leads to enhanced firing of neurons improving energy, reaction times, and mental function.
  • Provides Energy – Caffeine is found to increase the hormone epinephrine which is responsible for the “fight or flight” response. This increase in adrenaline is known to provide extra energy, especially during athletic performance.
  • Enhances Endurance – Caffeine regulates the release of a neurotransmitter called dopamine which plays a role in how we feel pleasure. The presence of dopamine reduces the feeling of fatigue, the rate of perceived effort and perception of levels of intensity which leads to performance improvement.
  • Delays Muscle Fatigue – With caffeine, the body’s muscle consumption of glycogen (stored sugar) decreases, which forces the body to use fat reserves as energy and results in delayed muscle fatigue.
  • Gives Us An Extra Gas Tank – In line with delayed muscle fatigue, caffeine slows down the breakdown of glycogen in the muscles. The longer this process takes, the longer the body has to provide your muscles with extra glucose before your tanks run dry.
  • Increases Tolerance for Pain – While caffeine itself does not release endorphins in the body, it has been shown that coffee may contribute to the endorphin release. As endorphins become released, a wide number of nerve receptors bind to them as if they were opiates, resulting in an increase of pain threshold.

As with any ergogenic, caffeine intake should be limited for maximum affect on athletic performance. Studies suggest about 200-400 mg, taken 30-60 minutes before your workout or key performance. People with sensitivities should start low, at 150-200 mg, to access your tolerance. A typical 8 oz. cup of coffee has on average 95 mg of caffeine, with a range of 75-165 mg.

While research validates that caffeine is a diuretic, meaning it may cause you to urinate more depending on your intake, the amount of hydration loss is frequently exaggerated. If you continue to hydrate with water and electrolyes, and know your sweat rate when exercising, there should be no cause for concern.

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