The Athletic Performance DietWritten by Matt Russ
Interestingly athletic diet has changed very little over years. The reason being is that there are not many pathways to fueling body most efficiently. A diet consisting of 60-65% carbohydrate, 20-25% fats, and 15-20% protein is proper ratio of macro nutrients for most athletes and has been mainstay for years. A highly trained endurance athlete would not last very long on a high protein diet, because their glycogen stores would quickly become depleted and they would no longer have energy or reserves to train effectively. There is little controversy in athletic nutrition when compared to general population. I believe reason for this is athletic nutrition is based on hard science and fact, rather than sensationalism and circumstantial evidence. Coaches rely on clinical studies and proven methods rather than latest hype. Remember, most diets have to have a "hook" or gimmick to get you to purchase their plan or products. That is not to say there is not hundreds of performance enhancing athletic supplements, many with dubious value. But overall big picture on how to fuel an athletes body really has not changed all that much. This is what most athletes should focus on, rather than latest supplement, performance enhancing product, or fad diet plan.Complex carbohydrates such as starches and fiber should be cornerstone of athletic diet. Complex carbohydrates include breads, pasta, cereals, vegetables, rice and other grains, and potatoes. I try to choose carbohydrates that are in there "natural" form such as whole grains because they have more fiber and nutrients, and give a slower steady release of energy. If you are trying to loose weight, these foods have added benefit of requiring more energy (calories) for break down. Processed carbohydrate foods such as pasta and bagels are great for loading your body with energy before and after competition. Simple sugars are good during a competition and for quick energy replacement afterwards (sports drinks). I try to avoid fruits before competition. They can upset your stomach and type of sugar, fructose, can be harder for your body to process during exercise. Carbohydrates are broken down and stored as glycogen; bodies fuel source, or converted to energy to compete and train. When glycogen stores run out you may "bonk" or "hit wall." You feel lousy, lethargic, and slow. Your body begins breaking down your muscles to use as fuel. Several days of hard training can also deplete glycogen stores. This sluggishness and inability to train hard is often misdiagnosed as overtraining. A good post work out recovery plan is crucial to maintaining glycogen stores for repeated training and competition. This means eating carbohydrates and a little bit of protein (4:1 ratio), immediately after training. Fat is also a fuel source used during training, especially at lower intensities. But fat can't be broken down very fast. As intensity of exercise increases carbohydrate becomes main fuel source, but total amount of fat burned can remain same, and calories burned will be much greater. Don't fall into fat burning "zone" exercise plan. Fat is not a good source of energy to consume during exercise, but is crucial to processing certain vitamins and performing body functions. The best fats are mono / poly unsaturated fats. A good way to remember these types of fats is that they are liquid at room temperature (oils), and generally come from plant sources. Examples are avocados, canola, olive, safflower, and other oils, and nuts. Saturated fats generally come from animal sources and include cheese, lard, butter, meat fats, and cream. Your body only needs a small amount of saturated fats; about 10% of your diet. These are considered your "bad" fats that can raise cholesterol.
| | Pacing and Avoiding Performance PredictionsWritten by Matt Russ
No athlete likes to be passed during a race. A natural reaction is speed up and attempt to keep pace with person whose dust you are now eating, but in doing so you just got pulled out of your game and put into theirs. Most likely you have no idea of their performance potential, pacing, or strategy (if any). Multi-sport events often have a relay team category in which a single athlete will use up everything they have in one leg. The point is, to be truly efficient and race your fastest you must know and race within your limits, not someone else’s. There is only one pace that is most efficient for you and a very fine line between it and over pacing. Proper pacing becomes especially important in distance races such as marathon and Iron Man distance. It is very easy to get caught in a moment and push too hard at wrong time, only to pay for it later. The scenario athlete who passed you could actually be slower and pacing themselves incorrectly, or a faster athlete who is going to eat your legs up and leave you flat. In either case, if you are at top of your performance envelope chasing them will only slow you down. If you go anaerobic even for a short period of time you are going to have to recover, and recovery takes time. Anaerobic efforts are very fatiguing, especially if you are not trained at these intensities, or to repeat these intensities. It is important to know your performance potential and pace and train yourself accordingly. An athlete should get metabolically tested, or perform performance tests and race simulations to determine such heart rate intensities as lactate threshold and max VO2. These numbers are critical to proper pacing. Where you should be in relation to these heart rates will depend on your race and conditioning. Shorter sprint races may have you at or above LTHR if you are highly trained. Longer endurance races may be mainly at an aerobic level with brief periods above this zone.
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