The Pit Stops: Refueling (Part II)

It’s been a while since the last post, but I hope you have been putting into practice the hydration techniques during this time.

Remember; when in doubt…drink up!

Water and more water!

(Obviously, the occasional beer and wine will keep you happy, too!)

Let’s now focus on the sources of energy during your “Pit Stops”, glucose and fats, and we’ll leave the third and final part of these series of blogs to the amino acids.

GLUCOSE

Have you ever seen a car running without fuel?

Never?

Me neither.

But that is what some people pretend to do with their own bodies during training and races. And then they wonder why they are not able to finish their races, or why they have to slow down so much.

What is happening is that their gas tank is just empty, and their engines are running just on fumes. They have skipped their needed “Pit Stops”, and now they are paying the price.

Without glucose, which is the primary and fastest source of fuel, your body simply stops. It is no longer able to move properly, and it is not able to transform other sources of energy like fat.

To avoid that, you have to make sure that there is enough glucose in your body to keep you moving. Otherwise, you have to consume sugars and carbohydrates (they will be transformed into glucose in your body) to support you during training and racing

When:

a.            Eat moderate amounts of carbohydrates (brown rice/ pasta/ bread, potatoes, etc) and lots of fruits and vegetables in your meals to keep the glucose levels in your body (stored as “glycogen” in muscles and liver) to the maximum.

b.            If you are about to do a long or highly intense workout or race, make sure that you have eaten a bit of carbohydrates at least 2 hours before starting.

c.            If you are racing or training for more than an hour, make sure that you are taking energy gels, honey, sports drinks or any other liquid sugar after the first half hour, and keep doing it at regular intervals. Avoid solid food if you are doing highly intense activities, as you will have a difficult time digesting it.

d.            Immediately after you have finished a long race (longer than one hour) drink your water and eat carbohydrates and simple sugars. Drinking a sports beverage is a good idea as it contains lots of sugar, besides the water and minerals needed to rehydrate you.

Well, now you know that replenishing glucose is fundamental if you are training and/or racing for more than an hour and at intense levels. However, you have to keep in mind a couple of warning points:

1. Do not eat or drink anything when you are exerting yourself at maximum levels. If you are gasping for air and you eat/ drink at the same time, your stomach will not be able to digest food properly and you will end up with an upset stomach. Thus, if you are pushing hard, take a few moments to slow down a bit to ingest your food or drink your beverage.
2. Additional sugar and carbs are not needed if you are not training hard or racing for a long period. The reserves in your body, created from your normal meals (mainly from eating fruits and vegetables), are enough to keep you moving. Do not eat additional carbs or take any sports drinks or gels if you are not working out much. You will only end up creating an insulin spike (see the blog post "Understanding the Vicious Cycle"), which will only make you fat!

Have you seen marathon runners with a big belly and lots of bodyfat? Well, that’s because they have eaten too much carbs thinking that they need a kilo of pasta and tons of bread every time they train.

Don’t make the same mistake.

Find the right balance of carbs needed to support your long and intense training and racing. If you avoid emptying your muscle and liver reserves of glycogen, you will recover much faster and you will be able to train and race hard again in no time.

FATS

You might think, “why do I need fat if I want to be lean and athletic”?

Well, you need fat in your diet to be lean and athletic, but most importantly to be healthy.

Fats are fundamental to support your hormonal systems and to repair your cell membranes. They also help you avoid peaks in blood sugar levels, so your energy levels are more constant. Finally, they are the most concentrated form of energy that is stored in your body and which can provide calories for you for days even if you ran out of food.

Fat is the ultimate source of energy for survival when there is no food available.

You need to eat good fats (olive oil, nuts, fish oil – omega 3, flaxseed oil, etc) during your normal meals, to support your health. Without these fats, your hormonal system will not work properly and your cell membranes will be weaker.

The other benefit of fat is that it slows down the process of food being converted into glucose. The slower the process, the more constant the levels of energy and the less insulin there is circulating in your body. With normal or low levels of insulin, you are more able to use fat as fuel and you end up becoming a lean machine!

Keep in mind, however, that you do not need extra fat during your training or racing. Different to glucose, which is stored only in limited amounts in the body, we all have already a lot of fat in our bodies to survive for several days.

When:

a.            Consume your good fats during your meals: extra virgin olive oil as salad dressing, or eat cold water fish like salmon or sardines.  

b.            Use nuts as snacks. Instead of cookies or candy bars, replace them with a fistful of nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, etc). Just avoid the salty and fried types. Go natural!

c.            Do not consume fats during your training or racing, as they are slow to digest and you might end up with an upset stomach. Besides, you do not need to replace fats during racing as you have huge reserves in your body, as said before.

Although fats are highly important, you must be careful with the quantities. Fats are high in calories, so make sure you consume them in all your meals and snacks, but in small quantities.

If you follow your appetite, you will eat small portions, as fat satiates your hunger almost immediately and for long periods of time. In other words, your body knows when to stop eating. You just have to listen to it!

Well, now you know how to keep your Perfect Machine running fast and recovering even faster with the proper Pit Stops to rehydrate you and fill your tank. 

Next time, we’ll cover how to eat protein (i.e. amino acids) to keep  your moving parts and organs strong and healthy.

Remember; keep your tank full, but do not overload it!

The Pit Stops: Refueling (Part I)

Have you ever seen a Formula 1 car race?

Those incredible machines can be driven at speeds greater than 350 km/h. They are perfectly designed to combine an extremely powerful engine with a very light and aerodynamic chassis. The result is a wonderful machine that can only be driven at its potential by the most talented pilots in the world.

But even the best machine and pilot needs to do “Pit Stops” during the races to change tires, fix any problem and refuel. If the Pit Stop is skipped, sooner or later, even the best engineered machines stop completely.

Well, your body, your Perfect Machine, is exactly the same.

To make it work properly and at its best, you need to do all your “Pit Stops”. And you have to do them at the right time and with the right fuel.

When you master this, your recovery times improve tremendously.

So let’s now concentrate on the “refueling” aspect of your pit stops. In other words, let’s see how you can best replenish all the nutrients and fluids that your body consumes during normal living and especially during sports training.

RESOURCES CONSUMED

While you are having fun working out or practicing your favorite sport, you are basically wearing and tearing your machine's chassis (muscles and tendons) and consuming several resources in your body.

In simplified terms, you are consuming:

1. Water : lost in great quantities to cool you off through sweating, and in minor quantities through your urine to depurate you of detritus resulting from the chemical reactions at cellular level
2. Electrolytes: also lost trough your sweating, these are minerals like magnesium, potassium and sodium (that’s where the salty taste of your sweat is coming from)
3. Glucose: consumed as the fastest source of energy to make your muscles contract and make you move. The faster you go (and the greater effort  you do), the fastest rate at which glucose is consumed
4. Fats: consumed as a very concentrated, but slow source of energy. If you move easily and for a long time (like a hike) a great proportion of your energy is coming from fats. Fats are also used to repair cellular membranes.
5. Amino Acids: these are the building blocks of protein which are used in large quantities to repair and reinforce the muscle fibers damaged during training. They are also consumed in small quantities to produce energy.

Let’s now see in more detail how you should replace these resources to make your Perfect Machine work at its best all the time.

WATER

This is the most important of all the resources. Make a mistake in your hydration, and your performance will decrease enormously and your post-workout recovery will take much longer.

Keep in mind that when you feel thirsty, you are already a bit dehydrated. Thus, drink constantly!

That sense of fatigue you get after you exercise can be greatly reduced if you drink enough before, during and after your workout.

When:

1. Drink all the time. Keep a water bottle next to you and keep sipping all day.
2. Make sure you are going into your workout well hydrated by drinking one or two glasses of water half an hour before the start.
3. Try to sip water continuously during your workout when you take short breaks. Just don’t drink much when you are working at extreme levels of intensity as your stomach might get upset. It is better to wait for the end if you are working out intensely for less than 30 minutes.
4. Drink at least half a liter after your workout, and much more if you have been training for more than an hour or in hot conditions. The more you have sweated, the more you have to drink. It will also help you to carry out of your body the toxins produced during your training.

ELECTROLYTES

These work together with the water to keep you hydrated up to the cellular level.

If you have been sweating a lot (like in a hot marathon race), plain water will not be enough to hydrate you. The sweating makes you lose minerals (lots of sodium) from your blood and cells.

Actually, you need the electrolytes to carry the water inside the cells, otherwise you are only “washing up” the mineral content in your blood and cells (if this is taken to the extreme it is called hyponatremia which can be very dangerous).

Without the proper mineral balance, the electrical impulses sent from the brain are not transmitted well to the muscle fibers, so they cannot contract properly. That’s when the horribly painful muscle cramps appear!

When:

1. During prolonged workouts or long races (more than an hour), sip sports drinks (i.e. Gatorade or Powerade), in addition to lots of water. The greater the heat, the greater the amount of salts and minerals you have to drink in addition to your water.
2. After your long workouts or races in the heat, eat salty food and keep drinking sports drinks in addition to your water. Your rehydration and recovery will be much faster this way.

If you have not sweated much, water is enough. The minerals lost with normal sweating are replaced with your meals. Thus, avoid sports drinks if you are not working out much (they have too much sugar that you do not need in short workouts!).

Bonus tip: 
(This is for those friends of yours who are alcohol lovers, not for you of course!)


After drinking lots of alcohol and before going to bed, drink at least half a liter of a sports drink with as much water as you can. 
Hangovers are mainly a severe state of dehydration caused by all the peeing (and vomiting!) done to eliminate the toxic alcohol from your body.
Thus, after the night out, and if you are conscious enough (I mean, your friend!) eat salty food, and drink a sports drink in addition to lots of water before going to bed. You will feel much better the day after... Well, that’s what they tell me ;)

OK. I’ll leave you here. Hopefully, you are now sipping from your water bottle and keeping well hydrated!

Next time, we’ll cover the other three resources that you need to replace to be in top conditions to perform at your best and recover faster.

In the meantime...

Train hard, drink hard!...water, I mean!

Are you really sure you are a sheep?

After I have done the Ironman triathlon many people have told me that I am fortunate to be a "super-athlete". They tell me that it would be impossible for "people like them" to do something like that.

I just smile at this and immediately tell them that I am not at all a "super-athlete". 

At least, not more than they are. 

Our DNA's are 99,9% equal. 

We are basically the same.

The only difference might be that I know that (with proper knowledge and conditioning) human beings are capable of accomplishing amazing feats. 

Our species have evolved over million years, and we have survived incredible challenges not only because of our intellectual capabilities, but also due to our superior physical abiities.

We are all incredibly strong.

We have just forgotten what we are capable of.

We are confusing modern comfort with well-being.

So we are not using our Perfect Machines correctly or at their potential.

And they have become weaker and weaker as a result.

But the whole process can be reversed.

We can all carve out  the "super-athletes" inside of us.

We just need to wake up and remember who we really are.

The following is a very nice fable adapted - by the Coach and Author Michael Neill - from an old Hindu myth about enlightenment and discipleship. Just read it and let the message ring and resonate inside you.

Once upon a time, there was a baby lion who was born into the world alone and afraid. A family of sheep found him in their home in the green grassy valley at the bottom of the mountains one day, and because he was so beautiful and because they were so kind, they decided to raise him as one of their own. It was his sister, who had a highly developed sense of irony, who suggested they name him 'Leo'.

So they taught Leo the baby lion how to walk as a sheep, and talk as a sheep, and taught him all the ways of sheep, and they loved him with all of their hearts. They taught him to fear what all sheep fear, and that whatever he did he must stay away from the mountains, for lions lived up there, and no sheep who had ever gone up the mountain had ever returned.

Eventually, Leo became so good at acting like a sheep that even his own family forgot that he was really a lion. Sure, occasionally some of the other sheep teased him for his unusual size and his bushy haircut. But Leo did what he could to fit in, and he made good friends, and eventually he became a good, productive member of the sheep community.

The years passed uneventfully until one day an old lion from the mountains came down into the green, grassy valley in search of food. Leo was the first to sense his presence, and as soon as he yelled "Lion!" all the sheep began to run in panicked circles. In the midst of the chaos, the old lion noticed Leo.

"Hey, you!", roared the hungry lion.

"M...m...me?" whimpered Leo, terrified but at the same time fascinated by this magnificent old creature.

"What are you doing here with all these sheep?" the old lion demanded.

"They're my family," said Leo proudly.

At this, the old lion laughed. "Then who are you, young one?"

"I'm Leo, and I'm a sheep", Leo bleeted.

Suddenly, the old lion's face turned fierce. "Come with me!" he roared.

Leo didn't want to go with the old lion but he thought that by doing so, he might save his fellow sheep. So with a last look back at his herd, he followed the old lion off into the mountains.

They walked for many miles until at last, high up in the mountains, they came upon a beautiful crystal clear lake filled with smooth, blue water. The old lion beckoned for Leo to come to the edge of the lake. By this time, Leo was exhausted - not so much from the climb, which he found surprisingly easy, but from the constant fear that at any moment, the old lion would eat him. So with a final reluctant 'baaa', Leo made his way to the edge of the lake and looked where the old lion's paw was pointing.

To his amazement, he saw not a sheep, but the reflection of a strong young lion. In that moment, he knew who he really was and let out a mighty roar that shook the mountains all the way down to the green, grassy valley...

After the shock of discovering his true identity, Leo realized that he was hungry - really hungry. And grass just wasn't going to cut it anymore. Fortunately, Leo knew where he could get food, and plenty of it.

But when he got back to the valley to where his old herd was still grazing, he stopped in shock. For what he saw was not a herd of sheep, but a pride of lions, each one grazing and bleating and acting for all the world like sheep. It was his own mother who saw him first, and though Leo could see that she herself was a beautiful lioness, she cowered in fear, not recognizing him and bleating "Lion!" at the top of her lungs.

"Mother!", he roared, but the sound just made the sheep/lioness run even faster amongst the increasingly agitated herd.

Finally, Leo noticed that his sister was looking at him with a faint hint of recognition, and he knew what he must do. He put on his fiercest face, and he roared at her "Come with me!"

And though she was afraid, she followed him on the long journey up to the clear blue lake in the mountains...

OK. That's it.

Now....breathe deeply...and let me hear that loud ROAR! ;)

Mix it up! (Part II)

Doing different sports is extremely fun, and it helps you to improve your fitness levels rapidly without the risk of injuring yourself. But it can be complicated and not very practical, if you have a very busy agenda.

So, how can you add the needed variety to your training without making it so complex?

Quick answer: Focus each workout you do on a different and specific physical ability.

Yes, you are right! Quick answers are not always clear answers. So bear with me while I try to explain this into greater detail.

The following is key information for those of you who really want to optimize your recovery times, so you can train constantly to improve your fitness very rapidly.

The basic physical abilities

Your body is a Perfect Machine, full of organs and complex systems that work all in synchrony to keep you enjoying Life.

Muscles, glands, arteries, lungs, brain, tendons, heart, senses, hormones, and million other precious parts working together as a perfect team. From the macro body parts to the infinitely small cells and intracellular parts, all work together and have different responses according to what you do (and also to what you think and how you feel).

You knew that already?

Well, what you might have not considered before is that these DIFFERENT RESPONSES can be used to your advantage.

You can optimize your recovery by consciously stimulating your body just in a certain way each time, so while some body systems work fully, the others are resting a bit.

Now you want to know how you incorporate this into your training program, right?

Simple! 

The best way is by dividing your training to develop the basic physical abilities:

1. Endurance

Represents your ability to repeat a movement for long periods of time. When you train your endurance, you are working at a low intensity level, so your breathing is under control and your muscles are moving constantly but without much force.

This is the main ability needed in sports lasting more than 2 - 3 hours (i.e. marathon, long distance triathlon, hiking, etc).

2. Speed

Represents your ability to move fast. When you train your speed, you are working your muscles at a high intensity level, but not against heavy resistance. What you are focusing is on developing the ability of your muscle fibers to contract and relax sequentially really fast, and at your command.

This is the main ability needed in sprinting, like running or swimming 100 meters.

3. Force

Represents your ability to lift or push great weights or resistance for short periods of time. When you train your force, you are working your muscles at a high intensity level, but in such short periods of time that you have time to catch your breath.

This is the main ability needed in sports like Olympic weightlifting.

---- o ----

If you train all three basic abilities, you not only become a more rounded athlete, you also allow your body to recover more properly.

Although it is much better if you ask the help of an experienced Coach to prepare a training program for you, you can plan a very simple program for yourself by alternating the following in your training:

Endurance: train very easily and continuosly for at least 45 minutes (much more if you want to and have the time). Examples are walking, jogging, elliptical machine, biking or swimming easily. Never gasping for air or with burning muscles!

Speed: do quick and short intervals of 10 seconds to 1 minute of cycling, swimming, running or any other movement you want to become fast at. Recover your breath in between intervals and keep repeating them until you are able to move with good form and agility.

Force: either work with weights or body weight exercises, or use heavy resistance in your sports. For example, you can run uphill, or use paddles for swimming or heavy gears in cycling. Don’t do it for too long and concentrate on pushing hard with your muscles. If you are completely out of breath, stop and start again only when you are fully recovered. Your muscles must do most of the work, not your lungs!


Play with these different kinds of challenges.
Test yourself in various ways.
Learn how you react under different circumstances.
Have fun with the different sensations.

The variety of the experiences will keep you motivated and injury-free. Both conditions are needed to train consistenly. And as you already know, it is only through consistent training that you become Superfit.

Mix it up! (Part I)

You know already from the previous post that too much training without proper recovery is only detrimental and can be even harmful to your health. And you also know that you need to train constantly and with increasing effort levels to produce fast results.

So, how do you combine the two things?
How do you train more without hurting yourself?

Very simple answer: train AND recover all the time!

This means that any good training program has also recovery designed within it. And the best training programs are the ones that consider the optimization of recovery a priority.

I know, I know....you want to know how to do it by yourself, right?

Here's the trick: Mix things up!

If you train different body parts, do different sports, and use different intensity and duration levels, you will be always taxing mainly one area of your body while the others are recovering.

Sounds obvious, right?

But how many people you know that go always for that same 30-minute run, at the same pace and at the same place? I bet is the same people that show little or no results. Even worse, I am sure those same people complain about pain in the knees or ankles from exercising. 

So now let's see in greater detail how you could avoid that same mistake. 


Different sports, different body parts

What is your favorite food?
Would you eat it at every meal, every day?

Most probably you wouldn't, but if you would, that same food would become very soon your most hated dish. Your mind and body will reject it as the lack of variety would not only make your eating very annoying, but you will be also lacking many important nutrients.

Well, it is the same for training. If for example, you only do a certain run all the time, it will become annoying very soon and you will lose the desire to be active. Even worse, you will be stimulating only some of your body parts exactly in the same way, while completely neglecting others.

At a certain point, this constant and repeated movement in the same body part becomes too much, and you end up with extreme pain or even injured.

Thus, the best way to avoid it is to use different body parts and play different sports. This is called "cross-training" and it is the best injury-prevention medicine you can use. By the way, it is fun, too!

If you are not competing in a specific sport, you can keep doing different things all the time. Go hiking, biking, running, swimming, climbing, kayaking, play tennis or basketball, do weight lifting, and whatever comes to your mind and feels appealing to you.

The more variety you add, the better.

Be creative and follow your instincts!
Be adventurous, too!
Your body will be trained AND recovered properly.
And your mind and spirit will be refreshed, too!

But even if you are focusing in just one sport because you have some race in mind, add some cross training to your program to avoid injuries. For example, if you are preparing for a running marathon, a swim or bike ride can keep your cardiovascular system working at top level, while you give much needed rest to your lower back, knees and ankles from the constant running impact. Even if you do not swim or bike, you can always walk uphill to challenge your cardiovascular system and activate different muscles (i.e. glutes), while you avoid the hard impact on your knees (ask somebody to pick you up at the top or come back down walking very slowly!!!).

OK, that's it for the first part.

But before leaving, just one quick final tip: If whatever you are doing is hurting badly and acutely (especially in the joints), stop doing it! Do a different movement or do a different sport, until your pain disappears.

I know from experience that this final tip, unfortunately, will not be followed by many.

But I am writing it for the SMART ones like YOU!

Pain is an alert signal telling you that you need recovery time in a certain area. And extreme pain is a loud alert signal telling you that the area is damaged already and needs greater recovery time.

Don't be a hero!

If you are in pain, keep training, but focus on a different area.

Listen and respect your body!

At least if (like me) you want to be able to enjoy the beauty of sports and the outdoors for all the rest of your life.