In an interview before the Ironman World Championship race, Lionel Sanders talked about his fueling strategy – which is centered around maple syrup. The video shows Sanders saying, “I really like maple syrup, I put it on my waffles, I put it on my toast….” To be clear, we are talking about real maple syrup, concentrated sap from maple trees, as opposed to artificial maple syrup, made up of high fructose corn syrup with added colors and flavoring.
[Read more…]Sleep & Athletic Performance – The Impact and How to Improve
Are you skimping on sleep, waking up tired and plodding through your workouts with the well-intended goal of hitting the hay earlier tonight? If so, welcome to the club! A recent blog I wrote, The Secret Recipe to Athletic Performance Enhancement, discusses why blindly following a training plan without first mastering physiological, dietary and lifestyle essentials is ill-advised.
While there are many recovery modalities available to athletes, sleep is the most important and impactful. And, unsurprisingly, it’s the one essential that is most commonly underestimated and compromised by busy people on-the-go. I get it, there’s nothing sexy about sleep; It doesn’t come in a shiny package marketed with endless promises of increased strength and energy, but it should. So, grab your pillow and get comfy while I explain why sleep should be at the forefront of your training plan.
[Read more…]The best macronutrient ratio for athletes and the truth behind calories burned
Athletes come in all shapes and sizes. Just like books, they shouldn’t be judged by their cover. Still, whether it’s to shed a few unwanted pounds or improve performance, striving for leaner body composition is an ongoing process for many athletes. But, how to achieve this ideal physique is like a fork in the road, and the weight loss GPS may guide you on an off-road journey leading to a dead end. Follow the tried and true path, and heed advice from this guide to burning calories and a balanced macronutrient ratio before you get started.
Counting Calories
With the numerous health and fitness apps at our fingertips, such as MyFitnessPal, MyPlate, and Lose It!, counting calories consumed minus calories burned has become an easy and convenient way to fit weight loss into a busy day using a simple math equation. Most assume that if the consumption of 3,500 calories equals one pound of body weight, reducing your intake by 3,500 calories via a combination of eating less and exercising more will result in one pound of weight loss, right? No, it’s not quite that simple.
[Read more…]Is Sugar Bad for You? The Role of Carbs in Your Diet
In the athletic world, regardless of talent or end goal, athletes and non-athletes alike can easily be swept up by the latest performance and body-composition enhancing diets with the hope of transforming into faster, leaner running machines. Fad diet trends are nothing new and have come full circle, from Atkins to Paleo, to Whole 30 to Keto (short for Ketogenic). All of these diets either eliminate a whole food group or have a starring villain, namely sugar.
[Read more…]The Keto Diet and Endurance Athletes
Whether you are gunning for a PR, podium placement or toeing the line at your first IRONMAN or marathon, the one thing that links all athletes is the desire to be in the best shape while feeling good in our own skin. Because of our heavy training load, it’s crucial to follow a nutrition plan that matches activity level while supports health and performance. But this is where things get tricky and body composition can easily be confused for fitness.
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