Food, Eating Habits and Nutrition

»As far as I am aware of, food stuff is one of the most tricky issues for endurance athletes. Fact is they train a lot, they have little time, many of them don’t have a professional coach team, so they are left to their own devices.
Result: Junk Food is a tempting and in many cases steady companion and Nutrition an unreachable desirable goal (sounds like I’m talking about patients, only some of them really are ). An issue for most of them therefore is the optimization of eating habits. I am convinced that good food can improve the performance level significantly. The article underneath may give some of you some guidance, even though others may be disappointed because nutrition cannot be standardized in a way that you don’t have to find out the optimal approach for you. Therefore, no easy way out with a prefabricated recipe«.

Nutrition Periodization for Endurance Athletes
by Bob Seebohar, MS, RD, CSCS

How many personal records did you set last season? Probably not as many as you would have liked?  Why not? What’s holding you back from achieving your endurance racing goals: physical training, motivation, nutrition?   
Nutrition?
You heard it right! More often than not, athletes are more than physically prepared and moderately prepared mentally but what is lacking is the nutrition knowledge to take you to that next level of performance.

Nutrition periodization. Easy to say, hard to do, until now! This article will assist you in setting up a nutrition periodization plan that you can individualize to your specific needs for the upcoming racing season.

What good does it do you to periodize your eating just as you would your physical training? 
If you don’t eat properly during the off-season it can lead to weight gain and an increased body composition. Improper eating during high intensity training can lead to lower glycogen stores, which could lead to lower quality training sessions and a low amount of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which could lead to a compromised immune system.

»Here, at this point I cannot avoid to meddle very boldly and point out, how important an intact immune system is for  optimal performance. Therefore don’t neglect biestmilch, introduce biestmilch into your diet!«

Have you ever stopped a training session short because you just didn’t have the energy? 
Case in point! The bottom line is that it would be to your benefit to pay attention to what and how much you eat throughout the year in order to stay healthy and train and race hard.   

Eat to train, don’t train to eat.   
Eat in preparation for your upcoming training sessions so that your fluid and energy tanks are full. This will lead to higher quality training sessions and faster and more efficient recoveries.
Because race season is just around the corner, here are some “nutrition nibbles” that you can implement to have a positive effect on your performance for the year.

• Nutrition Nibble 1: Warm-up

By now you should be developing what I like to call your “nutrition warm-up”. Similar to a physical warm-up you will do before a hard interval session or race, the goal of the nutrition warm-up is to allow your digestive system to get used to the quantity, quality and timing of foods/beverages you will use prior to the workout or race.
Experiment with this now before race season and once you find a nutrition warm-up that works, stick with it throughout the season.

• Nutrition Nibble 2: Graze

Eat often and don’t skimp on the calories. The intensity or build periodization cycle that you will be entering or are currently in should not be a time to actively losing weight so be sure to keep fire in your furnace and stay well-hydrated and fueled throughout the day so that your energy levels are never low before a training session.

• Nutrition Nibble 3: Try it in the right type of training!

Practice race simulation eating. By this I mean try the specific nutrition strategies you will use in a race during a simulated race training session to make sure your digestive system can support the calories, timing and quality of your nutrition plan. You don’t have to complete the entire race distance but it is important to simulate the same race intensity/pace that you will hold during the race but for a shorter amount of time during this training session. As the intensity of exercise increases, the body handles macronutrients and fluids differently. Far too many athletes do not experiment with their race nutrition plan in race simulation (intensity) training and do not have the race they had planned because of their gut!

• Nutrition Nibble 4: Recover before you begin

Recovery from intense exercise is crucial since it takes the body hours to days to adequately restore its fluid balance and glycogen stores. Recovery nutrition begins before a training session starts not after it is over. Think about it, if you go into a training session with full tanks of fuel and fluid, and you replenish these continually during the training session, you will need less amounts of energy and fluid post-workout. This is highly beneficial considering dehydration impairs performance and glycogen levels can be depleted after about 2.5-3 hours of intense training and can take up to 16-24 hours to completely replenish. Don’t discount the importance of your nutrition plan before putting on your goggles, lacing up your shoes or buckling your helmet strap!

• Nutrition Nibble 5: Don’t get water logged

Be a smart hydrator. Water is not always the best hydrator/re-hydrator as a beverage with a minimum of carbohydrates, sodium and water. Drink water throughout the day but as your intensity increases, place more emphasis on using a sports drink before, during and after (use specially formulated drinks for recovery or smart food choices) your training session or race.

• Nutrition Nibble 6: A healthier you, year-round

Of course, there are some nutrition principles that should be implemented year-round so don’t forget about these as your race season approaches. Continue to eat foods with antioxidants (fruits and vegetables especially), take a multivitamin (especially during this time of the year), choose healthier fats (fish, flax, nuts) and lean proteins and don’t assume that because a specific eating program works for your training partner, it will work for you. We are very different from one another so experiment to find what works best for you, your race conditions and your racing goals.

»Sorry, but I have to get involved again. It is at this point where biestmilch has to come in again!«

Take the time to develop your personal nutrition plan and enjoy the health and performance rewards that will follow!

More information about this topic can be found in the book, “Nutrition Periodization for Endurance Athletes: Taking Sports Nutrition to the Next Level”, Bull Publishing, 2004, found at www.nutritionperiodization.com or amazon.com.