Category — Endurance

One of the things about this blog that I pride myself on is the ability to speak to not only the serious, competitive athlete/weightlifter but the recreational weekend warrior, or “Joe Six-Pack” (yes, I went there). Because no matter what type of athlete you are, you will see increased benefits in your endurance and athletic performance by being smart about sports nutrition and what you put in your body.

Half the battle is what you consume on “gameday” or prior to your workouts. You have to treat your body like a machine so if you know you’re going to have a high workload, you have to fuel up. That means consuming lots of calories (maybe a bit more than normal) in order to make sure your body is full prepared for the road ahead.

Make sure you are fully hydrated and make more of an effort to take in electrolytes and carbohydrates and less protein, because protein by itself is a poor fuel. As always you should do some research or contact a certified nutritionist when it comes to calculating your specific sports nutritional needs.

In the spirit of the upcoming Olympic Summer Games Maria Noel Groves of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote an interesting article comparing the variations between cultures and their ideas of what energy foods are.

For instance, Ancient Europeans believed boiled meat, barley pouridge, and wine worked the best in increasing energy and protection from injury. While the first two were probably great we know today that the latter is probably not the best choice for an athlete or warrior — especially right before battle.

The Chinese and Japanese rely on soups and herbs as their main sources of energy. While they may be content with it, Groves says that it’s effects are still largely unknown:

Herbs believed to strengthen resistance to stress traditionally have been simmered into soups, teas and rice dishes. Chinese and American ginseng, as well as the caterpillar fungus cordyceps, have been popular among athletes and royalty for centuries. Reishi and shiitake mushrooms, lycium berries, jujube dates, astragalus and codonopsis roots also have consumed as energy foods.

Verdict: While broths and soups provide easily digested nutrients, modern research on many medicinal herbs is limited, as is understanding of how they might work.

Groves also states that while North Americans turn to energy drinks and bars as quick, convenient energy sources, they’re not necessarily the best becuase they contain high amounts of sugars and artifical ingredients. I think with any supplement it’s important not to rely only on that supplement, you have to combine it with real food and good nutrition. If you have an energy bar before going to the gym, that’s fine. But don’t rely on just a Red Bull for breakfast to keep your energy levels up throughout the day — you need substantial food.

When I first joined a gym years ago I made the mistake of doing cardio before I lifted. Not good. 

Cardio before weight training is counter-productive to your muscles. Think about it. If you run for 20 or 30 minutes on the treadmill your muscles are going to fatigue and the glycogen it has stored is going to burn out. So you’ll be lifting weights using less than 50% of your muscle’s potential.

You also lower your blood sugar when you lift weights, so when you start running you’ll immediately begin to burn fat. Obviously when you’re lifting you want to maximize your output so wearing yourself out on the elliptical first makes no sense.

Tip: It’s okay and actually recommended to do a light 5-10 minute cardio warmup before you being weight training.

Yo! Most boxers are amazingly fit and lean. Want to know how they get that way? It’s through an extremely disciplined exercise and eating regimen.

MensHealth.com has put together a boxing circuit for beginners looking to reap all of the physical benefits of a boxer’s workout without having to drink raw eggs.

The program combines shadowboxing, jumping rope, pushups, crunches, and various movements with light dumbells. However, the key is combining all of them into one non-stop session.