Category: Health

Categories
Health

THE FORK IN THE ROAD

For many, life is about routine and control. No one likes surprises and there is nothing worse than a curve ball being thrown at you when you least expect it. But life happens and every day we are faced with challenges which sometimes side track us from our normal routine and goals.
My question to you is what is your goal? Don’t get me wrong, but I am not talking about being rich, or an event such as a marathon. I am talking about something way bigger.

I travel a fair amount and meet people from all over the world. Most are lost when it comes to this goal, but many that I have met do see the bigger picture. There is a nice little expression which says may you live to one hundred and twenty. When I tell this to people the usual response is “no chance”. “I don’t want to live that long”.

However, then I came across someone who gave me a different version of this and he said to me may you live to one hundred like a twenty-year-old.  That is, it! Absolutely spot on. The main goal we should all be aiming for in life is without a doubt health. Health is the true measure of quality of life.

Personally, I have seen first hand how the baby boomer generation lived their lives around a focus on enjoyment. Food, travel, smoke, alcohol and plenty more emotionally addictive habits. They lived it up nicely and I can look back and say yes many enjoyed plenty of the few years that life had to offer. But while all this was going on two massive industries were growing rapidly the one being fast moving consumer goods specifically unhealthy fast and convenient foods laden with everything to make you lick your lips. The second the health industry mainly pharmaceutical and medical technology expanding just as fast with big advances in medical treatments and new market drugs.

While all this was going on the baby boomer hit their middle ages thinking life is short just enjoy and look forward to those early retirement years but then something big happened.  A trend of major health issues hit them so hard it was like a domino effect reaching far and wide to all corners of the globe. No matter who you were and what status you held there was absolutely no escaping the ill choices you made when you were younger. Lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, emphysema, coronary disease and many more started to take its toll and not just on the baby boomers but to many of their children who were just as exposed to these ill-chosen lifestyles.

I am a baby boomer child. I have witnessed so much illness from the generations before me. I witness their daily suffering and have over heard some of them begging for an end to it and an early death. I said to one such person it will never happen. The health care providers and pharmaceutical companies are going to keep you alive as long as they possibly can. They will make sure you live long no matter how bad your suffering. Doctor visits, hospital admissions, blood transfusions, endless medication and operations will become the norm. Why? Because this is where they make most of their money. Your suffering are the billions of dollars that enter their pockets. They will not let you go quickly or easy.

I personally am in two minds here. On one hand I am very angry with you as a generation. You took life for granted, you argued and debated you knew better. Every single bad health choice you made you justified with the biggest load of nonsense that even as a child I understood. You not only made the ridiculously health damaging choices for yourselves, but you were so selfish you exposed us all to your unhealthy lifestyles and infected many us in the process making your own children fall victim to illness and only because of your own selfish emotional desires.

 

However, on the other hand I do need to thank you. You opened my eyes and gave me the opportunity to decide a long time ago never to follow in your footsteps. I chose a different path. I have put health first and I will educate my children and the masses to take on the same road.

You all have a fork in the road of life which I hope you hit earlier rather than later but here is the shocking truth.

The fork to the left is the one following in the steps of the baby boomer generation and falling victim to health issues and illness early on in life. Allowing you to become another money-making figure for the pharmaceutical and health insurance companies and believe me they will extend your life and suffering for as long as possible to keep their revenues high. If you think you can get away with it then I wish you good luck. I promise you that neglecting it will allow you to live many miserable years of suffering on this planet.

Or, you can take the road to the right, choose health and a quality life. Nutrition, exercise, sleep and stress can all be managed if you make the conscious decision to prioritize and place it first above all else. You think it is hard, but if only you knew what was awaiting around the bend for you if you don’t. I have seen it first hand, don’t fall victim to the mistakes of the previous generation. After all, without health there is no hope, without hope there is nothing.

One hundred like a twenty-year-old, now that’s a goal!

 

All the best

M

Mark Wolff is a certified sports nutritionist and an endurance nutrition and physiology expert with over 20 years experience. An endurance multi-sport athlete with a triathlon, mountain biking and weight lifting background, he works extensively with professional and amateur athletes in a variety of sports disciplines as well as those just wanting to change their lifestyles. He firmly believes that a person can only reach their full potential when their health and nutrition is down packed. Mark’s focus on nutrition and physiology is not just on training and racing, but he places major emphasis on recovery, immune system health, emotional stability, stress management and performance. Mark is co-founder of 32Gi, a sports nutrition company, focused mainly on health and endurance nutrition.

 

 

 

Categories
Health Training

BURN THAT FAT

While about on my daily routine whether in the gym or outdoors training, at the office working or shopping I have very sharp eyes. Sometimes I feel guilty about the thoughts that roll around in my head, but after all I am there to put a stop to it where I can and assist those that are in need.

Why guilty?

Because as a sports nutritionist I monitor habits. I watch what people buy in grocery stores, I see what they eat in restaurants, how they fuel themselves during and after training sessions and I judge. It’s not their fault they live by emotion, habit and daily stresses. They think they are making the right choices but they just don’t have the knowledge to ensure those choices are healthy and correct. This is where I try to turn the tables a little on the unhealthy fast moving consumer goods industry and attempt to pass on a little knowledge so that they can make better and healthier decisions going forwards.

In today’s blog I wanted to place the focus on nutrient intake and timing around exercise. Let’s face it we all want to burn that fat. There is an expression that sweat is fat crying and I am not sure if that is the reason saunas and steam baths are so loaded these days but it could not be further from the truth. Granted exercise (not sweat) is a key piece of the puzzle to burning off body fat and losing weight but nutrition is the bigger piece of the puzzle.

So let us begin with some physiology and discuss a little endocrinology specifically blood glucose balance. The pancreas an organ which sits just behind the stomach is responsible for producing the hormone known as insulin. Insulin is there to regulate blood sugar in the body and so each time blood sugar rises more insulin is produced to unlock our cells and store it to be later utilized as source energy. But what if there is a major excess of blood sugar? Assuming your carbohydrate stores are completely topped up then its stored as fat cells or adipocytes (cells stored within adipose tissue = fat under the skin). This is now basically your fat fuel cells.

So in summary you have two major sources of fuel your carbohydrate (glycogen) stores and your fat stores.

The question is how do we burn the fat?

We make sure our insulin levels are not elevated and sitting there processing excessive blood glucose and storing more fat so that we are able to burn our own fat as a source of energy.

Image Credit: Dr Peter Attia

How is this done?
Do not consume any meal before or during exercise which will cause a rise in blood sugar an inhibit fat burn.

If you are training early in the morning and the session is under 90min opt for a fasted training session you have plenty of natural energy to fuel a session like that and place the focus on hydration. By hydration I do not mean a sugar laden drink, I am talking about water or a hydration solution which has no calories in it. I personally use 32Gi Hydrate for most of my sessions to ensure I keep in the fat burning state.

If your session is a long session around 3hrs or so then by all means take with a carbohydrate drink one that does not elevate blood sugar excessively and try to go the first hour or two without the carbohydrates to ensure you stay in a nice fat burn state and only start the carbohydrate fuelling slightly later on in the session.

If you want to benefit from an exercise point of view it is know that low intensity sessions burn a higher percentage of fat however higher intensity sessions also burn off large amount over time as well as elevating your metabolic rate for longer post session. I would suggest incorporating a combination of medium to high intensity sessions as a regular part of your burn that fat regime.

If you want to understand more about how the fuel tanks (carbohydrates and fat ) are utilized during exercise then click on my video Get in the Zone to gain some insight.

The final step to the key of burning fat is what about after your exercise session. This is now probably the most crucial factor to keeping the fat burn going. Remember if you want to burn the fat then keep the blood sugar and insulin levels controlled and lower. Your recovery meal needs to be relative to your training. If you did a nice 60-90min session and and then go and down a peanut butter bomb smoothie most likely you will have put an immediate stop to burning the fat just by elevating your blood sugar too much. I see a plenty of athletes munching a bowl of oats after exercise and they might not realise it but it could be the absolute worst recovery meal they are consuming based on their exercise session time and intensity. Keep those post exercise meals properly structured, smaller and spread them out to ensure proper insulin management to keep that fat burn going while your metabolic rate is still elevated.

Make sure you earned your carbohydrates because that’s all they are earned carbohydrates and if you treat them as such you can’t go wrong.

all the best

M

Categories
Health Nutrition

HEALTH BEFORE STUPIDITY

A walk around my local health store is quite an experience. A huge abundance of vitamins, minerals and every other supplement known to man. Not only are they easily accessible but they make claims which the average individual has no idea how to interpret. Under a variety of circumstances a person especially an athlete will make an emotional buying decision on a product advocating a cure from illness such as the common cold to promises of sports performance gains on a wide range of levels.

Little does the health store tourist understand that his little purchase spree might not be of any benefit but in actual fact harmful to his or her health depending on a number of factors which were never taken into account.

As a sports nutritionist I would never advocate a mineral or vitamin without the facts at hand and that is without a doubt a snap shot of an individuals health as a starting point. I would want to know what kind of lifestyle the individual has, what kind of an athlete he or she is and the daily demands which may impact their health status on a number of levels from lack of sleep to many hours of travelling or desk bound for most of the day. Then comes the crucial question which is, what does the individual eat and drink throughout the day and the meal timing that goes with it.

How can anyone expect to walk into a health store buy a product off the shelf and expect an amazing turn around time in health or performance. As the actress Sher once stated “If fitness came in a bottle, everyone would have a great body” . So, I am sorry to burst your bubble but there are NO quick fixes in life. It takes hard work and effort, and if you gained 20kg’s over a 2 year period it doesn’t mean it will come off in 2 months it took time to put it there it will take time to take it off.

Lets go back to the point of my discussion which is really the topic of supplementation. I often get asked about multivitamins and mineral consumption especially what has the best benefit for an athlete. Its like the oil industry additives can make the difference between jet fuel and a lubricant.
In truth I am not a fan of anything without being able to answer the questions I posed earlier on. I will always deep dive into a persons health and lifestyle to make an educated decision, but when I am not convinced I will dive even deeper.

I am going to take a step back here.
As a human being you might not have been living the most stellar lifestyle. Nutrition might be average, sleep not the best and yet each day you will attempt to add some physical activity to your daily routine.
I often use the analogy of comparing a human being to a motor vehicle. A vehicle has an outer shell, could be a Lamborghini, VW Beetle or a Mini-Van. The vehicle has an engine and the type of vehicle it is will determine the engines ability to perform. It could be a high performance vehicle or just a slow comfortable drive. If you are going on a long journey in your vehicle for a few days you will make sure that vehicle is in excellent condition. Tire treads perfect, windscreen wipers working, fuel topped up, oil checked car sent for its annual or bi-annual service to make sure you get to your destination safely. The minute you put your foot on that accelerator and place the vehicle under stress you need to be sure its going to withstand it and get you to where you are going.

Now the human body can also be compared to a vehicle. It has an outer shell, whether lean or plump and it has an incredible engine made up of major organs, a musculoskeletal  system for motion and of course a fuel tank to propel it. As a human being you have chosen a journey as well. It could be the finish line of a marathon, half marathon or an ultra distance event. Believe me when I say that the day you start training for this event is the day your own engine begins to be placed under stress. If your own engine is not in good working order you are just asking for trouble. When I ask athletes how do they know their engines are in good working order they just say they know. Its the most ridiculous answer I have ever heard. Its impossible to know what is going on inside your body without actually having a very clear picture.

Most of you will have sent your cars for services in the last year but I can bet on it that you have not even bothered to service your own vehicles. Now you are just about to place it or are already placing it under major stress and you have no idea if you are going to burst a pipe and trigger a major illness, injury or at worst case heart failure.

When last were you at a medical check up and what were your results? I find it such an irony that people in general value their own motor vehicles more than they do their own body’s. Car washes are loaded to keep the vehicles nice, shiny and new. Petrol and oil preferences are always debated especially to give your motor vehicle the best fuel burn rates and your car is treated like your baby. Your body is just abused. It is time to wake up. If your body fails you wont even need a motor vehicle.

Get your own vehicle serviced and make sure its done properly. Bloods don’t lie. If there are any vitamin or mineral deficiencies they can be picked up in blood tests. If there are health issues they will be detected, and only then do you decide with professional advice how to treat if needed. If supplementation is needed that will purely be based on the results of your testing to make sure its the correct decision. I cannot stress this enough, but taking a supplement, vitamin or mineral for the sake of taking it without understanding why and if its required is in simple terms stupid. The highly advertised vitamin drips, and health store aisles loaded with supplements should be approached with absolute caution and one needs to understand exactly what they are treating and how. Consult an expert if you are not sure, but do not succumb to the masses who spend money on damaging their health as opposed to fortifying it.

Know your health status, understand your body’s requirements intimately and give it the proper fuel it deserves.

 

 

Mark Wolff is an endurance, sports nutrition and physiology expert with over 20 years experience. An endurance multisport athlete with a triathlon, mountain biking and weight lifting background, he works extensively with professional and amateur athletes in a variety of sports disciplines as well as those just wanting to change their lifestyles. He firmly believes that a person can only reach their full potential when their health and nutrition is down packed. Mark’s focus on nutrition and physiology is not just on training and racing, but he places major emphasis on recovery, immune system health, emotional stability, stress management and performance. Mark is co-founder of 32Gi, a sports nutrition company, focused mainly on health and endurance nutrition. He is a certified sports nutrition expert as well as a marathon, track, triathlon and cycling coach. He spends most of his time guiding athletes with a very holistic approach to blending training and nutrition for performance and health

Categories
Health Nutrition Performance Training

FORTUITOUS FUELLING

Its that time of the year in the southern hemisphere where peak racing season has kicked off and in full swing. Last week in particular I spent my time at the expo of the 2nd largest timed cycle race in the world the Telkom 947 Cycle Challenge. It’s quite an experience engaging with athletes from all walks of life from the couch potato turned health nut, the weekend warriors to the real competitive race snakes.

I spent most of my time deep diving into the human body and how each athlete needs to fuel uniquely to their specific needs. Its amazing how many athletes had not given much thought to the nutrition surrounding the event and are just about to try to fortuitously perform. In endurance sport this rarely works and actually the opposite it makes for a miserable day out.  Proper sports nutrition is the foundation on which the athlete has the ability to maximize his or her energy system and perform at their greatest potential in the most comfortable manner. Get this right and you will want to be back quickly. Get this wrong and you will never want to return.

With this in mind I want to change that mindset that sports nutrition should be an after thought and that training is more important. Absolutely Not!
One cannot out train a bad diet as much as they think they can it doesn’t work and in the same token its not possible to gamble on your training and racing fuelling strategy. Just like anything in life practice makes perfect and understanding how the human body functions under stress well as understanding how your unique make up will fair over the distance needs to be taken into account.

In this particular blog I am going to focus on the fuelling side of sport and give you a general way to approach it logically. The way I generally engage with any athlete is to first understand the following:

  • What kind of an athlete are you?
  • What time will you be training or racing?
  • How long will you be training or racing for?
  • What intensity will you be training or racing at?
  • When will you be training or racing again?
  • Weather conditions you will be training or racing in?
  • Whats your preference liquid feed or food solids or both?

These questions are important to understanding exactly what the person is about and what he is going to be putting his body through as well as the conditions. If these points are not all taken into account you could be setting yourself up for failure.

Lets delve into the list above and break it down to be a little more clear.

What kind of athlete are you?
A high intensity performing athlete placing their body under extreme stress will certainly require a different feed from that athlete who is casually doing a social run or ride. You see its quite simple the athlete that goes at a very high intensity will be limited more as digestive system is more sensitive under this type of stress. Another thing to take into consideration is that the athlete will highly likely deplete his or her glycogen stores at a higher rate than the lower intensity athlete meaning a higher carbohydrate feed will need to be looked at in order to spare as much glycogen as possible during his or her effort. A more social athlete doing an event for fun or at a far more controlled pace will get more oxygen into the system over time due to more controlled breathing and in this case a different type of a feed can be considered as oxygen into the body over time ultimately determines which fuel tanks are predominantly used during exercise. (See my video explanation of the human fuel tank usage based on effort). In other words if you are an athlete doing a fun session or a lower or more controlled intensity event do not try to fuel like a pro or a race snake you are just going to cause havoc with your energy system. Fuel your effort.

What time will you be training or racing?
This is such an important factor. Ever noticed how so many athletes wake up at 4am to train or others at 17:00. The problem here is that a race doesn’t usually start this time. An athlete should always try to train at similar times to race times at least two times a week if possible. One needs to acclimatize to the race conditions and experience those temperatures that you will be racing in. The energy system also changes during the day and training your body at certain times which are nowhere near race times will ultimately cause discomfort when doing the actual race. A simple example is a friend of mine a runner, who trains every single morning but then he did an afternoon marathon but had never ever run at that time. It was an absolute disaster for him. Over and above the acclimatization, early mornings are cooler requiring less hydration but as the temperatures rise one needs to ensure that hydration is understood and done correctly. Last year I did a 204km trail running stage race in a team of four people. The race started at 13:30 in the heat of the day and continued until 19:30 the next morning. In order to understand my hydration and fuelling requirements and how my body would respond I occasionally trained  3 times a day morning, lunch time and evening. I needed to experience the various conditions and to allow my body to adapt to what it was going to face on the big show down. As a wise man once said, if you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

How long will you be training or racing for and what intensity will you be training or racing at?
Proper fuelling requires a view of time versus intensity. I did mentioned intensity earlier on however the human body is limited as to how long it can perform at a high intensity. We basically have two major fuel tanks being glycogen and fat. Glycogen is our rocket fuel tank short lived and fat more our diesel engine fuel longer lasting. The table below shows approximate time that each fuel tank will last over a range of intensities.

INTENSITY FUEL TANK APPROXIMATE TIME OF SUPPLY
Max Effort Glycogen 60-90 minutes
High Intensity Glycogen / Fat 90-120 minutes
Medium Intensity Fat / Glycogen 2-5 hrs
Low Intensity Fat 5 hrs Plus

*Well trained athletes can extend their ranges quite significantly

Based on the above you will need to understand that you cannot race extremely hard for an unlimited period of time as once the glycogen stores are depleted your body will slow down in order to accommodate more oxygen and of course allow for higher fat fuel usage. Meaning that the duration of exercise will ultimately determine the pace and you need to fuel that pace in order to ensure you have matches in your box for the final leg. I have seen too many athletes burning their matches early on only to succumb much later to complete fatigue. The longer the event the far more you need to pace yourself and the fuelling strategy you utilize needs to match that level of effort.

When will you be training or racing again?
Crucial question as not all races are one day events. When it comes to stage racing you have to consider how you will fuel yourself during the event to ensure that as you finish the stage you already start the recovery process. Once you complete the stage, recovery must begin immediately to make sure you are strong for the next stage. Many athletes fail to prepare themselves properly for this aspect of the race and as each stage goes on they become weaker and more fatigued eventually succumb to the pain the body is feeling from the lack of recovery.

Weather conditions you will be training or racing in?
Earlier we mentioned climate but you need to take into account the actual weather on the day. It might be a hot time of the year but the day of the race could come with strong winds or rain, or much hotter temperatures. In either of these three factors the fuelling strategy can vary slightly. I will give you an example. Rain means less sweat, means less hydration which means if you are relying on your liquid carbohydrate feed from the bottle and you land up drinking less due to less fluid required you will be calorie deficient and your energy system will crash. You need to keep hydration and energy completely separate and make sure no matter what the weather you have a fuelling strategy that is simple enough to cater for both. Strong winds can mean a longer day out, it can also mean more energy exerted to move over distance. Think about how it would affect your time and intensity and ensure your fuelling strategy caters for both.

Whats your preference liquid feed or food solids or both?
Food textures are so crucial when it comes to fuelling. An athlete that has never used liquid fuelling and then suddenly attempts it on the day is just asking for trouble. You need to train your gut during training to adapt to a certain type of fuelling and attempting it on race day is not very wise. My take on liquid versus solid is quite simple in that if you are performing at a very high intensity its not possible to be chewing much on a food solid as you need to keep your airways open in order to breathe. However if you do have the ability to take on food solids its not a bad idea as the human body is certainly used to consuming food solids daily. Just ensure its not going to impact you negatively and that the digestive system will handle it under stress.

 

I have given you a lot to think about but I have not really explained how to approach it in a very simple manner. My rule of thumb is take in the least amount of fuel to achieve the greatest desired result. Do not over do fuelling get it right. My general recommendation is to fuel short high intensity efforts with a quicker releasing carb feed and the lower or more controlled paced longer efforts with a stability carb feed. The next rule is never to leave wide time gaps in your fuelling strategy. Smaller frequent feeds are way easier on the digestive system but far better for the energy system in that the stability drip feeding provides will stabilize you far better by reducing the peaks and troughs of your energy pendulum. Clock feeding is definitely advantageous in endurance events. Knowing when and how much to consume will see you being able to perform at your best. Keep it simple, don’t over complicate the fuelling and finally don’t take chances. Prepare your fuelling strategy way in advance and test it over and over again until satisfied. Once confident its the way to go then bank it and stick to it on the big day.

All the best

M

 

 

Mark Wolff is an endurance, nutrition and physiology expert with over 20 years experience. An endurance multisport athlete with a triathlon, mountain biking and weight lifting background, he works extensively with professional and amateur athletes in a variety of sports disciplines as well as those just wanting to change their lifestyles. He firmly believes that a person can only reach their full potential when their health and nutrition is down packed. Mark’s focus on nutrition and physiology is not just on training and racing, but he places major emphasis on recovery, immune system health, emotional stability, stress management and performance. Mark is co-founder of 32Gi, a sports nutrition company, focused mainly on health and endurance nutrition. He is a certified sports nutrition expert as well as a marathon, track, triathlon and cycling coach. He spends most of his time guiding athletes with a very holistic approach to blending training and nutrition for performance and health

Categories
Health Nutrition Recovery Training

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT TO EAT POST EXERCISE? – GET THE LOW DOWN IN THIS PODCAST

The big question after an exercise session is how to properly recover from a carbohydrate point of view. Too many athletes get it wrong and its either going to lead to weight gain or a roller coaster ride on the energy and hunger craving scale. There are some simple ways to address this and in this latest podcast I chat to Mr. Active (David Katz) about getting the carbohydrate portion of the recovery meal correct.

 

 

Take a listen below, just click play.

Keep going

all the best

M

PS: If you enjoy my blogs please share with your friends and lets grow the community together on the path of health and wellness

 

Categories
Health Nutrition Recipe

FOOD DIARY OF THE FITNESS FREAK

In previous blog discussions around nutrition, health and fitness I promised to open up my lunch bag for a few days to you all so you can understand how I structure my meals around my training and lifestyle. Work pressures, meetings, travelling and training often leave us compromised from a nutrition perspective. The most important thing you can do is plan properly and be prepared for every single day. It does not take up a lot of time and you will notice how  much more balanced your life becomes when you properly fit the eating in around it.

Now before I share my food diary with you, let me explain that each and every single day I get up and head out the door my entire eating plan is completely in my control because I take it wherever I go. I have small bag and this contains more than enough fuel for an entire day, sometimes a little more than needed but as the saying goes rather be safe than sorry when the body starts to speak in the language of cravings.

Below is my companion: A small simple and convenient bag which carries more than enough meals for an entire day

Whats in it today:
2 Boiled eggs
1 Chicken Salad
1 Small tub of avocado hummus
1 Small tub of mixed raw nuts
1 Woolworth’s Carb Clever Bar (My treat today )

The above example is to demonstrate that simplicity is crucial. Over complicating your nutrition never ends well.

OK lets get down to the nutrition breakdown this week, and I will explain everything.

Firstly even though I am a low carb eater I am not a banter. I periodize my carbohydrate intake to support my training I only want enough to assist in energy and recovery, no more than is required. My general rule of thumb is to vary the carb intake based on time and intensity of training and I will back that up with some training data through this week to give you a bit more clarity. Currently I am not doing major training volumes so my intake is pretty controlled.

Lets begin with Tuesday:
4:30am Wake Up
4:40am Cup of Green Tea
5:30am TRAINING SESSION
An 81km bike ride
Elevation: 750m of climbing
Time: 2h40min
Ave Speed: 30.2km/h
Ave HR: 127 BMP –  Max HR 167 BPM

9:00am Recovery Meal (1st Meal of the Day after 13.5hrs of fasting)
Rolled Oats
Full Fat Greek Yoghurt
Strawberries
Almonds
Americano (black)

11:20am Snack

2 Boiled Eggs with Avocado Hummus

13:30 Snack 
Mixed Raw Nut’s

15:00 Snack Carb Clever Bar (Woolworth’s)

17:45 Dinner
1 Chicken Breast simmered in coconut oil and turmeric
4 asparagus spears
4 tomatoes
half cup raw spinach
table spoon of spelt

19:40 Snack
Fitness Freak Protein Cup
20grams pea protein
teaspoon raw cacao
table spoon of double cream yoghurt
teaspoon of nut butter
1/4 cup blueberries
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

DAILY TOTALS:
CALORIES 1227
PROTEIN 93 grams
CARBS      79 grams (67.5 Net)
FATS         65 grams

OK so now are you going to ask was I not hungry? How is it possible that someone can get up after 13hrs of fasting train for close on 3hrs and then only consume 1227 calories for the day?
Its quite simple and I have explained this in many blogs in the past. The human fuel tank is extremely big. 40 000 calories of fat, 2000 calories of glycogen. Check out my explanation video with animation HERE. I hardly touched my glycogen stores in the training session and used some rolled oats immediately after to stabilise blood sugar and replenish any loss over that time. The balance of the day was spent eating lower carb meals in order to ensure my body’s natural fat burning state was maintained. My protein intake is most crucial and need to ensure I get the right amount in daily to aid recovery where my carb /  fat intake is far more focused towards my energy system. My protein intake is around 1,4 grams of protein per a kilogram of body weight so that should give you and idea ;-).

Lets move to Wednesday as this was a different day and my training session was shorter but slightly more intense.

Wednesday Diary:
5:00am Wake Up
5:10am TrueStart Coffee (black)
5:45am Running Interval Session
30min Warm Up
30 x 200’s @3:40-3:45 pace (controlled)
10min warm down
Total Time: 1h20min
Average HR 134BMP Max HR 158BPM

20min Core

7:40 am Recovery Meal (1st Meal of the Day after 12hrs of fasting)
Meal 1: Smoothie Bowl
Pea Protein 30gram
2 x tablespoons full fat greek yoghurt
1 tbsp cacao
1/2 banana
10 gram almonds
10 grams coconut

Meal 2: Eggs
Scrambled Eggs x 2
1/2 avocado

Meals eaten within an hour of each other

9:55am  Snacks
Raw Mixed Nuts – 15grams

12:55 Lunch: Chia Protein Cup
2 x tbsp chia seeds
pumpkin protein 30grams
50ml coconut milk
5 grams goji berries
1 x tsp cacoa nibs
36gram trail mix (low carb)

15:30 Snack
Low carb seed bar

18:15 Light Dinner Protein Cup
20grams pea protein
teaspoon raw cacao
table spoon of double cream yoghurt
teaspoon of nut butter
1/4 cup blueberries
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

19:00  Snack
2 x small slices of fresh pineapple

DAILY TOTALS:

CALORIES 1612
PROTEIN 112 grams
CARBS      88 grams (72.75 Net)
FATS         97 grams

Lets take a closer look at the day. The obvious difference was the recovery meal in that I used a double meal to recover.
Why? The session in the morning was fairly intense. Although my average heart rate for the session was only 134BPM. If you think about the session the 30 x 200’s was run in zone 4.
6km’s in zone 4 with a warm up run before and a cool down after as well as a core session added up to a little blood sugar drop and some glycogen usage. I knew the next day was another 80km ride and so the recovery was crucial to set me up for the rest of the day. I also didn’t want to be left in place where a hunger craving kicked in later on leaving me to make bad choices. I ate the first recovery meal and within 30min after I finished I knew I needed some more and that’s when the gap meal came in to stabilise me. I know my body well and listen to the messages it gives me constantly. The recovery meal was so spot on to set me up for the day that I could have actually skipped dinner, but instead opted for a snack meal to ensure I got my intake for the day correct. This method of recovery works very well and in most cases with athletes I work with when that recovery meal is not done correctly they go off the rails.

 

Thursday Diary:
A very different day and probably one that was good to have this week so you get some insight into how I deal with certain situations. Wednesday evening felt a little congested possible onset of sinus issue and decided to hit myself with demazine ns in order to decongest and not let it get further down the line. I did not have the best night’s sleep (Demzine will do that) and so Thursday morning opted not to ride outdoors. I switched me session to an indoor wattbike / run.
Wake Up: 4:30am
1 Cup Green Tea
1 Serving TrueStart coffee (black)

Training Session 5:40am
Wattbike: 40min Session Descending Pyramids (fairly intense session but power was toned down slightly didn’t want to push too hard)
Average HR 143 BPM Max HR 167 BPM

Brick Run: 24min 5km Pace 4:50min/km very comfortable
Average HR 151BPM Max HR 160 BPM

Core Session: 20min

7:15 am Recovery Meal
2 x Poached Eggs
1/4 Avocado
Rocket Leaves
Rye Toast x 1 slice

9:40am Snack
15 grams Raw Mixed Nuts
1 x boiled egg with tahina paste

11:30am Snack
Low Carb Seed bar

14:15 Lunch Meal
1/2 Chicken Breast
1 x Table Spoon of Spelt
10 grams artichokes
4 Tomatoes
1.2 Cup Spinach Leaves

17:45 Dinner
Spoil Meal Night
Kauai Chicken Low Carb Wrap

DAILY TOTALS:

CALORIES 1445
PROTEIN 84 grams
CARBS      85 grams (83.5 Net)
FATS         86 grams

These were not really creative meal days due to the pressure of work and amount of travelling I had to deal with daily. When on the go its not the easiest to eat correctly, but if you plan and keep your meals at your side then there will be no excuses as to what you can eat.
Something I did not touch on during the last few days was my fluid intake. I keep it pretty simple and I don’t drink any soft drinks at all I also completely avoid soda water due to various reasons.
I generally drink around 10-20 cups of green and or rooibos tea each day and do have a coffee at least once a day usually before or and after training.

This was just a little bit of insight into how I go about eating from day to day. One thing I need to stress is that I always feel energetic, I don’t ever get to a stage where I feel I am starving and cravings are kept at bay by making the correct nutrition choices.

I often get asked about if I take supplements and yes I do but I will leave that for a blog for another day 😉

Feel free to contact me should you have any questions or comments.

I hope this was useful. Remember a nutrition plan is unique to an individuals requirements, there is no one plan fits all and its important to understand your body’s own needs when structuring a meal planning around it. It is the most critical puzzle piece alongside your training the two always go hand in hand.

all the best

M

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
Health Nutrition

SIX PACK DREAMERS

In every debate around health, fitness and beauty the dreaded six pack enters the conversation.  Men’s Health and Fitness Mag cover models flaunt them in abundance and it filters across the globe on social media leaving many in awe and wanting to follow suite. Now let me be clear I don’t give a hoot about the steroid junkies who use and abuse to grow their muscles and stand out in a crowd with their sacrificial dieting. My angle is purely from a health perspective and belly fat is a proven measurement of a potential life threatening condition.  Youngster’s grow up wanting to look aesthetically awesome and hit the weights with thousands of crunches to achieve it,  but they are so on the wrong track and I am quick to put them in their place by explaining the inner workings of the human body.  Every human being is born with abdominal muscles they are there from day 1. So why gym goers spend hours smashing them with every chance they get to make them stand out bigger, sharper and more chiseled  is beyond me because it just doesn’t work.

The bottom line is abdominal muscles are completely defined by what you eat. We are born with ab’s but poor lifestyle decisions just cover them. You can train as much as you want but if your body fat percentage isn’t low enough to reveal them then it just ain’t going to happen. I often hear people saying I am too old. Absolute rubbish you are just too lazy and tied down to poor eating habits which make it impossible to lower your body fat sufficiently to reveal them and you place your health at risk.  The expression abs are made in the kitchen not in the gym couldn’t be more true. However more importantly the health aspect of having a healthy body fat percentage is what you should be aiming for and this where nutrition plays such a critical role. Food fuels the energy system, helps you recover between workouts, creates a better nights sleep and limits the risk of lifestyle diseases. Now believe me I know exactly what I am talking about from experience. As a weightlifter I hit a peak weight of 112kg’s and today I am 66kg’s. Leaner, faster and fitter than I have ever been in my life. It didn’t take magic, or illegal drugs it took a systematic and smart approach to eating, training and sleeping. Those are some of the cornerstones of the foundation for a healthy lifestyle. It doesn’t have to be difficult all it takes is a mind set and the willingness to pursue a goal of health and each step of the journey will reward you over time.

So why do I mention all of the above

Simple, each day I get asked for recipes and meal ideas. What works and what does not. In all honesty except for a few secret recipes here or there, I have nothing to hide. So what I have decided to do is share some of my days with you so that you get right into my head and gain insight into my nutrition and training and how the two puzzle pieces fit together.  From the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep you can be the fly on my wall. My only hope is that you take this information and use it to your advantage on your own personal journey to health and fitness. Also feel free to ask questions.

Stay tuned as I open my lunch bag to you 😉

all the best

M

Categories
Health Training

BUILD THE BASE OR CRUMBLE

Friday morning workouts are always hard for me. I start it off with a 30-60min progression run and then into a solid hour of functional strength training with the bio which absolutely hurts. Many people don’t really understand what functional strength is. I hear of people doing strength work all the time, but mostly its isolated muscles which are being targeted and as an athlete that type of strength in my mind is a complete waste of time. Functional strength in simple terms is a movement which engages a large amount of muscles in that single movement. In simple terms think about it like this. Let’s say you are a runner or a cyclist and you utilize a minimal amount of muscle’s  to perform a particular movement. However then you do the same movement again but this time you are able to engage a much greater amount of muscles to perform the same movement.
What happen’s?
It’s quite obvious you are spreading the load. The amount of force exerted to perform the movement is spread over a larger area reducing the specific load on each muscle. This means a number of things to me

  1. Time to fatigue is much longer
  2. Performance gains are better and more sustainable
  3. Injury risk reduced
  4. Overall strength and health is way better.

Why did I decide to mention functional strength in today’s blog? Well life happens and yesterday evening while doing a shop at Woolworth’s I bumped into a top runner by the name of Tony Silva.  An awesome guy and also Tony is one of the few 56yr old runners I know of who can still run a 76min 21km and around the 34min mark for a 10km . He is a focused runner keeping his running distances controlled and healthy to ensure he can keep on performing with age. Basically we blocked the shopping aisle embarking on a conversation which touched on the ever growing endurance community and the approach to distance training and racing and health. Tony and I think along the same lines. We both agree that the majority of athletes have absolutely no foundation on which they are build. A runner who has never done a standard ultra marathon, never mind a normal marathon just decides to enter Comrades marathon a 90km ultra. The same goes for the youth jumping straight into an ultra distance triathlon. It seems that there is a culture of people who just want to go LONG. Now I am not objecting to the idea of going long, what I am objecting to is the lack of foundation in order to be able to support this initiative never mind the clueless amounts of junk mileage and over training that accompanies it.

Let me be completely clear here, in saying that most people I encounter on a regular basis are not built nor have the foundation of strength and speed to place their own body’s into such a physical journey. It seems to be a bucket list item and just a tick off the list. Well my friend that bucket might come sooner than you think because what you are doing is placing your own health in danger. Injury and illness seem to plague these communities constantly. I just don’t understand the thinking behind it, but it seems to be the pressures placed by culture and community on these individuals.

I often hear the statement your are not a runner unless you have run Comrades. Oh Really? So Eliud Kipchoge, Denis Kimmeto and Wilson Kipsang just a few of the worlds best marathon distance runners are not runners because they haven’t done Comrades before? Lets take it a step further. If you drill down into the lifestyles and performance achievements of these athletes you will notice how crucial proper foundation training is a as well as nutrition, functional strength, proper warm up’s , cool down’s , stretching , rolling and recovery. They also do not over-race they pick their battles and generally you will see these guys maybe doing 2 marathons a year at most. I know people who work a full day, have a family, eat absolute rubbish, hardly sleep and run way more than that in a few months never mind a year.

I heard an interesting interview with one of the top German triathletes after Kona last year where the German’s swept the top 3 spots on the podium. Andi Boecherer was the athlete and when he was asked why the Germans are so dominating he had a really simple answer. He stated that as a child he had to ride his bicycle everywhere. In Europe from an early age cycling to school and back and to friends and getting around is embedded in culture, whereas he stated that in the US the kid’s get dropped at school. So by the time he was older he had thousands of kilometers in the legs unlike his counterparts. He was years ahead and already developed an endurance engine as a child. Likewise our top marathon runners mentioned above had many years of running as children and building a solid foundation early on.
When I was young I was fortunate enough to be able to ride my bicycle everywhere and participate in sport constantly but in the new generation its a completely different story. Television, PlayStation’s and mobile devices have the youth sitting down constantly and now there is an electric bike wave hitting the globe where the youngsters don’t pedal they just sit and accelerate. I think its ludicrous.

So lets get back to where I actually started with the blog and that is foundation. A house is built on a concrete foundation not sand. If it was it would collapse quite shortly after possibly with a single storm. The human body is no different. Endurance exercise requires a very strong foundation on which to build and this is my key point for this blog. Don’t fall victim to illness or injury due to neglecting the proper foundation work in order to make sure you are strong. Do not jump into big events just for the sake of it take your time to get there and build yourself up with baby steps. This is not just true from a health perspective but also a performance and longevity perspective. How can you ever expect to be a fast runner or a cyclist if you don’t have the foundation on which to build.

Where should you start?
Easy, look in the mirror. Yes take one look at yourself and ask yourself “Do I have the physique of an endurance athlete?”  I am going to be completely harsh in this statement but its not to offend it’s only to make you aware. We were all born to run. However that statement is only true for someone that is in the right shape to run. Just a few kilogram’s over optimal running weight and the thousands of footsteps over distance is throwing tons of force through the body which is impacting it in a way that can only be damaging to your health.  Don’t just use exercise to get a healthy weight, its also all about the food. You can never out-train a bad diet. So again I emphasize foundation. Start small, start with nutrition, get yourself into shape, keep the distances down, focus on strength, agility, stamina and speed and gradually make your way to those goals with a foundation that can set you up for a long life, not one that will break you down and cut it short.

all the best

M

 

 

Categories
Health Nutrition

PROTEIN MYTHS

Recently while at the gym I happened to overhear a conversation about protein consumption and its not the first time I have heard the debate of how much protein one should eat and when they should eat it. It seems most are under the impression you can eat us much as you like. Many also say you have a window period immediately after a workout in which to eat it to gain maximum benefit. Well I am sorry to squash those ideas, but it’s just is not as simple a it sounds.

Lets first touch on the subject of high protein consumption. Many think you don’t need to watch protein intake however this could not be further from the truth. Let me explain this in simple terms. When protein is consumed the body will of course break it down and utilize it for immediate need which of course is soft tissue repair work, enzyme production, antibody production, hemoglobin transportation, hormone production and of course energy.  However protein needs to be processed, first its broken into amino acids and ammonia and once its job is done if there is any excess the leftover carbon compound is converted into glucose. Glucose not used for energy is then converted into fat.
In short over eating protein is not just unhealthy and can cause issues with the body it can of course make you fat.
Excess Protein intake can cause the following issues:

  • Kidney Function Problems – Due to having to work overtime to break down excess nitrogen in the body
  • Triggers Thirst – The main reason is excess nitrogen requires fluid to help the kidneys flush it so this is a sure message of over consumption
  • Weight Gain – Absolutely you will gain weight from over consuming protein, goodbye abs
  • Overeating Animal Protein sources have demonstrated a higher likely hood of triggering a lifestyle disease

Interestingly enough some research on this was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (Wiles, 1991). Subjects thought the exercise was harder one hour after having a high-protein meal compared with those having only water and doing a fasted training session. Their Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) was higher. This demonstrates the impact of performance.

So the big question is how much protein should you be consuming?
Its quite simple and we need to look at it in two aspects. Firstly the amount of protein you need to eat BUT also the timing of your protein intake.

An endurance athlete should probably look at around 1.1 – 1.7 grams per kg of body weight. I generally look at a 1.4 gram/kg of body weight on lower end to maintain and upper end when going through harder more intense cycles of training. Bodybuilders of course will consume more due to their more muscular physiques and doing more damage than an endurance athlete would.

So in short a 70kg athlete should probably consume anywhere from 80-100 grams of protein per a day. Alright, now we have the amount we need to consume BUT the next fact about protein is the body has a limit as to how much protein it can breakdown and utilize in a certain period of time. I work this around the 20-25 gram mark and 3 hourly eating more than this will give me a rise in blood glucose. Spreading my intake is an easier way to make sure I eat protein and ensure I get the correct amount in to use it and not abuse it.

As a simple example a 100 gram chicken breast will give you around  20-25 grams of protein, a tin of tuna around the same. So now lets put this into perspective. Oh you ate two chicken breast for dinner maybe three. Not a good idea. Rather you spread your protein intake throughout the day. Just as an extreme example if you were only eating chicken breasts daily you can have one at 9am one at 12:00 one at 15:00 and then again at 18:00 then you have clock fed nicely and taken in around 80-100 grams of protein. Of course no one will eat chicken for every meal. So now swap them out for either eggs , nuts and protein shakes or if you are a vegan go with plant based proteins and ensure you try to get the correct amount daily.

I have only mentioned overeating protein, but what about under eating protein. Well that’s a major issue and certainly a major cause of injury or illness as without having the proper nutrients in place to help the body repair, restore and recover you are only asking for trouble. In my opinion protein intake is not crucial at a particular point in time. Its important from the time you wake up until the time you go to sleep, don’t over do it, don’t under do it find that balance and ensure the correct amount and spread your intake. Its the one food macro you can actually control quite nicely.

I know the next question will be on carbohydrate and fats, but lets leave that for another day and think about our building blocks for now ;-).

all the best

M

Categories
Health Nutrition Training

TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT?

Today was a typical Thursday morning session usually an early morning ride with some of my fellow athletes out in the countryside. It is that time of the year where getting outdoors is pure soul food especially when its out of the city and in the farmlands.
My wake up call at the moment is around 4:30am until we hit later summer when we can leave earlier.  I grab a serving of my favorite TrueStart Coffee or a green tea, get dressed and head out the door. Training will start around 5:30am and then usually last anywhere from 2.5-3hrs. Today was a little longer due to some strong head winds over the last 30km’s and we only finished around 8:30am.

My fuel on the bike = NONE. Just a zero calorie 32Gi Hydrate electrolyte tablet in a single bottle of water. Post ride its a shower, get changed and then off to eat a recovery meal. Today’s was at around 9am and that was my first meal of the day. Scrambled eggs, salmon and avocado.
It was 14hrs since I last ate, with a 3hr training session in-between and a challenging bike course with lots of climbing and wind.

The reason for giving you insight into my morning routine is to throw some light on fasted training which I do constantly. In actual fact a week ago I went out on a 100km ride and about 5km’s into my ride I realized I had left my water bottle at home. I just kept riding, the temperature was cool enough where I realized my sweat rate would be lower and I could get through it no problem and I did. Just rehydrate when I finish.

Its quite a debatable subject and for many a mental challenge which is difficult to even comprehend.
I decided to take a look at my average HR (Heart Rate), Speed and Distance over the past few weeks of my fasted training sessions to give you some more insight into exactly what is going on, on  a physiological level.

On my longer training cycling sessions around 2.5-4hrs my ave HR is around 120-129BPM, Speed Ave:28-32km/h Climbing: 700-1000m Max HR around 174BPM of course in a hotter climate like I was in a few weeks ago average HR could go to around 136BPM.
On my shorter 40-80min sessions which are more quality sessions (Intervals, Pace etc) ave HR between 135-147BPM Max HR 181BPM

The purpose of the above data is to really demonstrate the reason why a fasted training session is completely doable. If you take a look at the average HR over a period of time especially on my longer sessions you will notice that I completely control my effort. I don’t go into a glycogen depletion state and I mainly access my fat fuel tank meaning I burn off a load of fat for fuel. This is especially true on the longer sessions where my average HR sits mainly in Z1-Z3 maximum and even then for short periods of time. While my shorter quality sessions do of course use a higher rate of glycogen as a fuel source but taking into account the time of intensity it will by no means deplete it.
Understanding the human fuel tanks to support your training effort is critical to understanding the fuel sources you will be using during your training session and if you understand what your body is capable of then you will have complete confidence in using natural energy stores to support you sessions. I recorded a video with animation recently explaining the human fuel tanks and how they operate during exercise, you can CLICK HERE if you want to watch to get an idea of how they work.

So how is it that someone like me can ride or run 3-4hrs without any fuel but then someone else comes along and just hits the wall and completely fades even if the person is plunging a load of carbohydrates into their body to prevent it. Its quite simple. There are 3 factors that need to be taken into account here and I will explain further.

  1. Fat adaption takes time – Your body needs to learn how to change and become fat adapted. Think about this your body is used to maybe a pre-training meal and fuel during a training session. Your mitochondria which are there to create ATP (to fire up those muscles) are like your little community that you feed and they move around in concentrations dependent on where they are needed the most. Its like someone moving cities for employment ;-). When a muscle is worked over and over it will over time build up a stronger community or force of mitochondria which are used to create energy for that muscle. Stop hiring ie: the muscle doesn’t work and the community will shrink and look for work elsewhere. Just as exercise especially intense exercise can increase concentrations of mitochondria. We need to look at the fuelling process as well. The mitochondria in the muscles become more efficient at burning fat stored within the muscles (intramuscular triglycerides). This makes the body about 25% more efficient at burning fat. Most fat is stored in the form of adipose tissue and should be mobilized  and transported into the muscle cells for energy conversion. When a person constantly uses carbohydrates which cause a rise rise in blood glucose the ability to allow the body to use more fat for fuel is lowered significantly. Eating carbs before and during exercise will not make you a fat burning machine by any means. In actual fact when I train with athletes who load themselves constantly with carbs but don’t run the engine to the extent they require them I mostly see roller coaster rides and complete energy fatigue.
  2. Pacing is key – Make sure you don’t over cook yourself. Train within yourself and by this I will use the following analogy. You have a box of matches with around 15 matches in lets say. Those are your glycogen rockets. Each time you push your pace very hard you burn a match or two. If you use up all 15 matches before the end of the your session you are going to hit the wall. Keep your ego in your pocket exercise within the correct zone and you will spare your fuel that much longer.
  3. Loading with Carbohydrates mitigates a higher rate of fat burn and over time glycogen depletion takes quicker than a more fat efficient athlete. Glycogen might be required for some efforts but if you can use more fat to spare glycogen as opposed to sugar well you are in a far better space you will spare it for longer and have more rocket fuel when needed.

It sounds quite simple in theory but in practice it will take time. I usually suggest getting used to fasted training by doing it on shorter sessions and only over a long period of time attempt longer sessions. Remember you are educating your body, training it and the usual energy pathways you were used to in the past are not going to be the same going forwards and this process does take some time transition.  In endurance sport being a fat adapted athlete means a far more efficient and powerful energy system over time. Burning more fat at higher intensities than the average Joe or sugar freaks is a major advantage especially in long endurance events. If you are a sugar burning athlete your stores will deplete far quicker than mine.

I will definitely touch more on this subject over time as I am sure many questions will come from it. However from a health perspective remember our bodies are made to burn fat in a normal metabolic state and this is why weight gain and disease is so prevalent in our world today. Sugar is over consumed and never justified. So my answer to the question to eat or not to eat is eat correctly and when its needed, but to ruin a great training session? No chance, absolutely burn that fat.

All the best

M

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