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Performance Training

RACE DAY READY TIP 4 – TWO OCEANS MARATHON – ARE YOU ON TARGET?

In this latest Two Oceans Marathon race readiness blog we talk race day nutrition.
Below is the podcast of this blog feel free to take a listen or dive into the in-depth read below.

For me personally the most critical part of race day is my pre-race meal.

A lot of athletes tend to not eat before a big race, but it is the most crucial meal of the day.

What you take in on the morning of race day is going to play a very important role in fuelling you during your race. I suggest eating a meal that will provide you stability and give you the energy requirements that you need during the event.

 

THE PRE-RACE MEAL

In looking for the most appropriate pre-race meal the food firstly needs to be something that you are used to and have eaten previously. Do not try anything new on race day. Generally, I advocate a slightly higher carbohydrate meal, unless you are a high fat low carb eater (banter). Depending on the kind of diet that you follow you need to try and keep it simple and clean. The best time to eat would be at least a minimum of two hours before the event start so that you have enough time to allow the food to digest and the stomach to settle.

Depending on your weight, a meal between 200-400 calories (depending on weight and time consumed) should be more than sufficient from an energy perspective at that time of the morning. If you are too close to the start time, then reduce the calorie intake accordingly to ensure that the digestive system maintains a level of comfort in the early part of the race.

DO NOT skip your pre-race meal it is the most important meal of the day. I often get asked what good meal examples would be as a pre-race meal and this is how I would go about planning it.

 

  1. Do not eat what doesn’t agree with you and what has not been tested previously.
  2. Start with the carbohydrate content and keep it simple and easily digestible.
  3. Ensure the carbohydrate selected doesn’t spike your blood sugar but provides some form of stability.
  4. Keep the fibre as low as possible
  5. Protein can assist in delaying onset of muscle fatigue in long endurance events and I would suggest adding in a little to your pre-race meal.
  6. Fat can also be added but I would opt for the type of fat that provides more easily accessible energy, and, in this case, medium chain triglyceride’s are best.

 

Examples of a pre-race meals could be a gluten free rolled oats, nut butter and some banana or berries. You could eat some banana on low fibre bread or toast, sweet potato, rice or quinoa pudding or oatmeal, spelt or sorghum pancakes. Eggs on toast with a little avocado is also fine, it really depends on the kind of person you are, what kind of diet you follow and what you are used to consuming pre-exercise If following a low carb lifestyle, you can opt for a higher fat meal (the larger portion being medium chain fats) however, I would still advocate a stability carbohydrate before and keep the protein intake small.

Remember, what you eat before the race is going to help fuel you during the race and you need to start your ultra-distance event with topped-up fuel tanks.

THE CAFFEINE BENEFIT

Caffeine is a stimulant and it is beneficial in endurance sport. It has been shown to aid performance when consumed correctly. Caffeine provides mental focus and in any endurance sport this plays a crucial role in sports performance. It is recommended to consume 1-3mg/kg of bodyweight around 2-4hrs before an event. Coffee is not a good measure of caffeine unless it’s a coffee like TrueStart Coffee where you know exactly how much caffeine there is per a serving. Caffeine intake must be measured. It should also have been tried and tested in training to understand how the body responds.

When heading off to the event, make sure you do hydrate sufficiently, but do not over-hydrate because at that time of the morning it’s very cool and the last thing you want to do when the event starts is have that heavy stomach feeling and overloaded bladder forcing you to run to the toilet.

 

RACE FUELLING

Race day fuelling needs to be properly planned and you should have practised this in your training. If you haven’t, you have completely fallen short of preparing properly for the event because nutrition is a make or break.

You cannot just rely with the nutrition that’s on the course if you haven’t tried and tested it. The best way to fuel in an endurance event, specifically a Two Oceans Ultra Marathon is to make sure you separate your hydration and your energy requirements. Think about hydration in terms of what’s going to keep the body hydrated not about energy. Hydration has been spoken about extensively in the past and if you are not sure you can read my blog Simply Hydrate to get a more in-depth understanding.

As for energy requirements you need to know how much you’re going to be consuming in the form of grams of carbohydrates per an hour during the event to give you the optimal fuel to perform. A large portion of your energy requirements will come from your internal fuel tanks being glycogen and fat, however by taking in the appropriate volume and type of fuel you can assist glycogen sparing and keep your primary fuel tanks lasting longer. To get an understanding of the internal fuel tanks and usage check out my video explanation Get In the Zone.

Most athletes will consume their energy in the form of carbohydrates and you should have by now practised the volume intake of carbohydrates you require per an hour to keep you sustained through the event. Runners have a more sensitive digestive system due to it being a higher impact sport than cycling so I do advocate smaller feeds, frequently, as opposed to bigger feeds spaced further apart. The reason for this is twofold firstly the digestive system can cope better with smaller amounts of food at a time and more easily utilise and absorb it as opposed to dealing with a very large amount of fuel at once. Secondly it provides more energy balance. I call this the ‘drip feeding’ method, and I find it works very well for most athletes.

Fuelling every 20-30 minutes as opposed to every 45 minutes to an hour would be a lot easier on the digestive system and it would allow you to balance that energy system out a lot better. In other words, clock feeding and making sure you do take something every 20-30 minutes.

Some runners can get away with as little as 20-30g of carbohydrates per an hour and some need to take a lot more, but anywhere between the 20g-60g mark would be fine based on individual requirements. Remember to stick to what you have done during training. It is not about the amount of carbohydrates that you’re taking in, it is about what your body is capable of absorbing and utilising. Anybody can consume a large amount of fuel, but it does not mean that the body is going to utilise and absorb it and this can lead to severe digestive issues. If you take in too many carbs overdoing it with the sugar and glucose, it can lead to muscle cramping mainly due to poor fluid absorption. It can also lead to dizziness and nausea and it’s the last place you want to be during a race.  My advice is to take in the least amount of fuel to achieve the greatest possible result.

Remember this is an ultra-distance event, there is no ways that you will fuel on only your glycogen stores. Your glycogen stores in an event like that will mostly be depleted, and a high percentage of the fat fuel tank will be used for fuelling the event as it is more pace controlled and you don’t need to take in an excessive amount of glucose at any one time and spike your insulin levels.

Caffeine during the Race

Caffeine during the race can play a benefit as well. Caffeine does metabolize fully over a period of around 60minutes, so my advice is to have measured doses throughout the event once you do start consuming.  I recommend at least once an hour some athletes consume every 30 minutes, but this is something that needs to be tried and tested in training to see what the optimal dose is for you during exercise.

Protein during the Race

If you’re going into an ultra-distance event and it’s going to be a lot longer than 4-5 hours, you should incorporate protein consumption on route, just to help act as a buffer and assist in delaying the onset of muscle fatigue. It also helps satiate you, in other words, it gets rid of the hunger pains and it does break up that intake of glucose.

Please make sure that you are prepared from a race nutrition perspective. If you’re not prepared, you better start thinking about it very soon and make sure you’ve got some sort of plan for the big day. On the day, stick to your plan, don’t deviate and you will get to the finish line feeling a lot happier and a lot more comfortable. I wish you all the best of luck, may you have a great race.

All the best

M

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
Performance Training

TWO OCEANS MARATHON – EVENT WEEK TIPS – ARE YOU ON TARGET?

Race week is here and I am sure nerves are high and a little fear factor is setting in for the big day. There is plenty that can still be done this week to ensure you have the best possible day out. In this latest blog I write on how to focus on the week leading up to the main event. I have also recorded it as a podcast with David Katz and you are welcome to take a listen below:

 

 

Lay off the Alcohol in Race Week

Race week is a very crucial week and its not the time to let yourself go. This week can make your race if you adhere to some fundamental principles.

The first thing I can honestly say is keep it clean, do not eat anything that could impact your digestive system negatively. Make sure you hydrate properly. The recommendation is 30-40ml of fluid per kg of body weight and that is not by any means alcohol. I’m talking water or a hypotonic drink for hydration (such as 32Gi Hydrate click here for more on hypotonic explanation) , do not consume anything that would dehydrate you. If you do drink alcohol, keep it out of race week. It will impact you on race day, there’s absolutely no doubt. Save it for after the race.

Avoid very heavy meals that you might not be used to, because some of these meals will impact your digestive system negatively. I’ve often seen people get stomach bugs close to an event due to eating out or foods they are not specifically used to. Many athletes travel down to a foreign city to race and in this case you should plan ahead and not rely solely on eating out.

Take as much of the foods with you during those last few days and that week. Make sure that those are the foods are foods that you would normally eat and stick to them. If you could not find a hotel or accommodation where you have got the ability to self-cater it makes it a lot easier to take with your own food and not be stuck without decent options. If you are in a hotel and they’re not cooking foods to your liking, ask for foods that do agree with you or take a page out of my book where I go into the kitchen and do it myself. They won’t have a problem with that, but try and plan and try to keep it clean.

48-72 hours before your Race (Nutrition is Crucial)

The 48-72 hours before an event are very crucial hours. Those hours can make or break your race. If you eat or drink something that doesn’t sit well with the body causing digestive issues, illness or dehydration it can lead to a really bad day out. For example if you are lactose intolerant do not compromise and consume any dairy steer clear of it. In many athletes red meat sits heavily in the stomach, so avoid heavy proteins and rather eat clean, lean proteins or plant based proteins. Finally do not try any new foods before the event stick to what you know and what agrees with you.

Make sure that you are hydrating constantly especially those 72 to 48 hours beforehand. I am re-emphasizing that you need to cut out any alcohol. Do not overdo it with stimulants especially caffeinated drinks such as coffee as they do have a diuretic effect and can also lead to sleep disturbance. You need to get a few good night’s sleep before the race, so you don’t want to impact your sleep by taking any stimulants which would impact it at night.

Some athletes deplete carbohydrate stores closer to a race and then slowly build up that carbohydrate intake to maximize their stores. Don’t try this if you’ve never tried it before. There is no reason to overeat carbohydrates in those hours before an event because your glycogen stores will be topped up with reduced volume in training and it’s not going to make a major difference on race day. There is no need to overdo it because that will just lead to weight gain and discomfort.

The Night before Race Day

The night before race day is where a lot of athletes get confused. I do not advocate eating a large meal the night before a race. I suggest that your lunch time meal can be ga slightly higher carbohydrate meal and then keep the dinner small.

I’m not saying go and eat three or four bowls of pasta, definitely not, keep it clean and keep it simple and small. It doesn’t need to be an excessive meal by any means, but you can have a slightly higher carbohydrate portion at that lunch time meal.

At dinner time eat another meal, it can be smaller, but it can also consist of a nice carbohydrate and protein portion. Keep it simple, so things like scrambled eggs on toast, a vegetable omelette with quinoa or a chicken or fish dinner with a small salad is perfect. Whether it’s tofu, whether it’s chicken or fish, all of those are very light and easy on the digestive system.  Remember stick with what you are used to do not try new foods before race day.

The reason you want to keep the night time meal smaller is that you need a good night’s sleep before the event. That is by far the most important area of focus. You need to be comfortable to get a good nights sleep and if you overeat you will be left tossing and turning with a very heavy and uncomfortable stomach as well as an elevated metabolic rate making it difficult to fall asleep.

Some advice for the 24-48 hours before an event is to avoid anything that’s high in fiber. Fiber can cause a little bit of discomfort and many athletes are intolerant to high amounts especially when pre-race nerves are setting in and the last thing you need is an irritable bowel. Try and avoid high fiber foods, rather go for something that’s a little bit lower in fiber and easily absorbed and digested foods.

Make sure that you don’t drink fluid excessively the night before the race, rather drink frequently through the day. The last thing you want to be doing is running up and down to the toilet when you should actually be sleeping. You’re not going to get a lot of sleep that night, so try and maximise it as much as possible because it will benefit you on race day.

Next up is Race Day nutrition 😉

Stay Tuned for the next Blog as its an important one

 

all the best

M

 

 

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
Nutrition Performance Recovery Training

TWO OCEANS MARATHON – ARE YOU ON TARGET – TAPER WEEK NUTRITION

In this second part of the Two Oceans nutrition series we discuss what to do around nutrition during the taper weeks.

Below is a good read to understand what you should be thinking about around Taper Week Nutrition and you can also listen to the podcast I have pulled in below which I did with David Katz.

The Trick to Nutritional Tapering

Its important to understand that during the taper period your volume of training is reduced significantly. Reduced volume means that you’re requiring less fuel during the day than what you were used to previously.

During peak weeks you were burning off a lot more calories and calorie consumption requirements were a lot higher in order to be able to try and replenish that deficit to keep your energy system up, and obviously to keep your immune system strong as well as ensuring proper recovery between workouts.

What happens during the taper weeks is that the volume drops and there’s a lot of sharpening. It does not mean you’re going to stop training, you obviously carry on training and there could be quite a bit of pace as well, but obviously shorter periods of time to keep the legs sharp and the body recovering and building to peak on race day.  Lowered volume training equals lowered calorie intake as your physical activity level drops.

Keep the Immune System Strong

There are four main areas that I like to suggest all athletes focus on during the taper and number one is immune system strength. You  need to get to your event in a very healthy state. You do not want to fall ill before that. We know that when an athlete hits peak training, generally their immune system is quite lowered, the body hits fatigue, and there is a very high susceptibility to infection.

Obviously this will be more prevalent when you’re exposed to children and people close to work who are harboring illness. I have seen some serious athletes running around with face masks close to the event because they fear getting sick.

How do you keep the immune system strong?

Simple keep inflammatory foods out of the diet, focus more an alkaline diet to keep inflammation at bay. Focus on clean foods forget take outs and processed foods you want to fortify the body not weaken it. Rest, Rest, Rest. Sleep is crucial don’t sacrifice it and due to shorter training sessions, push them out later so that you can ensure you get through all your sleep cycles by waking up slightly later than normal. Hydrate constantly and ensure you are consuming fluid in the form of healthy water and herbal teas. Keep stimulants such as coffee down to a bare minimum as it also raises acidity in the body which can equate to a higher risk of getting ill. Do not skip meals keep the portions small, healthy, nutrient dense and more frequent.
Do not think multivitamins and vitamin drips are the answer, as the body responds to this in a way which could completely weaken the energy system by playing some havoc with the bloods. As a matter of interest research has shown Vitamin C as an example of anti-oxidant supplementation has been shown to hamper endurance. In this case over consuming it is just not a good idea, best is to take it when you need it and not daily if your training is fairly heavy. Vitamins and minerals are there for deficiencies take it only when needed.

Importance of Weight Management

Number two is weight management. Obviously as the volume of training decreases, the amount of calories will need to fall in line with that. You do not want to gain weight for your race. The reason being, is that if you do gain weight by the time you race, you are going to suffer. You’re used to training at a particular weight, you want to race at that same weight. You really need to hone in on your diet and make sure you keep it in check.

The only way to do this is to obviously focus on eating cleanly, don’t eat out, reduce and cut sugar intake. The other thing is, you can also reduce is your protein intake slightly and carbohydrate intake in the week prior, and you can gradually build the carbohydrate intake slightly a few days before to maximize glycogen stores. Do not try and cycle carbohydrate depletion and an increase if you have not experimented with it before. Remember whatever you do your macro-nutrients need to be in line with calorie requirements. Do not over do it as excessive eating will lead to weight gain and this is seen in abundance with athletes when they do carbohydrate loading for which there is no major need. Keep your nutrition in check and do not let it slip in the week leading up to the race.

How to Maximize Muscle Recovery

Muscle recovery is very important during the tapering period, you need to make sure that you’re getting strength gains and you’re not fatiguing yourself for the big day. This is the time to rest, recover and build and get to the race in peak shape.

Remember, training breaks you down, proper rest and recovery builds you up and makes you stronger. This has a very large dependency on nutrition. Make sure that you eat for recovery.

How do you do that?
Ensure you get the right amount of protein in on a daily basis. If you are not sure how much you should be consuming check out my blog on protein (Protein Myths) . Eat a lot of leafy, green vegetables, this can help increase folate levels and ultimately lead to more rich red blood cells which increases your oxygen levels in the blood and this can have a very positive impact in endurance and sports performance. Aim for healthy fruit to improve your immune system and energy levels. Cut all the nonsense and eat to strengthen the body for the big day.

Be Race Fuel Prepared

One of the other very important factors during taper is to make sure that in your mind you have your race fuel preparation ready. The way you prepare your body from a nutrition perspective in the weeks and days leading up to an event will either make or break your fuelling strategy on the day. If you want to deep dive into race fuelling preparation read my previous blog Make or Break.

You need to make sure that you have practiced and trained your race fuel for race day during your training sessions. Obviously in that taper period you can still practice it a little bit here or there, but you need to make sure that at least 7-10 days out of the race you’ve got it down packed, and there should be no more experimentation.

I stand at plenty of race expos and a lot of people come up to me and say, “What do I need for my race?” I always tell them, “It’s way too late to start asking me that now; you should have been practicing this quite a long time ago.” Train your gut and ensure you have a decent nutrition plan in place for the big day.

To sum up the taper week ensure your nutrition is clean and that you are hydrating properly leading up to the event. Have your race fuel prepped mentally and you should get to race day in good shape.

all the best

M

Mark Wolff is a certified exercise & sports nutritionist, endurance nutrition and physiology expert with over 20 years experience. An endurance multi-sport athlete with a running, 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 given the proper focus. 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 also co-founder of Rapid Recover focussed on pneumatic compression equipment to improve circulation for recovery and health.

Categories
Nutrition Performance Training

TWO OCEANS MARATHON – ARE YOU ON TARGET – HYDRATION

In the lead up to Two Oceans Ultra Marathon myself and David Katz launched a series of podcasts discussing a few topics that all runners should focus on these being:

  1. Hydration
  2. Taper Week
  3. Race Day
  4. Fuelling
  5. Recovery

In this first part we focus on Hydration:

Hydration is probably one of the most critical aspects when it comes to a sport event, especially an ultra-marathon.

Below is a good read to understand what you should be thinking about around Hydration and you can also listen to the podcast I have pulled in below which I did with David Katz.

What Dehydrates You

A person should be completely hydrated leading up to an event and make sure that they’re in the 100% hydrated state when they start the event. You don’t want to be in a dehydrated state, so the first thing I suggest is to eliminate anything that would possibly dehydrate you.

We’re looking at things like diuretics, overdoing it with diuretics and not replenishing lost fluid. If we take a look at something like alcohol which acts like a diuretic, because it does also pull the fluid out of the muscle. It basically dehydrates you, so that should be completely cut out leading up to that event. Its serves no purpose and will only hamper your ability to remain hydrated properly.

Factor in the Temperature

As far as hydration goes during an event, there’s a few factors that need to be taken into account. The first is taking a look at temperature, humidity and individual sweat loss. An athlete should understand how much fluid they possibly would lose during an hour under certain circumstances or at what time of the day. This understanding comes through training and taking notice of fluid consumption and weight fluctuation before and after exercise due to fluid loss. So early in the morning, you sweat a little bit less and as the day gets hotter, you obviously have a higher sweat rate which means you are losing more fluid in the form of sweat with temperature increases.

Hot and humid climates also play a role in  exaggerating the sweat loss. Hydrating during and event is trying to replenish around 80% of the fluid lost during an event, that is what we aim for from a hydration point of view. As the day gets a little bit hotter, absorption is lowered a little bit and you would need to look at taking a drink with minerals to help further increase that absorption rate.

Possible Hydration Drinks

There are three types of possible hydration drinks one could possibly consume. Obviously there’s water in its purest form, which is a good form of hydration. However, the absorption rate of water on its own is not as high as water with a carbohydrate and a mineral solution. Then in that classification we look at two different types of drinks, one being isotonic and one being a hypotonic drink. A hypertonic drink is energy dense and hampers fluid absorption in favour of energy so we will leave that out as an option. Bare in mind though that if you consume gels or other means of energy products and don’t bring in a sufficient amount of fluid with that intake you will hamper fluid absorption which will lead to issues such as nausea and or cramping so do not overload on energy products.

An isotonic drink has an approximate balance between minerals required for hydration and carbohydrates which are required for energy. There’s very much a balanced pressure which is defined as measurement of osmolality. This occurs between the  digestive system and the blood from a pressure point of view and this balance allows a nice even pull through.

However, as heat goes up, you’re losing a lot more fluid and the body requires a higher rate of fluid absorption to replenish lost fluid in form of sweat. In this case you probably need to look at something like a hypotonic drink. In that case you’re looking at something like a 32Gi Hydrate (Click here to find out more about Hydrate), a mineral complex which will aid a higher rate of fluid absorption.

Try Mineral Loading

One of the things I do recommend is mineral loading and completely hydrating before an event, because it can delay the onset of excessive fluid loss and cramping later on in an event. Obviously you don’t want to be in that state.

I have spoken previously about overdoing hydration and that’s when you consume too much fluid. If you over consume and not being absorbed, what will actually happen is that you will feel a  sloshing effect in the stomach, I call this the ‘washing machine effect’.  At this stage you should stop drinking completely and wait for that fluid to be absorbed before you continue drinking. A salt tablet or mineral complex can help remove that fluid a lot quicker. In order to prevent over- hydration you should rather take smaller frequent sips of fluid over a period of time and not to wait too long to take in any fluid en route. Frequent small feed are best.

Race as you have Trained

In any event you participate in you need to race as you have trained. Do not make any changes on the day as far as hydration goes. You should be very familiar with what you require from a hydration point of view. Do not try anything new on race day.

I hope this helps clarifying hydration before and during your event. Stay tuned for the next blog and podcast covering the taper week leading to your race.

If you want a deeper dive into hydration check out my blog Simply Hydrate

 

all the best

M

Mark Wolff is 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. 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
Nutrition Training

ARE YOU READY TO ENDURE?

Its not a secret that nutrition is probably the single most influential and important piece of the puzzle when it comes to health and performance. However the training around it is important to understand in order to get it right. I deal with a variety of people daily whether amateur or elite athletes every single one of them has the same challenge and that is how to find the correct pieces of the puzzle that fit together. There is no one size fits all approach. Each person is unique with different requirements based on goals, health status, current body composition, level of activity, food intolerance’s, likes and dislikes, work pressures and stresses, sleeping patterns and the list goes on and on.

Nutrition isn’t a guessing game, it’s a very carefully well thought out and structured path on which an individual can embark for life. It will take its twists and turns and have its ups and downs which will require tweaking and changes on route, but the rewards will be endless if done properly. Health, energy, emotional stability, focus, performance and enjoyment can all be achieved with a proper plan in place.

The biggest problem most people face is the lack of knowledge of making the correct food choices for themselves. Many think they are doing it right but mostly they are doing it wrong. Eating healthy foods is great but over eating healthy and not understanding how to structure a proper meal ensuring the correct macronutrient portions and the timing of those nutrients is very often not understood.

Over the next few months I will be embarking on a series of blogs, vlogs and podcasts together with Mr. Active David Katz to help guide you on the correct path of proper nutrition and training for your chosen lifestyle and goals.  We will also be guiding you on training and race fueling for your big goal and teaching you how to prepare and structure the training with proper fueling plans that you can stick to on the big day.

A meal plan cannot be completely routine especially in the life of an athlete. On some days you might train for an hour or two while on others it could go up to 5-6hours of training. Timing of those sessions and the intensity of those sessions will mean that your menu will change drastically from day to day. Calorie and macronutrient intake will be completely influenced by the duration and intensity of your exercise. The same goes for fueling plans, they differ depending on duration and intensity of the event as the energy systems vary over time.

We promise to keep the series interesting and interactive and we look forward to sharing the many secrets to living a healthy and successful endurance lifestyle to give you the edge.

Keep at it

All the best

M

“Life wasn’t meant to be lived in your comfort zone “

 

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
Nutrition Training

INTERMITTENT OR FASTED TRAINING – THE LOW DOWN PODCAST

Recent podcast with myself  Mr Active David Katz, where we discuss intermittent or fasted training its definitely worth a listen 🙂

 

 

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
Nutrition Performance Training

3 SURE WAY’S NOT TO HIT THE WALL DURING RACING OR TRAINING

In the world of endurance sport the term “Hitting the Wall” or ‘Bonking” is quite common among athletes. Most of us have experienced it at some time or another and then others quite frequently. To explain what “Hitting the Wall” is in short is the point at which your muscle and liver glycogen stores are completely depleted. It leaves one feeling fatigued, in a world of hurt and pain with absolutely no energy or will and desire to continue. Its not a pleasant experience and certainly a moment we would rather not be in.  You see the human body has two main fuel tanks, glycogen and fat. Glycogen which is mainly stored in the muscle and liver has around 2000 calories of fuel while our fat stores contain around 40 000 Calories of energy. If you think about it in logical terms burning off around >1000 calories of glycogen fuel per an hour of exercise is not going to not last you very long. During exercise though a combination of fuel tanks are used BUT this is dependent on intensity, time and type of fuel consumption. To really understand this Click Here to watch my explanation of fuel tank usage in detail.Everyone fears hitting the wall, BUT I am going to advise you how to prevent it ;-).

1. TRAIN PROPERLY
I always say train as you are going to race. Over time, this will adapt the body and work the muscles holistically enabling you to cope with the distance and the terrain on the day. Ensure that you incorporate the same speed work in your training that you will be racing at and make sure you do the necessary hill and speed work as well! Ever heard of the expression “train hard race easy”? This takes weeks of preparation; so don’t leave it to the last minute!

2. PACE YOURSELF CORRECTLY
Too many egos cause havoc. Don’t push yourself over your limits to prove a point. Race at the pace you have trained at! It is important to make sure not to race at a faster pace than your body can cope with because the minute that happens you will start depleting your glycogen fuel rapidly. This could result in the inevitable bonk that will hit you when you least expect it.

3. TRAIN YOUR GUT (NUTRITION)
Make sure you fuel properly! Basically you need to understand what is required from a nutrition perspective on the day to ensure your energy levels are topped up and carry you through the event. You need to prepare for this in advance, as its not something you can decide to leave for the week of the event. Nutrition preparation needs to begin way before the event. Weeks in advance of the event you should have a proper fuelling plan in place and stick to it on the day. 

I have given you three major ways on how not to bonk, but I am going to expand on the nutrition training and explain where your focus needs to be. Whether a race snake or a weekend warrior there are considerations to meet your needs.

FUEL CAN EITHER GIVE YOU ENERGY OR ROLLER COASTER YOU AND DEPLETE YOU, SO YOU NEED TO CHOOSE WISELY.

The 3 main points on proper fuelling is:

  1. Keep it Simple
  2. Take in controlled amounts to achieve the greatest result (DO NOT OVERDO IT)
  3. Plan, Test, Use.

WHETHER YOU ARE DOING A 3HR OR A 6HR EVENT YOUR FUELING NEEDS TO BE CORRECT.
Of course, the way a race snake fuels in comparison to a weekend warrior is very different and each method needs to work according to what you want to achieve.
The pace and time you are going at will ultimately determine the type of fuel you require. I see way too many cyclist or runners going at lower to medium intensities and they start to fuel themselves with very high intensity fuel. All this does is creates havoc with the system, causing dreaded spikes, crashes and very often leading to symptoms of digestive discomfort and nausea.

There is no one fix all fueling approach and no matter what anyone tells you what to take and how to take it, you need to look at fueling from your own unique requirements. Many supplement companies advise athletes what to consume and how often, to get to the finish line. However, many of these companies don’t consider the actual type of athlete, their individual capabilities, the duration and intensity of their performance as well as their personal preferences. This is where we I differ completely. I get to know an athlete before advising them on any fueling strategy.

Unfortunately, it’s difficult for me to speak to you each as individuals in a knowledge sharing piece like this, but I will do my best to provide you with a direction and options you can consider as part of your own fueling strategy.

The first thing you need to ask yourself realistically is what sort of time goal are you going for during your race? Duration and intensity will ultimately determine your fuel intake. Then you need to decide what your dietary preferences are from a texture point of view. Are you the kind of athlete that likes to eat solids, or the kind that prefers a liquid feed or a combination of both as nutritional comfort is an important factor to consider. If you are going at a really high intensity and breathing is extremely heavy during the event you might want to consider a liquid or combination feed as chewing is not so simple and the airways need to be kept open. However if you are going at a controlled pace or a combination pace then you will have the ability to consume food solids.

WHATS NEXT ?

1. How often should you fuel?
Timing of nutrition intake is critical in any endurance sport. This should be frequent and planned.

2. How much should you be consuming?
The amount of nutrition consumed will be determined by a few factors mainly based on weight, duration and intensity.

3. What fuel should I be using?
Type of fuel is personal, as mentioned above. Lets break this down some more.

FUEL TIMING
Eat small and frequently (measure your food intake by time). Frequent consumption is the key to a decent endurance event. Once you are in a comfort zone, meaning a point of equilibrium where aerobic engine is stable, breathing is regulated and comfortable and you are in a rhythm, it’s time to feed. Generally I would say around 20 minutes or more you will start to hit this but it depends on the individual. Staggered or drip feeding is the best way to fuel as it keeps the energy system a lot more stable over time and its far easier on the digestive system. On the other hand, planning your nutrition intake by time makes it very structured and easy to stick to there is no guess work involved.

HOW MUCH FUEL ?
In endurance events there are many theories around the 60-90 grams of carbs per an hour. Maximizing absorption rate with the correct combination of carbohydrates and even trying to go beyond that. It’s certainly not about how many carbs you can fit in your mouth but what your unique body is capable of absorbing and utilising. Do not fall into this category of can over eater it will ruin your day. Plan this properly. If you consume 60 grams of carbs per an hour or less in training and then on race day take 90 grams of carbs in per an hour you will head for absolute disaster. You have not trained your gut to deal with this volume of nutrition intake. In the fuel guide I will provide you I have worked out an average amount of consumption based on the type of athlete you are. Most importantly is to test this out during training and not to arrive at the event without having tested the fuelling strategy a few times. Failing to arrive prepared from a nutrition point of view will not be a pleasant day out. Ensure the volume of carbohydrates per an hour is consumed over time and its the correct amount that your digestive system coped with in training

WHAT TYPE OF FUEL?
As explained earlier the human body has a large amount of fat (40 000 calories) as an incredible source of energy and most nutrition experts forget to take that into account as well. The glycogen tank contains around 2000 calories of fuel when topped up. As shown in my video on the Fuel Tank explanation if you are going at a high intensity and burning off approximately 1200 calories per an hour you know your glycogen tank is not going to last more than 90 minutes. However at a slightly lower or controlled or combination pace your tank will use a higher combination of fat with glycogen and your tank will last longer. The other way to spare glycogen is to take in nutrition and this can spare it to around approximately 30%.
I think you get the picture here which is a high intensity performing athlete will require a fast releasing carbohydrate feed while a lower intensity athlete can use more stabilizing carbohydrates which are non-spiking. But I bet no one has ever told you this. All they said is take gels no matter what kind of an athlete you are. Its the worst possible advice. You need to fuel your effort and duration correctly but also with the right combination of correct carbohydrates for the type of person that you are. Again, I cannot stress the point enough to test out your nutrition in training and many weeks before the event to get familiar and comfortable with the fuelling strategy.

Now I am not going to leave you there ;-).

Along with 32Gi I have designed a basic cycling fuelling guide for your big day.
Your job is to be realistic about your personal performance goals, consider the personal factors and then select the right fuelling guide for you. Of course if you have any questions I am there to help.  NOT ONLY have I provided you an awesome guide to fuelling but I managed to twist the arms of the  head honchos at 32Gi who have agreed to offer some one time incredible deals to take advantage of should you decide to take your fuelling strategy in that direction.

I have TWO Options for you to choose from:

Are you a WEEKEND WARRIOR or a RACE SNAKE (Click on the relevant option to get your Fuel Guide)

 

Once you are satisfied with your FUEL GUIDE you can

JUST CLICK HERE TO GAIN ACCESS TO YOUR UNIQUE OFFER

Train Safe, Plan Properly

 

All the best

M