Tag: Healthy Choices

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REFLECTIONS OF A PANDEMIC YEAR

I am going to start this post with a very short descriptive sentence “2020 was an absolutely f’ed up year” and I am sure most of the worlds population feels that way. On a personal note this has been an absolute roller coaster ride and I am the kind of individual that does not take kindly to situations that are out of my control. I am an analytical person that thrives on statistics, numbers, predictions and strategies with predictable and achievable end goals and outcomes. Well this year took all of that knowledge and know how and just threw it on its head which made it a very challenging one.

2020 was the start of what felt like a movie except we are the main characters. Thrown into a complete lockdown for which was basically our peak of summer and racing season it suddenly became a psychological battle for most with the inability to venture outdoors even to train. Some of us were more fortunate in that home gyms and indoor training equipment made it possible to continue exercising however the difficulty for most was the motivation factor with no known goals as events were postponed and cancelled. Over and above that financial worries set in with many. Income sources were burned out and many companies were put into red zones of retrenchment and the inability to support their loyal staff. In some cases like mine with airports shut down and travel restrictions as well as the cycle of lockdowns across the globe, I was unable to see my children. Its now nearly been nearly a year since I have seen them last. Simple things we took for granted now became unachievable.

It sounds like an entire year of doom and gloom, and there are still unkowns, however as the year went on I started to find some light in the situation. I noticed that what many take for granted slowly started to come to the forefront of importance.
There is a proverb which goes “he who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything”. Its a quote which has stuck very close to me for more than twenty years. I have mentioned in the past that in my twenties I fell victim to a virus which pretty much threw my entire world into chaos. It did not leave me alone and for years I battled with the ups and downs of reinfections and long lasting bouts of post viral and chronic fatigue. It took an enormous amount of focus and effort to take back control and over many years of studying and knowledge gaining eventually I was able to turn the tables. I managed to get to a position where those tables could never turn back. I could never let my guard down ever and I needed to ensure I had my nutrition, sleep and exercise routines completely down packed. It was never perfect but over many years of gaining more and more knowledge and tweaking here and there I finally became a master of my own health.

When Covid hit I was more determined than ever to make sure that health came to the forefront for myself, my family, friends and all the athletes I work with. It was the only weapon we had in such an unkown situation. Exercise continued, nutrition became a lot more focussed and easier due to constant kitchen access. Gaining proper sleep was pretty easy with no need of having to get up at the crack of dawn to travel. When lockdown eased later in the year Covid struck rampantly and my wife and I landed up contracting the illness. We didn’t know what to expect and took it one day at a time. Symptoms set in with what seemed to be a sinus infection and fatigue and every day was a different story. We didn’t suffer with fevers or lung function issues just severe headaches, some muscle aches and lingering fatigue. Exercise stopped completely and we focussed on nutrition and sleep.

I must admit it was a roller coaster ride not knowing what to expect from one day to the next, it didn’t feel natural and symptoms changed here and there but my wife and I both agreed we had been way sicker in our lives with previous infections.
After the 14 day quarantine period we still felt lingering viral fatigue but straight off to the physician for a full medical and some drips to help with the post viral oxidative stress. Bloods were completely normal for my wife and mine were a little out with hyperferritnemia and elevated liver function. Covid is known to impact iron so that would have explained it. However me being mainly plant based it did not elevate it much at all. Liver function could have been due to meds or it could have flared up my previous infection which was associated with liver function issues. The knowledge of being able to deal with these issues as well as working with an exellent physician as a sounding board made it pretty simple to get back on track. The post viral fatigue faded over the next two weeks and once the cardiologist gave the green light it was back to proper training and getting back on track.

The more and more people I engaged with that had caught Covid the more I realised that there was a pattern forming. The young were not being affected as much as the elderly. Those that were generally in good health tended to overcome it pretty well and get back to normality quite quickly. Many that I know who have not really looked after their health, have overtrained or exerted themselves a lot, sacrificed on sleep and nutrition or with underlying conditions etc seemed to be far worse for wear and battled through the illness. So much confusion also hit the medical fraternity never really knowing what to expect when patients contracted the illness. Then there were even those who were very ill who tested negative for Covid and that threw even more confusion into the works. As the year dragged on and the more people I came into contact with who had contracted Covid the more it became clearer and clearer. Health is the surely greatest form of wealth.

I had this thought that when we are young we have these immaculate immune systems which function at their optimal and as we age we can either nurture them or damage them. Most of the world damages their health. Poor nutrition choices, processed foods, junk food, lack of exercise, poor sleep, working around the clock and additional stress factors do not bode well for a healthy individual but rather weaken the body and make it more susceptible to illness.

I am currently on an athlete blood chemistry course with some top docs and scientists who in their eccentric nature love the numbers just as much as I do. I remember one lecture clearly which focussed on a cluster of over 32 scientific research reports discussing nutrition and blood markers. The doc threw a sentence out there saying unfortunately the research we are looking at was carried out with a population where over 90% of the participants are obese. Taking into account other factors that basically means 98% of those participants are unnhealthy. In short the results of this science cluster in all likelihood cannt be applied to a health athlete.
Why was this a big eye opener? Simple the majority of the world is unhealthy. Many have done damage to themselves over time resulting in long term health issues or medical conditions. The problem with an illness like Covid is that it has no mercy on these individuals. Some will get away but many will not and this is the frightening reality of the situation. Statistics of illness and death rates caused by Covid again is spread across a globe of predominantly unhealhy individuals.

World health day ,Stethoscope wrapped around globe on pastel blue background. Save the wold, Global health care and Green Earth day concept

As the year comes to a close with potential treatment methods in the form of a vaccine and much more knowledge on the situation at hand. I can only but utter that for all of you out there who have not contracted Covid now is the time to realise you were given an opportunity light. You are given the chance to truly focus on your health and build it like you have never built it before. Do not become complacent because this is not gone and there is no guarantee that it cannot happen again. Those who have had Covid and experienced the suffering and those who have lost loved ones truly realise the harsh nature of what many have had to face and experience this terrible year. You are the ones that truly know the value of what it means to have health and hope. Many have become complacent and many are just waiting to be vaccinated to end this nightmare. However we unforuntatly know there are never quick fixes in life and I urge you all to hang on to your health with everything you have. Respect it, nurture it, look after it and fortify it for without health there is no hope and without hope there is nothing.

Many blessings for 2021
yours in health always

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 focused on pneumatic compression equipment to improve circulation for recovery, rehabilitation and health.

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Health

9 WAYS TO COMBAT LOCKDOWN EATING

LOCKDOWN – YOUR GAIN OR LOSS

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During the global Covid-19 pandemic most populations have been or are in some form of lockdown, there has been a growing concern to manage nutrition properly and ensure health, proper weight management, as well as to stay in top shape.

There are several genuine and valid concerns.

Firstly, before lockdown occurred most people were leading consistently active lifestyles. Gym visits and outdoor activities such as running, and cycling were routine. Calorie burn rates were up nicely due to a higher and consistent volume of training.

Then, for many it came to a grinding halt. The minute your training intensity and volume drops so too should your calorie intake to fall in line. Eating more calories than you burn off will absolutely lead to weight gain. 

Over and above this lockdown has left people more sedentary than their normal daily routines. Driving around, walking to meetings and general office run arounds such as shopping and walking around for longer periods of time which add to calorie burn rates have also dropped significantly.

There is way more lounging around and frequent kitchen visits have become part of the normal daily routine. Emotional stability has been thrown out of whack due to the uncertainty of what lies ahead. Stress levels are on the rise for many and in a lot of cases depression has started to emerge.

This has led to emotional eating for a lot of people. Easy kitchen access and comfort foods has exaggerated the situation even more. Sleeping problems and elevated stress levels also play a part in this emotional roller coaster ride many of the world’s population is currently on. 

It’s not an easy situation by any means. However, there are some ways to manage it and emerge in a healthy state.

The Power of Exercise & Nutrition

EXERCISE:
No matter your circumstances whether indoor training equipment or not this is the time for adaption. Human movement including some strength training is vital from a health perspective. There are plenty of creative ways to mix it up from body weight strength and core exercises to simple intensity interval sessions.

If you have access to indoor training equipment such as treadmills, smart bike trainers and weights then there is no excuse for keeping it up. It does not take a lot to prevent muscle atrophy and just doing at least thirty minutes of exercise daily is sure to keep your body happy physically and mentally.  

NUTRITION:
As mentioned earlier nutrition is numero uno in keeping in shape. Not just from a weight management point of view but to also fortify and strengthen the immune system. What you put into your mouth each day will ultimately determine how your overall health.

My 9 Top Tips for Managing your Nutrition

1. Avoid the Junk
Keep the processed / junk foods out the house. If its not in the kitchen it is not accessible.
2. Natural is Best
Stock natural whole foods to make wholesome valuable nutrient dense meals.

3. Higher Fibre Low Glycaemic Foods
Aim for higher fibre and lower glycaemic foods to ensure good satiation as well as lowered blood sugar and controlled insulin levels. Incorporate a decent amount of nutrient dense lower glycaemic plant-based foods mainly in the form of vegetables.

4. Plan your Plate
Do not wake up without an eating plan for the day. If you have a structure you will not go wrong. However, if you have not planned your eating for the day you will base your meals on emotion and will just go off the path.

5. Drop the Treats
Treats in the form of sweets or pastries needs to be controlled. Lockdown has left many experimenting and baking away in the kitchen. This will just boost the emotional need for more and lead to a decline in healthy eating potentially promoting weight gain. If you are looking at making treats there are plenty of healthy options out there which are sugar free and low in calories.

6. Overeating Health
Most do not understand how to construct a meal based on proper required macronutrients intake. It is possible to overeat health. Just because the ingredients are healthy does not make your overall meal healthy. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats play an important role in any nutrition planning. Get them wrong and you will land up gaining weight.

7. Portion Control
Instead of large meals at any one sitting. Rather eat smaller meal portions more frequently throughout the day. This is the best way of managing insulin levels and ensuring you do not overeat.

8. Healthy Fats
Fats come in different forms. Avoid all processed fats such as hydrogenated vegetable oils and trans fats. Eat natural healthy fats and try to ensure the majority are unsaturated fats which provide much better health benefits to the body.

9. No Out-Training Bad Nutrition
This will never work. If you can train a lot due to being in lockdown then it does not mean you can out train a bad diet. The opposite. The minute you increase stress on the body due to intense or volume exercise then proper quality food intake needs to come up to help support it. Hard training and poor eating will place your body at risk for injury or illness.

In short, this period has provided challenges to many of us and its by no means easy when curve balls are thrown at us in life. Routines are completely turned upside down and all it requires is adapting quickly. Sitting around thinking about what is wrong does not solve the problem.

When it comes to health quick decisive decisions must be made to preserve and strengthen it. My advice is do not let yourself down you are in complete control. What you do today and tomorrow will set you up nicely for many weeks and months to come. Just give it some planning and focus.

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Nutrition

RECOVER PROPERLY OR BREAK

Proper recovery nutrition is one of the most misunderstood aspects of any sport especially endurance. When it comes down to it, if you fail to recover properly then you have failed to make the proper gains from your training session. You will have also set yourself up for a domino effect of fatigue and injury risk and your ability to meet your goals in the next workout sessions. Not only is it about performance gains, but even more importantly immune system strength and overall health. Proper recovery from exercise is something that needs to be perfected and nailed every single time.

In this blog I am going to explain the simple process of how to tackle your recovery nutrition and to give it the correct focus it constantly needs.

To begin we need to understand that a recovery meal does not just consist of a meal post exercise with carbohydrates, proteins and fats. When it comes down to it there are many different opinions on where the focus should be. Strength athletes focus on protein, endurance athletes love their carbs and the weight conscious tend to go for the higher fat options. However to be pretty straightforward none of them are correct in their thinking. I will provide some clarity below.

Lets begin with the actual training session. In terms of duration and intensity each session will vary from the next. Some days are short recovery or low intensity sessions. Some days are longer duration, higher intensity or strength sessions. This means that each day the body will go through a different metabolic process of fuel tank usage and muscle engagement. There will be varying stresses placed on it and each will have different requirements when it comes to proper recovery.

Taking a look at the the human fuel tanks being primarily glycogen and fat each will have differing burn rates through a session. A higher intensity session will see a greater percentage depletion of glycogen than a shorter low intensity session. While the longer sessions even if a lower to medium intensity will tend to still dip into both fuel tanks due to cardiac drift of effort over time and higher calorie burn. A while back I created a nice little video explaining the fuel tank usage to make it simple to understand just click here for viewing.

In summary glycogen are your carbohydrate stores and are primarily used under higher intensity exercise while fat is mainly used as a source of fuel at lower intensity exercise. During exercise the body moves through varying rate of intensities and a combination of both fuel sources are used depending on the duration and intensity. There is another fuel tank which we would not want to use and that is protein. Yes protein can also be broken down into fuel but generally that is over very long hard endurance sessions. It is a fuel source we do not want to use and should be mitigated by proper fuelling during exercise. However for recovery it can help determine nutrition options post-exercise. As far as strength training goes, yes, more muscle damage is generally done in a strength session and mostly the energy system utilised for strength is ATP-PC ( adenosine triphosphate – phosphocreatine ) system, especially with explosiveness and this is combined with aerobic function. ATP-PC is short lived energy only lasting seconds but it can definitely equate to fatigue. So recovery from strength sessions is just as crucial as endurance exercise.

Now that we have an understanding of how the body is impacted from an energy system and stress perspective, it should make sense that in order to adapt properly and train again we would need to recover properly from that session.

The approach for proper recovery is quite simple and needs to broken into various steps. Once you understand this it will be easy to create your own personal recovery strategy day after day.

Let’s begin……………………………..

Step 1: How Long was your Training Session?
Keeping this simple I break it down into a short, medium or long session. Meaning the following
Short < 60 Minutes
Medium < 2.5 Hours
Long > 3 Hours

The duration of your session will ultimately determine the size and number of recovery meals to properly benefit from your training session. As a simple example consuming a large calorie meal after a short 60 minute session is an over kill, while under consuming after a long session will leave you feeling fatigued and hungry later on. Lets continue and I will fit the puzzle pieces together further down.

Step 2: How Intense was your Training Session?
Did you keep your heart rate low and steady for a short session or did you do an interval or tempo session creating a fair amount of effort. Remember that a low intensity session means a higher fat burn lower glycogen depletion session. While a high intensity session means higher glycogen depletion. The percentage of fuel tank usage will relate back to the composition of your meal. As a simple example; a recovery session will mean a low carb recovery meal, while a high intensity session means more glycogen (carbohydrate fuel) depletion, which would equate to a higher carbohydrate meal post-exercise to ensure replenishment of the glycogen fuel tank.

Step 3: How Muscularly Strenuous was my Session?
Protein intake in an athletes days can vary slightly. Generally I will set a target of around 1.4 grams – 1.7 grams of protein per a kilogram of body weight depending on whether the athlete is maintaining or aiming to gain more lean muscle mass. However in some cases for muscle gain and bouts of heavy strength training that amount of protein will go up to 2 grams / kilogram of body weight or more.

On a day where more muscle damage is done it would be wise to aim for a slightly higher protein intake through the day to be in a protein positive net balance to allow for proper recovery. Just remember the amount of protein per a single serving is limited in what the body can process and absorb, so its not a matter of loading protein in a single meal but more the frequency of protein intake through the day. I have written a previous blog on protein intake and it can be read by clicking here.

Now that we have those three thought steps in pace lets focus on Recovery. There are five main aspects to recovery in my mind.

  1. Sleep
  2. Rehydration
  3. Muscle Protein Synthesis
  4. Glycogen Replenishment
  5. Immune System Strength

Sleep
Probably the most crucial aspect of longevity and health is sleep. An amateur athlete is very often sleep deprived due to the early waking hours and cutting short of sleep in order to train. Throw work stress and family stress into the mix and you are heading for disaster. Do not underestimate the power of sleep. The human body repairs and restores itself during the sleep cycles. Critical hormonal release states are triggered and failure to cycle through them is damaging. It’s not just about the duration of sleep but also the quality of sleep meaning few wake cycles and some nice deep sleep cycles. I have been analysing sleeping patterns now for around 14 years and it is as clear as day that a bad nights sleep impacts performance, ability to recover as well as weakens the immune system. Give it some focus and ensure you get at least a minimum of 7 hours of good quality sleep a night, preferably 8.

Rehydration
The human body is comprised mainly of water and during exercise there is a fair amount lost in the form of sweat. The longer the session the more fluid lost. It is absolutely crucial to rehydrate during and post session to replenish lost fluid in the form of sweat. During exercise its only possible to replenish around 80% of lost fluid however post exercise its important to get right back up to a proper hydrated state. Best is to consume a hypotonic drink to maximize fluid absorption and this can be done with a product such as 32Gi Hydrate. If you want a more in-depth look at hydration then check out my blog simply hydrate.

Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS)
Endurance as well as strength require major muscle usage to perform any given activity. Protein are the building blocks and are critical in ensuring proper muscle recovery. I come across so many athletes who under eat protein. This only leads to injury, illness and fatigue as well as failure to achieve proper training adaptations in the form of strength and fitness gains. Let me break this down a little further.

White blood cells which of course fight infections, are comprised of protein. So lack of protein equates to lower immunity. Post-exercise an athletes immune system is lowered and the risk of infection higher. Don’t under estimate this. As far as muscle protein synthesis goes protein is crucial. Especially adequate branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) consumed of course with a complete protein. Another thing that many athletes fail to understand is there are proteins and proteins. It is important to find a complete healthy protein to get proper intake. L-Leucine is the most crucial branch chain to trigger MPS and there we would look at an intake of 2.5-3grams of L-Leucine to ensure the MPS trigger. Some protein serving sizes do not contain the correct amount and then supplementation would be advised.

Remember its not about the front label its about the actual content of the product. A protein portion post-exercise should be in the region of 20-35g depending on the weight of an individual, kind of exercise and overall protein goal for the day. Over-consumption of protein does not work due to the body not being able to process all of it, and in short it can lead to a rise in blood sugar and potential weight gain. Ensure you know your protein targets and stick to them.

Glycogen Replenishment
Glycogen – which is our carbohydrate stores – will mostly be depleted during exercise at a rate which is dependent on the duration and intensity of the session. A long hard session warrants a higher carbohydrate meal post-exercise which should be proportional to the glycogen depleted. Carbohydrates are what’s required to replenish glycogen stores. A short lower intensity session means a low carb meal. Over eat the carbs post a session which does not warrant it, and be assured you will mitigate fat burn and tend towards the gaining weight population.

Immune System Strength
Post-exercise susceptibility to illness is higher. Especially if in a contained environment like a gym where sick people sweat, train and touch everything opening endless possibilities of contact. Immunity is so crucial to any athlete especially during bouts of hard big volume sessions where the body undergoes way more stress. How does one strengthen their immune system? Well firstly a blood test to determine any insufficiency is worth it as if you are for example anaemic or have low vitamin D levels it will certainly play a role in weak immune system. That is the first step. Know your status and fortify accordingly. There is no point in dosing with vitamins and minerals if you have no idea where you are weak. 

Hydrate properly and focus on gut bacteria strength as it’s another crucial aspect of immune system strength so pre and probiotics are worth it. Cutting refined foods and focusing on nutrient dense foods will help boost immunity. A supplement like glutamine is excellent for immune system strength as well as providing alkalinity to the gut. Vitamin D not Vitamin C is the wow factor in immune system strength. Most athletes I have had blood tested tend to be low on Vitamin D levels which is the one vitamin known to provide immunity. Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant with other properties, but it has nothing on Vitamin D as far as immunity goes. 

Those are just a few examples, however its so vast and I wont go into too much detail on this as its a blog on its own for the future. But as a starting point get bloods and if you are not sure then check out my blog on bloods don’t lie.

The above is pretty self explanatory in terms of importance and focus. But I bet you are now asking for examples of post-exercise recovery meals and a little more insight on supplementation to ensure proper fast recovery and health. That is coming in my next blog :-). 

However don’t despair, in the mean time together with the 32Gi and the Rapid Recover team we put together a recovery cheat sheet which I will email to you with pleasure – all you need to do is sign up to our newsletter by subscribing to my blog – and it will be emailed off to you.

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 focused on pneumatic compression equipment to improve circulation for recovery and health

Categories
Health Nutrition Performance Training

PREPARE TO PERFORM

No matter what sport you participate in from gym goers to endurance junkie’s preparation for a session require not just a wake up and go but an actual strategy for how you are going to fuel yourself before during and after your session.

I often get asked the question of what and it ultimately depends on a few factors which need to be seriously taken into consideration.

These are:

What time are you training?

How long are you training for?

What intensity are you training at?

When are you training again?

Without clearly understanding the objectives of your workout how can you possible achieve the desired outcome. Secondly, what is your main goal?

Weight loss?

More lean muscle mass and a better physique?

Better fitness and endurance?

More muscle mass?

Less body fat?

Health?

 

Did you know that just training without the proper nutrition around it is just a complete waste of time? You really need to take this into consideration if you want to achieve your goals especially from a health point of view.

I have often used the analogy of comparing a human body to a vehicle. So, you want the body of a Ferrari which is awesome. But instead of having high performance fuel you use a very low-grade petrol and oil. You don’t take care of the engine yet you expect the “Ferrari” to perform. That is ridiculous. You think you can treat your engine like a VW beetle and perform like a Ferrari. Sorry friend it isn’t going to happen. If you look at it from a health perspective imagine placing really bad fuel into the engine and then trying to get it to accelerate to an extremely high speed, with barely any water in the engine. Yes, that’s you, the athlete or lifter who thinks they can eat KFC in moderation and then push out huge weights or high wattage. Eventually the pipe will burst, the engine will blow something will have to give and it always does. Maybe not immediately but certainly over time.  If you have a high-performance vehicle you will go out of your way to make sure that the best fuel, oil and tires are used. Same with your own body, if you treat it with high performance fuel and give it the best, you can only expect it to perform at its best.

Do you know what the advantage of being human is?

We might not look like a high performing vehicle or have that lean muscular or fast physique, but one thing we have which a vehicle doesn’t is we can change our shape. We can completely reshape ourselves inside and out and that all boils down to the fuel we place in our engines. It should be the best. I am not talking about illegal substances and quick fixes which impact your health. I am speaking about proper nutrition which will keep you on the journey from a health and performance perspective to reach your goal.

I often hear people saying everything in moderation. What rubbish. If I ate everything I enjoyed in moderation it would be disastrous. Imagine I drank wine, coke and beer in moderation, ate pizza in moderation and the followed that up with some chocolate in moderation. My eating week would be hell. Moderation is an absolute excuse for the lazy to sacrifice their health and goals for emotional attempts at making their serotonin levels rise to fill their minds with awesomeness. In the end it’s a losing battle. You are what you eat and it couldn’t be more accurate than that.

Now with all this in mind I have completely drifted away from the discussion of actual fueling and now that we know how important nutrition is let’s go back to that awesome topic of where to start.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today we are going to focus on the pre-workout nutrition. It’s going to be critical when trying to achieve a certain training goal.

I asked many questions above? Let’s review them and decide how to tackle our pre-training nutrition.

Time of the training session:

This is crucial as if you are waking up at the crack of dawn and going straight out on an exercise session do you really feel like eating so early on. Is it absolutely necessary to consume something at 4am. Well the truth is it depends on the next question.

How long and how intense is your workout going to be.

Only 60-90minutes long or maybe up to 2hrs or longer. This will certainly make a difference.

Now look at the objective. Weight gain weight loss, body fat burn, fat efficiency for endurance. These all play a part of the puzzle.

Considering the above scenarios, I would suggest any workout lasting up to 90min does not need much fuel at all. The human body has natural energy stores which can keep you going at a high intensity for that period and you can pretty much do a fasted training session.

Check out my video explaining the Fuel Tanks of the Human Body https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3egjhBpfo0&t=2s this will explain clearly how your own natural energy stores work.

Training fasted will allow you to burn off body fat quite early on depending on the session you are doing and simultaneously allow you to become a fat efficient athlete. Many people battle mentally with this. They don’t feel so great and this is only because of habit and what I call the brain train. You have trained your body in a certain way, and its adapted to that. Attempting this is confusing and a shock to the system and so it takes shorter sessions over time building up to longer sessions to become better at it.

If you ever do a fasted training session you must know how to recover properly from it. Without proper recovery you will battle to make the gains you need and if there was a second session later that day you will be fatigued to turn out another quality workout.

I often get asked about muscle catabolism as opposed to anabolism with fasted training. My answer to that is for a session this short you certainly won’t catabolize your own muscle you have plenty of other fuel to work with. If you are a body builder and require a minimum daily protein intake which is much higher than an endurance athlete then a protein is most likely required at wake up and again later after for recovery however that is a different topic completely.

So, I threw a spanner in the works now telling you to train fasted. I am not saying it’s a must. As I do advise athletes on pre-workout nutrition prep to increase fat burn, naturally of course, make the brain happier and provide far better mental focus.  There are many meal ideas and natural supplements which can be used to enhance the workout and allow you to perform very well while being rewarded with the same benefits.

I bet your next question is what are these and what I will do is give you a little insight into how I fuel my sessions to explain it a little further.

Not many people know but I did come from a weight lifting background into endurance sport, I once weight 112kg now only 66kg. So, I understand both worlds quite intimately, and how the body suffers in both. Each is unique. I train for endurance but I also do strength and both have their challenges.

At wake up my primary objective is to ensure I am alert and focused. Early morning sessions often sacrifice the final sleeping hours of major hormonal release and final deep sleep cycles. I won’t get into discussing the science of sleep now, however I can say this. Waking up in a deep sleep cycle can leave you feeling fatigued and tired. It’s not a pleasant feeling.

What are my goals as an endurance athlete?

Maintain a lean healthy muscle mass
Keep my immune system strong
Make sure I am a fat burning machine (fat efficiency is an endurance athlete’s best friend)
Ensure my energy levels are consistent

Wow what a list you might say
They are in no order of preference. Each of these are important to overall health strength and speed.

So, I will tell you how I do it.

It’s quite Simple. Firstly, for any athlete, the mental aspect plays a critical role. Strength of mind can get us through almost anything. However, this requires mental focus. This is where my favorite friend caffeine comes into play. This doesn’t mean any caffeine it means measurable caffeine. I use TrueStart performance coffee for this. It carries an accurate 95mg of caffeine per a serving and it’s a natural caffeine releasing for close to 6hrs which completely covers my workout. The best thing is its completely natural and as anyone knows I hate synthetic products.

I know per a kilogram of bodyweight how much caffeine I need before a workout and how long it will last me in order to provide me the right amount of focus to cover my session. TrueStart Coffee does the trick.  What else does caffeine do? I free up more free fatty-acids which allow me more access to free energy floating around my body in simple terms more fat for fuel. I also like to load myself with green tea in the mornings. Research has shown that green tea can assist in decreasing fat storage and assisting with fat burn BUT to achieve this quite a fair amount needs to be consumed. I can drink anywhere from 6-20 cups a day depending on my mood. One cup is not going to do the trick but I love waking up to it. I like the taste and use it as a form of hydration.

Generally a session of up to 90-120min for me will be covered by the above due to my fat efficiency. However on slightly longer sessions. I make a little energy bomb and generally this is concoction of pure MCT oil, caffeine, nut butter and vanilla powder. Oh its s a BOMB and a tablespoon kickstarts my engine rapidly, of course I could add some BCAA’s and Beta Alinine to add more fuel to the fire, BUT that’s again for another discussion. I keep it simple depending on my goal. If I don’t feel like eating then I just add pure vanilla flavoured MCT oil or MCT oil with Vanilla powder to my TrueStart Coffee and that’s enough fire to get me going from the mug.

Another product I use when I am on the go is the 32Gi G-Shot, 60mg of caffeine per a serving in a simple snap sachet and easy to stack in my wallet, makes it a very convenient carry and use.

This type of pre-workout ensures I can churn out a quality session with-out compromising what I need. It is so effective you won’t believe the results after a few weeks. I often get asked what about carbs before your workout? Why?

I have natural carbohydrates stores in my body 2000 calories worth and they will easily see me for up to 2hrs of a high intensity exercise (Check out my video link I mentioned earlier) I use what I have no need to douse my flames. Raising my blood glucose levels before a session will just mitigate my fat burning ability so if my goal is to burn more fat why would I start my session off on the wrong foot? It doesn’t make sense. If workouts are much longer then that’s a completely different story and we will get to that in another blog. As for strength training the above would work just as well. So, weight lifters go crazy.

This is just a small share into my morning routine before a session, I will cover more topics of longer endurance sessions, fueling during and post exercise recovery. But for now, keep training hard, sleep well and eat even harder 😉

             The Fitness Freak

P.S. I FORGOT

If you are keen on TrueStart Coffee there is a great deal at the moment Just Click Here 

32Gi’s GShot is available online at the 32Gi Store Just Click Here

As far as MCT oil go there are a few, but Battle Brew and Natures Choice are two I have used which are awesome Dis-Chem stock Natures Choice and Chrome Battle Brew. Natures choice has a Vanilla flavour which is pretty decent.

As far as my nut butter bomb goes well I will certainly be giving you a recipe in the near future as I make it all myself 😉