News from the ARX-sponsored Timex Multisport Team

Last month the 9th annual Timex Multisport Team Camp kicked off its biggest weekend ever at the Timex Performance Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey—headquarters and training facility of the New York Football Giants. The nearly 50 triathletes that make up the ARX-sponsored Timex Multisport Team got the unique opportunity to compare and contrast (mostly contrast) training techniques and strategies with NFL players. The 2010 Timex Team is the largest ever assembled, including 14 international athletes.

Over the weekend, the triathletes mingled with some of the New York Giants and took part in a variety of workshops and seminars, including a range of fitness assessments. Professionals from Targetraining in Westport, CT, for example, brought their high-tech equipment to the Timex Performance Center and performed a VO2 Max test on each of the athletes, which assesses the maximum capacity of an individual’s body to transport and utilize oxygen during exercise—a direct reflection of a person’s physical fitness.

This successful weekend event helped energize the upcoming year for the Timex Multisport Team, and all of us here at Faster Tomorrow are expecting spectacular results from the athletes during the upcoming 2010 season. We are also looking forward to hearing more from the members of Team Timex concerning their experience using the all-natural muscle recovery and endurance supplement ARX. Many of the triathletes have been taking ARX regularly, and we’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback from them. Here are just a few examples of how ARX has helped these stellar athletes increase their endurance, speed muscle recovery, and ultimately achieve peak performance:

“I’ve been using ARX on a daily basis since March of last year. I feel like I am able to recover better and train at a higher level since I started using the product.”—Chris Thomas, triathlete, Timex Multisport Team

“Since using ARX I have noticed faster recovery and increased performances, just within the last few months!”—Janelle Morrison, professional triathlete, Timex Multisport Team

“ARX is not like an energy gel or energy drink that licks in and gives you an instant boost; rather, after a few weeks of use, I did, in fact, find that I was simply experiencing more quality, stronger workouts more consecutively.”—Barry Siff, triathlete, Timex Multisport Team

“Since I started taking ARX, I have been able to recover much quicker between workouts, allowing me to knock out high intensity workouts day after day without spending all day like a roaming zombie.”—Andrew Hodges, professional triathlete, Timex Multisport Team

“I truly feel ARX has given me that extra boost of energy and stamina in both my training and racing. Although you don’t feel the effects right away, it’s very apparent over time. I LOVE IT!”—Erin Krummer, professional XTERRA triathlete, Timex Multisport Team

A recap of my race in Taupo

So it’s another 2nd at Ironman New Zealand to kick off the year. Not what I came out here to achieve, but all in all it was an okay result.

We headed out at 6:45 on Saturday morning. The lake was calm and the wind was down. I knew all I had to do was sit on Kieran Doe's feet and we would have a good swim. But this was easier said than done!

John Key fired the cannon “BOOM” and we were off. Doe and I quickly got a gap on the field. The only problem was that I was giving it far too much effort to sit behind Doe in his wake—so much so that I think I strained my abdominals halfway through. I had to sit up and take a few deep breaths as the pain was agonizing. I actually thought my race was over. So I slowed down and pulled through the water more gently, with the gap to Doe boy in front getting bigger and the gap to Cameron Brown behind being eaten up quickly. I couldn't wait for the end of the swim so I could start using some different muscles.

The swim ended soon and the deficit behind Doe was only 1 minute. I pushed through transition to keep every second I had over Brownie, because I knew I was going to need it as the day went on.

Jumping on the bike I felt great and I quickly caught up with Doe. Well, I actually think he was waiting for me. Soon I was on my own out in front, riding way too quickly—something I was going to pay for later in the day. My watts and heart rate were not too high, but it just shows in an Ironman that even being a small percentage wrong in the effort levels will cause you to struggle eventually.

Soon I was up to 4 minutes over Brown, then it went to 5, then 6, then 7 minutes. After one lap I was back in town and had an 8-minute lead over Cam Brown, Kieran Doe, and James Bowstead (an up and coming 23-year-old who suffered similar problems to me during the race but will be a great athlete in the years to come). Now the wind had started to pick up and the glycogen in my legs was running out. My muscles were fatiguing quickly and this is when I realized that I had timed everything wrong. I set out to try and get 8 minutes over Cam going into the run. But I didn't need this time at 90km. I managed to hold on to 7 minutes of this by the 140km mark, but once we turned into the headwind for the final stretch home, every pedal stroke was an effort. The gap quickly came down and soon we were back in town jumping off our bikes—and I only had a minute up my sleeve. BUGGER!!!

I was curious to see how I would run with all the fatigue, so I set out to do what I thought I could—not going too fast and just sticking to a good rhythm. Cam showed his class when he came past me at 6km flying, although I soon figured out this was just a ploy to mess with my head as once he got his lead of 30 seconds, the gap didn't change for the next 15km.

In Ironman the 20km point on the run is when you really start to struggle. Your legs are sore and there is part of you that is unsure if you will even be able to run the last 20km. Thankfully there were great supporters out there and they kept my spirits high. Soon I only had 7km to go. The gap to Cam had grown considerably, but I also had a good gap on Doe in 3rd.

The last 2km took care of themselves with the crowds cheering so loudly that it didn't even feel like I was running. Then I was home and it was all over: the pain, the cheering, the relief. I could now sit down and shut down.

A big congratulations to everyone who competed on Saturday. The conditions were tough, but we all persevered. And a huge THANK YOU to all the spectators. We couldn't have done it without you.

Cameron Brown and Jo Lawn, you guys rocked and proved that you will own Taupo for yet another year. It was a privilege to race alongside you both. Gina Crawford, Kieran Doe, and the rest of the Pro's, thanks for helping to make this race so exciting.

Also thanks to the many people who have helped me out and supported me through the last few months.

Details from a new study linking this compound with muscle recovery

L-carnitine is a natural compound comprised of the amino acids lysine and methionine. Its primary function in the body is to transport fatty acids across cell membranes so that they can be metabolized in the mitochondria. Some endurance athletes supplement with l-carnitine in the belief that it increases the body’s fat-burning efficiency during exercise. Unfortunately, studies have repeatedly shown that l-carnitine supplementation has no effect on fat utilization either at rest or during exercise and no effect on endurance performance. While l-carnitine is essential for fat utilization during exercise, it appears that athletes get as much as they need in the diet (mostly by eating meat) and that supplementation offers no additional benefit.

New Research on Muscle Recovery

A study conducted recently at the University of Connecticut, however, suggests another possible benefit of l-carnitine supplementation: enhanced post-exercise muscle recovery. Eighteen men and women received either a daily l-carnitine supplement or placebo for three weeks, then performed a single weightlifting workout. After a one-week “washout” period, the entire protocol was repeated, with the subjects who received the placebo the first time getting the supplement the second time.

The researchers found that biomarkers of muscle stress were significantly reduced after the weightlifting session when preceded by three weeks of l-carnitine supplementation. The study’s authors concluded, “These findings support our previous findings of l-carnitine in younger people that such supplementation can reduce chemical damage to tissues after exercise and optimize the processes of muscle tissue repair and remodeling.”

A Closer Look

But here’s what those in half-marathon training, marathon training, and triathlon training really need to know about this study: L-carnitine supplementation made no difference in how quickly muscle strength and power were restored after the workout. Since the whole point of accelerating muscle recovery through supplementation is to hasten the restoration of muscle function specifically, these results offer little cause for excitement.

It is also worth mentioning that the participants in this study were non-athletes. Supplements that are found to have physiological effects in non-athletes often have no effects in athletes, because training has the same effects as the supplements.

The Bottom Line

So while l-carnitine supplementation is safe, it seems to be useless in terms of enhancing endurance sports performance. If the results of the University of Connecticut study are enough to make you curious, however, you can find l-carnitine supplements in both pill and liquid forms at most supplement retail stores. Typical recommended dosages are 1 to 2 grams daily.

Endurance sports nutrition advice to help you fend off injuries

No matter how good your half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training makes you feel, it still increases your risk of injury. But by ensuring that your endurance sports nutrition plan includes enough calories on a daily basis, you can help keep injuries at bay. That’s because, as it turns out, the worst nutritional mistake you can make with regard to injury prevention is to eat too few calories. When your body doesn’t get enough calories to meet all of its tissue maintenance and energy needs, it will enter a catabolic state—which means your muscles begin eating themselves. Consequently, catabolism compromises your body’s ability to repair tissue damage incurred during workouts, which slows muscle recovery and increases your risk of injury.

How do you know if you’re eating enough? No need to obsessively count calories. Instead, monitor your workout performance, your body weight, and your body composition. When you’re not eating enough, the first indication is likely to be a decline in your workout performance. And when you’re in a catabolic state, your body weight will go down while your body-fat percentage remains the same, indicating that you’re losing muscle, not fat.

Tips on running downhill for those in 10K training, half-marathon training, or marathon training
 
The most famous feature of the Boston Marathon racecourse is Heartbreak Hill, a climb of 88 feet over 0.6 miles that begins just past the 20-mile mark of the race. (See my previous blog Time to Climb with tips on uphill training.) But the most challenging feature of the Boston course is probably its extensive downhill sections, including a 150-foot plummet in the first mile.

While running downhill generally feels easier and is less taxing on the metabolic and cardiovascular systems than level or uphill running, it subjects the tissues of the lower extremities to significantly more strain. This strain causes muscle damage, soreness, and neuromuscular fatigue that can cripple runners later in a run or race. Runners who enter races that have extensive downhill sections without including specific preparation for this challenge in their 10K training, half-marathon training, or marathon training seldom run as well as they hope to run.

The Downside of Downhills

The specific nature of the strain imposed by downhill running is called eccentric loading. An eccentric load occurs when an outside force tries to stretch a muscle as the muscle itself tries to resist that stretch by contracting. Eccentric loading takes place every time your foot makes contact with the ground when you run. The quadriceps muscles on the front of the thigh are subjected to the greatest eccentric loading. When your foot strikes the ground, impact forces try to make your knee buckle. Unconsciously, you contract your quadriceps to stabilize your knee and remain upright. But your knee does flex and your quads do stretch a bit when you land, so those muscles are essentially pulled in two directions simultaneously. This strain causes microscopic trauma to the muscle fibers. While eccentric loading occurs on all gradients, it is much greater when you are running downhill.

There are two consequences of the strain of running downhill. First, it limits performance and causes fatigue to occur more quickly in runners who are unaccustomed to downhill running. A recent French study found that runners were able to sustain 97 percent of their maximum 60-meter sprint speed in a set of 10 sprints on a neutral gradient, but only 95 percent of their maximum 60-meter sprint speed in a set of 10 sprints on a 4.7 percent downhill gradient. The reason appears to be that the greater eccentric loading associated with sprinting downhill triggered a protective neuromuscular inhibition—in other words, the brain refused to drive the muscles as hard as it could have to protect the legs from excessive strain.

The second consequence of the strain associated with running downhill is delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Indeed, when exercise physiologists wish to study exercise-induced muscle damage and DOMS, they almost always use downhill running to cause damage and soreness, because it does so more effectively than most other kinds of exercise.

Practice Makes Perfect

Fortunately, it’s been shown that including downhill running in your 10K training, half-marathon training, or marathon training will greatly increase both fatigue resistance and eccentric loading tolerance. In fact, a single downhill run that is extreme enough to cause significant soreness provides a protective effect that lasts up to two months.

But you need more than just one downhill workout to improve downhill running efficiency and to overcome the neuromuscular inhibition that limits downhill running performance. So, when preparing for Boston, or any downhill course, include downhill training in your weekly long run. Start with just a mile or so of downhill running in your first long run and include at least 10 total miles of downhill running in your “peak” long run two to three weeks before race day.

Finding routes that accommodate this type of training may be a challenge in itself. One option is to organize a point-to-point run that starts high and ends low. U.S. Olympian Rod DeHaven used to prop up the back end of a treadmill and run as long as 16 straight miles downhill while preparing for the 2001 Boston Marathon, in which he finished sixth in 2:12:41.

How to get the most out of your 10K training, marathon training, or triathlon training as you age

Sure, age is just a number. But as that number inches upward, typically so do your race times. That’s because the physiological processes of aging start to slow you down by reducing your aerobic capacity, muscle power, muscle recovery capabilities, and so forth.
 
You can, however, blunt the effects that aging has on endurance performance by tweaking your 10K training, marathon training, or triathlon training in little ways that most younger athletes simply don’t consider. Aging athletes, for example, should factor in a bit more time for strength training to promote strength maintenance, injury prevention, and optimal body composition. And while getting regular sports massages can help athletes of any age, older athletes in particular stand to benefit from them because they can help speed muscle recovery. Even eating right and supplementing with sports nutrition products such as ARX become more important as we age.

Younger endurance athletes tend not to do these little things, in part because their youth allows them to “get away with” inattention to general health, muscle recovery, and injury prevention. But the older we get, the less we can get away with. So start doing these little things today to gain a competitive advantage over those who don’t.

Hill workouts to enhance your cycling training, 10K training, marathon training, or triathlon training

Cycling and running uphill are different from cycling and running on the flats. Going uphill requires more strength, and the cost of carrying extra body weight is multiplied on climbs. That’s why there are climbing specialists in cycling and running—and those who dread hills.
 
Including some hill work in your cycling and running is essential preparation for climbing in races. It’s also a great fitness builder even if you never race on hilly routes. Here’s a quick overview of the various ways to incorporate hill work into your cycling training, 10K training, marathon training, or triathlon training.

Hills On the Bike

Short Climbs: One of the most painful, yet effective, cycling workouts is short hill climbs, which typically consist of repeated efforts of 30 seconds to 5 minutes uphill at a very high intensity. Very short hill climbs (30 seconds) are terrific power builders, while slightly longer climbs increase VO2max, strength, high-intensity fatigue resistance, and pain threshold.
 
Sample Short Climb Workout #1: Warm up with 10 to 20 minutes of easy spinning. Ride 10 x 1 minute hard uphill. Coast back down the hill for recovery. Cool down with 10 to 20 minutes of easy spinning.

Sample Short Climb Workout #2: Warm up with 10 to 20 minutes of easy spinning. Ride 5 x 3 minutes hard uphill. Coast back down the hill for recovery. Cool down with 10 to 20 minutes of easy spinning.

Long Climbs: Sustained climbs in training are good practice for sustained climbs in races and are also an effective way to work within the range of intensity that is generally associated with racing. You can perform multiple climbs of moderate duration (2 to 3 x 8 to 12 minutes) or, if you have a mountain handy in your area, one long climb all the way to the summit. Some cyclists even like to use a particular long climb as a fitness test, riding up it as fast as possible every once in a while to measure improvement.

Hilly Long Rides: Some of your weekend long rides should be done on the hilliest route you can find in your area. A 50-mile ride on a hilly route is far more taxing and provides a greater endurance-boosting stimulus than a ride of equal distance on the flats.

Hills On the Run

Hill Sprints: A true sprint is a very short, absolute top-end effort. Hill sprints have become popular among competitive runners in recent years as a specific strength and power builder. To do them, run 10 seconds all-out up a steep hill. Walk slowly back down to your starting point and repeat. If it’s been a while since you last sprinted, start by doing just one hill sprint immediately after finishing an easy run. This will “inoculate” your muscles and joints against pulls and strains. Wait three or four days, then do two sprints after an easy run. Gradually build up to 6 to 10 sprints twice a week.

Hill Repetitions: Hill repetitions are essentially speed intervals performed on a slope. Like speed intervals, hill repetitions increase VO2max, high-intensity fatigue resistance, and running economy, but they also build strength. As with short climbs on the bike, a variety of formats are possible. You can run really fast intervals lasting as little as 30 seconds, or three-minute intervals at something closer to a 5K race effort, or something in between.
 
Downhill Running: While cycling downhill is much easier than cycling uphill, running downhill is actually harder than running uphill because it subjects the body to more musculoskeletal strain. So adding some downhill running to your 10K training, half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training is a great way to increase your body’s tolerance for repetitive impact—as well as prepare you for the rigors of downhill racing. In my next post, I’ll give specific tips on how to incorporate downhill running into your training, so stay tuned.

An endurance sports nutrition recipe to help boost tomorrow’s workout

Last week, Matt Fitzgerald wrote about the importance of sleep for proper muscle recovery (check out his post Hit the Sheets). In a nutshell, your body rebuilds muscle tissues damaged during exercise and remodels muscle tissue in response to training while you sleep. And research has shown that if you have a protein-rich snack before going to bed, you can aid this muscle-recovery process even further—allowing you to wake up feeling ready for your next marathon training run or triathlon training workout. The following bedtime snack, created by Kimberly Day, a triathlete and Founder/Chief Decadence Officer of Decadent Health LLC (www.decadenthealth.com), contains the quality protein you need to help you repair and rebuild muscle as you sleep.

Just Peachy
Makes 1 serving

½ cup low-fat cottage cheese
2 tablespoons walnut pieces
¼ cup peaches, cubed

1. Place cottage cheese in a bowl.
2. Add walnuts and peaches.
3. Mix well before enjoying.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 195, Total fat 10 g, Cholesterol 5 mg, Carbs 10 g, Fiber 2 g, Protein 18 g

Endurance sports nutrition advice on fueling your long workouts and races

During long marathon training runs or triathlon training rides you need to make like the Energizer Bunny and just keep going and going and going. And the best way to do that is to continually fuel yourself with specially formulated sports nutrition products such as sports drinks and energy bars, gels, and chews that contain carbs in rapidly metabolized forms to provide quick energy to the muscles during exercise.

But if you bolt down an energy bar just before your workout to top off your muscle glycogen stores, then guzzle sports drink and gobble energy gels and chews the whole time you are out on the road, you risk taking in too many carbs, which can cause gastrointestinal distress. So to keep your energy levels high without developing a stomachache, stick to an overall fueling schedule that has you consuming carbohydrate at a rate of 60 to 80 grams per hour from all sources—whether you decide, for example, to use energy chews alone or energy chews in combination with gels and/or a sports drink.

Sports nutrition advice for weight-conscious individuals in half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training

Every endurance athlete knows that body weight (as well as body composition, or body-fat percentage) affects endurance performance. It pays to be light and lean. Consequently, the average endurance athlete struggles to attain his or her optimal body weight just as much as the average non-athlete struggles to attain a healthy weight.

Non-athletes commonly diet, or reduce their food intake, to lose weight. For those in half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training, however, it’s often not so simple because endurance exercise places high energy demands on the body and reducing food intake can deprive the muscles of the energy they need for optimal performance and subsequent muscle recovery.

Short-Term Slim-Down Study

There is some new evidence, however, that endurance athletes can lose weight through dieting without sabotaging their training if they take a careful approach. In a 2009 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, scientists from George Washington University placed 10 competitive cyclists on a reduced-calorie diet (up to 40 percent) for three weeks and modified their training to include morning workouts in a fasted state (no breakfast). All of the subjects submitted to a variety of tests, including body composition and resting metabolic rate measurements and a performance test—both before and after the intervention.

The diet yielded no changes in fat burning during exercise, maximum power output on the bike, or power at VO2max. However, the cyclists’ rating of perceived exertion during two hours of submaximal exercise decreased (meaning the same effort felt easier) and their body composition and power-to-weight ratio improved significantly.

This study shows that endurance athletes can shed excess body fat relatively quickly and maintain their performance while on a fairly restrictive short-term diet. But there was no control group, so we can’t rule out the possibility that the diet prevented these cyclists from improving their power output and power at VO2max over the three-week study period.

The Diet’s Downside

I actually spoke with one of the participants in the study, who told me that the diet was not easy. He struggled with all-day hunger throughout it and went straight back to his normal eating habits as soon as the intervention was completed. So while the diet was effective in the short-term, it was not sustainable in the long-term. Undoubtedly, his performance and that of the other subjects would have begun to suffer if they had kept up caloric deficits of as much as 40 percent much longer than three weeks.

Other studies, involving athletes in weight-class sports such as rowing and wrestling, have shown that the severe dieting methods engaged in during the final weeks and days before competition do in fact sabotage performance. So there is clearly a limit to what we can get away with.

Developing a Smart Endurance Sports Nutrition Plan for Weight Loss

Based on the totality of available research, I believe that those in half-marathon training, marathon training, triathlon training, or any other type of endurance-sport training should generally try to lose excess body fat gradually through sustainable improvements in diet quality (get specific tips on how to do this in my earlier blog Weight Loss for Endurance Athletes) and sensible increases in training load whose primary intent is to boost fitness. Occasional efforts to lose weight more quickly are OK, but avoid cutting calories so much that your training suffers, keep these efforts relatively brief (2 to 4 weeks), and use them early in the training process, not close to races.

How adequate sleep can enhance your half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training

Nothing promotes muscle recovery—and full-body recovery—from the stress of exercise like good old-fashioned sleep. In fact, lack of adequate sleep is itself a stressor, so if you consistently under-sleep, you will not recover from your workouts as quickly and you will also be unable to handle as much marathon training or triathlon training as you could handle if you did sleep adequately.

Consider this: As few as four nights of partial sleep deprivation result in skyrocketing levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which inhibits muscle recovery and repair. In addition, research in non-athletes has shown that short-term partial sleep deprivation increases circulating levels of C-reactive protein, a biomarker of inflammation. Therefore, the muscle damage-related inflammation often caused by training is likely to be exacerbated by inadequate sleep.

Muscle Recovery Aside

The impact sleep has on athletic performance doesn’t stop with recovery. Insufficient sleep reduces the body’s ability to process glucose, and therefore to produce energy. Human growth hormone, the muscle-building hormone that plays the biggest role in rebuilding tissue after exercise, requires sleep for full activation, so the less sleep you get, the less muscle you wake up with. Sleep loss also weakens the immune system by reducing the activity of interleukins, molecules involved in signaling between cells of the immune system.
 
The latest neuroscience suggests that sleep even plays a crucial role in relation to motor skill refinements—such as those that make you a more efficient swimmer, cyclist, and runner. During sleep, the brain’s motor center appears to “practice” movements performed by the body during the day. So, in a sense, if you miss out on sleep, you miss out on some of your training.

The Pros and Pillow Time

Looking for real-world evidence that endurance training increases sleep needs? Take a poll and you’ll find that most elite endurance athletes sleep a lot. Marathoner Deena Kastor sleeps 10 hours a night and takes a two-hour nap every afternoon. Most amateur endurance athletes find that their sleep needs increase as their training load does. This may be because exercise causes the muscles to release particular cytokines that induce sleepiness and prolong sleep.

The effect of exercise on sleep needs, however, has been little researched. Some athletes go by propound rules of thumb, such as the suggestion that every mile a runner runs each week increases his sleep needs by 10 minutes per night. But there is no scientific basis for these formulas. They may be accurate for everyone, or just some people, or nobody. We just don’t know.

Snooze So You Don’t Lose

So how do you determine how much sleep is enough? Sleep experts believe that there is a high degree of variation in sleep needs between individuals. It’s best to sleep until you are “slept out,” regardless of how much time it takes. In other words, you should sleep long enough so that you awaken spontaneously in the morning and couldn’t sleep more if you tried. And you will probably find that it takes longer to sleep yourself out when your marathon training or triathlon training is in high gear. Quite simply: Trust your body and do as it tells you.

How music can enhance your marathon training or triathlon training

A good song may alleviate the boredom of a long marathon training run, take the edge off your suffering during a hilly triathlon training ride, or add a layer of pure enjoyment to an intense weightlifting session. Especially in harder workouts, the right music almost seems to act like a performance-enhancing drug. But, of course, there’s no way something as intangible as a song could change your body’s physiological limits. Or could it?

Listen To The Studies

Research suggests that music really can boost athletic performance. For example, a 2009 study by researchers at Liverpool John Moores University in England looked at the effects of music of different tempos on stationary cycling performance. Twelve subjects rode bikes for 25 minutes at a self-selected intensity level on three separate occasions while listening to popular music. Without the subjects’ knowledge, the tempo of the music was manipulated so that it was normal in one workout, 10 percent faster than normal in another workout, and 10 percent slower than normal in the remaining workout.

The subjects’ average power output over the full 25 minutes was found to be 3.5 percent greater when the music tempo was increased. Their power dropped by 9.8 percent when the music was slowed down.

So clearly fast music is better for performance than slow music. But is music generally better than no music? Yes, according to a 2004 study done by researchers at England’s Lincoln University. Student volunteers completed a muscular endurance task (holding a weight as long as they could) while listening to self-selected “motivational music” and again while listening to white noise. The subjects were able to hold the weight significantly longer while listening to music.

Listen To Your Brain

So, how can mere sounds boost a person’s physical endurance? The answer to this question has to do with the brain’s role in physical performance. Exercise scientists used to believe that fatigue occurred when the muscles or cardiorespiratory system hit some kind of hard physiological limit. For example, the muscles became so acidic that they stopped working properly. It is now understood that such limits are never reached. Instead, the brain imposes fatigue before these limits are reached to protect the body from serious harm.

Because the brain essentially chooses to impose fatigue based on a prediction of where the body’s true physiological limits lie, the brain has some flexibility in setting performance limits. When an athlete is highly motivated, the brain will risk a bit more and allow the body to come a little closer to the point of self-harm in pursuit of better performance. All kinds of factors may influence an athlete’s level of motivation, and music appears to be one of them.
 
Listen To Some Music

You certainly don’t have to rely on music to motivate your best performance, and you probably shouldn’t rely on it too heavily in training, because you can’t legally race with headphones on. But if you feel that listening to your favorite songs gives you a boost during some of your marathon training runs or triathlon training workouts, it probably does. So, don’t stop the music. And if you’ve never tried training with music, maybe now is the time to finally invest in an iPod!

A sports nutrition technique to get the most out of your half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training

There was a time when coaches withheld water from athletes during training to “toughen them up.” Now we know better. Allowing athletes to become dehydrated in training does nothing except harm their performance. There is, however, new evidence that the old-school logic of toughening up athletes through deprivation may be valid when applied to carbohydrate intake in training.

Recent studies indicate that while consuming carbohydrate during exercise does enhance immediate performance, it can also inhibit some of the body’s beneficial adaptations to training. By contrast, exercising in a carbohydrate-depleted state, which makes workouts tougher for the body, stimulates a stronger fitness-boosting physiological response.
 
Explaining This Sports Nutrition Finding

In a newly published study, researchers from McMaster University showed that, compared to exercise in a state of normal carbohydrate fueling, exercise in a carbohydrate-depleted state might increase the capacity of the muscle cells to burn fuels aerobically by boosting the production of mitochondria. The mitochondria are tiny organelles within muscle cells where aerobic metabolism occurs. Increased mitochondrial density is one of the most important performance-enhancing effects of aerobic exercise.

As part of this new study, ten men performed a workout consisting of 4 x 5 minutes at high intensity on stationary bikes. They completed this workout twice on the same day with three hours of recovery between sessions. One week later, this double-workout protocol was repeated. In the first trial, half the men were given a high carbohydrate drink after the morning workout, while the others were given a zero-calorie placebo drink that ensured the men were in a carbohydrate-depleted state for the second workout. In the second trial, the drinks were switched.

The authors of the study found increased levels of a compound known as p38 MAPK that is involved in mitochondrial biogenesis following the afternoon workouts that were performed in a carbohydrate-depleted state. This finding suggests that p38 MAPK is a nutrient-sensitive signaling molecule that is most active when exercise is performed in a carbohydrate-depleted state.

Further Sports Nutrition Evidence

Other research has shown that exercise in a carbohydrate-depleted state is beneficial in another way. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an immune system agent and large amounts of it are released into the bloodstream by the muscles and the brain during exercise. IL-6 is believed to facilitate many of the body’s post-workout fitness gains, ranging from increased fat burning capacity to greater resistance to muscle damage.

The primary trigger for IL-6 release during exercise is glycogen (i.e. muscle carbohydrate) depletion. So it follows that training in a glycogen-depleted state will tend to produce stronger training adaptations than training in a glycogen-replete state. Studies have shown that the muscles produce much less IL-6 when carbohydrate is consumed during exercise.

Incorporating Under-Fueling Into Your Endurance Sports Nutrition Plan

Despite the findings of these studies, it would be overreaching to conclude that athletes should consistently avoid consuming carbohydrate during and immediately after workouts. While intentional under-fueling may have the benefit of boosting the body’s fitness response to workouts, there are other benefits that come from consuming carbohydrate during and after workouts—namely, better performance and faster recovery. So, until more research is performed to determine the optimal balance of normally fueled and carbohydrate-depleted workouts, it is probably best only to pick certain workouts to perform in a carbohydrate-depleted state, either by not taking in carbohydrate during them or by not taking in carbohydrate immediately afterward, or both.

Endurance sports nutrition advice for vegetarians

Some endurance athletes are vegetarian for ethical reasons, others for health reasons, and still others because they just don’t like meat. Whatever your reason may be for going vegetarian, you will want to pursue it in a way that helps rather than hurts your marathon training or triathlon training. Luckily there are many successful vegetarian endurance athletes who offer proof that performing well on a meatless diet is possible. For example, Spanish triathlete Eneko Llanos went vegetarian as a teenager, and it did not stop him from winning two XTERRA World Championship titles and placing second in the 2008 Hawaii Ironman.

The key to working vegetarianism into a successful endurance sports nutrition plan is to make sure your diet includes abundant plant (and supplemental) sources of a few key nutrients: protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin B12.

Protein

Meats, fish, eggs, and dairy products contain much more protein than plant foods. The proteins in animal foods are also more complete and readily used by the body. The protein needs of endurance athletes, however, are relatively low: up to about 20 percent of total calories. That amount is sufficient to promote muscle recovery and enable the muscles to adapt to training. As a lacto-ovo vegetarian, you can easily get this much protein by eating fish, eggs, and/or dairy foods.

If you are a strict vegetarian, though, be sure that your diet includes higher-protein plant foods such as beans, nuts, and seeds. Soybeans are the best protein source among plant foods. Also consider drinking soy protein shakes after workouts, when your protein demands are the greatest because of the need for proper muscle recovery.

Calcium

The recommended daily intake of calcium is 1,000 to 1,300 mg. The average adult consumes only 500 to 700 mg daily. The major consequence of this common deficiency is weakening of the bones, which increases the risk of stress fractures in runners and other athletes. Some research even suggests that calcium deficiency contributes to weight gain.
 
As everyone knows, dairy foods are the best sources of calcium. If you do not include dairy foods in your diet, you need to be sure that you get enough calcium from other sources. Alternative natural food sources of calcium include spinach, collard greens, salmon, and tofu. Many breakfast cereals and bread products are also fortified with calcium. For insurance, consider taking a calcium supplement to meet the recommended daily intake.
 
Iron

A study by researchers at Ball State University compared iron levels in vegetarian and non-vegetarian runners and found that iron levels were much lower in the vegetarians. The reason is that animal foods and plant foods contain different types of iron (heme and non-heme, respectively), and the heme iron in animal foods is much more bioavailable. Iron deficiency is common in endurance athletes, and if you are a vegetarian you may be at even greater risk.

Apricots, baked beans, peas, and spinach are among the plant foods with relatively high concentrations of iron. But again, they are all non-heme iron sources, so they may not provide enough. It’s a good idea to get your iron levels checked by a physician. If they are normal, you can continue eating as you have been with confidence. If they are low, your doctor may advise you to take an iron supplement.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is important for red blood cell formation, and, of course, endurance athletes need as many red blood cells as they can get for oxygen transport during exercise. Animal foods contain plenty of vitamin B12, while plant foods contain almost none in its active form. Therefore, vegetarians are bound to be B12 deficient unless they eat fortified foods such as cereals and breads or take a B12 supplement. The daily requirement is 2 to 6 micrograms.

How swimmers can improve performance, reduce injury risk, and speed muscle recovery with alternative forms of training

Most of today’s elite cyclists, runners, and swimmers do more than just log countless miles (or meters) in their chosen endurance sport. They also lift weights and engage in alternative forms of cardiovascular conditioning. Why? Simple: Cross-training enhances performance in their primary sport, reduces their risk of injury, and helps promote proper muscle recovery.

You too can get these same performance and fitness benefits—and even maximize them—by choosing cross-training activities that best complement your main endurance sport. So which specific activities should you add to your training regimen to reap the most performance rewards if you are, say, a swimmer? What about if you’re a cyclist—or a runner?

That’s what our 3-Part Cross-Training Primer is all about. In two earlier posts that were Part 1 and Part 2 of this primer, we discussed the best cross-training activities and strategies for cyclists and runners. Here in Part 3, we cover cross-training advice for swimmers. So, cyclists and runners: Click on the links above for your cross-training primers. Swimmers: Read on.

Stay Dry, Increase Fitness

For peak performance in the pool, most competitive swimmers devote some of their training time to activities out of the pool, specifically functional strength-training exercises, higher-impact forms of aerobic training, and stretching. Here’s what to focus on:

Functional strength-training exercises: Swimming is more of a strength sport than cycling and running because it is done in water, which is a more resistive medium than air. So, all serious competitive swimmers complement their swimming with “dryland” strength training to increase their stroke power. Dara Torres exemplifies the benefits of strength training for swimmers. In 2008, Torres, at age 41, attempted to qualify for her fifth U.S. Olympic swim team. To counteract the effects of aging on her body, Torres incorporated an intensive dryland training regimen into her program. In the run-up to the Olympic Trials, she performed four 60-to-90-minute functional strength sessions per week. The result was a chiseled physique, complete with six-pack abs (a rarity among swimmers) that drew a lot of attention during the Beijing Games. More importantly, Torres swam better than she had in her 30s, 20s, or teens, qualifying for the U.S. team in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle and winning silver medals in the 50-meter freestyle and two relay events.

You don’t have to hit the weights as hard as Dara Torres to get noticeable benefits. Even three, 20-minute dryland sessions per week will have a measurable effect on your swimming. Be sure to build these sessions with core-strengthening exercises—as the power in all four strokes originates at the core—and functional movements such as chin-ups, which simulate the pull phase of the stroke.

Higher-impact aerobic alternatives: Just as it does for cyclists and runners, cross-training in alternative aerobic disciplines can give swimmers a nice mental break from swimming, especially during the off-season. But since the fitness crossover between leg-dominant activities, such as running, and swimming is minimal, you should not rely on aerobic cross-training to actually enhance your swimming performance.

There is, however, a health rationale for higher-impact aerobic cross-training. Research has shown that swimmers typically have lower bone mineral density (BMD) than other athletes because of the non-bodyweight nature of swimming. Running a bit on the side can help swimmers increase their BMD and reduce their risk of developing osteoporosis and suffering bone fractures. Weightlifting also increases BMD.

Stretching. Unlike cycling and running, in which normal joint flexibility is adequate, swimming is a sport in which above average flexibility—particularly in the shoulders and ankles—is beneficial for performance. A wide shoulder range of motion in all directions will enable you to take longer strokes, while greater ankle flexibility will give you a more powerful kick. Therefore you should perform a few stretches to increase your shoulder and ankle flexibility daily.

How runners can improve performance, reduce injury risk, and speed muscle recovery with alternative forms of training

Most of today’s elite cyclists, runners, and swimmers do more than just log countless miles (or meters) in their chosen endurance sport. They also lift weights and engage in alternative forms of cardiovascular conditioning. Why? Simple: Cross-training enhances performance in their primary sport, reduces their risk of injury, and helps promote proper muscle recovery.

You too can get these same performance and fitness benefits—and even maximize them—by choosing cross-training activities that best complement your main endurance sport. So which specific activities should you add to your training regimen to reap the most performance rewards if you are, say, a runner? What about if you’re a cyclist—or a swimmer?

That’s what our 3-Part Cross-Training Primer is all about. In an earlier post that was Part 1 of this primer we discussed the best cross-training activities and strategies for cyclists. Here in Part 2, we cover cross-training advice for runners. Finally, we’ll post Part 3, were we’ll focus on cross-training tips for swimmers. So, cyclists: Click on the link above for Part 1, your cross-training primer. Runners: Read on. And swimmers: Stay tuned for our future post.

Mileage, Plus

When you’re heavily into 10-K training, half-marathon training, or marathon training, there’s no doubt that running needs to be your primary form of exercise. But don’t forget the strength & power training, nonimpact aerobic activities, and perhaps even some specific stretches. Here’s why:

Strength & power training. There is a fairly robust body of research on the effects of strength & power training on running performance, and the benefits are clear. For example, in a recent study by Norwegian researchers, a group of 17 runners experienced a 21-percent increase in aerobic endurance after doing heavy barbell half-squats for eight weeks. Plyometrics training (jumping exercise) has also been shown to enhance running economy, while core strength training was found to improve 5000-meter race times in one study. In addition to improving performance, strength training also reduces injury risk in runners, mainly by increasing the stability of the knees and hips.

Just a little strength & power training goes a long way for runners. Two or three 20-minute sessions per week will give you noticeable results. Be sure to build your routine from functional exercises such as lunges instead of bodybuilding movements like biceps curls. Don’t have time to add 40 to 60 minutes of strength & power training to your weekly schedule? Then simply reduce the time you run each week by the same amount you spend in the gym and you will still come out ahead. This, too, has been proven in scientific research.

Nonimpact aerobic activities. To enhance aerobic fitness without increasing injury risk, runners should incorporate some nonimpact aerobic activities such as cycling and elliptical training into their training schedule. You can either replace one or more of the runs in your weekly regimen with similarly structured workouts in a nonimpact activity or add one or more nonimpact workouts to your weekly schedule while maintaining your current running load. If you do the latter, just be sure to proceed gradually and look out for signs that your body is nearing the limit of its capacity to recover.

A great poster boy for this type of cross-training is 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi. At times in his storied career, Meb has cycled as often as he has run (once a day) to maximize his fitness while working to overcome aches and pains. This unusual approach has not prevented him from winning 19 U.S. championships!

Stretching. What about stretching? Stretching is certainly a controversial subject in running. Research has not been kind to the notion that stretching reduces injury risk among runners. But any physical therapist who works with runners will tell you that tightness in particular muscles and tendons undoubtedly contributes to specific running injuries, and that reducing the tightness of these muscles and tendons unquestionably helps prevent these injuries.

So if you never get injured, you may not need to stretch. But if you are like most runners and you do break down sometimes, you probably should stretch your IT bands, hamstrings, calves, and Achilles tendons daily.

Keep your knees healthy for 10-K training, half-marathon training, or marathon training

Is your 10-K training, half-marathon training, or marathon training being hampered by knee pain that resides directly below the kneecap? If so, you may be battling the most common running injury: patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). Also known as runner’s knee, PFPS accounts for roughly 20 percent of all running injuries. The main symptom of PFPS is pain below the kneecap that is generally mild at first and felt only during running. But if training continues and PFPS progresses, the pain becomes more intense during running and is also increasingly felt at rest.

PFPS is a mysterious injury in that it is not associated with any major structural damage in the knee. Experts now believe that the essence of the injury is chronic excitation of pain nerves in the knee caused by inflammation and general tissue degradation. Because it does not involve significant structural damage, PFPS usually responds well to modest reductions in training that give the tissues a chance to repair themselves and break free of the cycle of inflammation, and allow for the general muscle recovery necessary to any training program.

Studies have shown that PFPS sufferers commonly have weak hip stabilizers. The hip stabilizers are the muscles on the outside of the knee that must keep the hip and knee in alignment when the body is supported by one foot during running. If they are too weak to do their job properly, the knee’s movement is inhibited and tissue damage results. Doing exercises to strengthen the hip stabilizers—such as side lying leg lifts—is an effective way to prevent and overcome PFPS.

How cyclists can improve performance, reduce injury risk, and speed muscle recovery with alternative forms of training

Most of today’s elite cyclists, runners, and swimmers do more than just log countless miles (or meters) in their chosen endurance sport. They also lift weights and engage in alternative forms of cardiovascular conditioning. Why? Simple: Cross-training enhances performance in their primary sport, reduces their risk of injury, and helps promote proper muscle recovery.

You too can get these same performance and fitness benefits—and even maximize them—by choosing cross-training activities that best complement your main endurance sport. So which specific activities should you add to your training regimen to reap the most performance rewards if you are, say, a cyclist? What about if you’re a runner—or a swimmer?

That’s what this 3-Part Cross-Training Primer is all about. Here, in Part 1, we discuss the best cross-training activities and strategies for cyclists. Then we’ll post Part 2, which will cover cross-training advice for runners. Finally, in Part 3, we’ll focus on cross-training tips for swimmers. So, cyclists: Read on for your cross-training primer. Runners and swimmers: Stay tuned for future posts.

Learn from Lance

Lance Armstrong is a role model for cyclists in many ways, including his approach to cross-training. There are three types of cross-training that Armstrong relies on heavily to stay injury-free, fit, and motivated: strength training, flexibility work, and alternative aerobic activities.

• Strength training. Power-to-weight ratio—or the amount of sustained pedaling power a cyclist can produce relative to his or her size—is the key performance metric for cyclists. Strength training helps cyclists generate more power by increasing the strength of key muscles beyond the level that on-the-bike training does. Armstrong’s strength-training program focuses particularly on his core, because strong core muscles add power to the pedal stroke by enhancing the transfer of forces between the upper body and legs. Core muscle strengthening also reduces the risk of low-back injury, which is common among cyclists.

• Flexibility work. Tightness in particular muscles, such as the hip flexors, is a common problem for cyclists because of all the time spent in a forward-flexed position. When the hip flexors and other muscles become too tight they lose the ability to relax and stretch efficiently, which predisposes them to injury and inhibits the functioning of the muscles they oppose. (For example, tight hip flexors inhibit the hamstrings.) Lance Armstrong devotes time to stretching every day to keep his muscles in balance so that they work efficiently and are resistant to injury.

• Alternative aerobic activities. When he’s not focused on major cycling events such as the Tour de France, Armstrong mixes up his road bike training with mountain biking, running, and swimming. Why mountain biking? Mountain biking feels refreshingly different from road cycling and it’s just plain fun. It can be used to inject some variety into training in the off-season and the competitive season and keep motivation levels high. Why running? Running enables cyclists to get a great cardiovascular workout in less time than it takes on the bike. And as a high-impact, bodyweight exercise, running provides a stimulus for increased bone mineral density (BMD), which cycling does not. But because running fitness transfers over to cycling only to a limited extent, it is best to rely on running mostly during the off-season. Why swimming? Swimming combines an excellent upper-body workout (which cycling does not offer) with an aerobic challenge. And because swimming is gentle on the musculoskeletal system, many cyclists like to use it as an active recovery modality between rides. Plus, maintaining a base of swimming fitness gives you the flexibility to jump into a triathlon every now and then—as Lance Armstrong plans to do at the 2011 Hawaii Ironman!

Why your marathon training plan or triathlon training program should include 20-minute workouts

To most non-athletes, 20 minutes of exercise seems like an eternity. But to endurance athletes in marathon training or triathlon training, a 20-minute workout may seem like it’s hardly worth the bother. After all, if your average workout lasts an hour, what can a 20-minute session possibly do to increase your fitness? Quite a lot, actually—even for the fittest endurance athlete. Consider these four benefits:

1. 20-minute workouts burn a meaningful amount of calories and, thereby, help you reach and maintain your optimal racing weight. For example, a 150-lb. runner burns approximately 280 calories in a moderate-intensity 20-minute run. If you normally miss a scheduled longer run roughly once every 10 days due to lack of time, you could burn an extra 10,000 calories over the course of a year by squeezing in 20-minute runs instead.

2. 20-minute workouts provide extra repetitions of the running stride, swim stroke, or pedal stroke that stimulate improvements in efficiency. A big part of what makes you a better, more efficient swimmer, runner, or cyclist is simply time spent practicing the movement. So, even short workouts count as additional movement practice.

3. 20-minute workouts can increase endurance by adding to total weekly glycogen turnover. An interesting Scottish study found that weekly training volume was a better predictor of marathon performance than the distance of the longest training run. In other words, the study suggested that marathon runners are better off running 50 miles a week with a maximum long run of 16 miles than running 40 miles a week with a maximum long run of 22 miles. The reason is that endurance improves through the repeated depletion of muscle glycogen stores in training. And a heavy week of training will result in more total muscle glycogen depletion, and thus build more endurance, than a lighter week. 20-minute workouts can add a meaningful amount of glycogen-depleting volume to your training week.

4. 20-minute workouts can produce an excellent high-intensity training stimulus. A little swimming, cycling, or running at anaerobic threshold intensity and above goes a long way. Twenty minutes is plenty of time to get all the high-intensity work you need to take your fitness up a notch.

There are basically two ways to incorporate 20-minute workouts into your marathon training, triathlon training, or any other endurance sport training. One is to do a 20-minute workout instead of taking a day off whenever you are too pressed for time to complete a longer workout. The other way is to add one or more 20-minute workouts to your weekly training schedule to increase your overall training volume without creating a significant risk of overtraining. Here are some suggested 20-minute workouts:

The Filler Simply swim, ride, or run at an easy tempo for 20 minutes. This is a great workout to do when you want to avoid the guilt of doing nothing but you’re not mentally or physically ready for anything challenging.

Tabata Intervals Swim, ride, or run at an easy tempo for 16 minutes, then complete 8 x 20-second all-out sprints with 10-second passive recoveries between sprints.

Fartlek Intervals Sprinkle 5 to 10 fast 30-second efforts throughout an otherwise moderate, steady-pace workout.

Threshold Session Warm up for five minutes at a comfortable tempo, then go for 15 minutes at anaerobic threshold intensity (the fastest pace you could hold for one hour in a race).

Progression Workout Swim, ride, or run for 15 minutes at a steady, moderate pace, then blast the last five minutes.

Time Trial Swimming: Warm up, then swim 800 meters (875 yards) as fast as you can. Cool down as long as necessary to make the total workout 20 minutes. Cycling: Warm up, then ride 5 km as fast as you can. Cool down as long as necessary to make the total workout 20 minutes. Running: Warm up, then run 1 mile as fast as you can. Cool down as long as necessary to make the total workout 20 minutes.

An endurance sports nutrition recipe to help boost immunity

’Tis the season when everyone becomes preoccupied with finding ways to ward off the latest cold and flu bugs. And hard-training endurance athletes need to make a special effort to stay healthy this time of year, since marathon training, triathlon training, and the like present additional immune-system stresses. But instead of searching your medicine chest for ways to build your defenses, why not raid your refrigerator? The following dinner, created by Kimberly Day, a triathlete and Founder/Chief Decadence Officer of Decadent Health LLC (www.decadenthealth.com), is packed with nutrients that will keep you healthy: loads of vegetables to boost immune function; protein to rebuild muscle, joint, and bone tissue, prevent injuries, and speed muscle recovery; and omega-3 fatty acids for heart health. Eat up and stay healthy!

Seafood Bonanza
Makes 4 servings

4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
4 carrots, sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 cups tomato, diced
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 pound halibut, cut in ½-inch cubes
1 pound sea bass, cut in ½-inch cubes
½ pound shrimp, peeled and halved
3 zucchini, sliced
1 tablespoon herbes de province
1 teaspoon thyme

1. Heat olive oil in a large stock pot.
2. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and cook until tender.
3. Add tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for thirty minutes.
5. Add halibut, sea bass, shrimp, zucchini, herbes de province, and thyme.
6. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily.
7. Serve warm.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 469, Total fat 11 g, Cholesterol 169 mg, Carbs 23 g, Fiber 9 g, Protein 68 g