Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Performance”
In part 1 of this Most Inflammatory Foods series, I covered processed oils. In part 2 here, I will cover alcohol – admittedly not a ‘food’ but it does contain calories. The body can make some limited energy from these calories but they are empty – that is, there is no nutritional value found in them and the processing of …
Seven years ago I found my way from marathons into ultras. A couple years later I wrote a post on How to Fuel an Ultra. Now 5 years later with extensive additional personal and client hands on experience, I have more to add. Plus I find it rather data and numbers driven – a good place to start, but often …
I feel like we have all had an experience or two where you’re out there having a great ride or run and suddenly, you’re out of energy, or feeling crampy and nauseous or in a worst-case scenario looking desperately for somewhere to go the bathroom wishing you had a roll of toilet paper in your pocket.
Fear of these scenarios happening can lead us to limiting how much we eat pre-workout as well as not taking in enough nutrition during our training sessions or race. This is so unfortunate because we know we need to nourish our bodies for the workout that we are doing but even more importantly to support our recovery so we can make the adaptations we are working so hard for as well as set ourselves up well for our next workout.
Generally speaking, I prefer to highlight the foods and beverages that are beneficial to building optimal health and strength. In doing so, I hope that by including more of these foods we might, by default, crowd out the less than optimal choices. However, this ‘soft’ approach, as useful as it can be in some situations, doesn’t fully educate or bring …
I feel like we have all had an experience or two where you’re out there having a great ride or run and suddenly, you’re out of energy, or feeling crampy and nauseous or in a worst-case scenario looking desperately for somewhere to go the bathroom wishing you had a roll of toilet paper in your pocket.
Fear of these scenarios happening can lead us to limiting how much we eat pre-workout as well as not taking in enough nutrition during our training sessions or race. This is so unfortunate because we know we need to nourish our bodies for the workout that we are doing but even more importantly to support our recovery so we can make the adaptations we are working so hard for as well as set ourselves up well for our next workout.
An ergogenic aid is any external influence created to enhance sports performance. This can include legal sports supplements (such as beetroot juice and caffeine), as well as illegal drugs and banned substances (such as steroids, EPO, ephedrine, and DHEA). Of course while illegal ergogenic aids are best avoided for many reasons (ha!), we can have lots of fun with legal …
In any event that lasts longer than 90 minutes, we greatly increase our chances of optimal performance by paying close attention to filling and replenishing our glycogen stores, adequate hydration and maintenance of electrolyte balance, and utilization of appropriate ergogenic aids. This means planning our menu both in the days prior to race day, and importantly, for race day itself. …
We have a tendency to think that if we are using liquid fuel options that that counts as hydration, and I suggest that you keep your fuel and hydration separate. An important consideration is, if the concentration of fuel that you take in, has a higher concentration than your bloodstream, you will not be able to absorb it, leading to lack of energy, cramps and eventual digestive distress. So, you want to make sure that you are hydrating as well as fueling.
While traditional advice for runners has long been to eat ~60-65% of your diet from carbohydrates, after working 1-on-1 with hundreds of runners and hearing from thousands over the past decade, I do not believe this often recommended high-carb advice serves the majority of runners. To maintain our health and prevent injury over the years, as well as ensure optimal …
The time when perimenopause begins is also a time in life when there are many other stressors that compound the stress effect. This is a time when many women have kids that are teenagers, or maybe a little bit younger, and they are going through things that put pressure on you. Your parents are getting older and may require more care and time. You may be at an important place in your career and of course you also have performance goals and expectations for your sport. All of these extraneous stressors compound and complicate some of the issues that you’re having with hormone fluctuation during perimenopause and the effects carry over into menopause.
Let’s discuss adaptogens that help mitigate those stresses on our body and our body’s response to stress.
