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By Mary Ellen Bingham MS, RD, CDN

What do you crave when you cross the finish line? After a long training session are you completely turned off by food or do you make sure that the final mile lands you right in front of a fast food joint? (You were just training for 3 hours. You earned it, right?) Every triathlete is different in regard to what works for them. Finding out what proves to be best for you will require some trial and error but you can be certain that whatever you choose to consume after your workouts will affect the way your body recovers between training sessions. This is especially important when training sessions end up being less than 24 hours apart because you will want to maximize your rehydration and nutritional recovery to replace muscle fuel for the next workout.

Post training nutrition options varies from sports drinks and recovery mixes to energy bars, whole foods, fruit juices and perhaps the choice gaining the most attention these days, low-fat (1%) chocolate milk. Regardless of the triathlete's preferred way to reload, there are certain evidenced-based practices that should be considered when deciding what to choose for recovery nutrition. To reload, your nutrition plan should aim to replenish muscle glycogen, body water (hydration), and electrolytes (primarily sodium).

You may be familiar with the common recommendation to reload within 30 minutes immediately follow exercise. Ever wonder why this 30-minute window is so crucial? Studies have shown that this window of time is when the body's sensitivity to insulin is at its highest and this is when muscles are able to quickly absorb nutrients for maximum restoration and storage of muscle glycogen. A triathlete's body can be depleted of muscle glycogen rather quickly; therefore immediate consumption of carbohydrate is very important. Studies suggest anywhere from 0.5-0.7 grams per pound of body weight (1-1.2g/kg) is an optimal goal for rapidly absorbed carbohydrate intake. Thus, a 155-pound triathlete (70 kg) may require about 80 grams of carbohydrate immediately following a long training session.

There has been much debate regarding the value of protein intake as part of reloading. Generally accepted practice at this time is to consume a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein for your recovery nutrition. Choosing to include high-quality protein sources such as whey protein, dairy products and soy milk, lean meats or nuts may help to speed up the repair of muscle tissue. If the 155-pound athlete is consuming 80 grams of carbohydrate, about 20 to 26 grams of protein will satisfy the recommended 3:1 or 4:1 ratio for optimal recovery. Additionally, the amino acid glutamine (a building block for proteins) is found in many recovery products and may be beneficial for muscle repair.

The most effective way to figure out your individual fluid needs following your workouts is to weigh yourself before and after the session. Replace each pound lost with 24 ounces of fluid. You will also want to ingest sodium to enhance your rehydration efforts and replace that which has been lost through sweat. Similar to fluid needs, sodium requirements will vary among individuals based on how much sodium is lost during exercise. Salty snacks, salt packets and sports drinks are all good options for repleting sodium losses. The recommendation is 110-200 mg of sodium per 8 ounces of fluid. The sodium content of most sports drinks per 8 ounces falls in this range.

Knowing how many grams of carbs and protein, ounces of fluid and milligrams of sodium your body needs is half the battle but figuring out which foods and fluids work best for you is the other half. Most likely your nutrition and hydration choices are going to depend on taste, tolerance, convenience and affordability. Some athletes simply have no tolerance for solid food immediately following exercise. This is where recovery mixes can come in handy. The commonly noted drawbacks to these are that often times they do not taste good and they can be costly. If you choose to purchase these products, don’t waste your money on unnecessary ingredients. You now know that you are looking for a 3:1 or 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio, and adequate fluid and sodium to match your losses. Recoverite by Hammer Nutrition offers 332 calories, 65 g carbohydrate, 20 g protein, 148 mg sodium and 38 mg potassium in 4 scoops, mixed with 16-24 ounces of water. Sports drinks are commonly used for recovery nutrition as well. Relatively inexpensive, often well-tolerated, offered in a variety of different flavors and, as previously mentioned, these beverages are a good way to replete sodium and fluid losses at the same time. Newer to the market than traditional Gatorade, Gatorade Endurance offer 90 more mg sodium per 8 ounces, and Accelerade offers 4 grams of protein per 8 ounces.

With all of these sports drinks and recovery mixes out there you may find it hard to believe that if you choose to, you can actually practice proper post-training nutrition guidelines using real food! Believe it or not, low-fat chocolate milk has proven to be a very successful recovery beverage providing 84 grams of carbohydrate, 26 grams of protein, 2 grams of fat, and 345 mg of sodium in 24 ounces! This matches up with your recovery nutrition plan a little bit better than the Big Mac with 540 calories, 25 g protein, 75 mg cholesterol, 30 g fat (10 g saturated fat), 1040 mg sodium, and 45 g carbs! Other great real food choices include a turkey sandwich with pretzels, a bagel with peanut butter and jelly, a fruit/granola/yogurt parfait or even a smoothie made with fresh or frozen fruit, soy or low fat milk and yogurt. Just be sure to wash these foods down with an appropriate amount of water.

With the guidelines in place, take some time to experiment during your longer training sessions to see which choices fit into your budget, appeal to your taste buds, and sit well in your stomach. Once you find a successful strategy, stick with it for the race. Nothing new on race day!
Now you have jam-packed the 30-minute window of opportunity with all of your immediate needs for nutrition and hydration but the game isn’t over just yet. Your body is still recovering. Within 2 hours after the session you are going to want to consume a balanced meal, packed with protein, vegetables and a large portion of starch. This is also a great time to get “healthy” fats (mono- and poly-unsaturated fats) into your diet. Sample healthy and balanced meals include salmon with sweet potato and steamed vegetables or pasta with chicken and vegetables mixed with olive oil and a little garlic salt and parmesan cheese for flavor. As a triathlete your body has unique demands. To optimize performance you know you need to keep your body strong, your energy high and your immune system healthy. Proper nutrition and hydration is essential before, during, and after you cross the finish line.

Mary Ellen Bingham MS, RD, CDN is a Sports Nutrition Associate for Trismarter.com. Visit Trismarter.com to learn more about their innovative sports nutrition services including Tri2Lose and Menu Planning for triathletes.
Resources:
Coleman, Ellen RD, MA, MPH. Eating for Endurance, 4th Edition. Bull Publishing Company, 2003.
Dunford, Marie PhD, RD, editor. Sports Nutrition- A Practice Manual for Professionals, 4th Edition. American Dietetic Association, 2006.
Ryan, Monique MS, RD, LDN. Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes, 2nd Edition. Velo Press, 2007.
Seebohar, Bob MS, RD, CSCS. Nutrition Periodization for Endurance Athletes. Bull Publishing Company, 2004.

Labels: health, nutrition

Most dieticians will tell you that you should try to get all of your nutrients from "real food" sources rather than relying on supplements. While I would advise athletes to work on their regular diet first before thinking too much about supplements, it is virtually impossible for most of us not to have some gaps in their nutrition without taking supplements. On top of that, simply getting "enough" of a given nutrient is not the same thing as getting the ideal amount for you. Some nutritional challenges that athletes face:

- Because endurance athletes are training and competing for extended periods of time, it is necessary to eat and drink while exercising. The most commonly used supplements for endurance athletes: bars, gels and energy drinks. Since taking a tuna sandwich on a ride with us just isn't practical (and even if it was, we probably wouldn't tolerate it too well), a bar that is easy to bring along, easy to eat, digests easily and has everything we need at the time to top off the stores can be ideal. Gels come in handy when we are exercising at higher intensities and can't tolerate solid food. Energy drinks keep us hydrated, help limit salt and electrolyte losses through sweat and help us to get enough Calories.

- We breath a lot of air. Just the simple act of breathing means that we take a lot of pollution, pollen and free-radicals into our bodies. These things can make it difficult to breath, make us sick, cause cellular damage and even cancer. Even the oxygen that we rely on so much is in itself toxic to our cells. Have you ever noticed that some endurance athletes that have been doing this for a long time look a lot older than they really are? Chances are it's the cellular damage caused by all the oxygen, free radicals and sunlight. One of the biggest things you will see in vitamin supplements marketed for endurance athletes is high doses of antioxidants. These antioxidants will help to reduce cellular damage, keep you healthy and young-looking.

- Vegetarian and especially vegan athletes face the special challenge of making sure they get enough protein, and in particular, enough iron from their food. Endurance athletes rely heavily on the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood, which will be severely diminished if iron stores are low. Though plant based sources of protein and iron are plentiful, absorption rates are often lower than in meat based sources. Protein supplements can come in handy after workouts as recovery drinks, and iron supplements are necessary for many athletes, even many non-vegetarians. Like many supplements though, be careful not to overdo it, as too much iron can be toxic.

In short, athletes are not normal people. We routinely push our bodies far and above what can be considered "normal" and perhaps even healthy. But we do it because there is something special about taking ourselves to the absolute limit. To do that, we need a little help. For all the work we put into training and the sacrifices me make to compete, we want to do everything in our power to make sure that we can reach our maximum potential. There are lots of supplements out there that may be able to help us in lots of ways, but we need to be educated about them. I like to break it down to 3 simple questions...

1. Is it safe? The FDA does not regulate supplements, so it is important that we do out homework here. The last thing we want to do is actually hurt our performance, or worse yet, cause long term health problems because of a supplement. It is important that to read unbiased literature (not simply the manufacturer's studies), ask other athletes that have used the supplement about their experience, and try things in training before you try it in competition. Dosage is extremely important as well. Too little and there may be no effect and too much can be dangerous. Find out any potential side effects as well, and if you are considering taking something, make sure that the side effects don't outweigh the benefits. And make sure that you get your supplements from a reliable manufacturer, where you should have a minimal chance that you are taking something you don't think that you are taking.

2. Is it effective? There's no use using something that doesn't work, especially considering the high cost of so many nutritional supplements. Find out what the benefits really are. Will it help your recovery? Prevent cramping? Increase energy? Decrease perceived exertion? Increase threshold power? Increase sprint power? Help to build muscle mass? Help you lose weight? Make sure that whatever the supplement does, it is something that is important to you and will help you, not hurt you in reaching your goals. Again, dosage is very important. Find out how much you should take, when you should take it, what you should take it with and how often you should take it. Pay attention to the details.

3. Is it legal? Plain and simple, if it isn't legal, don't take it. You could make a pretty convincing argument that EPO can be safe if administered correctly and in the right doses. You could also argue that training too much is dangerous too your health, or to use the Dr. Ferrari argument, "Too much orange juice can kill you too". But guess what? EPO is illegal and it's cheating. If they made orange juice illegal, you wouldn't drink orange juice. My advice is to not waste your time arguing ethics. Just understand the rules and don't break them. My experience has been that the vast majority of athletes are well intentioned and do not want to cheat, but they dont always know what the rules are. It is your job as a competitor to familiarize yourself with the rules of the governing body that you compete under. Remember, USA Cycling is different from USA Triathlon is different from the UCI is different from the World Triathlon Corporation. If you don't know, ask your coach. That's what we're here for (amongst other things :)).

Throughout the next couple weeks, I will go over some specific supplements that may be of interest to you as endurance athletes. If you have comments or questions or would like more information about a specific supplement, please post a comment this blog or email me directly at csandberg@cadencecycling.com.

Labels: nutrition, supplements