Eating Protein vs. Protecting Protein, by Jeff Olson
February 8th, 2010
In this article, fitness professional Jeff Olson discusses the importance of protecting proteins in your body by eating certain foods that can help to counteract oxidation during intense exercise. The same lesson applies not only to competitive athletes but to any individual interested in improving overall health, wellness and fitness. Read on for more details below, and visit Jeff’s website to learn more.
Eating protein – how much, what kind, when, etc. – is not my conversation. Protecting proteins (i.e. tissues) is my contribution for you. Ironically, the protein sources we eat have dramatic and differing impacts on how our tissues (proteins) are protected during hard core exercise. Hard exercise, in this case, is defined as 80%+ max V02 threshold. At a human performance symposium this Fall at the U.S.O.C. the two areas where people faulter are “rest/recovery” and “nutrition”.
Below is a ground breaking clinical study, in 2009, published in “Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise” (i.e. the scientific journal of the American College of Sports Medicine). This is tip of the iceberg on research surrounding advances in human performance. This study shows, quite dramatically, the importance of particular “foods” (in this case “food concentrates”) in the attenuation (blunting) of oxidized proteins (protein carbonyls). This represents a clear and apparent performance advantage.
What looks like a conversation for hard core athletes, interestingly, becomes a translational insight for all of us. Thus, these results above identify both a competitive physiological advantage for athletes and the rest of us too.
How so? When we oxidize fats, lipid peroxides are created. When we oxidize proteins, protein oxides (i.e. protein carbonyls) are created. Protein oxidation is measured by the level of “protein carbonyls” in the blood plasma. Oxidative stress comes from many sources: inflammation, stress, hard-exercise, sun, pollution, medications, poor diet, lack of sleep, toxins, etc. Thus, when oxidative stress is increases, regardless of its source, protein carbonyls increase. This means damage to your protein cells and tissues which equals compromised physiology.
The benefits and competitive advantages from food, diet and nutrition are only as good as one’s execution. Do you, yourself need help executing (i.e. food concentrates)? Learn more about how to improve your execution.
Many qualified experts on training and nutrition use TrainingPeaks to help manage their business. Now, a select few are offering professional training and nutrition advice on our blog. The views expressed here are the opinions of the experts and as such do not represent the official position of TrainingPeaks.
Alternative Workouts for Winter
February 4th, 2010
Cold days keep athletes indoors and make training difficult. Beyond the physical stress, the mental challenge can be too much. In this article, Coach A.J. writes about alternative activities you can do to stay in shape and keep your sanity.
Staying fit in the winter presents many challenges. Cold temperatures, far away goals and tempting food choices are just a few obstacles athletes face. In my experience, both for myself and what I’ve seen as a coach, the biggest issue is boredom. How many times can you ride the trainer, or fight others for precious treadmill time? I’m here to tell you about other exercises, some indoor, some outdoor, that will keep you fit and sane.
First, let’s start with the outdoor activities. Topping my list is skate skiing. This is a form of cross country skiing that uses your entire body. If you haven’t tried this, you are in for a treat. In a matter of 1 hour you can get in a hard workout that will tax every muscle, and some you didn’t know you had. Next is snow shoeing. I know, it looks like you’re just walking in the snow, but trust me, this can hurt! The deeper the snow the harder you work but the slower you go. I treat snowshoeing like a hill workout since it builds strength in the legs and hips. It is also low impact and great for building a base and power at the same time. Finally there is downhill skiing. It may not provide the same aerobic workout as the others, but skiing is a dynamic activity requiring power, precision and quick movements. For Olympic or Xterra athletes it can help boost your explosiveness.
For indoor activities I’ll stick to things you would find in a gym. First, the rowing machine. Again, it is a full body workout and harder than it looks. It is a great activity for building lower and upper back strength while still working the legs. With no impact it is great for athletes recovering from or trying to avoid injury. Next is the stair stepper. This machine really works your glutes and calves. The key when using this machine is to not hold the handles. If you use the handles and stabilize your upper body with your arms your core will not engage. Work on keeping your core muscles firing and using them to power off the stairs. Last, athletes can use box jumps, plyometrics and a jump rope to work on explosive power. Again, for short course athletes this will help improve your dynamic speed, muscle firing pattern and quickness. Plus, it can really get your heart rate up in a short time.
Winter time training presents athletes with alternate activities to stay fit and motivated through the colder months. Don’t’ get caught in the mindset that swimming, biking and running are the only ways to get faster this season increase. You can fight off the dreaded winter boredom syndrome and your fitness by finding new sports and new machines. The challenge of winter is in keeping yourself motivated and consistent. Making a few adjustments in your training will allow you to make feeling strong.
Train Smart, Train Safe, Train Hard
Coach A.J.
This article was originally published on the D3 Multisport website. Visit their site to read more or search for a coach!
Rock Star Triathlete Academy Powered by TrainingPeaks
February 3rd, 2010
Ben Greenfield’s new Rock Star Triathlete Academy, an online educational and coaching program for triathletes interested in getting advice and learning more about training techniques from some of the top experts in the sport, is an excellent example of the powerful communities that can be formed around sharing tips, workouts and more in an interactive online environment.
Read on to learn more about how the Rock Star Triathlete Academy works to support triathletes in their training, view a video with founder Ben Greenfield, and visit TrainingPeaks Professional Edition to find out how you too can use the program to power your own online training programs and grow your fitness consulting business.
The Rock Star Triathlete Academy was designed to give all levels, ages and abilities in the sport of triathlon the opportunity to learn from handpicked articles, listen to real-time audio, watch customized videos, and interact with experienced coaches. Members receive weekly phone calls from coaches, free training plan promo codes, and a variety of audio, video and textual advice from experts in the industry.
Learn more about the Academy and become a member here, and preview some of the Rock Star Academy Training Plans here.
The Rock Star Triathlete Academy was officially launched only last week, but membership is already almost full, so triathletes who still want to join should act fast. The rapid success of this new online training community demonstrates the market potential for other innovative programs powered by TrainingPeaks.com – get started today growing your own business!
TrainingPeaks is here to help fitness professionals everywhere create the most efficient and effective programs possible for all of their clients. This is one example of a triathlon coaching company who uses TrainingPeaks to run their business. If you use TrainingPeaks and would like to be featured on our blog, contact us at info@trainingpeaks.com.
Get Ready to Transition! Free TrainingPeaks Webinars
February 2nd, 2010
We’re offering more free transition webinars for those of you who’d like to find out how to get the most out of your TrainingPeaks account! Please join us for Free TrainingPeaks Personal Edition webinars tomorrow or next week to learn more about the tools available to you.
Simply click on the registration link for the webinar you want to attend and reserve your spot. You will have the option to connect to the webinar audio using your computer’s microphone and speakers (VOIP), or you may use the phone number supplied at registration to call into the webinar. A headset is recommended for the VOIP option.
Upcoming Webinars:
- Transitioning to the New Interface for Self-Coached and Coached Athletes: This webinar is targeted for the Self-coached and Coached athlete who is making the change from the Classic interface to the New Interface of TrainingPeaks. Each session will be an estimated 45 minutes. To sign up, please see the schedule below:
- Wednesday, February 3rd at 2pm MST. CLICK HERE to register.
- Tuesday, February 9th at 10am MST. CLICK HERE to register.
Happy training!
Improve Performance & Lose Weight with Nutrition Tracking on TrainingPeaks
February 1st, 2010
By Jim Fiore
As a Sports Performance Nutritionist, understanding macronutrient bio-energy utilization is critical to an individual’s daily maintenance, training performance, and post activity recovery. A majority of times individuals do not have a fortified diet, lacking appropriate levels of carbohydrates, protein, fiber and tending to be saturated in unhealthy fat, sugar, and sodium. As a result of this struggle within America’s dietary habits, we still struggle with diets low in fiber and high in saturated fats, as well as a lack of appropriate carbohydrates, over consumption of protein and an over utilization of supplements. With the lack of knowledge and constant bombardment of gimmick dietary fad diets, individuals are finding it hard to recover, perform and either maintain or lose weight because their nutritional habits are affecting their potential outcomes and results.
TrainingPeaks offers the ability to ensure client adherence and accountability to their dietary lifestyle while incorporating appropriate nutritional changes as their cardiovascular & strength abilities change over time. As a Nutritionist it is imperative to my clients that they can quickly and accurately maintain a nutritional food log which represents a true indication of intake. An added benefit to my clients by using TrainingPeaks is they can upload new foods that they typically consume and purchase which makes nutritional analysis, design, and implantation feedback better and quicker. By utilizing TrainingPeaks nutritional dashboard pods, I can give clients specific and accurate nutritional feedback from my office or on travel so that I can tailor both their nutritional needs and performance needs in one program.
“Now that Jim has incorporated TrainingPeaks into his training programs it makes communicating with him even easier than before. With one easy upload of my data into TrainingPeaks, Jim is able to see exactly what is going on during my training and is able to adjust my workouts accordingly.” – Mike Miller, Competitive Cyclist
This technology has positively affected my abilities as a Nutritionist to serve my clients. I can quickly modify and guide individuals through appropriate dietary consumption habits which have played a positive role in recovery, performance, mood, alertness, proportion control, hydration levels, and meal scheduling. As you can image the list does not stop here and has increased my communication to my clients immensely, as well as my ability to see their habits in the beginning and how TrainingPeaks and working with a Nutritionist has showed, surprised, and educated my clients on how simple modifications and nutritional choices can bring about a faster and stronger individual quickly and safety.
Both FIT Conditioning and Metabolic Nutrition San Antonio work with clients all across the USA. We have found that the only diet that works for you is the one that you readily buy and consume at the grocery stores. In the USA, we have an abundant food supply with all the needed macronutrients and micronutrients at your local grocery store. However, the trick is to understand how our food choices and strategies affect your outcomes, goals, and results. TrainingPeaks is the tool that you need to do that. Get started tracking your nutrition with TrainingPeaks today.
Many qualified experts on training and nutrition use TrainingPeaks to help manage their business. Now, a select few are offering professional training and nutrition advice on our blog. The views expressed here are the opinions of the experts and as such do not represent the official position of TrainingPeaks. Read on to learn more about the expert, and submit a question of your own below!
About the expert:
Jim Fiore holds a Master’s of Science as well as being a Certified Sports Performance Nutritionist. Jim is the owner of both FIT Conditioning and Metabolic Nutrition San Antonio. Both companies work with individuals looking to pursue healthier and more active lifestyles. Jim has had over 10 years experience as an academic researcher including positions at Thomas Jefferson University and University of Pennsylvania. Since then he has transitioned into physiologic testing, nutrition, and coaching for the past 3 years. Both companies work with individuals across the U.S., please visit websites for insights into both companies as well as client testimonials.
Eat Smarter, Move More, Get to Results Quicker!
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