Home > Muscle & Fitness > News > EnergyExercise does two things to our bodies. It increases: (1) the rate of energy usage due to the extra heat production of a higher metabolism, (2) and the rate of water lost through sweat. To meet this burden, it's obvious that athletes need to 'up' their consumption of energy and fluids, however nutritional research hints that most don't eat or drink enough 1-4. Why not? Are they trying to fit into their lycra work-out pants, or do certain sports promote the fear of fat? Anorexia does rate quite highly in certain elite sports, even where body strength and agility are paramount – like in gymnastics. But surely, this isn't common. For athletes and everybody else, energy intake should be focused on appropriate quantities of carbohydrate, protein and fat. A diet high in complex carbohydrates, moderate in protein and relatively low in fat is ideal for ultimate performance results. Obviously, if energy intake is matched correctly to expenditure, weight and lean mass remains stable. On the other hand, if calories are cut from the diet in an attempt to lose fat, lean mass will suffer as the body tries to compensate for energy lost from exertion, reducing performance. This demonstrates the futility in 'dieting' when relying on the body to 'deliver' output. You don't want to lose muscle when you need optimum strength and agility to perform! Studies actually show that the more frequent the eating pattern, the lower the body fat and the higher the muscle mass 5-9. This is a reminder to never get hungry. Graze! The typical 3-meals-a-day eating plan doesn't allow adequate refuelling. Blood sugar levels rise and fall in 3 hour units so eating before they dip will help keep energy levels stable. Don't wait until lunch-time! If weight is an issue, it's still okay to snack, just save a portion of breakfast for mid-morning, or reduce the size of lunch for a low-fat snack during the afternoon, so calorie intake isn't any greater. Small frequent meals are best and if exercising liquid meals will be less taxing on digestion (an Aussie Bodies Protein Revival drink will deliver a healthy dose of carbs and protein on the run). Mental alertness and function as well as physical performance will improve as the quality of diet improves too, so being mindful not only of portions but content is key. Another important factor for sustaining a high level of athletic performance is maintenance of blood volume. Heavy exercise can produce heat that's 20 times higher than the heat produced at rest. Unless the body can remove this excess heat efficiently, body temp rises quickly. And it doesn't pay to rely on thirst as the marker of when to drink and hydrate your body because the sensation of thirst only occurs after a loss of 1 to 2 litres of body water 7. Even in the presence of available fluids, athletes experience a certain amount of voluntary dehydration that lowers blood volume and negates performance 8. Working muscles demand more blood flow to deliver nutrients and to remove the metabolic by-products of burnt fuel, but at the same time need to shift blood away from the muscles and toward the skin to increase the sweat rate. An example: In 1 hour of intense activity almost 2 litres of water (body fluid) would be lost in sweating. On sunny and hot days with the heat of the body produced from muscular work added to the heat of the atmosphere, an athlete would need to produce more sweat to remove the heat. Sweat won't evaporate off the skin as easily if it's humid so even more sweat would be required – up to 3 litres of fluid per hour 9. It pays to think like this: hunger and thirst are emergency situations marking the onset of performance-reducing problems. They can be avoided through a planned eating and drinking timetable as part of your training schedule and lifestyle. No other factors hold the same potential in making such an enormous impact - not only on health but performance. |
|
|
|
Contact Information: © 2008 Health Brands Australia |