Health Implications of Chronic Sugar Consumption Among Endurance Athletes

In endurance sports, sugar-based nutrition products reign supreme. Take a look at the ingredients of any sports drink, gel, or energy bar on the market. The chance it contains sugar as a primary ingredient is pretty high. 

It's because of demand, right?

Possibly. 

Conventional approaches to sports nutrition do revolve around high consumption of carbohydrate, and simple sugars, especially immediately before, during and after hard training sessions and racing. Just the other day, for example, I had breakfast with a fellow triathlete and coach, whose plate was filled with pancakes slathered in maple syrup. He took down the entire thing.

From a purely performance standpoint, there is some evidence supporting a predominantly carbohydrate diet/fueling strategy, particularly at higher intensities. But, more and more research on lipolysis and "fat adaptation" among endurance athletes is showing simple sugars and carbohydrates shouldn't be the primary fuel source, it should be fat. 

Research continues to also pour in showing the long term health implications of chronic sugar consumption. The basic point is this: consuming lots of sugar accelerates the aging process, possibly just as much as smoking. (For example, read this article.)

But, back to endurance athletes. There isn't a ton of research available specifically on this population, but a few studies have emerged. One from earlier this year, I think, is indicative of the caution we, in the endurance sports community, should be taking with an over reliance on sugar-based nutrition.  

The study compared 35 triathletes with 35 non-exercising control individuals. It found an increased risk of dental erosion among triathletes, and a significant correlation between dental caries and cumulative weekly training volume. Basically, a higher prevalence of dental caries was seen among triathletes with higher training loads, presumably due to the larger amounts of mostly sugar-based exogenous fuel sources.

In trying to limit simple sugar consumption during training and racing I take three basic approaches:

1. Don't carry fuel for 90-95% of my workouts. Because I've adapted my metabolism over time to better tap into fat stores, I can easily go for a 2 hour run or a 3 hour bike ride with just water and be perfectly fine. Daily nutrition influences performance.

2.  If I'm in need of a clean fuel source, like during a marathon, I use UCAN Superstarch. It's been my go-to for almost two years, and I don't plan on changing that any time soon.

3. When possible, though, I'm a fan of using whole food sources of nutrition. This is what I did earlier this year during a 16-hour, 300k bike ride through northern New Jersey. I carried plastic bags filled with coconut flakes, coconut oil, almonds, cashews and flax seed crackers. More resources, like the Feed Zone Portables Cookbook, are available to make this approach easier too. I'm looking forward to experimenting more with this in the coming year.

Women Make Tough Choices When it Comes to Family and Wellness

Working mothers make difficult trade offs when it comes to career and family. While trying to pursue career aspirations, mothers often try to balance the responsibilities of being a parent.  

Workplace policies aren't always supportive of a healthy balance between the two. Inflexible work arrangements mean mothers make hard choices when it comes to taking care of a sick child or earning a paycheck. 

A recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank, sheds light on some of these trade offs that working women (now comprising about half of the US workforce) must make.

In the majority of households across the country, women manage health care decisions for the family. Roughly three out of every four women decide on a doctor, take children to appointments, and then execute a health provider's recommendations on care.  

When doing these things though, many women take time off from work. And 60 percent of women who take time off are not compensated.

   
Such inflexibility has a number of ripple effects:

1. Women lose out on valuable pay, which is already not on par with their male counterparts.

2. Seeking health care turns into a last resort. Out of fear of losing pay, women may opt to forgo seeking heath services for a child.

3. Decisions related to health and illness are major sources of stress by themselves. Work challenges and trade offs only add to this stress.

The good news is that more employers are thinking about employee wellness. Organization policies and culture, however, don't always find their way into these conversations. If wellness is indeed a priority, we need to think about the ecosystem of factors that influence our entire physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.     

Tempo Progression Run on the Treadmill

I traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma earlier this week for work and that meant only one thing: treadmill workout at the hotel gym. 

Whenever I'm able to, I like to run the same day I fly into a new city. Ideally I run outside, which is my way of seeing the sites and getting the blood in my legs recirculating. But, since daylight was running out after I arrived, I hit the hotel gym for a treadmill session. Just a few minutes after warming up my legs felt surprising fresh. I'm still in the early phases of getting back into training, so most of my workouts have just been whatever I feel like doing on that particular day.

I felt great on this particular day. On the fly, I came up with this progression tempo run. It will definitely find its way back into my training down the road.

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(Everything at 1% incline)

20 minute warm up (build to about 30 seconds above lactate threshold, LT)

Alternate 5 minute work intervals and 5 minute recovery intervals as:

• (4) Work Intervals: #1 @ marathon pace --> #4 @ 5k pace (decrease by ~10-15 seconds every other 5 minutes)
• (4) Rest Intervals: #1- 45 seconds slower then work interval --> increase pace by same amount work intervals are decreased  

3 Focus Areas to Improve Biomechanics, Generate More Power, and Help You Run Faster

Biomechanics are a bit of a Pandora's box in the running community. Some say they're the ticket to getting faster and building endurance. Others think runners should just stick with what's comfortable and natural.

Regardless of which camp you fall into, there are a few fundamental aspects of running biomechanics that could influence running economy and performance, and certainly relate to injury prevention. Here are three areas to focus on if you're looking to improve your biomechanics, generate more power, and get faster.

1. Back Kick 

During the swing phase of the gait (when the foot is off the ground and moves from behind to in front of you), the foot acts like a pendulum. Your hip is the pivot point, and your leg and foot are "suspended" from the pivot point. When it comes to pendulums, there's one really important variable: the length between the pivot and whatever object is at the end of the pendulum. In this case, it's your foot. A shorter pendulum is faster (or in physics speak, oscillates with a smaller period). Applying this to running, from a biomechanical perspective, having a shorter leg pendulum would be most economical. How do you "shorten" the leg while running/walking? The back kick. In the picture below, you'll see how pronounced the back kick is in many elite runners (this one from the front group at this year's Twin Cities Marathon). The runner then actively brings the foot and leg forward through the gait by driving his knee. (One other thing to note: this is at mile 25!)

2. Knee Drive

As the right foot comes forward, the runner aggressively drives the knee upward and forward. This is where a lot of the runner's power comes from. But, he's only able to do this because of strong hip extensor muscles (muscles that are somewhat notorious for being weak in many runners). He engages his hip extensor muscles, and with a strong knee drive, also drives backwards with his left leg (the toe off part of the gait cycle). A pronounced knee drive also sets up the runner for an effective foot strike. See the next picture, particularly looking at the right leg/foot. The knee drive helps avoid excessive dorsiflexion of his foot. Dorsiflexion is when you point your toes upwards. Too much dorsiflexion usually sets a runner up for heal striking, while a more neutral position, such as in this picture, usually means a more mid-foot strike.

3. Foot Strike

Two big points on the foot strike. The first is that the runner strikes mostly at his mid-foot, which tends to generate less impact forces on the lower limb joints compared to heal striking. The second point is where the foot lands relative to the rest of the runner's body. It's almost directly under the runner's head and hips. In fact, you can basically draw a straight line from the top of the head, through the torso and hips, and finishing at the heal of the foot. Having this type of alignment, with the foot striking under the hips, enables the greatest amount of power to be generated.

By focusing on these three main factors over the past few years, I've seen some huge improvements in my own racing. For example, here's a side-by-side of what my "knee drive" looked like five years ago and what it is this year.

Take time to revisit the basics. Set a good foundation and the rest will follow.

The Secret to Making a Kick-Ass Salad You'll Actually Crave

I'm known as the salad guy. Every day, without fail, lunch is always a salad. Sometimes I'll go a few months eating more or less the same one. Other times, I'll vary things up. Either way, my salads are one of the most nutrient-dense meals I prepare. Especially during periods of heavy training, this is critical for getting a lot of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients I need to recovery properly. The high nutrient density is also why I'll actually start craving dark leafy greens and vegetables if I'm forced to go more than 36 hours without a salad (like if I'm traveling). Ask my wife, I can get pretty cranky.

So, what's the secret recipe?

Well, recipe might be too much of an exact word for my salads. I don't really measure things out, unless a handful of this, a shake of this, and a pinch of that is considered "measuring." Mostly, I just like to take a bunch of different vegetables, throw them in a big bowl, add some seasoning and fat, and dig in.

Here's how it goes:

Step 1: Start with a nice, large bowl, something that can fit at least six cups. But, don't be shy, I've used some of our largest mixing bowls for salads.

Step 2: Add in your favorite dark leafy green. This can be spinach, kale, romaine lettuce, arugula, chard, mustard greens, or some combination. Stick with organic when you can to reduce the chances of being exposed to pesticide residue.

Step 3: Chop 3-4 vegetables of your choosing: cucumber, bell peppers, tomatoes, radishes, really whatever looks good at the grocery store and you're in the mood for. The "organic rule" applies here too. Instead of chopping them, I use a peeler and shave pieces of carrot on top.

Step 4: Add an herb: parsley, cilantro, oregano. They add a nice flavor and many herbs, particularly parsley and cilantro, are great at helping to detoxify.

Step 5: Add some fat and protein. My one-two combo for this are avocado and sardines. I love sardines because they are low on the food chain, so you don't have the same heavy metal risk as larger fish, and they pack an amazing nutrient profile, particularly omega-3s. So, if you're a hard charging athlete, or just want to support a healthy nervous or immune system, these should be a go-to. One word of caution with sardines: be mindful of the brand you buy, particularly where the sardines are from and if the can is BPA-free (BPA is a known endocrine-disruptor, aka messes with your hormonal system, and has been linked to a number of health problems). A favorite brand of mine is Wild Planet.

Step 6: Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Because I follow a fairly low-carbohydrate diet, I find I need to add salt to a lot of my food to ensure my blood pressure doesn't get too low. I stick with himalayan sea salt when I can.

Step 7: Dress with extra-virgin olive oil (again preferably organic, cold-pressed, and packaged in a dark bottle to avoid too much sun/heat exposure, which can damage the delicate fats). I stay away from any commercial dressings since many are made with soybean or other vegetable oils. One brand I've found to be the exception is Tessemae's, which has olive oil-based dressings. I'm fairly liberal when it comes to the olive oil, since that, the avocado, and sardines are the largest sources of calories in the meal.

Step 8: Grab a fork and dig into your kick-ass salad!

Try one this weekend and let me know how it turns out! If you have a favorite version of your own kick-ass salad, share in the comments.