Welcome to our FAST blog. My goal is to provide the athlete with common sense training information and assist in separating information from knowledge.
   Nutrition information for athletes is often just that, information. Knowledge based on how the body uses fuel is often tainted by someones views and biases.
    In the 35 years I have been in this field I have read volumes of texts specific to nutrition. In every decade I have seen a frankenfood identified. Fat was evil, carbs bloat you overnight, gluten will inflame your innards.  Unless the athlete has a legitimate food allergy avoid, avoiding food groups.
   Here's a few guidelines based on long term research and studies:

• Working muscles burn glycogen, which is produced from carbohydrate consumed. Focus on whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Avoid refined flours and added sugars, especially in beverages.
• Fat can be a fuel source, but normally only during very low intensity exercise. The harder you work the more you rely on glycogen.
  
• Protein builds and rebuilds muscle and other tissue. An athlete in training needs a minimum of 1.2 - 1.5 grams of protein per kg of body weight per day. Divide pounds by 2.2 to get kg. Eggs, nuts, lean meats, fish, beans and dairy are good options
  
• Healthy fats are essential for brain and body function. Fats found in nuts, olive oil and avocados are a few examples. 
  

    Can you be a vegan and an athlete? Absolutely, but be prepared to do your homework to ensure your getting enough protein and total calories.
     Next blog topic - the timing of nutrition intake relative to workouts.
     Happy Training!
     Coach Dwight
 

   Welcome back to our FAST blog. My goal is to provide practical training information and to help you separate information from knowledge. 
   Recovery is training. From the minute you finish a workout the actions you take will either assist your readiness for the next one, or take away from it. Your calorie intake and timing of it, breathing, stretching, foam rolling, and sleep management are just some of the keys to being able to put a string of workouts together than will significantly move your race readiness needle.
   Let's focus on sleep. When we wake up our cortisol levels are high. We are ready to get after it. They stay high till about 12:00 noon. After that they continue to drop. From sunset on our bodies are designed to wind down. The brain now releases growth hormones, which aid in your recovery from exhaustive workouts.
   Timing of sleep is important to complete recovery. From 10:00 p.m. until about 2:00 the body focuses on restoring the physical. This is obviously important for athletes. Equally important to your motivation is mental or psychological repair. This happens between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.
   If the athletes sleep patterns are irregular, levels of the hormone cortisol rise and interfere with recovery. It is imperative that the athlete get to sleep between 9 and 11 p.m. and rise between 5 and 7 a.m.  
   Just two days of sleep loss can result in an 11% drop in time to exhaustion during exercise.  That means in a 45 minute 10k the sleep deprived athlete would become exhausted a full 5 minutes early. Need any more motivation?
   Next blog: Nutrition, the timing of intake, and its relation to recovery.