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Old 12-05-2013, 11:02 AM   #10
Walter Martindale
Location: Edmonton, AB
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 802
Canada
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Re: Tips to increase energy and endurance?

I'm not really a diet expert. I AM a professional coach, and one of the training modules I've gone through covers nutrition for sport. However it was 19 years ago. The upside, though, is that we haven't evolved much in 19 years.
If you're working this much, you need energy AND nutrients. It's why I say a well-rounded "diet". I'm not sure which Richmond you're in (there are several) but there are food-guides in both the US and Canada that essentially say you need to eat at least 5 items of veggies and fruits every day, some meat/substitutes, some dairy, and some "carbs" (remembering that there are carbs in fruit and veggies) - and they also suggest wheat and other grains - some people are suggesting that wheats (modern ones) aren't that good for you but I'm really not up on all that. Potato, yam, sweet potato, if you're in New Zealand there's Kumara - they're all root veggies that are fairly nutrient dense, and fairly inexpensive...

Variety - some green veg, some "other colour" veg each day. Bananas are still moderately inexpensive. Munch down an apple on the way from aikido to dancing, pre-blend a "smoothie" of (say) frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, some protein powder, some juice/water/milk (whatever works for you) and take it for after training - make sure your container gets cleaned well between uses, too, so it doesn't grow unhealthy cultures. "poor" rowers combine rice and beans to get complete protein - both are cheap in bulk.

Supplements - I understand that vitamin supplements, if not needed, can actually cause more harm than good. One of our dietitians who presented to one of our training camps in the past said something like - a multivitamin might contain 40 or so micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc) whereas a meal, made up of a variety of foods might contain 600 micronutrients. Most of the dietitians say "we eat food, not nutrients" - and our bodies extract the nutrients they need…

When people are training large volumes, very hard, I tell them to be on a "see-food diet" - if you see food, eat it.
The hard part (and I'm showing this) is slowing down the eating when you slow down the training…

(edit) - oh, yes, keep enough fluid coming in so that your urine is "straw" coloured or lighter - you don't want dark yellow - that hints at dehydration, and you don't want absolutely clear - that hints at too much fluid…

Hope this helps.
W

Last edited by Walter Martindale : 12-05-2013 at 11:04 AM.
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