Food as a Nutritional Supplement

1. Food as a Nutritional Supplement

FS: Are there any foods you see as being underrated, that people really should be eating more of?

AK: It may sound kind of cheesy, but I think almost all foods are kind of underrated in the sport world. There’s no marketing behind an apple, versus how much marketing there is behind some kind of protein concoction. I always try to steer them towards, ‘how can we try to make a smoothie without relying on all these concoctions?’ You’ve got a bar with 40 grams of carbs and 12 grams of protein—I say, ‘here’s food that’s exactly the same composition.’ I think all food tends to be underrated, in the fact that it doesn’t have any sexy appeal to it, as some of this other stuff does.

FS: What about the other way around? Are there things you would warn athletes to steer clear of?

AK: There’s no forbidden food or beverage—it’s all about how or when you consume it. You’re not going to get done with a training session and just hammer down 10 beers. And you wouldn’t want to have ribs before a race. But if you’re at a barbeque on the weekend…

I would hate to hone in on a miracle food. There’s foods higher in antioxidants that are full of essential amino acids, but as part of a whole, balanced dietary plan, you can achieve those almost anywhere. There are components of foods that are amazing, but they are present across a wide variety of food groups and types of food. That’s how I approach that one.

[excerpt from Fasterskier.com]

- richard

Bars, Gels and Drink Mix

1. Bars, Gels & Drink Mixes

FS: Do you have to use recovery-specific products, or even athlete-specific products like bars, gels, drink mixes, etc.? Do those have anything in them that normal foods don’t? Or for the most part, can people rely on the stuff they find at the grocery store?

AK: When it comes to bars and gels, we use them, absolutely. When we’re here in Park City, I try to really push the athletes towards the food, because when they are traveling and competing, that’s when they need to rely on those bars. I don’t want them to have 23 bars a week in training sessions, and then get over to Europe being so sick of them that they don’t want ’em. We’ve all had the experience where you get somewhere and the food is terrible, and you have to have a bar for dinner. I always try to make sure that they have the right bars handy and tolerate them well, but my first goal is to really get them to have the real food when they can—and the bars when they need them.

Things like Gu and gels, they’ll be using those in most training session—we’ll be working on finding the ones they like, and timing them. They’ll use those pretty consistently during training, and then really try to go for the sandwich or the smoothie after a session.

[excerpt from fasterskier.com]

Richard

Hydration

1. Hydration {Drinking}

FS: How do you check a sweat rate?

AK: We’ll have them check a weight before they train, and have them check a weight immediately after they’re done training, and then factor in exactly in what they drank during the session. From the change in weight, we can determine how much fluid was lost—the rule of thumb is that per pound of weight you lose, 20 to 24 ounces of fluid need to be replaced. You want to come up with a plan so that they’re not dumping 36 ounces of water in their stomach as soon as they’re done, because you don’t absorb it.

Getting them to take the small, frequent doses of water is going to help them be better hydrated.

FS: Do you think hydration is something that’s often overlooked, since people are more focused on what they eat?

AK: I think it’s easy to overlook. You may not be drinking enough, or you may need to add some electrolytes to what you’re drinking. ... [Also], good hydration doesn’t stop when training stops—it’s all day. There is a pretty big tendency—athletes are good at hydrating during training, but then when the day goes on, that’s when we want to be sure we’re maintaining that hydration level.

- Richard

Nutrition for Recovery

Nutrition Article

Fasterskier.com interview with Adam Korzun, sport dietician with USSA

1. Recovery

FS: For cross-country skiers, the area of biggest concern, nutritionally, is recovery. Can you talk about the body’s nutritional demands after a workout?

AK: If you look at the basics of recovery, it’s carbs and protein, within a certain amount of time after a workout. Post-workout, your body’s in a state of breakdown—you’ve used your energy stores. The muscle’s tissue is damaged and broken down. Your body needs to repair, but it can’t do that without energy. The idea is get carbohydrates and protein into your body as soon as possible.

The carbs will stop the muscle breakdown, and start to build muscle glycogen, which is your energy. Protein comes in once the breakdown stops, and you can use the protein to rebuild your muscles. You need the protein to repair, but you need the carbs to stop the breakdown.

The basics are carbs and protein, as soon as possible. .. You’ve got a range of carbohydrates, from 30 to 100 grams, and protein, from 10 to 30 grams. It’s a pretty broad range—depending on how intense your training session was, ... If you’re doing an hour-long core session, you’re keeping your heart rate relatively low—it’s not essential that you replenish 60 to 70 grams of carbs at that point. A piece of fruit could be an adequate carbohydrate source at that point, and then adding some protein, like string cheese, could be perfect. Say you’re on the run—chocolate milk could be perfect right there.

Most foods are labeled with statistics showing the amount of carbohydrates and protein per serving.

That’s another thing: You’re looking at recovery as a snack, not as a meal. Within 20 to 30 minutes of finishing, your body’s primed to take the carbs and protein into the muscle cells. That said, you don’t need to overdo it—it’s just as snack, because then you’re going to have your meal one-and-a-half to two hours later. You look at what you depleted and how hard you worked to gauge how much you replenish.

If your session was a little bit more intense, maybe you want to have a turkey and cheese sandwich, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of chocolate milk, or maybe a fruit smoothie. You play around with the amounts, based on how hard you worked—that’s how you make sure you’re getting the right amount when you need it, but not getting excessive amounts when you don’t. I think that’s especially important in sports like cross-country and nordic combined... getting the right nutrients at the right time.

FS: Are there any methods you can use to see if you’re recovering the right way and eating the right amount—not too much, not too little?

AK: There’s some folks that will tell you that good recovery can be seen in decreased muscle soreness. I don’t necessarily believe that myself. As far as the carbs and protein component, really looking at the energy level that day into the next day—that’s how recovery makes the most difference, is in those repeat training days. If you’ve got training coming up eight to 12 hours after your first session, the faster you eat, the better fueled and recovered you’ll be next time you go out. Just seeing how you feel, knowing how you feel—that’s kind of a subjective measure, but most people aren’t going to track morning blood glucose levels at a younger level.

Dryland pole length

Skiers,

On Tuesday I saw a lot of dry land poles that were WAY too long. Your equipment needs to fit properly if you re going to get the most out of your workouts. Dry land poles should be approximately 10cm shorter than your classic ski poles. If yours are too long than cut them or find new ones. If you are unsure about how to do this than speak with your equipment managers (Jordan, Erin, Mike).

Happy training,

Ian

Here is the SWIX RACING CHART (Pole Length is in cm.)
SKIER HEIGHT...CLASSIC LENGTH...SKATE LENGTH...
4'11"...............120........................130
45'0"...............122.5.....................132.5
5'1".................125........................135
5'2".................127.5.....................137.5
5'3".................130........................140
5'4".................132.5.....................142.5
5'5".................135........................145
5'6".................137.5.....................147.5
5'7".................140........................150
5'8".................142.5.....................152.5
5'9".................145........................155
5'10"...............147.5.....................157.5
5'11"...............150........................160
6'0".................152.5.....................162.5
6'1".................155........................165
6'2".................157.5.....................167.5
6'3".................160........................170
6'4".................162.5.....................172.5
6'5".................165........................175
6'6".................170