Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Load Your Energy Systems For Peak Performance

Maximizing Energy Stores Helps Delay Fatigue

Food supplies the energy and components our bodies need for growth and movement. In order for our bodies to use the energy stored in food, we must first extract it through digestion and store it so we can continually draw on it to produce the energy molecule that drives all movements of the body – ATP. In other words, we consume energy, store it, use it and deplete the supply. We eat again and the cycle continues. The athlete’s goal is to have their stomachs fairly empty while energy stores are full at the start of training or competition. Following a specific eating pattern can maximize the production, storage and use of energy (see Performance Nutrition for Young Athletes). By properly loading your energy systems that are rapidly depleted during exercise, you can delay fatigue and optimize performance during activity.

The High Intensity Energy System

The high intensity energy system is called the Phosphocreatine System or the ATP-PC System. Having fully loaded ATP stores is important to athletes who perform high intensity activities such as weightlifting, certain track & field events, football or other sports that include sprint and explosive-type activities. This system is responsible for producing the ATP that is used during the first 10-15 seconds of strenuous movements, after which the stores are depleted. Creatine phosphate is a naturally occurring compound used in this system to maintain ATP or short-term energy production. By loading as much creatine as the system will hold, we can delay depletion and speed up the regeneration of ATP. This is why supplementation of creatine has become so popular and doing so has been shown to enhance performance in certain sports. Weight gain due to water and increased muscle size are common with creatine supplementation and may be beneficial for certain athletes. However, in some sports, any potential benefits from creatine use may be offset by weight gain. To load this high intensity energy system with food, it would be necessary to consume unrealistic quantities of meat to achieve maximum levels. Because consuming large quantities of muscle/red meats is not practical or healthy, supplementation has become the preferred and acceptable method. Hundreds of research studies have established the safety and performance benefits of creatine supplementation.
 
While creatine appears very safe and beneficial for adult strength athletes, you may ask, “Is creatine supplementation safe for athletes under 18 years of age?” And everyone does! Definitely one of the most common questions I get at all lectures. My answer at this point in time is quick and easy:

Based on the fact that there is very little data on the use of creatine supplements for athletes under the age of 18, most professionals (including the dotFIT Research & Development team) play it safe and recommend that the qualified athlete reach the age of 18 before considering the use of creatine. Because this is such a hot topic, I will dedicate a complete article related to the use of creatine for all athletes of all ages including proper loading procedures so stay tuned. In the meantime follow your dotFIT menu plans including meal times and protein recommendations to help maximize your ATP-PC energy system.


The Moderate to High Intensity Energy System

The moderate to high intensity energy system is called the Glycolytic Energy System. Glycolysis is the breakdown of stored carbohydrates (glycogen) for energy. This system is directly responsible for the production of ATP during moderate to high-intensity exercise longer than 10 to 15 seconds and also helps fuel endurance activities. Filling this system to capacity can dramatically delay the onset of fatigue for almost all training/events lasting longer than one hour including repeated short sessions of high intensity activity (e.g. soccer, football, basketball, etc.). This means less fatigue, higher quality workouts and improved performance. Just as competitive strength and power athletes load creatine, trained endurance athletes load carbohydrates because of the proven performance benefits. (Again, we will dedicate an entire article in the near future to the practice of carbohydrate loading for endurance athletes).

The quantity, type (whole food vs. liquid) and timing of carbohydrate intake must all be considered in order to fill this system without experiencing stomach upset or other adverse effects during activity. Appropriate pre and post-training snacks can effectively top off energy stores and maximize recovery.

Following your personalized dotFIT Athletic Performance meal plan, paying special attention to your carbohydrate amounts and timing around your training, you will ensure optimal energy stores for the Glycolitc Energy System. No matter what your sport, filling this system properly before and after each training bout/event can dramatically delay fatigue, giving you the potential for a great “fourth quarter” effort versus a tired ending performance.  

Below is a basic outline on meal timing and carbohydrate amounts per pound (your dotFIT program will contain your exact personalized recommendations based on your body statistics age, sport and goal):


Pre & Post-Training/Event Snacks

  • Your pre-training snack should be consumed 10-40 minutes before activity
  • Your post-training snack should be consumed immediately after the workout or event
  • The pre/post snack is usually in liquid form but you may substitute solid meal replacements (bars) based on preference, venue and/or convenience, any other appropriate foods (carbohydrate higher than protein with low fat)
  • Carbohydrate in a pre/post snacks can range from 0.25 grams to 0.5 gram per pound of bodyweight (¼ to ½ gms/lb). Higher end of the range for long endurance-type activities and lower for strength training or workouts lasting less than an hour

Large Pre & Post-Training/Event Meals
  • Your large pre-event meal should be eaten approximately 2-3 hours before major activity
  • Your large post-event meal should be eaten 1-2 hours after major activity depending on post-training snack (1 hour for <200 calorie snack; 1-2 hours for 200+ calorie snack)
  • The large pre/post meal should be solid food made up of approximately 60% carbohydrate, 20% protein, and 20% fat (carbohydrate should be 3 times higher than protein)

Early Morning Training
  • If you train soon after rising and have no time for complete digestion of a large meal, make sure you consume a large pre-training type meal as your final meal of the previous day and consume only the pre-workout snack before your workout
  
By knowing the energy system(s) you use during workouts and events, and properly maximizing your energy stores, you can effectively delay fatigue and reach your peak performance.

www.worldgymdc.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

What Is Reactive Training And Why Should I Do It?

Traditionally, reactive or power training has been viewed as a form of conditioning used exclusively in athlete’s programs. Although this is an important component in the athlete’s protocol, it’s equally important to the exercise regimen for any healthy exerciser. Every movement we perform, whether on the playing field or during everyday activities, requires us to react and generate forces quickly in response to certain demands placed on our structure. Thus, it is critical that people train at speeds that are functionally applicable to everyday life and sports. This will decrease the risk of injury and enhance overall performance.

What is Reactive/Power Training?

Reactive training is defined as quick, powerful movements involving an eccentric contraction (force reduction) followed immediately by an explosive concentric contraction (force production). An example would be sitting down into a squat to load the muscles, and then explosively jumping up, as if trying to touch the ceiling. It utilizes the stretch capabilities of our tissues to store energy as potential energy and then employs this energy as kinetic energy—the energy of motion—to generate force efficiently. Reactive/power training also teaches the nervous system to recruit muscles quickly, thus enhancing the rate at which muscles generate force.

Why is Reactive/Power Training Important?

No matter the population or the activity, one’s ability to react and generate force quickly is crucial to overall function and safety during movement. Reactive/power training can enhance one’s ability to stabilize while moving, slow down and/or stop, and produce forces at speeds that are functionally applicable to the tasks at hand. The nervous system only recruits muscles at speeds for which it has been trained. If the nervous system is not trained to recruit muscles quickly, when met with a demand that requires a fast reaction, the nervous system will not be able to respond appropriately.

For example, if two basketball players of the same height are going up for a jump ball, the one who can react and generate force the fastest will win the toss. The same holds true for the typical exerciser and the overall population. If you step off a curb that is deeper than expected, you might lose your balance and fall. But if your nervous system has been trained to react quickly and you lose your balance, your nervous system will be able to recruit the right muscles at the right time, allowing you to regain your balance and decrease your chance of serious injury. It is important to note that reactive/power training should only be incorporated into an exercise program once you have obtained proper flexibility, core strength, and balance capabilities.

As you can see, reactive/power training is not just for the athlete anymore. It is an important component in all exercise programs to enhance function and performance, and decrease the risk of injuries.

Reactive Training for Weight Loss

Injuries can be devastating to the achievement of your goals. In order to avoid injuries, we have to train to perform at various speeds, stabilize quickly, and generate force quickly in order to avoid potentially devastating falls, spills, and tumbles. As noted earlier, reactive training teaches you to contract muscles surrounding a joint quickly, to stabilize various joints in conjunction, and reinforce proper landing mechanics to increase your ability to produce force. This offers one big benefit for weight loss: It’s a definite calorie burner! The more calories that can be burned in a session, the better. For some, this can be an extremely fun plateau buster as well.

Reactive Training for Hypertrophy

For people trying to gain muscle size, injuries can limit growth potential. To avoid devastating injuries, we have to stabilize and move at the various speeds we encounter during everyday activities. If you remember, in order to gain size in a muscle fiber, the muscle needs time under tension. This means training sessions are slower and controlled. This is great for size, but not so good for movement. When we move, we move at differing speeds—sometimes fast, sometimes slow. If we do not train at a variety of speeds, our body does not know what to do when we are forced to move and stabilize at those speeds. This leads to injury. Reactive training teaches us to reactively stabilize at various joints, maintain postural equilibrium at faster speeds, and utilize proper landing mechanics to increase force production when it is needed. Basically, we train for life's little surprises in a safe, controlled environment so that when we are faced with a situation in real life, our brain and nervous system already has a strategy to deal with it.

Reactive Training for Increased Health

If you want to stay healthy, you have to move. Since most injuries occur during the eccentric (deceleration/slowing down) portion of a movement, the body needs to learn how to decelerate properly and reactively stabilize at various joints. This is what reactive training does. It allows you to move at various speeds safely and efficiently while maintaining proper postural alignment.

www.worldgymdc.com