Nutrition For Athletic Performance

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Nutrition for athletic performance or sports nutrition can help athletes and anyone who exercises or participates in some kind of physical activity to prepare for exercise, hydrate and recover from sore muscles.

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Nutrition For Athletic Performance

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What we feed our bodies to prepare for competition or any type of physical exercise has come a long way. Did you know that in the early 1900's at least one Gold Medal marathon runner consumed only egg whites, brandy, strychnine and a wet sponge to suck on while running 26.2 miles? [from Wikipedia: Had the race been run under current rules, Hicks would have been disqualified: he had been given a dose of 1/60 of a grain (roughly 1 mg) of strychnine and some brandy, because he was flagging badly during the race; the first dose of strychnine did not revive him for long, so he was given another. As a result, he collapsed after crossing the finishing line. Another dose might have been fatal. Strychnine is now forbidden for athletes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hicks_(athlete)]

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There have been hundreds of research studies since, especially in the past 25 years where scientists have learned a lot about the body and nutrition during physical activity. The results from those studies along with the successful use of optimal nutrition by athletes and weekend warriors all over the world can help us understand the value of using sports nutrition products. We know about the importance of proper hydration and a healthy diet that includes carbohydrates and lean, high-quality protein with limited amounts of fat. We know that what we eat and drink before, during, and after exercise can have a direct on our performance and our recovery.

Gym memberships went up, even in the middle of a nationwide recession. People like you and me have decided to get healthy so we don't need to depend on our troubled healthcare system. And many of us now believe that staying fit not only feels good but can improve our health. Whether you're a casual walker, a weekend warrior, a fitness fanatic or any level of athlete, what you eat and when you eat it make a big difference in the success of your workout and your muscle recovery. How would you like to learn more about the kind of nutritional support you need to fuel your workout, based on what science has helped us discover and what is working for people all over the country. If you want to maximize your workouts by making sure your body has what it needs before, during and after your workouts, read on. There are so many products for sale in stores, at the gym, and online that claim to be the very best thing on earth to power a workout. So how do you know who to believe? The truth is that there are no gimmicks or magic potions when it comes to sports nutrition. What we need to pay attention to is the clinical testing and research that's been conducted extensively over the last couple of decades. The results have been pretty consistent, so that’s proof that science is working.

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The topic of sports nutrition may be best understood when you think about it in three parts: What you can do to optimize performance 1) before, 2) during and 3) after a workout. Let’s start with some background science on what your muscles need to work efficiently. Basically, our muscles are fueled by three nutrient categories: carbohydrates, fats and proteins. But carbohydrates are by far the most important muscle fuel. That's because the harder that you exercise, the more your body relies upon carbohydrates - and unfortunately your stores of carbohydrates may be limited. Even at rest, carbohydrates supply about 25% of your body's energy needs. But when you're moderately or intensely active, carbohydrate use increases to 50% or more. The reason why your body relies more on carbohydrates than fat when you work out hard is because carbohydrates need far less oxygen to provide the fuel than fat does. The problem is that as you exercise harder your oxygen supply becomes more limited, so you rely more and more on the carbohydrates as the muscle fuel to maintain your energy level. Carbohydrates are digested and converted into glucose to be carried to the blood and delivered to the muscles. Glucose is also stored as a compound called glycogen in the muscles and in the liver as an immediately available energy source to be broken down into glucose when your body needs it. That's why it is important to include carbohydrates in your diet, so they can be converted into glycogen stores that you need for your workout. Does that mean we don't burn fat or protein during a workout? Here’s where it gets more technical so pay close attention.

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While all sources play a part, for high intensity or long workouts, carbohydrates are the key. Fat is fuel but you actually need carbohydrates to prime your metabolic machinery in order to turn that fat into muscle fuel. That’s not the most efficient use of carbs and lower intake of carbohydrates translates into slower conversion of fat into useful fuel. So you've got to focus on carbohydrates as your most important fuel source. As for protein, it has a really important job which is to help build your muscles. And you don't really want to burn protein to fuel your workout because you need it to support muscle repair, muscle rebuilding and muscle growth.

Let’s have a closer look at each area related to sports nutrition: Energy, Hydration and Muscle Recovery.

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Energy

Before a workout we should make sure we eat plenty of carbohydrates. In the hours just before a workout, you really want to avoid foods that are high in protein, fat and fiber. They can slow down digestion with food remaining in the stomach a longer time, leading to cramping and discomfort. So stay away from those things that you really don't want to be eating anyway like fried foods and processed foods as well as meat. Focus instead on healthy carbohydrate rich foods. Foods like fruit, vegetables, and whole grain breads and cereal foods. And before a workout, something like oatmeal (also a good source of B vitamins) is a great choice because it’s packed full of good carbohydrates, helps maintain your energy for a longer period of time, and curbs appetite by slowing the absorption of glucose into your bloodstream. You want to maintain your glycogen stores especially if you're planning to work out for an hour or longer.

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For a quick energy boost just before your workout, you have some options. An energy boost 30 minutes or so before exercise can support blood sugar levels and help keep you focused and motivated. That could mean caffeine in the form of a cup of coffee, an energy drink, or a natural energy booster such as an energy chew supplement, to kick up your pre-workout energy levels. If coffee causes you stomach distress or is not the energy source you prefer, there is a less intense, natural caffeine that is in green tea. Green tea extract can also be found in other energy supplements. Research reported in the online edition of the American Journal of Physiology notes that green tea extract is beneficial for improving endurance capacity, perhaps through stimulation of fatty acid utilization.

Hydration

Hydration is fascinating to learn about because if you know how the body works you can use that knowledge to really power your athletic performance. Hydration is the first thing an athlete needs during a workout. Elite athletes trust their health, well-being and athletic performance to smart training including hydration, sound dietary regiments and optimal nutrition. Athletes at every level would benefit from the same.

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Why is it important to drink the right kind of fluid to maximize absorption? Exactly what happens in your body when you sweat and lose electrolytes? What you eat and drink, and when you eat and drink it, make a big difference in the success of your workout. Unfortunately, with all the noise in the marketplace, it’s not always clear to know what kind of support you need to fuel your workout. As an athlete it’s important to you to maximize your performance by making sure your body has what it needs before, during and after your workouts – and water may not be enough. How would you like to learn more about hydration for athletes through a short course on fluid physiology? First, we know that each of us is made up of 60% water so that should be our first clue how important it is to stay hydrated. But more specifically fluid in the form of blood transports oxygen and energy nutrients to your muscle including that all important muscle, your heart. Fluid also helps to cool you off by carrying the internal heat generated during exercise out of your body. And producing more heat than your body can handle can result in the need to eliminate heat through your skin by sweating. The problem is that when you sweat you lose both water and electrolytes. In addition to maintaining fluid balance, electrolytes are used by your cells, especially nerve, heart and muscle cells, to carry electrical impulses, nerve impulses and cellular communications to neighboring cells. But since we lose electrolytes along with our water losses when we sweat, the body compensates for this loss by borrowing fluid from the bloodstream which means that your heart has less blood flowing through it so it has to pump harder and faster to get oxygen enriched blood to your muscles. This means that you may feel less energy.

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Energy loss is just the start of potential problems. Loss of fluid and electrolytes can become very dangerous. As your body temperature increases, there can be progressive deterioration of both physical and mental capacity. It can even lead to physical collapse and even worse. That sounds scary, and it can be. So, as athletes, what should we do to keep that from happening during training, games, competition, etc? Hydrating strategically is a good plan, and not only drinking a lot of water. It’s important to understand that your body can't absorb fluid as fast as it’s capable of losing it. So it’s important to drink the right kind of fluid to maximize absorption. And that means a drink that contains water, and the right amount of carbohydrates and electrolytes. Today's clinical tests show that sports drinks for athletes that contain water, carbohydrates and electrolytes, can provide several benefits including balancing your thirst levels with your body's fluid needs. The human body actually does a poor job of balancing thirst with real fluid needs - so you definitely don't want to wait until you're thirsty to hydrate. By the time you feel thirst, you may already be dehydrated. And if you're drinking just water to hydrate, your thirst drive may taper off before you've consumed enough fluid to satisfy your body's real needs. Athletes often have long and intense workouts and games, and a finely tuned mixture of electrolytes, carbohydrates & water will encourage rehydration by matching your thirst with your actual body's fluid needs. It can work very efficiently and provide great benefits in terms of how you feel before, during and after activity. Another consideration to point out is that you do need to drink electrolytes along with the water because water with electrolytes is absorbed faster and more efficiently than water alone. Another benefit of sports drinks for athletes is that if they also contain carbohydrates, they can help provide your working muscles with the fuel they need to power your workout longer. A good sports drink for athletes offers enough carbohydrates to provide optimum muscle fuel without interfering with fluid absorption. In terms of hydrating strategically as an athlete, there are some factors to consider:     Drink small amounts of cool liquid often as you're working out. Remember to hydrate before you practice or play. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends drinking 2 or 3 cups of fluid, 2 to 4 hours before as optimal. Drink additional fluid 15 minutes before. During your practices and games, try to drink a half cup or so of fluid every 15 to 30 minutes.

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Muscle Recovery

After exercise or weight lifting it’s all about recovery, and specifically the food for your muscle recovery. First you need carbohydrates and fluid to replace the glycogen and water you've lost during exercise. You also need protein to help repair any damaged muscle tissue and to help build new muscle in response to exercise. A post-exercise protein shake that also contains the right amount of carbohydrates, as soon as possible after completing your exercise session, can make a huge difference in how your muscles recover and be ready for your next workout. A classic clinical study conducted at the University of Texas found that consuming a combination protein and carbohydrate shake immediately after exercise and then again 2 hours later actually optimized the anabolic recovery state post-exercise. So muscle energy recovery was faster and more complete with a combination formula than either protein or carbohydrate alone. People doing regular workouts may benefit from that first shake and not need the second. Serious athletes or people who are training hard for an event and need to maximize muscle recovery can get great results using the findings of this research that shows consuming a shake right after your workout and then again 2 hours later is optimal.

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When it comes to recovery, what you eat and when you eat it, after exercise, is almost as important as the workout itself. Why is protein so important post-workout? First of all, protein is a major component of muscle tissue - and proteins which are made from different combinations of 20 amino acids or so actually direct a multitude of bio-chemical reactions within your body as well. From an athlete's point of view, there are several proteins that are hugely important. First of all the hormone insulin is a protein and helps you regulate blood glucose levels. We know that insulin's main job is to drive glucose into cells where it can be used for energy. That’s pretty important for any athlete. Pepsin is another protein enzyme which helps digest protein foods into amino acids so they can be absorbed into the blood stream. The protein collagen is a component of skin and connective tissues such as tendons and cartilage which are both to key both agility and mobility. Another important protein is hemoglobin which transports oxygen to muscles and other tissues throughout your body. Two muscle proteins called actin and myosin are important because they're responsible for muscle contractions.

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Muscle Must Come From Your Diet

Protein is essential to build muscle, to help repair your muscle, and generally to keep your muscles healthy. But unfortunately your body doesn't make protein so it has to come from your diet. Protein is also a fuel source, though not as effective a source as carbohydrates or even fat. Proteins should not become your go-to fuel source. The most important power source for high intensity or long duration exercise is carbohydrates. Proteins usually only get significantly tapped as a fuel source as you get closer and closer to running out of carbohydrate muscle fuel. And since protein is stored as muscle, you don't want to be burning it or breaking it down into fuel because then you lose muscle which can eventually diminish your strength. So we need carbohydrates and protein after a workout since we will have used up our store of carbohydrates. There are also some circumstances when you might require extra protein. Endurance athletes, for example distance runners, triathletes and competitive cyclists, can actually burn through their carbohydrate stores pretty quickly and then begin using protein as fuel. So to keep from damaging their body tissues, they need to consume additional protein. The same can be true of anyone during heavy training especially weightlifters. Serious weightlifters are constantly breaking down muscle tissue only to build it up again so they need a lot of protein. Also those who are just beginning an exercise program or those significantly expanding their current program often need additional protein. Certain athletes that may be on calorie restriction may have additional protein requirements. Jockeys, wrestlers, gymnasts, and anyone who's dealing with weigh-ins or weight limits may need larger stores of protein because they can't really afford the calories that come along with most carbohydrates. Something very important to point out about protein: it matters that you choose protein sources that are healthy and complete. You need all 9 essential amino acids, and preferably without the fat. Most animal sources such as dairy, meat and eggs are good source of protein but they also come along with higher fat and cholesterol levels. One great source of protein food for muscle recovery is salmon. It is rich in iron and vitamin B-12 that are important for optimal athletic performance. Salmon also contains omega 3 fatty acids that are very important for heart health and have other healthy benefits. There's been a good deal of research into combinations of plant foods for muscle recover because they provide all the essential amino acids. For example, grains paired with legumes, legumes with nuts, or grains with vegetables.

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For quick and very nutritious options of getting your plant healthy protein source after a workout, soy and whey protein shakes are available that offer all the essential amino acids with low or no fat and cholesterol and with the added benefit of hydration. Protein shakes are very convenient choices, especially right after exercise and again a couple hours later.

Sports Nutrition Tips

  

A couple of final tips: you shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that you don't have to eat adequately on non-workout days. Treat off days as refueling days and keep your body nourished with well balanced meals every day. Remember what you put in, you get back (in terms of how you FEEL)! And last, it is really not a good idea to consume alcohol after a workout, especially during your recovery period. Alcohol interferes with rehydration and the loading of carbohydrates into muscles which can slow recovery and actually increase your risk of injury.

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Resources

We represent the #1 Natural Nutrition Company in the United States: The Shaklee Corporation, a health and wellness brand that is committed to science, research, quality of individual ingredients, natural products (remember you have to be able to trust that your brand really is natural because the word ‘natural’ on a label means the product only needs to be 10% natural) and the efficacy of each product.

If you are not familiar with the Shaklee difference:







The sports nutrition products that Shaklee has researched, formulated, and supplied to a market of Olympic athletes, professional athletes, occasional sports enthusiasts, weekend warriors, and people at all levels of physical activity exist in a class of their own in terms of quality and efficacy. Shaklee Sports Nutrition is successfully proven by many Olympic gold medalists. We are proud of our Pure Performance Team and excited for the upcoming Olympic games where they will compete to earn even more medals. Learn more about them here: http://athletes.shaklee.com/us/en/. For 56 years Shaklee has represented high quality, natural nutrition, whole-food supplements that have been proven in the world’s only long-term food supplement study to help people build better health. You can learn more about the Landmark Study by visiting: http://landmarkstudy.com/.

To learn more about Sports Nutrition solutions from the Shaklee Corporation, please visit http://sportsnutrition.naturalhealthsolutionz.com. Connect with us anytime through the website. We would be happy to answer any questions and provide you with additional information in the form of written materials, videos, podcasts and even connect you with the Shaklee Science Team.

Join the conversation at our Facebook page. We look forward to seeing you there: http://Facebook.com/EnergyChews.

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Affiliate Disclaimer: We are compensated affiliates for the products recommended in this report. This means that I have purchased them myself and continue to benefit from them, and I give them my 'Green Seal of Approval'.

To your great health!

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