Lasers and bones

In true spirit of me going off on a tangent, this blog will not really be about nutrition but rather, lasers.  I know, I know.  Sounds a bit hokey but let me explain first...

Six weeks ago, I was playing basketball and came down on my foot wrong.  A simple jump and a roll of the foot cost me a broken foot.  I didn't go to the doctor (shame on me!) but let me tell you why...

Eight years ago, I broke the same bone (5th metatarsal) while trail running.  That was the first broken bone of my life and I believe it happened because I was going a bit too fast (running with an IM World Champion will do that!).  

Back to my current situation...when I hit the ground playing basketball six weeks ago, the pain was the exact same that I experienced 8 years ago.  I knew what had happened and took it upon myself to be in charge of my own care plan.  After a physical therapist friend ruled out a serious fracture, I placed myself in a walking boot, went aggressive on micronutrient supplementation and started using the cold laser that I have at eNRG performance.  

I really didn't know how effective the cold laser would be on a broken bone but I can honestly say, after 4-5 treatments of 4-6 minutes per time per day, my 5th metatarsal is healing much quicker than it did 8 years ago.  I'm older and while I do not have an X-ray to validate this, I can actually walk without my walking boot.

I will remain in my boot for another 2 weeks so I don't do anything stupid (like trying to run) but the whole point of me writing this blog is to share the outside the box thinking when it comes to something other than nutrition.  Using alternative therapies (such as the cold laser) can indeed benefit an injury.  I hope you do not have to experience something like this but if you do, look into this cold laser therapy.  It's for real!

And if you are wondering, no, my upcoming tri season has not been put on hold whatsoever.  I've been enjoying some extra time doing strength training, swimming and even a bit of cycling (with a flat pedal on my bike).  As I recall 8 years ago, I got out of my walking boot 4 weeks before Ironman Coeur d'Alene.  Finished it and went on to finish my first Leadville 100 run 7 weeks later.

Anything is possible!

Coach Bob

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Sodium supplementation for endurance athletes

950, 921, 622...SAT scores?  I sure hope not!  What do these numbers mean?  Well, I will explain but let me first provide a bit of background.

Sodium supplementation for endurance athletes.  Sure, we know we need to consume sodium during training and competition but how much?  Back in the days (really, just until last week), I used to fathom a guess to this question.  I mean, I think I have a very accurate guesstimate that I could provide athletes based on my decades of experience and my own training and competition experience.  Here's how I did it...

Athlete comes in, we chat about their training, duration, environment and I ask them if they are a salty sweater.  "I think so", "I have no idea" or "definitely" were the typical responses.  How did they know this?  They were judging this based on the fact of white salt stains on their body or clothing.  More white salt stains = salty sweater.  Great!  Now, I give you the recommendation of 300-1500 milligrams of sodium per hour and you are on your way!  Seriously, that is the normal recommendation of sodium needs per hour but how do we know where you may fall in that range?  Guessing game along with trial and error.

I will use myself as an example.  I am a heavy sweater for sure.  Doesn't matter if I am in Colorado, Florida, New York or Hawaii.  I sweat a lot.  Now, conventional wisdom states that if you are a heavy sweater, you will lose more sodium (because sodium is the main electrolyte lost in sweat).  Thus, you should supplement with more sodium.  The thought process makes sense, except of course that you must also consider an athlete's daily nutrition plan (high or low sodium)...more on that in another blog post.

Back to Coach Bob, the athlete.  I sweat a lot thus I will need more sodium during training due to higher sodium losses.  Made sense to me and I really didn't question it (too) much.  However, since writing my e-book on Sodium Loading Protocol for Endurance Athletes, I really got thinking about this whole sodium supplementation, the "why's and how's" and if there was a better way to improve the accuracy of my recommendations.

There have been sweat patches and whole body bag methods for analyzing sodium concentration lost in sweat but I have never been too keen on those from a practical perspective.  Then, last year, I stumbled upon a method that tests the concentration of sodium lost in sweat in a non-invasive approach and without having to exercise (I know, it sounds too good to be true).  I did some research, spoke with the exercise physiologist who sells the machine and was convinced that this was a valid piece of equipment to add to the eNRG performance arsenal to help athletes better understand their bodies and their nutritional needs.

Back to the numbers...950, 921, 622.  The eNRG performance Sports Dietitians tested their sweat sodium concentrations (the numbers are milligrams of sodium lost per liter of sweat) and we found out some very, very interesting stuff.  Remember me, the heavy sweater?  Well of course, I am thinking that my sweat sodium concentration is through the roof thus I would always supplement with around 1000-1200 mg/sodium/hour of training and racing.  However, my number was actually 622.  I had the lowest sweat sodium concentration among my colleagues.

How could that be?  That's not right...or is it?  My body sweats a lot in trying to stay cool.  Interestingly, my body is extremely efficient in conserving sodium thus I do not need to supplement with a great deal during training.  There could be many combinations of this.  For example, my colleague Paige's number was 921 yet she reported to be a low to moderate sweater but loses far more sodium than I do.

Much of the sweat sodium concentration is based on genetics.  My main question, which there is no data for yet, is how changing a nutrition plan will effect this number.  eNRG performance will be doing this field research soon but in the meantime, we are now offering personalized sweat sodium concentration testing for athletes.  Should you get it?  Yes.  Every single athlete should have this measured because chances are that you, much like me, are not accurate in guessing how much sodium you need to take in during exercise.

The test appointment is 1 hour with an eNRG performance Sports Dietitian.  You do not have to exercise during the test and you will receive a consult with one of us as well as your individual sodium needs per hour of training.  Couldn't be any easier.

To sign up for this service, click HERE.

Until next time...

Coach Bob (a much happier Sports Dietitian now that he knows he doesn't have to consume as much sodium during exercise any longer...)

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eNRG performance

It's been a long time coming but I am proud to finally announce the "birth" of my newest venture, eNRG performance.  As you may know, I have a few college degrees and wear a few hats in my career.  Namely those of sports dietitian, exercise physiologist, strength and conditioning coach, triathlon and endurance coach for adults and youth, metabolic efficiency training specialist, author and educator.

In the past, I have had pieces (or businesses) of my areas of expertise like spokes on a bike wheel.  What I have always lacked was the hub to hold all of them together.

eNRG performance is my hub.  I am proud to announce that eNRG performance will provide athletes and fitness enthusiasts nutrition consulting services, physiological testing, full endurance coaching, education and training.  It is all quite exciting but none more than the training piece.  eNRG performance will have a physical space (I finally have a home!) and the eNRG performance training center will house not only nutrition and testing but also a full training center that will include strength and functional conditioning equipment, a full Wahoo Kickr cycling area and a recovery center.  The recovery center will include different modalities of recovery that anyone can use in their daily lives to recover from a stressful day at work or after a tough training session.

eNRG performance is located in the foothills of southwest Littleton, Colorado and will boast only the best sports dietitians, coaches, strength and conditioning professionals, fitness professionals and customer service.

Fuel4mance, my sports nutrition consulting company will be dissolved but the great services provided by Sports Dietitians Dina Griffin and Paige Sheen will continue (and will be enhanced) at eNRG performance.  

Look to eNRG performance for all of your nutrition, testing, coaching, training, recovery and educational needs.

Doors will open in January so stay tuned!  In the meantime, visit www.enrgperformance.com for more information.

Thanks for your continued support with Fuel4mance in the past and now eNRG performance in the future!

Bob
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Beta-Alanine Supplementation: Take Two

It is been a month since I started my beta-alanine (BA) supplementation experiment and I will say the the initial results are promising.  I have not missed a day of taking BA and while I am still getting slight paresthesia, it is much less than when I first started.  

The qualitative data has been interesting.  When training, I do "feel" that I am able to perform higher intensities (and my power number have confirmed this).  It is a subjective assessment but I just don't feel the fatigue or "burn" in my legs when trying to sustain higher power output or going off the line in a full sprint.  I also feel the same in my cross races where I think my legs would burn out but I am able to keep going.  Granted, I am not winning any races but holding my own in the SM35+4 category (this is only my second year racing cross and I have 8 races under my belt now).

The slight quantitative data shows a good increase in my power profile at 5 and 20 minutes which makes sense since I am focusing on cyclocross training and racing.  My chronic training load (CTL) has increased by almost 14 points in the last month and my normalized power for similar distances has increased by about 20 watts (this is a hard comparison since I did not do the same course both times).

All in all, I am still impressed with the supplementation and look forward to the next two months of it.  Research states that at least 4 weeks are needed to see significant improvements so I hope these small changes in the first 4 weeks are an indication of further improvement.

Another update coming next month!

Coach Bob
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Experiment time!

This weekend is a very special weekend.  It marks the end of my triathlon season and the beginning of my cyclocross season.  Honestly, I haven't raced a tri in about 3 months but am excited to finish up with the Littlefoot Sprint Tri.  I've been putting some time in the saddle and surprisingly, this has crossed over well to my running.  

You know those times where you just don't feel fast on the run?  Yeah, I had an entire summer of that.  I thought I would test out my run speed last week after a solid 15 mile TT bike.  I did a 3x1 mile loop run course (off the bike) with an extra 0.1 miles to make it a 5k.  Shockingly, and I say that because I haven't really been doing any speed training on my run, I put in a solid time based on my run fitness.  We'll see how that transfers over to the race tomorrow...

Back to the topic on hand...my experiment (initially 30 days in duration).  I wouldn't be the sport dietitian I am today if I didn't run continual experiments on myself so I can share with athletes!  I will be doing my first cyclocross race on Sunday and thought I would initiate a little experiment throughout the season.  I have always been intrigued with the supplement beta-alanine so I have decided to put it to the test.

A quick primer...beta-alanine is an amino acid that aids in the synthesis of carnosine.   Carnosine plays a role in muscle pH regulation and is known to be a buffer to the hydrogen ions that are accumulated in higher intensity exercise.  It is synthesized in skeletal muscle from the two amino acids l-histidine and beta-alanine.  Increasing levels of carnosine in the body can reduce muscular fatigue and improve overall work capacity.   Interestingly, the rate limiting factor of carnosine synthesis is the availability of beta-alanine.  So, supplementing with beta-alanine will improve carnosine levels which should improve the body's ability to buffer hydrogen ions.

What does this have to do with me?  Well, cyclocross racing is very explosive as is some of the training.  I am going to put this supplement to the test to see if I notice any differences in the quality of my training and racing.  I started my supplement protocol of 6 grams of beta-alanine per day mixed with 10 grams of carbohydrate (research states this may improve the response).  As I sit here typing this, I am experiencing the only side effect of taking beta-alanine: paresthesia (tingling sensation in the extremities).  It just feels like a mild case of pins and needles.

Away I go...stay tuned for updates!

Coach Bob
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Qualitative vs. Quantitative

You say you are tired?  Don't feel like training but need to because race season is here?  Yeah, I said these same things today as I approached my Team EMC swim practice.  I wasn't feeling it.  Head hurt from pulling a muscle in my neck, was yawning and well, you know the rest of the story.  I showed up to swim practice but wasn't expecting anything great.

Why is this?  Because qualitatively, I have taught my mind to assess my physical state.  If I'm not feeling good, I still go into a session with a good mindset and I definitely do not sabotage myself by saying, "I'll just go easy today".  I think far too many athletes do that and create negative self-talk scenarios which can lead to a subpar performance state.  Instead, when I feel like this, I actually get a little angry ("healthy" angry) and have a psyche up session in my head.  It goes something like this...

"I may not be feeling it today but I am going to prove to myself that my mind is wrong.  I don't feel tired.  I feel energized and ready to go.  My form feels good in the water.  In fact, I am going to do everything in my power to prove my brain wrong today."

Yeah, I really do have this dialogue in my head before training (and sometimes during!).  Does it help?  Most of the time it does.  You see, I believe many of us give in to the small aches, pains, body signals or destructive thoughts that enter our mental and physical states.

The only true way to know if it worked is to look at the quantitative side of training.  For me, this morning, it was the clock and Coach Susan Williams.  Even though the entire 1.5 hours of swim practice did not qualitatively feel right, I was quantitatively fast.  Extremely consistent in my times and faster at the end of the workout than I have been in a while.

So, what gives?  How can an athlete not feel good yet still put out good results?  Easy.  Your mind is your biggest obstacle.  Control it and you will likely control the outcome of your training session.

Next time you encounter this, try a bit of positive self-talk and see what happens.  You may surprise yourself!

Coach Bob
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Prehab, Priorities and Persistence

I had an interesting conversation the other day with one of my younger triathletes and it got me thinking that I need to not localize this learning opportunity to just one individual.  What a better way to spread the education than my blog.  The conversation went like this:

A: athlete
CB: Coach Bob

A: "Coach Bob, my leg is hurting.  Can I stop and stretch it out?"
CB: "Of course.  Is it from your cross country injury in the Fall?"
A: "Yes."
CB: "Do you feel like the coach made you run too many miles and this could have led to your injury?"
A: "Yes."
CB: "Hmm.  Are you doing any type of prehab or rehab exercises?"
A: "My PT gave me rehab exercises to do."
CB: "So, you had an injury due to running too many miles in Fall cross country then you went to see a PT to have rehab done?"
A: "Yes."
CB: "Have you been doing the rehab exercises when prescribed and more importantly, prehab exercises that target improving your imbalances?"
A: "I just don't have time with school and all."
CB: "Oh."
A: "Coach Bob, I want to run in college so bad."
CB: "How are you going to run in college if you are hurt?  College coaches won't want you on their team if you can't run."
A: "Oh, you are right."
CB: "So, you are telling me that you do not have time to do your rehab and prehab exercises because of everything else going on in your life.  Do you have time to be hurt?"

>>>proverbial light bulb goes off with a new sense of motivation>>>

A: "Oh, you are right Coach Bob."
CB: "Sometimes, you must find the few minutes in each day to take care of your body because if you don't, it won't take care of you."


This is a fairly common conversation I have with athletes but usually not young athletes.  I am seeing more and more injuries happening at a younger age and while I will not argue what I believe to be the causes, I will stress the importance of EVERY athlete spending at least 10 minutes EVERY day to initiate a few prehab exercises.  There are many reasons for this (as you can read in my new ebook if you would like) but it really comes down to two success markers: 1) priorities, and 2) persistence.

Make prehab a priority in your daily schedule.  Treat it like any other training session.  Place it on your training calendar (or tell your coach to do this) and be sure to hold it high on the priority list.  Often times, you can do a few prehab exercises when you first wake up.  You can also add some before any type of workout.  Take 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes before a workout and call it good.

Secondly, you must be persistent in the implementation of prehab exercises.  Far too often I witness athletes extremely motivated for 1-2 weeks in doing these exercises but then they lose their focus, their motivation or "need" to do them.  You need to do these exercises daily, trust me.  Prehab exercises should be like brushing your teeth or taking a shower...habits already engrained into your daily routine.

Set prehab exercises as a top daily priority and be persistent in doing them.  You will find that you experience less aches and pains and will reduce the likelihood of injuries.  Do it for yourself, your performance and for your longevity in sport.


Coach Bob
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