The warm, sunny weather is driving Collingwood and area athletes outdoors to re-engage in their activities of choice. The runners are running, the cyclists are cycling, and the swimmers…well they still have a little wait for the ice to get out of the bay. Brrrrrrr.
While it’s easy to get caught up in the granular details of sports performance, it’s important to make sure the things that make the most impact are in place first. Here are four critical elements that make a difference you can feel.
Water
Water is critical for almost every biochemical reaction in the body. While we tend to just call it “dehydration”, what we’re really talking about is an inability to make proper use of the energy stored in your body, to control your temperature, to keep on top of your mental game, and to properly recover and grow. You endurance athletes know how critical those things are. Drink more. If you struggle to consume enough fluids, consider an energy/water combo, as opposed to eating sports bars or gels and then trying to drink enough separately.
Energy
Without energy from food, you can’t do the work. That’s an easy one. But more importantly, you can’t work to your potential and you can’t respond as quickly to training demands without the right food.
Finding a dietary balance of proteins, carbs and fat is critical–in Racing Weight, author and coach Matt Fitzgerald reveals that, for endurance athletes, body composition is more highly correlated with finish times than training variables–but no one is exactly sure what that balance should be, and everyone is different.
The answer? Focus on dietary quality. Yes, you need to eat enough. But you don’t need to weigh everything you eat—focus on improving the quality of everything you eat, and listen to your body. Whole foods, with as little processing as possible, will take you a long way.
Inflammation
Intense exercise creates inflammation. You’ve felt it.
Inflammation isn’t bad, though. It’s one of the things that is required for your body to initiate the process of getting stronger. What athletes should look for are ways to decrease their overall inflammatory set point from other sources. Your body has enough inflammation to deal with from your training—adding to it in the rest of your life won’t help.
One easy way to reduce the inflammation you don’t want is to ensure that you are not eating inflammatory foods. Food intolerance testing can reveal what foods your body may not be as happy with—carefully replacing those with other sources can allow you train harder and recover more quickly.
Recovery
Exercise is meant to cause damage to your muscles, bones and tendons—that’s what actually starts the process of getting them stronger. To do that, though, your body needs the right tools, and the time to work.
Make sure you give your body the building blocks it needs, like proteins and single amino acids like glutamine to rebuild muscles, as well as antioxidants like vitamin A, E C, and zinc for connective tissue repair.
Then, rest. Get away from the nighttime screens and go to bed. Listen closely to your body and watch for signs of overtraining, which can be sneaky. Overtraining, for example, can make it harder to fall asleep. You might get colds more easily, or take longer to get over them. Irritability, the “blues” or other mood shifts can also happen. These are all things that you might not connect with overtraining the way you would with fatigue or tired muscles.
Now get out there and enjoy the spring!
If you want to learn more about how naturopathic medicine can improve your athletic performance, contact the clinic at 705-444-5331.