Posts Tagged ‘benefit performance’
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
Hi GBIers,
Now that your training is in full force you may be getting anxiety or feeling a bit guilty when the schedule requires you to take a rest day. That is a very common feeling during intense training workouts. However, when training at a high performance level, it’s essential to get enough rest after exercise. The body uses that time to repair and strengthen itself inbetween workouts.
Rest days are critical for a multitude of reasons, both physical and psychological. Your body needs a physical rest so that your muscles can repair, rebuild and strengthen before the next big training. On a psychological level, your mind also needs the time to mentally prepare itself for your next training feat and/or goal.
In this blog, we’ll share what happens during that recover time, the types of recovery and how to stay balanced during the last month or so of training.
What happens during recovery?
During recovery your body adapts to the stress of exercise and the real training effect takes place. Recovery allows your body to replenish energy and repair damaged tissue that may have occurred during your training. If you skip your recovery time, the body will continue to breakdown from too much exercise and you will begin to see signs of overtraining. These signs may consist of feelings of discomfort, depression, decreased performance resulting in an increase chance of injury; this is why the recovery period is so important.
What are the types of recovery?
There are two types of recovery that your body requires, the first is short-term recovery and the second is long-term recovery. Both are import for optimal training performance, for your mind and body. Short-term recovery normally occurs in the hours immediately after a long training. During this time your body should engage in low-intensity exercise during the cool-down phase immediately after a long training. Short-term recovery is linked to long-term performance benefits if done properly. Also, during this time, your body can begin to replenish and restore energy and fluids lost during training.
Long-term recovery refers to those training for a specific event and or meets such as the Las Vegas Half Marathon! We’ve built in our designated training days as part of our training program to help build the most effective training for the needs of our team members.
Remember to stay balanced!
As with any training program, it’s important to stay balanced both physically and mentally. As mentioned in the beginning of this blog, the higher level training you do requires a greater need for planned rest and recovery. Remember to monitor your workouts and pay attention to your body’s ques. Recovery is about the healing of the body so that you can be prepared to take your training to the next level.
Happy and Healthy training,
GBI Team
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Tags: benefit performance, Gastric Band Institute of Las Vegas, Half Marathon Training, Las Vegas Half Marathon, Las Vegas Marathon, Las Vegas Rock n' Roll Marathon, Marathon Training Tips, stamina, training rest days
Posted in Gastric Band Institute Events, Half Marathon Training, Physical Activity, Psychological, Rock n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon |
Thursday, September 30th, 2010
Do you ever wonder why we encourage stretching before all exercise? Stretching prior to training helps your muscles become looser and can decrease the chances of injury and muscle soreness. Stretching helps to increase your flexibility which can amplify your stride, rate and pace. Pre-training stretching is also a great time to focus your mind and set an intention or goal for your walk/run. However, you should also be careful while stretching. If it’s not done properly, it can cause injury rather than prevent it. Here are some simple rules to remember when stretching:
#1: Stretch slowly and do not bounce when stretching. Bouncing can pull or tear the muscle you’re trying to stretch. Muscles should be stretched gradually. Stretch slowly and hold each stretch for 30 to 40 seconds.
#2: Do not go overboard. Hold a stretch when you start to feel tightness in the muscle but never stretch to the point of discomfort and pain. Stretching should feel good!
#3: Develop a stretching routine. Start with the muscle groups that are most important to your workout and move your way through the remaining muscle groups. At the end of your workout, perform the stretches again in the same order.
Once you have completed your walk/run or cross training exercise, it’s just as important to do a post-stretch. While your initial thought might be to sit and relax (especially as we get into longer walk/runs in the coming months), your muscles will be tight from exercising. Take the time to reflect on your workout during your post-stretch. Ask yourself questions about your performance and make goals for your next walk/run.
Stretching doesn’t need to be only about your muscles, use it beforehand to set goals for your workout and afterwards to congratulate yourself. Your body will thank you in the end!
Happy training,
Team GBI
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Tags: benefit performance, Dr. Darren Soong, Dr. James Atkinson, Gastric Band Institute of Las Vegas, Half Marathon Training, Las Vegas Half Marathon, Las Vegas Marathon, Las Vegas Rock n' Roll Marathon, Marathon Training Tips, stretching, team fitness, training stretches
Posted in Gastric Band Institute Events, Half Marathon Training, Physical Activity, Rock n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon |
Wednesday, September 29th, 2010
Team GBI,
Welcome to Part 2 of my series on bariatric tips for our ½ marathon training! In my last post, I reviewed hydration requirements as well as general nutrition guidelines. Keep in mind that nutrition and hydration preparation are just as important as the actually training itself. Consider how your body would feel if you did not train for the ½ marathon but decided to participate at the last minute. Proper nutrition or the lack of proper nutrition can affect your body in the same way. As our mileage continues to rise, consider the long walk/run nutritional plans below!
Preparing for Long Runs
The definition of a long run is considered to be 10 miles or longer or runs that last more than 90 minutes. For people who are walking rather than running, I would consider a long walk any training that lasts more than 2 hours.
Prior to Long Runs:
- Start proper hydration the day before (not just after) a long run.
- Eat 2 – 3 hours prior to your long runs. You do not want to eat anything that will be too heavy or take a long time to break down. Try a shake with milk and fruit to up your carbohydrates or, if you have the time and can get up early enough, try yogurt with berries or crackers with a protein source.
After Long Runs:
- Ideally within 15 minutes after a long run you’ll want to replenish glycogen storage. This will help to prevent muscle fatigue and to keep you on track with training.
- If you are consuming sports beans during the training, it is likely that you will not need to replenish glycogen afterwards. (Remember you should not be consuming any sports beans until you have been on the track for a minimum of two hours.)
Remember to pay attention to your body if you get leg cramps. Cramping can be due to dehydration as well as depleted electrolytes or glycogen storage. The body can learn to tap into fat cells to utilize energy once glycogen storage is depleted. Our bodies have up to 800 grams of glycogen storage. If your body is not used to tapping into your storage you may feel tired the first few times but then your body will learn to efficiently utilize the storage of energy you already have.
As always, listen to your body and it will tell you what it needs. Please feel free to post a comment or a question on this series about nutrition and hydration.
Happy, Healthy and Safe Training!
Prudence
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Tags: bariatric patient, benefit performance, Dr. Darren Soong, Dr. James Atkinson, Gastric Band Institute of Las Vegas, Half Marathon Training, Las Vegas Half Marathon, Las Vegas Marathon, Las Vegas Rock n' Roll Marathon, marathon nutrition, Marathon Training Tips, pre-race nutrition, Prudence Ticknor, team fitness
Posted in Eating, Half Marathon Training, Nutrition, Physical Activity, Rock n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon |
Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
Hello Team GBI!
Our training for the ½ marathon is off to a wonderful start! As we continue to train please be mindful of appropriate nutrition for bariatric patients. To help, I’ve put together a two part series to discuss hydration, nutrition as well as specific nutrition recommendations for long walk/run trainings.
Hydration
The number one concern while training is being able to stay hydrated throughout your workout. Once you allow yourself to feel thirsty it is almost impossible to get properly hydrated. The key is to make a hydration schedule and drink appropriate amounts of fluids throughout the day.
We recommend that your baseline is 64oz. of water plus 12 oz. of additional fluid for every 20 minutes of exercise. Be sure to take the time and do the math! Staying properly hydrated will make one of the biggest differences in how you feel during your training and after. It will also help your pace during the training as well as your performance on race day!
Water is the drink of choice for trainings up to 60 minutes. During all trainings over 60 minutes, you need to add some type of sports drink to replenish your electrolytes (mainly sodium and potassium). Look for sports drinks that are low in sugar. A great way to start is by filling your water bottles up with a 50/50 mixture of water and sports drink. It is important to remember that this is only needed for your actual training days when you exceed 60 minutes of exercise.
General Nutrition Guidelines
As our training continues, keep in mind that the key is to listen to your body. Your body will tell you if you are not getting enough carbohydrates – you will feel the difference in your energy. What your body will require will depend on your current physical ability as well as how hard you train. The harder you push yourself, the more food energy you will need to maintain that same physical energy level. Remember that the main nutrients missing during training is your electrolytes: potassium and sodium. Simple changes such as using milk in your protein shakes instead of water or adding salt to your food can add the additional potassium and sodium that your body requires.
Be sure to consider the following guidelines:
- Stay with the recommended 3 meals per day at 4 oz. plus one additional protein shake to start. If you find you are feeling hungry or light headed throughout the day, you may need to change the items in your meals.
- Start by trying new food items before deciding to add additional food.
o Replace water with milk or even whole milk
o Consume different types of fruit or add peanut butter to your fruit to increase your carbohydrates and calories
- Review your eating habits and replace light or low fat foods with their regular versions (i.e. yogurt, milk)
If you continue to feel hungry and/or light headed after following the guidelines above, you may need to add an additional protein shake or bar to your diet however, I do not recommend adding an additional meal. As always, please feel free to ask specific questions as they arise!
Happy, Healthy and Safe Training!
Prudence
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Tags: bariatric patient, benefit performance, carbohydrates, Dr. Darren Soong, Dr. James Atkinson, endurance, Gastric Band Institute of Las Vegas, Half Marathon Training, Las Vegas Half Marathon, Las Vegas Marathon, Las Vegas Rock n' Roll Marathon, marathon nutrition, Marathon Training Tips, pre-race nutrition, Prudence Ticknor, team fitness
Posted in Eating, Gastric Band Institute Events, Half Marathon Training, Nutrition, Physical Activity, Rock n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon |
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Congratulations, we are on the downward slope and are tapering off our miles as we head towards the big day! It is important to remember that as we decrease our training mileage, our carbohydrate intake should be decreasing as well. These next three weeks you want to gradually decrease your carbohydrate intake to approximately 40% of your total intake; choosing low glycemic index choices like whole grain starches, beans, and vegetables to help maintain a steady blood glucose level. This week will be the last week we will need our sports drinks, gel packs, sports beans, etc. After our long run this week, 6 miles, you will not need the simple sugars again until race day.
Eating too much, eating not enough or choosing foods that may not be suitable for you can all affect how you perform race day. Follow the article below for great nutrition tips to consider in these last few weeks before race day.
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-301–12845-1-1-2,00.html
Happy and Healthy Running/Walking,
Prudence
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Tags: bariatric patient, Bariatric Surgeons, benefit performance, carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates, Gastric Band, Gastric Band Institute of Las Vegas, Gastric bypass, Half Marathon Training, lap band, lap band surgery, Las Vegas Half Marathon, Las Vegas Marathon, Las Vegas Rock n' Roll Marathon, Las Vegas Weight Loss Doctors, marathon nutrition, Marathon Training Tips, pre-race nutrition, simple carbohydrates, simple sugars, team fitness, Weight Loss Surgeons, Weight Loss Surgery
Posted in Eating, Gastric Band Institute Events, Half Marathon Training, Rock n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon |
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
Many of you may have questions about caffeine. What is it? Is it good for me. etc.? Well, caffeine is a stimulant that increases mental alertness so you feel good.
Some sports studies have found benefits to consuming caffeine and that it may enhance marathon performance when taken properly. Research also shows that it stimulates the release of adrenaline from your adrenal glands. This allows more fatty acids to be released into the blood so you are burning fatty acids at the beginning and can save muscle glycogen to the latter miles of a marathon.
Caffeine does have benefits like increasing your speed by just a few minutes. But how important is several minutes to your time? The goal of the GBI Marathon team is to train for a healthy marathon pace in order to reduce injuries and prolong your walk/run so that you can finish the race feeling good. Our primary goal is maintaining a healthy lifestyle, not increasing our speed.
The bottom line is caffeine can benefit performance, but in the end, water is the most important fluid you should consume. Remember you need at least 8 additional ounces of water for every 10 – 15 minutes of exercise. Also, you should drink 1 pint of water approximately 30 minutes before training and race day. So, the fluid to focus on the most is H2O!
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about caffeine intake.
Happy and Healthy Training,
Prudence
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Tags: benefit performance, caffeine, caffeine and speed, Gastric Band, Gastric Band Institute of Las Vegas, Gastric bypass, Half Marathon Training, lap band surgery, las vegas, Las Vegas Half Marathon, Las Vegas Marathon, Las Vegas Rock n' Roll Marathon, Las Vegas Weight Loss Doctors, Marathon Training Tips, water, Weight Loss Surgeons, Weight Loss Surgery
Posted in Gastric Band, Gastric Band Institute Events, Gastric Sleeve, Gastric bypass, Half Marathon Training, Las Vegas Weight Loss Surgeons, Rock n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon, Weight Loss Surgery |
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