Barely time to text much less plan a 7-day carboload?  Your body does not tweet or text, but it is capable of loading up energy stores of glycogen in just 24 hours.  But, you have to do it by Mother Nature’s carbo-loading rules.  Here goes:

For a 24-hour glycogen load, start with a short, 15-20 minute, near maximum intensity workout,  designed to deplete glycogen stores.  This can be done 1-3 days prior to the race. High intensity is essential, otherwise go for the traditional longer workout to deplete stores, and follow with a traditional carbo-load regimen.  For the 24-hour, high GI approach simply use a “this for that” game plan- i.e., swapping whole grain, high fiber carbs for high GI carbs.  Avoid breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran. Sub cornflakes, rice chex, corn chex, puffed rice cereal. Use breads without whole grains, stone-ground flour, or sourdough.  White bread, rice crackers, or white bagels must be on the 24-hour load menu.  Consume potatoes without added butter or margarine, and no french fries. Enjoy canned fruit in heavy syrup  and cooked vegetables.  Avoid whole grains such as quinoa, wild rice, or pasta cooked al a dente.   Pasta cooked until very soft has a higher glycemic index. Drink high GI sport drinks such as Pure Sport Recovery or fruit drinks instead of 100% juice. Use high GI snacks between meals: Clif Bar Bloks, Jelly beans, hard candy, top toast with jelly or jam, snack on Clif bar Cookies ‘n Crème, or Powerbars.  REST after loading essential to maintain stores!  Just go to work and sit at your computer, or drive to your favorite race.  Naturally, you want to stay limber, so easy walking and stretching is A-OK.

Published in print before the 2011 Ironman(r) World Championships in October, Iron War is Fitzgerald’s riveting epic about how Mark Allen and Dave Scott drove themselves and each other through the 1989 Ironman(r) World Championship, the most awe-inspiring race in sports history. Driven by one of the fiercest rivalries in triathlon, Scott and Allen raced shoulder to shoulder through the Ironman 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike race, and 26.2-mile marathon. After 8 punishing hours, both men would demolish the previous record-and cross the finish line just 58 seconds apart. The race would redefine the limits of human endurance and the role of mental toughness in sports. Iron War goes beyond the pulse-pounding race story to offer a fascinating exploration of the lives of the world’s two toughest men and their unquenchable desire to succeed. For more information, please visit www.velopress.com/ironwar.

Now that I am well into the Master’s age group category, it is at times frustrating (mild language!)  to see the downward slide in performance.  I blame my lack of conditioning on a combination of factors. Like most other Masters’, I have old injuries that keep me from doing much high intensity training.  Recovery time is longer, and I have to spend more time maintaining flexibility so that I can hit the gas and sprint to the finish line without sustaining a muscle pull.  Attitude is number one, training smarter, number two.  If you’re not older and smarter, you are done as a master! 

Staying competitive over age 40 means understanding how to make the most of what you have.  Besides fine-tuning technique and buying the latest equipment, your diet becomes a bigger factor in performance.  Is it possible to eat a diet that raises oxygen delivery?  Yes; but until recently, only the most dedicated  (I couldn’t!) could do so. But now a concentrated food supplement has become available that could rocket your performance.  Beet root extract.  To be exact, the specific compound in beet root that is responsible for its’ performance enhancing effects is the nitrates which are found naturally in beets.

The good news is not only can you ski, bike or run or whatever your passion is at a higher level, it costs you less in lung sucking air effort.  Power lungs translate to power legs and you know it. 

Beets.  More to come on the benefits of high nitrate foods. Stay tuned.  Spinach egg omelets? Beet shots as a pre-load?  Horseradish beet mustard? The right food can give you the first wave finish.  Eat it.  Have more fun. Live better through natural science.

When Dr. Allen Lim left the lab to work with pro cyclists like Levi Leipheimer and Christian Vande Velde, he found a peloton weary of food.  So Lim set out to make eating delicious and practical. His journey began with his mom, took him inside the kitchens of the Tour de France, and delivered him to a dinner party where he met celebrated chef Biju Thomas.

The Feed Zone Cookbook provides 150 flavorful recipes that even the busiest athletes can prepare in less time than it takes to warm up for a workout. With simple recipes requiring just a handful of ingredients, Biju and Lim show how easy it is for athletes to prepare their own food, whether at home or on the go.

The Feed Zone Cookbook strikes the perfect balance between science and practice so that athletes will change the way they think about food, replacing highly processed food substitutes with real, nourishing foods that will satisfy every athlete’s cravings.

The Feed Zone Cookbook includes

* 150 delicious recipes illustrated with full-color photographs

* Allen Lim’s take on the science and practice of food

* Portable whole foods, including Lim’s famous rice cakes and more

* Dozens of quick-prep meals for before and after workouts

* Shortcuts, substitutions, and techniques to save time in the kitchen

* Gluten-free and vegetarian alternatives to favorite dishes

Athletes sometimes do need to cut some weight but they can’t afford to miss training days from getting sick.  Nor do they want to lose muscle!  It is easy to reduce the calorie count in a meal by about 15%.  That does not mean you won’t feel full.  Research by Barbara Rolls, PhD, at Penn State University showed that by decreasing the amount of grains and meat portions, and subsituting low calorie vegetables, subjects in the study consumed fewer calories.  Even better, they didn’t really notice the amount of calories was reduced.  The bonus of swapping out some greens for grains was a boost in anti-inflammatory nutrients.  If part of your dinner plate is sugar or grease, then replacing more veggies for these foods can have an even higher payback.

Marquette – NOV 19th.  Mary Connor and Donna Marlor  will be at the Marquette Yoga Center to introduce YOGA FOR A  LEAN LIFESTYLE to the Marquette communty.  Described as a yoga  approach to weight loss and maintenance,  Yoga Center owner, Mary Connor said,  “It is a unique  program for anyone and everyone who has ever struggled with body image, yo-yo dieting, eating disorders and of course excess weight.  Based on the 8 limbs of yoga, when combined with nutrition coaching, this program offers a peaceful approach that is effective for managing holiday stress and eating.  Yoga is an  essential part of the program since research studies have shown that so often overeating is not about food.

              Special May discount – one class free!   

Did you know that exercise can actually make you fatter? 

That’s right.  Doing exercise without addressing your diet can metabolically promote a gain in body fat.  Learn how to eat to maximize body fat loss, while maintaining or building muscle.

 Let’s Get Ripped in May is an intense nutrition program led by Donna Marlor, MA, RD, American Dietetic Association certified sports dietitian, master’s in educational psychology, and NSCA-CPT.

Get expert nutrition coaching and group support to help you make rapid progress towards your personal fitness goals.

 WHEN:   Tuesday May 3, 10, 17

WHEN:   5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

WHERE:  Classes will be held at Lakeshore Skin Care, 307 S. Front Street, Suite 115, Marquette, MI 49855

CLASS TOPICS:

SESSION #1:        Introductory Session: Nutrient Timing for Fat Loss – It’s not just what you eat, it is when!                              

SESSION#2:         Exercise and Sugar:  How to use fructose to fuel exercise, not fat cells. 

SESSION#3:         Foods, Food Patterns & Supplements that Promote Fat Loss

 SESSION#4:         The Pyschology of Maintaining  Diet Changes

 For more information or to register, contact Donna at  nutrition@donnamarlor.com or call 906-273-1512

Classes are limited to 12.  Cost: $60.00 for all sessions and on-line coaching once a week for one month.

Get Ripped members who have already attended previous Get Ripped programs get 50% off!

When the scale seems “stuck” despite doing regular aerobic exercise, it might be time to grab some barbells in the weight room.  What is the best routine to maximize the calorie burn?  That is what researchers at the University of Southern Maine decided to find out.  They compared the energy cost of performing a bench press exercise 2 ways: muscular endurance vs. strength routine.  Single-set bench press lifts of approximately 37%, 46%, and 56% (endurance-type) and 70%, 80%, and 90% (strength-type exercise) of 1 repetition maximum were performed.  Because a higher volume of reps could be done at the lowest weight (until failure), the best calorie burn was at 37% of maximum.  Subjects could perform 36 reps at the lowest weight and burned almost twice as many calories compared to the strength-type exercise routine, where only 8 reps or less could be completed.  Bottom line: for the most “burn”, go light and lift long.

 Donna Marlor Sports Nutrition will be at the Sports Rack in Marquette on April 6th at 6 pm – 7:30 pm.  Featured topics will be sport nutrition products and  ”Flat Fix” and easy road mechanics.  Great prizes and free Clif bar samples. Read More

Don’t overlook the convenience of keeping canned food in your cupboard as a way to improve your diet. I like this fast recovery Tomato Italian soup because it is packed with antioxidants, and low in calories.   Spring for the extra cost of organic, pre-seasoned crushed tomatoes to insure low added sugars, and maximum flavor.    Spices are essential to raise antioxidant content, and don’t be afraid to add a little extra to suite your taste.

¾ cup organic, crushed tomatoes seasoned with Italian spices

½ cup chicken broth

Optional: fresh ground pepper

Optional: top with 2 Tbsp. fresh grated parmesan cheese
Read More