Read a good article on why so many people gain weight despite training so hard. This is known as the "Endurance 15", which is very similar to the Freshman 15.I'll summarize the article the best I can:
Nutrition
As training increases to 10+ hours a week, the athletes mentality is to decrease weight and body fat. Thus athletes have a tendency to cut back on calories despite the increase in workout volume.
"...because the body is not being fueled right, these athletes find themselves having uncontrollable food cravings. This can result in significant overeating or binge eating, and many times this will occur later in the day and late at night. This will lead to significant weight gain even during bouts of high-volume training."
I know I defintely feel this binges, especially when I swim. One of the things I've finally cut out of my diet is poptarts. That was my go-to breakfast on the way to the gym. It's now a 150 calories granola bar, which I like too, just doesn't have the sugar bite the poptart did. However, the poptart was also 400 calores. For lunches I've been eating Cliff Energy Bars (2 of them). I'm going to be moving away from this since it does lead to starvation by the time dinner time comes around.
"Be sure to fuel the body properly starting immediately upon awakening and every 2.5-3.5 hours throughout the day. This will help to keep the body fueled and “keep the fire stoked”. Also, be sure to fuel the body during training and avoid the “diet on the bike” mentality. As your training volume increases, be sure that your eating frequency and caloric intake adequately support your training."
Heart Rates
This part of the article focuses on training at too high of a heart rate level, thus the body is not 'learning' to use fat as the primary energy source.
"During endurance training, it is critical to train in the proper heart rate zones in order to facilitate burning fat as your primary fuel source. As endurance athletes, we want to teach the body to spare glycogen (fuel stored in your muscles and some stored in your liver) and to burn body fat instead. Too often, athletes have not improved their efficiency and they train at too high a heart rate, too often. When we train at too high a heart rate too often, we are not maximizing the body's ability to facilitate fat as our primary fuel source.
But here is the reality: when an athlete is moving at a very slow pace/speed in their lower heart rate zones, this simply means that the athlete needs to significantly improve their fitness and efficiency, and they are just not as fit as they thought they were. (And this is ok--we can work on improving one’s efficiency so that in time, the athlete will be training longer, harder, and faster, at the same or lower heart rate). This is where we as athletes have to check our ego at the door. Ignore pace/speed, and focus on training at the right heart rates."
Weight Training
The taboo subject of weight training. A topic of fierce debate in the triathlete world.
"If you desire a lean physique, weight training is a must. Keep the weight training intense and vigorous. It does not have to be for a long duration; you can knock out a great weight training circuit easily in 30 minutes. Attack the weight training with the same ferocity and intensity that you would your hard swim, bike or run workouts."
I do weight training almost everyday and keep the intensity high by using slightly lighter weights and cranking out around 20 reps. I have very little rest between sets, thus my HR does increase during these workouts. I am not looking to bulk up, I'm looking to get lean.
"Perform weight training, upper and lower body, at least two days per week. Be sure to give your weight training on your schedule the same priority you would your swim, bike and/or run. Scheduling weight training does not mean “more training.” The key is to adjust your endurance training so that the weight training fits in seamlessly."
Sleep
This is an activity I'll embrace with open arms.
"As athletes, we focus so much on "getting our workouts in" that the focus on good, quality sleep can fall by the wayside. Endurance athletes trying to fit in all of their workouts tend to become sleep-deprived. Sleep deprivation can easily lead to weight gain; again, no matter how much working out and how many calories we are burning.
When we become sleep-deprived, hormones and neurotransmitters within our body become adversely affected; namely, hormones such as Ghrelin & Leptin and the neurotransmitter, serotonin. When these hormones and neurotransmitters are disrupted due to sleep deprivation, it affects our mood, appetite, food cravings, etc. This hormone imbalance can also greatly increase our food cravings which can then lead to binge eating, which of course leads to weight gain. You can see how easy it is for a vicious cycle to start when we become sleep-deprived."
No comments:
Post a Comment