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Showing posts from March 21, 2021

Does every workout require a recovery drink?

A smoothie can be a perfect recovery beverage.  This blended (or shaken) beverage can be a good source of carbs, protein, electrolytes and fluids, and makes for a well-tolerated snack when fatigue, exhaustion, and dehydration linger post-workout. But does every workout require a protein-packed smoothie? ❌Skip the engineered foods and expensive shakes and make yourself a nutritious well-balanced meal if: 👉You only exercise once a day and have long recovery periods between two workouts. 👉Your workout is neither intense or high volume. 👉You can eat a meal within 45 minutes of the workout. ✅Certain situations justify a recovery drink before a real meal. Go for the post-workout smoothie if: 👉There are less than eight hours between two workouts. 👉Your workout is high intensity or high volume. 👉Muscle damage has occurred (ex. plyometrics or weight-bearing activity). 👉You can’t eat a meal within 45 min of your workout. 👉Your workout included eccentric movements (downhill running, s...

Do you need a daily supplement?

"The term 'dietary supplement' describes a broad and diverse category of products that you eat or drink to support good health and supplement the diet. Dietary supplements are not medicines, nor should they be considered a substitute for food." -From the Quality Supplements website . Dietary supplement ingredients can be one or a combination of any of the following: Vitamin Mineral Herb or other botanical Amino acid (the individual building blocks of a protein) Concentrate, metabolite, constituent, or extract Although some herbal and mineral compounds have been used for hundreds of years to treat health conditions, current dietary supplement manufacturers are not legally allowed to say their products cure, treat or prevent disease. Supplement makers are allowed to claim that products support health or contribute to well-being. Congress does not regulate dietary supplements the same way it regulates medicine. Except for new dietary ingredients, dietary supplement manuf...

Effects of dehydration on a body in motion

  Although water has no caloric value, it’s the most essential nutrient required in your diet on a daily basis. Your body is made of water. It’s part of your blood, brain, heart, lungs and bones. As it relates to exercise, water maintains blood volume, reduces the risk of heat stress, regulates body temperature and is involved in muscle contractions. To optimize your hydration status, you must be an active participant in your hydration regime by consuming adequate fluids and electrolytes on a daily basis - as well as before, during and after exercise. Leaving hydration to chance or ignoring dehydration symptoms can be hazardous to health and performance. Sadly, once you are dehydrated, you can't 'make-up' for fluids lost. Going into a workout dehydrated and/or not replenishing fluids and electrolytes lost during exercise can cause great strain on your cardiovascular system. As dehydration reduces plasma volume, blood becomes thicker and retains more sodium. This makes blood...

Embarrassed by failure

  I feel like a failure.  After tackling some pretty extreme conditions during my first few gravel rides - snow, ice, mud, water - along with completing a 72 mile group gravel ride with a group of fast and skillful guys and then a 104 mile muddy gravel event, I am embarrassed to say that I've now crashed twice on my gravel bike...in the past 8 days. Last Saturday was an unfortunate accident where I hit a deep hole during the Sumter Forest Gravel race and with the impact, my handlebars flipped forward, which caused me to lose control. I was able to "softly" land on my left side with only a small road rash on my hip and knee. However, upon the impact of my chest on the bike frame when hitting the hole, I must have bruised my ribs in my right chest. The road rash healed nicely after a few days but I was still experiencing uncomfortable pain in my chest while swimming. Although I had tenderness in my chest while biking (less while running), working out always made it feel bet...