Performance

  • Inflammation, Muscle, Performance, Recovery, Wellness

    Is cryotherapy recovery worth the chill?

    Interest in cryotherapy recovery has been gaining in popularity for a few years now. Athletes of all levels are lining up to embrace the chill in hopes of improving recovery. At the professional level many teams are building cryo-chambers into their training rooms even. Especially at the elite level, even the slight bit of additional benefit could be all the difference. Climbing into an ice box can be unpleasant for a short time but is it worth it for the potential benefits?

    What is cryotherapy recovery

    Put simply, cryotherapy recovery’s main goal is to cool down the body rapidly. Cooling down the body is putting it mildly! Climbing into a cryo-chamber you will be exposed to temperatures reaching -190 degrees Celsius. As you would expect with that though you will only be in there for about 2-3 minutes. You’re going to be in for a rough time and flirting with frostbite if staying for an extended period of time! Jumping into ice tubs is the original cold therapy strategy used and is still very common. Cost is a major reason for that as some similar benefits can be achieved with only needing a tub of water and some bags of ice. Effeciency is a big benefit of cryotherapy as well as you don’t have to sit in the cold as long.

    Cryotherapy recovery preparation for benefits.

    Potential benefits

    Cryotherapy recovery benefits.

    Exposing oneself to such discomfort wouldn’t be so popular if there weren’t some benefits. Decreased inflammation is one of the biggest draws of cryotherapy recovery. Training and matches/games are big time causes of inflammation on the body. Some inflammation is good and needed to improve performance, but there’s a limit. Like most things, balance is key. Decreasing inflammation contributes also to the ability to help the body’s muscles recover more efficiently. Condensed training and match schedules make quick recovery times incredibly important. Adding cryotherapy recovery in those situations in particular can be incredibly beneficial. The latest study referenced supported this showing decreased markers of both inflammation and muscle damage.

    Start shivering or stay under the blanket?

    Timing up when to hop in a cryotherapy chamber is the important thing. Eliminating too much inflammation too often can inhibit training adaptations similar to when consuming too many antioxidants. After taking that into consideration, adding in cryotherapy recovery into your routine likely isn’t a bad thing. Your biggest challenge though may be finding a place nearby that has a chamber available to use. Popularity continues to rise for it though with more and more places popping up offering it. Grab some hand warmers and a jacket for afterwards but give it a try!

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Carbs, Energy, Performance

    How many is too many carbs to consume during endurance events?

    Carbs are one of the main sources of energy that the body pulls from during physical activity. As the intensity of the activity increases, so too does the usage of carbs for energy. High intensities (ie. sprints, jump) means high carb usage. Within our body we have a natural storage of carbs already in place called glycogen. As that fuel tank of energy decreases, feelings of fatigue can begin to settle. Maximizing the body’s glycogen stores and conserving the usage of glycogen is a main focus for training harder and longer. Consuming carbs during exercise is a main strategy to provide outside energy in hopes of conserving glycogen. Great strategy, but it’s tough to know the magic number of how many carbs to consume to optimize that effect.

    Plenty of options for carbs to consume

    Sports nutrition products have made some companies billions (with a ‘B’) selling different sources of carbs. Gatorade is easily the giant dominating the category. By themselves, Gatorade has countless products of drinks, chews, bars, powders and gels to help provide carbs in convenient ways. All targeted at increasing energy availability and conserving glycogen stores. Helping athletes perform their best is the number one goal with this strategy leading the way.

    Many options of carbs to consume.

    Multiple types of carbs

    Not all carb options are equal though. By consuming different types of carbs, different benefits can be achieved. Glucose and fructose are the two main types of carbs as they are the two the body is most capable to use. They use two different pathways, or ‘roads’, in the body to get broken down and converted into energy. Consuming too many of one type can overload the system and cause some unwanted stomach problems. Balancing your intake between the two though will allow you to maximize the body’s usage of both of them. Splitting between them also helps ease the workload on the stomach to help avoid cramps, discomfort or in some cases an emergency trip to the bathroom!

    How much of what types of carbs to consume

    Fructose is typically the type of carb to be more careful with as it tends to not be absorbed as easily. Tougher absorption means it increases the risk of stomach discomfort and poor physical performances. On the other hand glucose tends to be a bit easier and better tolerated meaning can be consumed in larger amounts. Several studies have been done in the past and the optimal intake for maximum intake tends to be 90g/hr of carbs at a 2:1 ratio of glucose to fructose. Every hour that means an endurance athlete is consuming 30g of fructose and 60g of glucose. As mentioned previously, the vast majority of sports foods have this type of ratio so a target of 90g with those products should steer most people in a good direction. But what if the body could actually handle more?

    That is what several researchers have dug into to try and figure out. In a recent study they pushed it as high as 120g/hr of carbs consumed at a ratio though of 1:0.8 of glucose to fructose. So not only is this increasing total carb intake, but it’s also pushing the fructose intake in particular. Pushing the absorption limits in this study was done hoping to see if that extra intake would preserve the glycogen to enhance overall performance. The same goal as mentioned earlier that everyone is targeting. Consuming extra carbs at 120g/hr though did not actually preserve glycogen any more than the 90g/hr strategy. More carbs in total were used for energy as it pulled from more of the carbs being consumed but it didn’t stop the glycogen from still being used.

    Summing things up

    Without the preservation of glycogen, 120g of carbs may not be needed. Along with that the higher carb group also noted experiencing a bit more nausea and feelings of fullness. Most athletes prefer feeling ‘light’ during activity so that could cause some negative psychological effects too. Part of this though needs to involve making sure this type of consumption is done in practice first. Just jumping into that high of a carb intake can be a recipe for disaster for many. It goes back to the golden rule of no new foods/strategies on game day!

    You can train the body to handle greater carb intakes but if it doesn’t enhance the preservation of glycogen there may be other options. Carb periodization for example, to help train the body to tap into those fat stores a bit more. If glycogen preservation is maxed, using those fat stores would be a good consideration. But in regards to how many carbs to consume, 90g/hr seems to be a great starting point. Just make sure to have a mix of both glucose and fructose with it. Sports foods as mentioned tend to already have that mixture in it. Food wise though try balancing fruit/candy higher fructose items with bread/granola bars higher glucose items.

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Inflammation, Performance, Recovery, Supplements, Vitamins/ Minerals

    Too much of a good thing? – Antioxidants impact on training results

    Inflammation is something that gets a lot of negative publicity. Most people work and do everything they can to reduce it. Perhaps the most common strategy to reduce inflammation is through antioxidants. Antioxidants impact on inflammation has been studies a LOT! The results of those studies are fairly consistent showing their ability to reduce inflammation. But what if inflammation isn’t all bad? What if it’s just misunderstood?

    Physical activity creates inflammation

    Exercise and physical activity should be a regular part of everyones life. For athletes it plays an even bigger part. This activity has a wealth of health benefits and is crucial to improve an athletes performance. Right next to all of these benefits is something that typically is labels as a negative, inflammation. A build up of inflammation can leave you feeling incredibly sore the next day and result in decreased performance. Depending on what is in store for the next day this soreness could be a problem. This is where antioxidants can come to the rescue! For individuals who consume a lot of processed food, that can be very inflammatory. Antioxidants can come to the rescue here too! That is why you shouldn’t be eating fast food daily and should eat your broccoli.

    Physical activity and resistance exercise increases inflammation which can be both good and bad.

    Antioxidants impact on inflammation

    Antioxidants impact on inflammation needs to be monitored carefully due to concentration of dosages in supplements.

    Antioxidants are one of the first lines of defense against inflammation. The most popular way of acquiring antioxidants is normally by eating fruits and vegetables. It has become incredibly easy to consume an excessively large amount of these nowadays though due to supplements. Emergen-C is an incredibly popular example. One serving has 1,000mg of a key antioxidant vitamin C in it (1,111% of the recommended daily value). Nobody is eating enough berries to consume that much naturally! With such easy access to high levels of antioxidants the questions turns to whether we should consume such high levels? And if so, does timing matter?

    When too many antioxidants have a negative impact

    It’s a balancing act when it comes to inflammation in regards to exercise. When exercising, that inflammation is actually critical for progression and improvement. Your body learning to deal with inflammation on its own trains the body to be better able to handle those stressors again later. Handling inflammation better like this means what once made you sore and was difficult has gradually become easier. For example, when someone just starts running they may feel absolutely beat after a 10 minute mile. After months of running the body handles that stress/inflammation a lot better and now that level of soreness is felt when running a 5 minute mile.

    Taking excessive amounts of antioxidants acts like training wheels for the body. Without having to learn how to handle the stress and inflammation on its own, it will take a lot longer to make the same amount of progress. So be cautious if taking excessive amounts of antioxidants regularly. Save it for those special circumstances when quick turnarounds are needed. This doesn’t mean to completely skip your fruits and veggies though, nice try. Continue incorporating those regularly and here’s to all your progress ahead!

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Carbs, Energy, Ketone, Performance, Supplements

    Ketone supplements look to help high intensity activities

    This is a big blast to the past for me as my master’s thesis was on ketone supplements and it’s impact on performance. Overall ketone supplements are still a fairly new thing. We continue to learn more and more about them and have a long ways to go. Early on though, lactate levels seem to be one of the things ketones can target the most.

    What are ketones?

    Ketones are what your body produces when it is breaking down fat. It’s a form of energy that your body can use, like glucose, with other potential benefits as well. Ketone production is one of the main goals of those following a low carb diet. A lot of research on this has been done looking at medical uses such as for diabetes and seizures but it’s beginning to get a lot more attention in the sports/performance world. The dietary and lifestyle production of ketones is different from simply drinking them so get a short-term ketone boost.

    Ketone supplements vs. naturally produced

    Most of the research up to this point on ketones has been studying those that are naturally produced. This comes from low carb diet implementation and thus has other variables to consider. Prior to supplements being made the ketones couldn’t be isolated and looked at. But never count out science! Now there are all sorts of different ketones supplements out there. Ketone supplements now allow for a unique situation where ketone levels can be high in addition to having carbs with them. There are different forms of ketone supplements as well to consider. The two most common of which are ketone salts and ketone esters. Neither are the exact same as ketones produced by the body though there are still a lot of similarities for comparable effects. A lot of questions and details obviously still need to be learned but we’re getting closer one study at a time.

    Ketones used for energy

    One of the biggest functions of ketones is their use for energy. Similar to glucose, ketones can be used by muscles and the rest of the body to keep things running. When consumed as a supplement ketones actually jump to the front of the line for energy usage. This is where some of the interest from a performance perspective comes into play. While it is a go-to source of energy it also is able to do that without producing lactate as a result. Even at higher intensities ketones appear to pull this off effectively.

    The impact of lactate

    Lactate is produced when performing at a high intensity. As the intensity increases, the usage of glucose increases with it. Partially contributing to this is that the body isn’t getting enough oxygen to run as well on fat which needs more oxygen than glucose. That oxygen need is why you start breathing harder at higher intensities. Glucose though can actually still produce energy even without oxygen. But, this comes at a bit of a cost in the form of lactate being produced. As lactate increases you may start to feel that burning sensation in your muscles. This eventually will force you to have to slowdown or stop.

    Less lactate with ketone supplements

    What this study shows is the potential for the body to use ketones more and preserve glucose/glycogen. As a result, the decreased glucose usage also decreases the lactate being produced. More energy being available with slower production of lactate sounds like a great combo most certainly worth keeping an eye on. While this study looked at rugby players, the overall concept could be applied to much more. Lower lactate levels will certainly catch the attention of a lot of performance experts and athletes, myself included. While too early to say it should absolutely be a part of an athlete’s supplement plan, it’s worth keeping an eye on.

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Body Composition, Energy, Metabolism, Performance, Weight

    Fasted exercise has some benefits, but not top peak performance

    Training in a fasted state is something that has been fairly popular. Many enjoy it because they don’t like the feeling of being too full during physical activity. Others are a bit more intentional with fasted exercise though and are looking for specific benefits. Typically these benefits are related to body composition or weight goals but it needs to be done in a smart manner. Specifically, not when in a situation where needing to perform at one’s peak potential.

    What is fasted exercise and why do it?

    Fasted exercise is when training in a fasted state, meaning not eating anything before it. Most people do this by working out first thing in the morning. Other common times are done several hours after their previous meal or by having a cardio session after an intense workout just occurred. The main goal is to be working out when the body has low glycogen and overall energy stores. What happens then is the body is forced to pull from fat stores to produce the needed energy.

    Increased fat burn and body composition

    By forcing the body to use fat for energy, the body is being trained to use fat more easily. In theory this should help the body to burn fat throughout the day more as well. So not only during the workout is the body using more fat, but it could potentially last even after leaving the gym as well. People seeking improvements in body composition are very interested in this strategy because of that effect right there. What’s important to keep in mind though is training with a low/empty fuel tank can make it a lot harder to train at a level you normally would.

    Performance impact

    Having that low fuel tank is what could negatively impact your performance in that moment. If trying to make that fat burn change in the body, don’t try that strategy when doing an intense and competitive session. You also want to be careful not to try fasted exercise if simply looking to lose weight. It’s likely you will fatigue a bit earlier in this situation which could decrease the overall work done in that session. Save this for light sessions. Peak performance requires peak energy on hand!

    When to try fasted exercise

    Low intensity, cardio focused sessions typically is best. Having a set amount of work that’s to be completed helps too. That makes sure you still get the total amount of work in while getting the fat burn benefits. As always, you need to make sure you’re still staying hydrated. Most importantly please do not do this on intense training days, especially not on competition days! Your performance will almost always be better with a little food. If worried about feeling full, keep the snack before hand light. Stick to foods you know and that sit well for you. Liquids are easiest to digest and would be a great option to consider as well.

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Carbs, Macronutrients, Metabolism, Performance

    Carb loading first with extra fat afterwards

    One of the main energy stores in the body in glycogen. Glycogen is essentially reserved carbohydrates to be used throughout the day and exercise as needed. Higher intensity activities (ie. sprinting, jumping) use more glycogen than fat for energy. This is what carb loading is trying to target. By eating extra carbs leading up to an intense activity (carb loading) it can increase the amount of glycogen in the body. More glycogen in theory should then allow for more energy and increased performance. But what happens if after carb loading, a high fat meal was the last meal before the event?

    Carb loading has a long history

    Carb loading has been a strategy used for decades. It has stood the test of time for quite awhile because it’s worked and the concept makes sense as we discussed. But especially here of late new theories are starting to emerge to question this. One of the biggest is the strategic usage of periods of lower carb with higher fat intake. The carb loading has proven to help significantly raise glycogen in the body and many people have used this to set personal bests in a wide variety of physical tests/activities. With timed higher fat intake the theory is that it could help preserve that glycogen. Which again addresses the goal of more glycogen for longer to equal greater and more sustained performance.

    Fat rich meal as a chaser

    Generally a fat rich meal consumed purposefully is with the goal of making the body use fat for energy more. Consistent low carb diets really try to push this. In this study though the goal was to cause this effect just for the single exercise. The exercise specifically tested here was a 60 minute aerobic treadmill run. While the intensity wasn’t overly high it was still pushing the participants at 95% of their lactate threshold. After carb loading and then having a higher fat pre-race meal (meal was 42% fat), participants showed using less glycogen. Based off of what was being tested this was a success! But be mindful of a few things before grabbing an avocado and diving in headfirst.

    Be mindful with this carb loading strategy

    Fat takes longer for the body to breakdown and digest. As you get closer to exercise, typically you want to keep foods simple and easy for your stomach to digest. At that time blood is being focused to your muscles and not your stomach. With less focus on your stomach, digestion takes a back seat. This is why a high fat meal may not sit well for some people as fat takes longer to digest already then carbs do. That paired with exercise can really slow down digestion. With extra food sitting in your stomach that is when bloating and cramps tend to pop up more. So while in theory this could be a great strategy that was shown effective in the study, it should be tested during practice before an actual competition. As I always say, no new foods on game day! That applies to food strategies as well.

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Performance, Recovery, Sleep

    More social media means worse sleep quality

    Few things will give you as much of a return on your performance and recovery than your sleep quality. Hydration is right up there too but let’s focus on sleep for now! When we are asleep is when our body’s are able to be the most effective at repairing the body and recovering after the exercise/work done during the day. If sleep is negatively impacted, so too is recovery and performance in direct response. One of the biggest impacts on sleep amongst everyone has been technology. Technology has certainly provided a ton of benefits in just about every aspect of life but it does have some negatives. Amongst all the technology, social media is front and center of it all.

    Modern technology’s impact on sleep quality

    Technology is everywhere you look. Case in point you wouldn’t be reading this if it wasn’t for technology. The vast majority of technology that is used in our lives though involve screens. Starring at these screens exposes our eyes to blue light that is coming from them. That blue light exposure can mess with the body’s ability to produce melatonin which is what signals that it’s time for bed. Melatonin helps the body to fall asleep quicker, sleep deeper and for a bit longer. And no piece of technology is arguably used more than that of social media.

    Social media usage

    In a recent study, college athletes with asked how much time they spent on social media and evaluated how their sleep quality was. Now I expected it to a decent amount but I wasn’t expecting this. On average, athletes in this study were spending 4.6 hours per day on social media. It wouldn’t be a stretch either to say a large chunk of that time occurred lated in the day. With the ease of access to social media on phones it’s all too easy to pull it up while laying in bed as the last thing to do before sleeping. But it also is easy to lose track of time resulting in a lot less actual time to sleep. This is in addition to the negative effects the light from the screen is having on melatonin production. As a result there was a very strong correlation with increased social media usage and decreased sleep quality.

    Less phone time = better sleep quality

    If looking to improve your sleep quality (who of us isn’t?) stop scrolling on social media. Social media is great for a whole lot of things. It can be a source of wonderful information from reputable people and help to connect with people easily from all over. But set limits for yourself on your screen time. If setting a specific amount of time is too tough, start with setting a “bedtime” for your phone. Avoid mindlessly scrolling while in bed before falling asleep. Your body will thank you and those social media posts will all still be there in the morning.

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Heat, Hydration, Macronutrients, Performance

    Do extra carbs in an ice-slushy help lower body temperature better?

    When exercising our body gets hotter and hotter. The longer and more intense the exercise is, the more that temperature increases. As the temperature rises though our body begins to slow us down to avoid over-heating. This is why we tend to feel a bit more tired quicker in hot weather. On the other hand if we add a few things to help lower body temperature we may improve performance.

    Ways to lower body temperature

    Our body naturally tries to keep us cool and generally does a great job of it. The number one strategy is through sweat. As the sweat evaporates off of us it creates a cooling effect. In humid conditions where sweat isn’t able to evaporate that doesn’t happen. That’s why hot and humid conditions can be very dangerous.

    Wearing thin/light clothing helps to keep our skin exposed to the surrounding air. Wind going across our skin helps to cool the blood near the surface. As we get hot the blood tends to push more towards the surface for this. This is why you may notice your veins pop out a bit more in the heat.

    Other ways to help include cooling the body externally with cold towels or ice packs and internally with cold beverages or slushies.

    The perks of slushies on body temperature

    First, who doesn’t like a good slushy? But they offer a performance benefit as well. As mentioned previously our body starts to heat up as we train and work harder. Most cooling strategies of cold towels, fans, clothing and shade coverings address the external cooling. But internally the heat can still be building.

    This is where slushies come to the rescue! Having a cold iced beverage like that is able to get into the gut and help cool the body from the inside out. Now I know it’s not very functional to have a slushy machine on the sideline to have in the moment. But having a slushy before can help provide a bit of buffer to give extra time before the body heats up. The question now is can something be added to the slushy to make it even better? Carbs are the first on the list analyzed.

    Carbs impact (or lack thereof) on lowering body temp

    This compared one slushy with a typical amount of carbs in it with another slushy with twice as much. In controlled environments, the impact on body temperatures were…..the same. Extra carbs and extra calories in general can help provide additional energy to improve performance. None of the benefits being provided by the carbs appear to be related to lower body temperature effects.

    Is a sugar rush slushy needed?

    Nope. Short sweet and to the point there. This likely doesn’t come as a surprise to many, myself included. But just because I didn’t think there would be anything doesn’t mean it’s not worth checking out! Keeping an open mind to potentially being wrong is never a bad thing. But this study does show that slushies can help keep core temperatures down regardless of carb content. So if going to compete in a hot/humid environment, looking to see if you can grab a slushy beforehand could be worth a try if that is appealing to you. Just maybe don’t grab some extra sugar packets to try and throw in there.

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Hydration, Performance, Recovery, Supplements

    Is hydrogen water just full of gas?

    Water is a very simple universal thing one would think. But just walk through your local grocery store and you’ll see an entire row with different types of water. You’ve got flavored, sparkling, distilled, flavored, glacier, artisan well, vitamin and on and on. Gas infused water is a relatively new one and we’re going to discuss hydrogen water in particular here.

    What is hydrogen water?

    Hydrogen Infused Water

    The goal of hydrogen water is to pump the bottle of water with hydrogen gas. This is done with the hopes that it results in whoever is drinking it, consumes extra hydrogen. Originally I was skeptical about this as I wasn’t sure how much would actually make it from the bottle and into the body. When opening the bottle I would imagine the gas levels would begin immediately balancing with the surrounding air and thus become regular ol’ water again.

    I will always keep an open mind though and hold my hand up if I’m wrong. More research is starting to show that there may be something to gas infused water. As a result, my hand may be starting to rise just a little bit.

    Potential benefits

    A recent study shows the potential hydrogen infused water can have on improving physical performance. The potential impact appears to stem from the apparent ability to reduce the lactate response in the body. Less lactate in the body means less of that burning sensation we’ve all experienced when pushing ourselves. With less lactate it helps to decrease muscle soreness and I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t perform better when less sore.

    So…..should you buy it?

    In short, no. Not because it will be bad for you but because there isn’t enough proof yet. Your money would be better spend on other things with more confidently proven benefits. This is an area though that is worth keeping an eye on as it has potential.

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Energy, Performance, Wellness

    Game Day Nutrition – Rule #1 No New Foods

    All of your training is so that you can compete at your best and your game day nutrition needs to be on point to allow for it. Very few things can make or break a game for you like what you eat before a game. Don’t take that lightly.

    Consistent Game Day Nutrition

    On game day you want to avoid as many surprises as you can. Consistency is key as it makes preparation easier. You know what you need to feel good mentally and physically for the task at hand. This is even more true when it comes to what you eat.

    Peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a staple snack many feel comfortable with.

    Think about what foods sit well for you and which ones don’t. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is the G.O.A.T. and we all know how we feel after we eat one. The vast majority of us respond great to a classic PB&J and this would be great to have on a game day. Deep fried pickles and fast food burgers on the other hand is a different story! While that may be ok to treat yourself to on an off day, this won’t sit well for many of us on a game day.

    This idea applies to snacks as well! At every level from grade school to the pros, snacks are always there. You may not always get to pick what the snacks are though. Even though there may be some new things you haven’t had before that look good, don’t eat them before your game!

    Try New Foods At Practice

    If you can’t have anything new on game day, how do you test anything out? That’s what practice is for! In case you don’t feel great, it’s better to have a bad practice than a bad game.

    The more that you can replicate a game day scenario, the better. If testing something new, you want to give it a true test! Pick which training day is going to be the toughest and that is the test day. In a game you will be pushing yourself so naturally we want to push ourselves to see how our stomach and body responds to the new item. You want to time up when you have the new item as well. If this is a snack you want to have before a game, have it right before training. If it’s something to drink during, then have it on the sideline to try during training.

    Snack table showing snacks potentially worth trying at practice to keep game day nutrition consistent with no new foods.

    When trying new things, make sure to do so one at a time. You won’t be able to know what caused the problem if you have two new products and aren’t feeling well. Keep it simple, plan ahead and have patience. The trial and error process may not be the quickest but it will help make it clear what you respond well to. All the effort is worth it come game day!

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