Your Coach Training Tip #4 – Indoor Training

First of all, let me say that, however macho it may be, there is no great virtue in training outdoors in bad weather, if a better alternative is available. Ingrid Christiansen, the great Norwegian marathon runner, trained indoors on a treadmill all through the winter and then came out to run world class times.

Running outdoors in winter has several drawbacks:

1.     It’s more dangerous, because of darkness and bad weather

2.     As you have to run mainly on roads, you get more impact stress – and traffic fumes

3.     Because you have to wear protective clothing, it is hard to run fast enough to get a training effect

If you have access to a good gym, with treadmills and/or exercise bikes, you can do strength works with weights and circuit training, as well as speed work and stamina work. If the equipment is good enough you can set  a programme of running or cycling for , say five minutes fast, followed by two minutes easy, or do a sessions at threshold pace for ten or fifteen minutes at a time.

If you haven’t got all these facilities, you can buy a set of weights for very little, and an exercise bike for under £100, and have your own indoor gym.

You could do 15 minutes steady cycling before breakfast, and in the evening you could warm up on the bike, then do an all-round weight session – half-squats, bench presses, dead lifts, heel raises, clean and jerk, arm curls, leg extensions, overhead presses – and finish off  with some fast reps on the bike – 2 minutes fast, one minute slow. Add onto this a long stamina run in daylight over the weekend and you can stay very fit all through the winter.

The other choice in the winter is the pool. Obviously the triathletes will be going to the pool 2 or 3 times a week all through the year, but even the ‘pure’ runner can benefit from swimming. My best runner, Richard Nerurkar, used to do 20 minutes in the pool after his running sessions, to relax his legs and speed up recovery. When he was injured he would train in a wet vest, which meant running on the spot while supported by the vest. He would do sessions of 15-20 x one minute fast, 30 seconds slow. Pretty boring, but it did enable him to finish 7^th in the World championships , only weeks after a major foot operation.

On a lower level, when the weather is bad and you can only  fit in a couple of runs  a week,  you can put in 10-15 minutes a day, three times a week, of doing exercises ( pull-ups, sit-ups, squats, burpees) and skipping  or running on the spot. One of the first stars of the sport, Walter George, used to do his ‘hundred up’ several times a day in the winter. Try running on the spot with a high knee lift, and counting up to a hundred right knees.

Where there’s a will there’s a way!!

Your coach, Bruce Tulloh

For any of Bruce’s current books: The Teenage Runner, Running is Easy and Running over 40,50,60,70 please visit www.TullohBooks.com -  if you enter ORBANA after your order you will qualify for an additional discount

Kevin Holt: Improve your race speed – Triathlon

Kevin Holt’s Top Tips on improving race speed

Bike can be done outside or on the turbo

1. Warm up with 20 minutes’ gentle spinning. When your legs are loose, you’re ready to begin. aim for a low gear and 100rpm cad get the h/r up

2. Ride for two minutes at your race pace, followed by two minutes of gentle recovery. Repeat that sequence three to five times, depending on your fitness and the time you have to train. (If you’re not sure what your race pace is, it’s simple to work out – it’s the speed you could maintain for the duration of your event. For Olympic distance triathletes, it’s the pace you could ride for 40km; for sprint racers, it’s the pace you could ride over 20km.)

3. Cycle at easy pace for five minutes. Then ride for one minute at 10%–15% above race pace, take a minute of gentle pedalling as recovery and repeat three to five times. (So if your race pace is 20kmph, go at 22 or 23kmph; if it’s 30kmph, go at 33–35kmph).

4. Cycle at easy pace for five minutes. Then hit it as fast as you can for 30 seconds – flat out – cruise for 30 seconds, and repeat three to five times. Stand up in the pedals for the first 15 of those sprinting seconds; drop back into the saddle for the second 15.

5.Warm down with 15 minutes of gentle spinning.

Swimming

1. 400m warm–up, 100m swim, 100m legs only, 100m drill of choice 100m swim.

2. Swim 50m flat out Take 10 seconds rest and repeat three more times. Swim 100m at easy pace and then repeat the entire sequence.

3. 4x100m,as hard as you can for the first 25m and cruising for the remaining 75m. Take 15 seconds rest between each 100m and swim an easy–paced 100m at the end.

4. 3x200m with the first 50m flat–out and the remaining 150m cruising. Take 30 seconds rest between each one.

5. 4x50m using legs only, holding a float out in front of you. Take 10 seconds rest between each 50m.

6. Warm down 200m swim.

Running

1.10 minutes’ jogging warm–up and continue with three or four minutes of drills – running with high knees, then heels flicking backside, then quick feet.

2. Run 50m, building up your speed from jog to run to fast. Walk back to the start and repeat.

3. Run 200m at your 10–mile pace, straight into 200m at your 3km/5km pace. Repeat without rest twice more, so you have run a total of 1,200m straight through. (If you’re not sure of what those speeds mean, you should be able to maintain your 10–mile pace for at least an hour, while the second 200m should take you 10–15 seconds less to run than the first.)

4. Jog at easy pace for another 400m, and then repeat the entire sequence two to three times.

5. Warm down with five minutes of easy jogging.

6. As you feel faster and fitter, increase the number of sets, increase the pace of the steady–pace 200m and/or run each of the steady 200m in the set a little faster than the last.

Cold Water Swimming Championships 2011

Congratulations to everyone that took part in the Cold Water Swimming Championships 2011. Temperatures reaching highs of 3°C made for an extremely cold day at Tooting Bec but that didn’t stop 350 competitors braving the water and taking part in events such as the traditional “head up” breaststroke, the freestyle dash  and the 500 yard challenge.

Competitors travelled from all over the globe to the event which also hosted the the “Best Hat of the Day” contest and was equipped with a Finnish sauna and hot tub to enable athletes to recover, as well as a host of stalls and entertainment.

There were only two competitors in the 80 and over category (born 1931 or earlier), so Yvonne Wood won the Female Head Up Breaststroke and Cyril Wood won the Freestyle in their category.  Robin Hunter won the 70 and over (born 1932 to 1941) Head Up Breaststroke again he was the only competitor in that category.  Ellery McGowan was the winner of the Over 60 (born 1942 to 1951) Female Freestyle, beating off strong SLSC competition from Ann Brimelow and Pip Tunstill.

Both the winners of the under 20 breaststroke (born 1992 to 2001)  came from Newton Abbot SC (Chloe Kemp and Matt Robbins).  Connor Brodie continued that success for their club in the freestyle, but Claire Hayward (East Dorset OpenWater SC) took the freestyle honours for that age group.  Newton Abbot SC also came second in the relays behind Enfield Water Polo.  SLSC took gold and bronze in the over 180 combined age group.

Congratulations to Adam Stocks ‘The Greenhouse’  who won for ingenuity and inventiveness. Click here to see the photo.

So why is cold water swimming is becoming more and more popular?

Places such as Brighton, Bournemouth, Tenby and St Helier in Jersey have all hosted high profile festive beach plunges over the last month.

Benefits include:

• Boosts your immune system
• An all natural high
• Gets your blood pumping
• Improves your sex life
• Burns calories

Read more at http://thenextchallenge.org/2010/02/cold-water-swimming/

Neuro-Linguistic Programming – What’s that got to do with athletes?!

I am the kind of athlete who is always looking for the next answer. I want to know what will make me faster, better, fitter, healthier, leaner, etc etc etc and I am constantly looking out for more information that can help me along the way.

It’s easy to find a million people who will tell you the next best idea for running your fastest ever 5k, or getting the perfect swim stroke, but what about what goes on inside your head? How many of these comments do you recognise?

 

‘its all in your mind’

‘you are your own worst enemy’

‘You need more self belief’

‘you CAN do it, the only person who doesn’t think so is YOU’

These are all things that have been said to me by my coaches, friends, family, the lot. So, how do you train your mind? That’s a little more tricky!!

What is it?

Our experiences and feeling affect the way we react to stimulus. Neuro-linguistic programming promises to help you:
• do whatever you already do reasonably well, even better
• acquire skills and attitudes to do what you cannot do right now, but would like to be able to do
• think more clearly
• manage your thoughts, moods and behaviours more effectively.

http://www.nlp-now.co.uk/nlp-what.htm

It is described as ‘the technology of the mind, the science of achievement, and the study of success’ and promises self improvement, as well as teaching you a different and more improved way to think and behave.

From what I understand it seems this translates to Athletes roughly like this:

• you ALWAYS have a choice
• there is no such thing as failure, only feedback – that didn’t work out – file it, note it for later, something different you have to do in preparation for your next race, don’t collapse and give up before the end!
• If you are doing the best you can, with the tools you have, at this moment in time, then there is nothing more you can ask of yourself
• What’s the point in worrying about others, you can’t change them, you control what YOU do.

My direct experience and how it affected my race:

I saw a woman called Kim Ingleby (http://www.energisedperformance.com) the evening before my ITU 2010 world championship race. She was somebody I met on twitter She is regularly part of the team GB support crew, I have had massages from her before, but what I knew very little about was her ‘head stuff’ as she calls it. I decided to give it a go. What was there to lose? She went through mental preparation techniques with me. I tried in a short 1 hour session to learn as much as I can about correct mental preparation. I was conscious not to derail too much of my usual thinking, after all, all these new techniques may in fact be a distraction to my race rather than a help! She asked me to come with a piece of paper detailing all the things that would prevent me from having my best possible race. EASY!! My spider diagram filled the whole page!! Miss glass half empty I am!

I couldn’t even tell you what she did exactly to be honest, but I came out of there with that piece of paper torn into millions of pieces. She had clinically and methodically shown me how ridiculous all my suggestions were, and how they all focussed on what everyone else was doing rather than what I was doing. I woke up on race day feeling ok, calmer than the usual nervous wreck, and ready to race! The plan was to focus on my own race, although I wasn’t sure how well I could do this, because I normally spend most of my time worrying about where everyone else is!

From the start of the race, I focussed on me, my race. During the swim, I couldn’t help seeing other competitors around, and when I breathed to the right to line of women seemed to stretch away for miles!! I kept focussed, working, eying up the buoys, and didn’t look back. I just focussed on me. Normally I look about to see how I’m doing!! At the end of the swim I still didn’t look back, well impressed with myself!

The bike mount line was right on a right turn at the gated exit onto the road. What a stupid spot I thought, as the marshal shrieked at me to MOUNT HERE MOUNT HERE NOW! No I thought, my race, I’m doing it my way… short jog round the corner, on and away! I tried to focus all throughout the bike on me, my race, my legs, my pace, how I am feeling. This seemed to work nicely and the bike leg felt ok actually.

The run was the section that really would test my resolve and see if I really can continue to execute the new ‘focus on my own race’ mental plan. Each time a person passed me, I told myself, it’s ok, I’m OK, this is my race, and I am STILL doing the best I can. Each time I thought I was losing focus, I told myself the same mantra. I’m ok, it’s ok, this is my race, and I am doing the best I can. I tried to maintain the effort load, and pace, I didn’t look at the watch at all. I went solely off feel.
Not only did I manage to finish the race, cross the line and be 100% satisfied that I had done my best, but I also pulled out a PB and my best ever paced run… almost the perfect race.

I was astounded at the difference to my mind set that one small session had. I still can’t believe it. I can’t WAIT to work with Kim again, and look forward to what 2011 brings me.
Kim is an amazing individual, and if you want to hook up with her, she is currently doing a mental strength tour. Find out more details here:

http://www.energisedperformance.com/product.php/5/112/uk_mental_strength_for_performance_2011_tour
 

Melanie Ryding

Kevin Holt: The benefits of ice baths

Triathletes often think, “How much training can I do?” What rarely comes to mind is, “How much and how well can I recover after training?” One of the best ways to aid an athlete’s recovery is through ice baths. An ice bath is when one submerges part of his or her body in ice-cold water.

Why are ice baths needed? While exercising, small microtears in tendons, ligaments and muscles are created. To help aid the healing of these microtears the body pumps more blood to these areas so white blood cells can repair the damaged tissue. This creates swelling. These microtears are actually good because the body will repair the damaged muscle to be even stronger and better at handling the training stimulus that is placed on it. However, these small tears can cause delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) along with the swelling described earlier.

Ice baths are a great way to combat the side effects created through triathlon training. Ice baths will help one close the microtear damage. This means swelling is kept to a minimum. The baths also help flush out any excess waste products as more circulation happens due to the cold submersion.

How can one set up and use an ice bath to be beneficial in recovery? Often athletes and coaches use large trash buckets to hold the cold water and ice. This allows the athletes to soak their legs. The water should not be extremely cold, as research has shown an adverse effect on the muscles and their recovery if the temperature is 40F (5 C) or below. Best results are yielded at temperatures in the range of 50 to 60F degrees (10 to 15 C). The length of the submersion should be 5-12 minutes.

Using ice packs to mimic the same environment as an ice bath does not work as well. Ice packs have been shown that they do not keep the muscle temperature low for as long after exposure as does immersion in an ice bath; one’s muscle temperature warms up much more rapidly due to one’s blood flow rushing back quicker. Ice baths are something that I have used and they have made my legs feel great after long workouts. A few studies have also confirmed the beneficial results from using cold-water submersion to lessen recovery time

Check out Kevin’s blog: www.ironholt.blogspot.com

Your Coach – Training Tip #3 – Winter Training

In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the worst time for us fitness fanatics. It is too dark and cold to train outdoors after work and very often too dangerous to run or cycle into work. To make it worse, those who have just had their entry accepted for the London Marathon are desperate to start their build-up. My message is: Don’t Worry! A few weeks of reduced training will not do you any harm and it could do you good.

For a start, unless you are running in the European cross-country championships, there are  no major events on at this time of year. The good club runners may be competing in their county cross-country championships, but they will have been able to keep fit right up to the end of November. The fitter you are in the first place, the longer you will stay fit when you are forced to cut down. The people who really should worry are those who only managed to get out once or twice a week in October and November, and have put off their resolutions of: “I’m  going to train five times a week”.

Or someone who is already quite fit ( at least 25 miles or four sessions a week), you can go onto maintenance training for 4-6 weeks with only a marginal loss of fitness. This maintenance training would consist of:

1.     2 runs or aerobic sessions of  at least 30 minutes

2.     3 five-minute sessions of body-weight exercises –  e.g. sit-ups, push-ups, stomach-muscle exercises, step-ups, skipping

3.     One hour of brisk walking

The other ways of staying fit are either to change your routine and train in the lunch-hour, or to do all your work in the gym, two or three times a week. My piece on gym and indoor week will come next week, so lets look at what you can do outdoors when the weather’s bad.

If you can make time once in the middle of the week, plus one session on Saturday and a good walk on Sunday, you can stay pretty fit. You can usually find a park , a track or a playing field somewhere close by. Use short spikes if it is frosty or you are on packed snow. On thicker snow, wear long spikes.As long as your shoes are OK, you can run at a decent pace and even do an interval or a Fartlek session. The main  problem is getting too hot when you start to run hard . The solution to this is to have an inside layer of tights and a longsleeved thermal vest, plus gloves and hat, and an outer layer which is a wind-proof , thin , anorak. You may want to start with a heavy tracksuit, but when you are warmed up, strip down the the light weight anorak and you can do a session at a decent pace

If it is really icy and you have not got the right shoes – don’t run. If it is really bad and you can only go on the roads, wear climbing boots, good gloves and a thick anorak with reflective strips. I always put on a RonHill reflective gilet. which weighs nothing. A few weeks of slow plods will maintain endurance ,and may even help clear up those long-standing muscle problems.

When it does clear up you will  feel more enthusiastic about getting back to proper training – but come back gradually; don’t hurl yourself into full-scale quality training immediately.

Your coach – Bruce

For any of Bruce’s current books: The Teenage Runner, Running is Easy and Running over 40,50,60,70 please visit www.TullohBooks.com -  if you enter ORBANA after your order you will qualify for an additional discount.

Cold Water Swimming Championships 2011

TOOTING BEC LIDO, LONDON, 22 JANUARY 2011

On Saturday 22 January 2011 South London Swimming Club will be holding the 5th UK Cold Water Swimming Championships at Tooting Bec Lido. This biennial event has become a must for cold water swimmers, each year attracting many people who are trying it for the first time. Age and ability is no barrier – with water temperatures as low as 3°C, jumping in for the 30 yard races is a challenge in itself. We would like to wish all competitors the very best of luck.

All winners will be receiving an Orbana goodie bag.

Come and watch the hardy swimmers brave the ice-cold races from 9am – 3pm. You can also enjoy:

• crazy hat competition
• cycle-powered cinema
• hog roast
• championship real ales
• hot tub and sauna (only for those who have braved the water!).

You can even try a quick dip in the dipping lane – £5 on the day – don’t forget your swimmers!

Entry for spectators on the day £2.

Is fruit sugar (fructose) bad for you?

This was a question someone asked me on twitter – they had read that fruit sugar is stored as fat, was this true? Fruit sugar is mainly fructose. So I asked a Nutritionist, and they said yes possibly, did I want to try a no fruit diet experiment? Jeeeeez not ANOTHER diet!!??

The Experiment

How was it eating like this

RESULTS after 2 weeks on a no fruit diet

What does this mean? My thoughts so far

Further research

What now for me?

Further Information from search results

Conclusion

The Experiment

• 2 weeks, no fruit (at all!) including no fruit drinks, nothing fruit flavoured, I checked everything I ate for fructose content.
• I replaced fruit with rice cakes, small quantities of nuts, or ham or something similar.
• I drank water instead of fruit drinks.
• I have used no sports drinks or anything of that nature during week 1, and only once during week 2.
• I have still followed the 3-2-1- rules with regards to meal balance (breakfast main meal, medium lunch, light tea, all training before breakfast) read about the 3-2-1 diet here http://melanieryding.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-is-3-2-1-diet.html
• I still drank black coffee.

How was it eating like this?

I found this type of diet exceptionally hard, harder than I thought. I really missed and craved sweet things. I found myself rationalising the fact that I could eat biscuits, for example, because they had no fructose! In cafes, where I would normally choose a banana or an apple for example, I would be very tempted to choose a less healthy option because I craved the sweet taste. Savoury snacks just simply don’t cut it in my opinion!! In fact, now, where I would normally crave fruit, I am now finding my cravings have switched to cakes and biscuits. When I first gave up chocolate, it took 2 weeks to ‘get it out of my system’. All that seems to have happened in this case is somehow I have rationalised the fact that it’s ok to eat biscuits and cakes, because they are not fruit and its fruit I am not allowed!! Of course, this is a ridiculous train of thought! Clearly, there is a real risk here to my wellbeing, health, and training fuel mix!

At times, I also found that exercise was harder, and to be honest felt a lot more lethargic during morning pre breakfast sessions. Some people say it was psychological, I honestly don’t think it was because it didn’t change at all throughout the past 2 weeks. I drank water instead of the usual energy drink, used red bull (which I hated, because it’s fizzy!) but found myself more fatigued, and more muscle aches when usually I wouldn’t have this problem.

It is also worth noting this, the most important thing. During the past two weeks I have been ill, or one kind or another. First I got an eye infection, and then no sooner was I done with that, I got an ear infection. Now it needs to be noted that I am usually a very healthy person, and very rarely visit the doctor. I honestly cannot remember the last time (if ever) that I had an ear infection. It certainly seems a very large coincidence that the main food group that delivers vitamin C is omitted, and I become ill. I would definitely attribute this to eating less fruit.

I quite honestly am relieved to be ‘back to normal’ so to speak!

RESULTS after 2 weeks on a no fruit diet:

Weight difference: -2.5lbs

BMI difference: -0.1

Body fat % difference: no change

Water content difference: no change

What does this mean? My thoughts so far;

Hubby’s first reaction was that maybe because the conversion happens in my liver, the liver is skinnier, but that is all! Who knows!

Personally, I think big changes would be seen more in people who previously had a high fructose diet, (e.g. corn syrup, etc) or an unbalanced diet that contained TONS of fruit. When I look back, a lot of research on this topic is USA based, and I read that they use a lot of high fructose corn syrup. There is clearly research to support this, but the research I have read tends to be on people with a much higher body fat % in the first place.

Further research:

After someone sending me some more research that was another challenge to this theory, I wondered why is fructose was so bad, did energy drinks contain it.

This article is an interesting read, and says that fat is a poor fuel that makes you go slower, but also talks about fat burning and weigh management, embracing the train before breakfast idea that I already do http://www.lakeland100.com/downloads/article3.pdf. He says that training in this way will not yield results but is a weight management tool.

This one, however, talks about fuel for performance, and suggests that despite fruit sugar being bad, a glucose/fructose combination is actually good for you with regards to sports performance: http://www.lakeland100.com/downloads/article4.pdf

Here’s more on this topic:

‘Jeukendrup and his colleagues believe that the glucose-fructose combination works better than glucose alone because having multiple carbohydrate sources allows more carbohydrate to be absorbed from the digestive tract. Research indicates that glucose and fructose have their own separate transport systems in the digestive tract. These transporters help carry ingested glucose and fructose from the digestive tract into cells. However, the glucose transporter can only carry glucose, and once it’s filled, it can’t carry any more. But the revelation is that fructose has its own separate transportation system. So even though the glucose transporter is filled to capacity, the fructose transporter can deliver even more fuel to working muscles. Thus, by providing both glucose and fructose, and taking advantage of both transportation systems, you too can deliver more fuel to your muscles and extend endurance even further.’ http://www.powerbar.com/articles/18/latest-research-on-carbohydrate-recommendations-during-exercise.aspx

I tried to understand why the research suggests that fructose may be more likely to convert to fat, yet I had seen no change. Victoria Haigh (@fitvic on twitter) a nutritional advisor, reminded me that it may take up to 12 weeks to see a change, much like when you first start exercising? I guess she may have a point.

It is also worth noting that everybody is different, therefore the results will not be the same on everyone that tries this. You can see that by the comment Kris made on the first blog on this topic:

‘I actually was looking into this several months back – because I was doing all this good stuff and not “seeing” any changes. Then I started looking into the glycemic index. As a result, I actually did no fruit & no starches for 3 weeks – it was tricky, but I based my meals/snacks around protein and low GI veggies. And I totally noticed a difference. Now I eat fruit and starches (but they aren’t the centre of my meals) – but the fruits I eat are typically apples, pears, berries & melons.’

However, there is no getting away from the fact that it actually made NO difference at all to me, and in fact I believe contributed to a weaker immune system.

Many people have said that surely the benefits of fruit outweigh everything else? I tend to agree. I was sent this article, which, although the research is in very early stages, is suggesting that polyphenols and flavanoids (found particularly in fruit) are key to rebuilding muscle. Is this why I ache so much more than normal?

‘In a 2006 edition of the prestigious science journal Cell, Lagouge and colleagues published a study whereby mice underwent a 15-week diet and exercise programme where they were either supplemented with resveratrol or a placebo. After the supplementation period, the results were striking. The mice which had been supplemented with resveratrol had a 33 percent higher peak oxygen uptake, and a near 50 percent greater run time to exhaustion.’

When the researchers took samples of the mice muscle and attempted to look further into the mechanisms behind these increases there was a 2.5 times greater area of mitochondria in the muscle.’ http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/nutrition-can-fruit-make-you-fitter-28854

I certainly think that without fruit and vegetables, I would eat a much less healthy diet. When I searched ‘does fruit make you fitter’ on the internet, I got an article that writes exactly that! Here, they say fruit and vegetables stave off other cravings. http://www.peertrainer.com/diet/why_fruits_and_vegetables_help_you_lose_weight.aspx

When you ask Google can fruit juice make you fat, the answer you will get is yes, because of the amount of sugar that is added to it during production!

I found someone else who tried this experiment too. This will show that different people will get different results: http://www.fitbuff.com/does-fruit-make-you-fat-the-truth-revealed-workout-recap-september-28-october-5-2008/

It’s interesting to note that when he decreased calories, he gained weight. I have in the past been told that in fact, the body goes into starvation mode if you don’t eat enough, and therefore you are more likely to store fuel as fat. It is also worth noting that his workload increased by around 15-20 minutes a day. David Sutton, my strength and conditioning coach (@PerformTrain on twitter) would, I imagine, say that is all you need of strength training to make a difference, regardless of diet.

There is no getting away from it, people are still saying excessive fructose consumption is bad for you.

Fructose, especially its excessive consumption, may increase:

• the risk of abnormal blood clotting ailments and hypertension (high blood pressure)
• the risk of type 2 diabetes
• total blood cholesterol levels (it serves in part as the raw material for the synthesis of cholesterol within the body)
• LDL-“bad” cholesterol levels, and
• blood triglyceride levels, especially in diabetics (fructose has a greater propensity to increase serum triglycerides than glucose).

Excessive consumption of fructose may also cause:

• fatigue, especially in persons who are fructose intolerant
• insulin resistance, and
• obesity.

It is estimated that up to 33 percent of persons are unable to completely absorb fructose due to fructose intolerance (also known as dietary fructose intolerance (DFI) which may cause

• flatulence
• intestinal cramps (abdominal pain)
• bloating, and
• altered bowel habits (diarrhoea) http://www.reducetriglycerides.com/reader_triglycerides_low_fructose_fruit.htm

I do not, however, believe that I excessively consume fructose.

What now for me?

I’m told that eating fructose based foods with protein Slows down conversion to glucose & regulates release of insulin. Insulin is needed to properly utilize the energy stored in carbohydrate. This process can be better explained here: http://www.shapefit.com/diet/sports-nutrition-during-exercise.html. Although this talks in an exercise context, the principles are the same. I’m also told that depending on whether an individual is acid or alkaline based determines where you get your Vitamin C from.

Interestingly, except for my early morning apple, I don’t often eat fruit on its own, certainly not in large quantities. Perhaps this is why I have seen no change.

In future, I think I might keep some of the habits (e.g. less fruit juice, snack on rice cakes, natural yoghurt rather than the likes of Muller light) however I will not be omitting fruit from my diet, I believe the positives far outweigh the negatives. I also read that strength training is the best way to reduce body fat %. But I think that’s a topic for another blog, perhaps! And then there’s also the different fruits and how they have different fructose levels….

My conclusion: Science may suggest that fructose contributes to body fat, but science also suggests that it contributes in part to sports performance, stronger immune systems (as well as many other things I expect)! So where you gain in one area, you might lose in the other.

Melanie Ryding

Further Information from search results

As always, I needed to see what the experts were saying.

‘One thing you may fail to realize is that fruit contains a lot sugar. Even though it’s natural sugar it can still cause weight gain if you eat too much and do not burn it off.’http://www.flat-stomach-exercises.com/forgotten-weight-loss-tips.html

And more scholarly articles that in places refer specifically to science and research:

Fructose is transported into cells via a different transporter than glucose

Once fructose is in the liver, it can provide glycerol, the backbone of fat, and increase fat

formation. (http://bodybasicsbootcamps.homestead.com/bonuses/Fructose_vs_Glucose.pdf(

Our liver is the major site of fructose metabolism. In the liver, fructose can be converted to glucose derivatives and stored as liver glycogen. The liver can only use and store so much fructose as glycogen at one time. The remainder will be stored as fat; thus, a very high single-serving dose of fructose is much more likely to find a home around your middle(http://bodybasicsbootcamps.homestead.com/bonuses/Fructose_vs_Glucose.pdf)

Glucose can be processed by all cells in the body, by fructose can’t. It bypasses an important step due to its molecular structure, and therefore goes straight to the liver, and is more likely to be stored as fat (http://www.parrillo.com/articles/52.pdf )

But, there is some contradiction:

Relax. Experts have concluded: “The intake of naturally occurring fructose from an unprocessed, whole food diet is low and unlikely to contribute to any negative metabolic consequences.”

(http://bodybasicsbootcamps.homestead.com/bonuses/Fructose_vs_Glucose.pdf)

Further reading:

http://www.anaturalhealingcenter.com/documents/Thorne/articles/fructose10-4.pdf

http://www.whatsyoureden.com/pdf/8_Fructose_Ideal_carb_for_gaining_fat.pdf

Although I am still not completely convinced, there is some suggestion that fructose could be more likely to store as fat. BUT, is that just if you eat TONS of fruit? Who knows?!? So there’s only one way to find out! So I tried it for 2 weeks. Here’s what happened.

Diet Tips for Endurance Athletes

Mark Cooper has just posted a very interesting article on his diet during training. People that are partaking in high levels of exercise should be consuming food high in carbs, moderate in protein and low in fat. A key nutirent for athletes is water as being hydrated is vital for the best possible performance.

Mark succesfully ran 1,311 miles from Amsterdam to Barcelona in 56 days. This equating to 50 marathon distances in 56 days. He did this in memory of his late Mother and raised over £33,000 for the Edinburgh Headway Group. He has gone on to set a new course record for running Hadrian’s Wall, 100 miles in 16hrs 59minutes. In 2011 I plan to set a new World Record for “Most miles covered in 120 hours by any human being.”   560 miles in 5 days. From Edinburgh to London in the “Capital to Capital Challenge”.

Click Here to view the article

Read more about his story here.

http://runwithmark.wordpress.com/

Small steps take you on a journey – where will yours take you?

When I was asked to write a regular blog for Orbana, I felt thrilled, excited, privileged, and a bit scared to be honest! I am a regular blogger, but this is different… where do I start? At the beginning I thought was the best place. So, allow me to introduce myself.

This is me. 2005 on the left, 2009 on the right, the first time I earned my GB Tri-suit and went to a world championships. It was only 18 months after I took up triathlon, (the Gold Coast, Australia, what a great place to start!) I lost 4.5 stone through a combination of weight watchers and taking up exercise, having never done any at all, and hating P.E. at school!

I did my first triathlon in 2007, after reading the amazing Jane Tomlinson’s autobiography ‘you can’t take it with you’. What an amazing woman, if she could do it then so could anyone! My first race was in Berkshire, hundreds of miles away, to make sure no one recognised me! I feared I may not make it to the end of the 200m swim, let alone to the end of the race (I still hadn’t properly learned to swim and didn’t actually know if I could manage 200m without drowning)! I remember thinking ‘thank goodness that’s over!’ and no sooner had I crossed the line I was approached by a marshal. Great! I thought a drink? An energy bar? No! ‘Would you like a Frisbee?’ she asked!! No, that’s NOT what I had in mind!! But, like anyone who has done a triathlon will know, I was hooked, and decided that this was the sport for me. I still have that flipping Frisbee today!!

I joined my local tri club Northants Tri, and thoroughly enjoyed the whole race experience. Triathletes are all so friendly, welcoming, and full of advice and assistance. After a season, I was aware that my club had a coach that a few people were beginning to use. I decided I wanted assistance, in the hope I could at least get off the last page of the results! During one of the first meetings with Steve Casson, he suggested to me that I should try to Qualify for Great Britain, telling me he thought I was good enough. I confess I guffawed and told him he was being utterly ridiculous! But, what did I have to lose?

I entered the qualifiers. The first race, I got a qualifying time, but I wasn’t high enough placed in my age group. The second race was truly awful, freezing torrents of rain that rendered many athletes hypothermic. The final chance came in Blithfield. By this time my husband was becoming a professional supporter(!) and was able to tell me my finishing time, position, and who was in front and behind as I crossed the line. I immediately knew that I was in. I was stunned. I needed to see the web site update and the ‘Q’ before I believed it. When I called my parents with the news, they thought I was making it up! I hadn’t told them I was even trying, and they had no idea how good I was, barely even knowing what a triathlon was!

The person I was is nothing like the one I am now, both physically, and mentally. I don’t do this for any other reason than I want to enjoy myself, stay fit, and be the best that I can be. I am so, so proud every time I hear that someone has read my story and been inspired to start their own journey. I know more than one GB triathlete who was at Budapest for this year’s world championships because I inspired them to give it a go. That’s truly awesome.

I am living proof that truly anything IS possible, and you can do whatever you want, if you believe it enough.

I do hope you enjoy reading my blogs. I enjoy writing about and researching topics that readers bring up, and never post a blog without first doing the research, which I will also post a link for, so you as the reader can make your own mind up. There’s nothing worse than someone rambling on, giving you their opinion on the latest training idea, fat burning fad, or diet plan that you have heard a hundred times before without also giving you any proof that its accurate!

Please do leave comments, and I welcome questions and queries. It’s great fun for me to go and research the answers, I learn lots too!