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Nutrition Basics for the Exercising Adult

Food is necessary for all humans to sustain life. For our
bodies to properly function at rest, calories are needed from
food to provide the energy needed to breathe, help our heart
beat, allow our blood to flow and aid in hundreds of other
functions that occur involuntarily and not necessarily at a
conscious level. This energy requirement for basic human
function is called Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). [For an excellent
discussion on metabolism, please see the Lifestyle 30 reference
manual.]

When you begin an exercise program, the caloric requirements
(energy requirements) for your body increase. You must now begin
to think of food as the fuel for your activities.

It is the fuel that powers you through your workouts. It is the
fuel that promotes recovery at the cellular level. It is the
fuel that allows the building of stronger muscles and connective
tissues. Ensuring that you eat the proper amounts and types of
food to fuel your exercise regimen is of paramount importance.

The Roles of Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Fats

No matter what the latest diet fads may promote, be assured
that carbohydrates are an essential part of any diet for the
exercising adult. At least 1/3 of your daily calories should
come from carbohydrates and, as your activity level increases,
the percentage of carbohydrates in your diet should also
increase. Carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in the body, and
when there is an increasing demand for energy, glycogen is what
the muscles reach for first. It is converted rapidly and
efficiently into the fuel that the body needs for activity.

Dietary protein for the active adult is essential for the
repair and growth of muscle tissue and connective tissues such
as ligaments and tendons. At the very minimum, 15-20% percent of
your daily calories should come from protein. Research has shown
that consuming a protein source within 30 minutes of completion
of exercise helps speed repair and recovery of muscles and
tissues. It is also beneficial to include a protein source at
all meals and snacks throughout the day.

It may seem counterintuitive, but fat is actually an important
fuel source that the body uses for energy. At least 20-30% of
your daily caloric intake should be from fat. Fat does not burn
as efficiently as glycogen, but it can be used for energy,
nonetheless. This process is best described using the following
analogy: Think of trying to set a log on fire. We all know that
it is extremely difficult to light a log with a match.

If we put kindling around the log, however, and light the
kindling, the kindling burns readily and eventually, the log
will also burn. Think of fat as the log and carbohydrates as the
kindling. Fat will burn, but not readily, and only in the
presence of carbohydrates.

The “Fat-Burning” Zone

The body will use both fat and carbohydrates as fuel sources
during low-level, sustained aerobic activity. If you maintain an
intensity level between 60-85% of your maximum heart rate, you
will stay in this aerobic, “fat-burning” zone. When you move to
intensities higher than this, your muscles are working so hard
that they need “fast” fuel - so they reach for glycogen (the
“kindling”) almost exclusively. Protein is used by the body as
an energy source only as a last resort when your glycogen stores
have been depleted. When you run out of glycogen, this is often
referred to as “the bonk.” You feel sluggish, your muscles feel
heavy, and you are completely out of energy. It is a difficult
and inefficient process for the body to convert protein to fuel
for use in the muscles, so you would rather not reach this point
of glycogen depletion.

Refueling DURING exercise

This brings us to refueling during exercise. Your body has
enough glycogen stored in the muscle cells to last for
approximately 90 minutes of continuous exercise. If you
exercisefor longer than 90 minutes, you will need to take in
nutrients (primarily carbohydrates) to sustain your activity.
So, if you plan on exercising for over 60 minutes, plan on
consuming 30-60 grams of carbohydrates per hour of exercise.

These carbohydrate calories can come from solid food (like an
energy bar), liquid food (like a sports drink), or from one of
many commercially available energy gels.

Refueling AFTER exercise

Refueling after exercise is just as important. Because you can
only store enough glycogen for approximately 90 minutes of
exercise, if you exercise for 60 minutes or even just 30
minutes, you can see the importance of eating after your workout
to replenish your glycogen stores. Eating within the first 30
minutes following your workout is ideal.

Even if it is just an energy bar that contains both
carbohydrates and some protein, taken with at least 8-ounces of
water, this will set you on the right road to recovery. If
eating within the first 30 minutes of completing your workout is
not possible, then be sure to refuel within at least 2 hours of
exercise. Research has shown that the sooner you can replace
lost nutrients (within the 2-hour window following exercise),
the faster your muscles will recover before the next workout.

Refueling BEFORE exercise

This comes last in this discussion on nutrition, but it comes
first as you prepare to exercise every day. What should you eat
and when should you eat it before exercise? In general, you will
eat less the closer you are to your exercise session.

The following guidelines apply: Less than 1 hr before exercise
Sports drink or energy bar* 1-4 hrs prior to exercise 150-300
calories 4 hrs prior to exercise 600+ calories These calories
should consist of carbohydrates, protein, and fat in the ratios
we spoke of above, if possible. With less than an hour before
exercise, however, carbohydrates will be much more easily
digested and managed in your system, so that is why a sports
drink or energy bar is recommended.

Summary

To maintain a healthy lifestyle, eating and exercising
appropriately go hand in hand. Be sure to fuel your body
properly before, during, and after exercise to get the most out
of your active life.

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The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the
FDA. The products discussed are not intended to diagnose,
mitigate, treat, cure or prevent a specific disease or class of
diseases. You should consult your family physician if you are
experiencing a medical problem.

This article is copyright protected.If you want to reproduce it
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One of the most frequently asked questions is do the use of elliptical trainers help me burn calories compared to other cardio machines?

With our busy schedules it is completely understandable that you want to get the most results for the time you spend working out.

As you may know how many calories burned during a workout will vary depending upon your weight. A 150 pound woman may only burn 387 calories while a 180 pound man may burn 500 calories on the same machine for the same length of time.

Many elliptical trainer companies say you can burn around 800 calories per hour of elliptical training workout. The following factors dictate how many calories you will actually burn during your workout:

- Workout Duration - This is simply how much time you spend on the specific workout. It is usually recommended that you do it for a half hour to an hour.

- Interval Training - Taking small breaks, followed by a cool down period is recommended for extended workouts.

- Elliptical Tension Settings - These tension settings help you control the intensity of the workout. Using a higher intensity can improve the effects of the workout.

- Current weight - as stated earlier a heavier person will burn more calories than a smaller person.

Are you interested in a few more tips to burn more calories with your elliptical trainer? Below are a few suggestions you can follow to burn more calories.

- Built in interval settings:

Nearly all elliptical trainers offer an incline and or even tension that you are able to increase or even lessen while workout out.

Midway through your workout try increasing the tension or incline to give you an extra push at burning more calories. This can also help raise your calorie burn for a few hours after your workout.

- Utilize Upper Body Arms

Many ellipticals offer you upper body arm blocks that you are able to utilize to build your arms muscles into your workout. Even more muscles worked = even more calories burned. If there are no upper body arms, grab a few of two - five pounds handweights and swing your arms while striding.

-Split your work outs:

Experts are today telling us that two smaller “mini-workouts” can even be better than one long workout as far as how many calories are burned.

Exercise with speed up your metabolism, doing one workout in the morning and one in the evening will give you two metabolism “boosts.”

All in all an elliptical trainer is a great way to burn a ton of calories.

For more information about elliptical trainers view our website below:

http://www.onlyellipticalreviews.com/compact-elliptical.html

Compact Elliptical

Copyright 2006 Marc David

Imagine coming home after a long gym workout and actually
feeling worse then you started! Everybody knows after working
out you are normally tired but it feels good but what happens
when you start to feel sick and it’s too much?

Maybe you find yourself in this situation:

“The other day when I got home, I got really sick and threw up.
Now my body feels very worn out!

Am I overtraining?

I want to take 2 days off from the gym to rest my body…would
this help?”

- [name withheld]

Let me make a prediction… you are about to approach
overtraining burnout!

If you don’t take some time off to let your body rest and
recover, you’ll end up quitting the gym entirely or actually
making backward progress. I’d like to explain the concept of
less is more but first, let’s take a look at some of the other
common signs of overtraining.

What is the Overtraining Syndrome?

Training beyond the body’s ability to repair itself. This can be
caused by training the same body parts too frequently so that
the body does not have time to recover before the next workout;
workouts that are consistently harder than the body is able to
recover from fully; or impairment of the body’s normal recovery
ability due to nutritional deficiencies, illness, or stress.
Besides impairing athletic performance, overtraining can
increase the risk of injury or disease.

Some Signs of Overtraining:

Fatigue Blood sugar imbalances Menstrual or other hormone
imbalances Anxiety Slight dizziness Elevated heart rates
(especially upon waking) Depression Insomnia

I’d even venture to guess nausea and longer then normal recovery
time should be on that list, two of symptoms of overtraining you
also described.

Just the other day, I saw a post on a popular bodybuilding
message board by another person who wanted to know if working
out the same muscle group twice in one day was recommended since
they had the time.

Now, before I go on…

I want you to understand that you grow and change outside of the
gym. Many people believe that when they are at the gym they are
making progress but in fact that’s entirely not true.

Training at the gym is a way of stimulating change, you grow and
get better when you are outside of the gym! What you do after
you shower off and leave the gym will determine your progress in
the long run. Doing longer workouts, more reps and sets and
devastating your body without letting it recover will actually
set you back.

Remember, recovery is an all important step that is often
overlooked. And that leads into…

1 - Training frequency.

My recommendation is train 2 days on, 1 day off. Training more
then 2 days in a row is very difficult if not impossible for the
natural person to recover from. When you simply break up your
routine, you are allowing for more recovery time and thus
allowing for your body to get stronger and better.

2 - Taking a training break.

A concept I’ve talked about in previous articles but the theory
is, completely stop training every 8-10 weeks for 1 week and
just allow your body to recover and your joints to heal. Many
people can’t do this. They just want to keep on going and going
like the Energizer bunny but in fact, taking a break is a good
thing and will allow you to come back stronger and better then
before. Try it. You’ll be surprised.

3 - High Intensity Interval Training (cardio)

Rather then do 45 minutes of low to moderate cardio, how about
using your heart rate zones and training in intervals to get
more done in less time with cardio? You’ll burn more fat and
more calories but you won’t have to do the routine as long.
You’ll use intervals to make the workout harder and more fun but
in a lot less time.

Many times people will do cardio with weights but they do it
before or after and for too long. Here’s a few tips.

a) HIIT style cardio b) Train in heart rate zones and perceived
exertion (how you feel at the time you are asked) c) Do your
cardio AFTER your weight training session. Use your quick fuel
for the weights and your longer term fuel (fat) for cardio

The secret to getting more from your workouts is training more
efficiently and training less.

There’s many ways to do more in less time including but not
limited to:

- drop sets - super sets - repetition speeds - tempo variations
- rest periods - ascending/descending sets

If you do a quick search on the Internet for “Nine Simple Ways
to Increase the Intensity of Any Workout” you will find many
ways to get more done in less time and avoid the common
overtraining symptoms.

Stated a little differently… less is more.