Im a 50+ year old road cyclist doing about 300km a week. My program is just ramping up in intensity and Im beginning to feel fatigued.
Can you recommend the best supplement regime for an athlete of my age.
thanks,
Greg
Gary:
Greg, without knowing much more detail, I can not offer much more than the following advice:
The leading fault of athletes in heavy training is to rely increasingly on refined carbohydrates, including pasta, rice and sports drinks like Mizone and Powerade for their energy needs. These highly processed foods provide mostly empty calories while supplying a very limited range of nutrients. The other mistake is to rely too heavily on stimulant beverages like coffee and chocolate. The consequence of over use of these is short term relief at the cost of one's health over the long term.
A healthy athlete ramps up their intake of nutrient-dense foods in line with training and competition. This means eating plenty of meat, veges and whole grains. The least processed the foods the better as a rule of thumb. Give preference to whole grain bread rather than fine white flour for example.
We tend to eat lots of protein but the biggest fault is to lump most of it into a single meal. It is better to take that large serving of protein and divvy it up over the day in small, frequent portions.
If you are going to drink fruit juice, eat the whole fruit along with the juice. This reduces the big sugar hits associated with fruit juice.
Eat five small meals per day with breakfast being the largest. Ensure there is some protein in each meal. Ensure there is plenty of fruit, nuts and vegetables, including legumes each day.
Reduce your calcium intake. Most people (80%) on Western diets have an excess of calcium relative to magnesium. This is a leading cause of fatigue and insomnia. This can be accurately measured using a ICL Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis. I highly recommend this test for all athletes and anybody seeking to maintain optimum health.
As far as supplements are concerned, there are only a handful that I would recommend without knowing more (Not all of the following are "supplements" as such:
- Balance Ultimate Recovery Stack - Take one drink per morning and another before and after big rides. You can also try it as a mild sports drink during your really long rides as well but use your common sense as to how much per day is sufficient.
- Balance Whey Protein - Use this for additional protein during the day. Use this in a Super Smoothie (If you are using the Balance Recovery Stack, you do not need any of the other supplements mentioned in the Smoothie Recipe, other than the flax oil.
- Himalayan Sea Salt - Replace all your current salt with this. Try taking a three fingered pinch before and after long, sweaty rides, washed down with a large glass of water.
- Try a three month course of Agewise Coenzyme Q-10 - If you notice a performance improvement then keep it going. Most 50 year olds are low in Q-10.
- Take a three month course of either Lifestream Astazan or ICL Algotene. If you notice an improvement in performance then keep this going.
Do you have a question?
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.
carnitine (an amino acid)
ReplyDeletecan be important as a fat antioxidant and metaboliser during endurance exercise, as teh body often cannot make enough to keep up with the demands of endurance exercise.
works with C0Q10
alpha lipoic acid also works with these nutrients as an antioxidant
L-Carnitine is one of several key nutrients that are stressed/depleted during exhausting exercise. It is included in Balance Recovery Stack, so there is no need to take extra if having the Recovery Stack.
ReplyDeleteI have recently started taking the Recovery stack again. Diluted during training and as a recovery drink and find it excellent. Sometime a goood multi vitamin like the ener B and Vitamin D can good as top ups when the fatigue starts hitting in.
ReplyDelete