Tag: metabolic flexibility

Proper

Thanks for joining me for another edition of the SerenityThroughSweat blog.  I’ve been on a bit of a diet and nutrition reading kick lately, and I wanted to share some insights I’ve gleaned, as well as how those ideas cross over into other areas of my life.

I remember one particular group training ride when I was preparing for Ironman FL in 2013.  With an on call work schedule most of my rides were solo, as my availability was different than people with “normal” 9-5 type schedules.  Still I tried to get out with friends or the local velo group that met up outside the wing joint/surfer bar whenever I could.

Speedy enjoying the backyard fun zone

I was joining the B group for 20ish miles at an 18-21 mph pace, and the group leader had pulled out last minute leaving another regular member to take over as the pace setter up front.  This rider was already planning on joining the ride, just not leading it, but I remember her saying “I didn’t have the proper nutrition today for this”

Before we go any further I can’t introduce “proper” without the applicable wedding crashers reference.

Clearly John, Jeremy, and the hatted young lady all seem to have differing definitions of proper, so what exactly is proper, and how does it apply to our nutrition?

Back to the original story, the ride was uneventful, in fact I don’t think I could tell you anything else about it, but that comment is something I remember all these years later.

Now conventional wisdom in the triathlon community supported her assertion, that there was a right and wrong nutrition prior to efforts of different lengths and intensities.  I can personally attest to the effects of having the wrong nutrition both through bonking (running out of energy on a workout specifically glucose in the brain) and a host of gastro-intestinal issues that are better left to the imagination.

Bubble bath mohawks

Still, the idea that otherwise well fed athletes could have the “wrong” or “improper”  nutrition for a relatively minor change in training than their original plan seemed farcical to me, even though I understood it and had experienced it.

I wrote a few weeks  ago about metabolic flexibility, and you can read that post for more details and links to check out when it comes to alternating between fuel substrates.  The cliff notes version is; not taking in the “proper nutrition” for a mundane training ride is not a concern for metabolically flexible athletes.

Sunny FL days at the splash pad, and daddy improvising after forgetting a dry change of clothes.

Humans are designed to function in the face of widely varying caloric inputs and outputs.  Think hunter/gatherers persistence hunting for a few days before successfully bringing home the bacon (literally).  I think you’ll be okay if you skip that Clif bar in-between second breakfast and elevenses (or all of those calorie consumption opportunities for that matter)

Missing a snack or even a meal shouldn’t leave you phoning it in for the rest of day.  As Vick’s reminds us, Mom’s and Dads don’t take sick days, nor do they get to omit parental responsibilities in the face of hunger, (or sometimes hAnger)

Mom’s don’t either

The question remains, what then is proper nutrition?  As in most cases, taxonomy is important and proper is defined as follows; “adapted or appropriate to the purpose or circumstance”.  I think adapted is of particular importance. In the case of our bike group leader, her body was adapted to a specific level, type, and timing of caloric consumption, and thus her nutrition could have been improper for the circumstance. (We’ll give her the benefit of the doubt anyway)

Whereas we are all genetically capable of high functioning without caloric input, if/when our bodies are adapted.  In our bike ride example the adapted part of the definition of proper is mostly focused externally (on the nutrition/fuel), when it should really be focused internally (on the body/engine). 

2 mile sandbag ruck

If you could only fill up your car’s gas tank from one particular pump at one particular station and it only held a few gallons, your everyday errands would be logistically challenging.  Yet, that is the paradigm of “proper nutrition” promoted by conventional wisdom like “grazing” eating multiple small meals, and incessant snacking.

Whether it is in the context of an athletic endeavor, a day parenting, or working around the house, proper nutrition, is that which allows you to complete the mission  without compromised performance, and without thinking about it.  There are many ways to get there, but some are much more cumbersome than others. 

My proper nutrition is continually evolving and changing. But there are some guidelines that help me hone in on what works. I want to enjoy and appreciate my food, rather than obsess over what, when, and how much I’m eating. I want to feel unlimited by my fuel, no bloating, no bonking, and no detrimental health effects. I’m working on being more open-minded as to what types of food and eating patterns help me meet these goals. What does your proper nutrition look like?

Thanks for joining me, stay safe and stay sweaty my friends.

Teammate training ride, MAF treadmill test, and layover morning miles in Tulsa

Flexibility

Thanks for joining me for another edition of the SerenityThroughSweat blog. I’ve had some extended reading time this week, (more on that later) and I’ve been able to work my way through Two Meals a Day by Mark Sisson.

The book goes through diet, nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle changes all in the pursuit of metabolic flexibility. According to Sisson, and his co-author Brad Kearns, metabolic flexibility is “the capacity to match fuel oxidation with fuel availability, or switch between burning carbs and burning fat”.

El Duderino picked out a new toy after successful overnight potty training

The idea is that the Standard American Diet has led most of us down a path of carb dependency.  If the body only ever uses carbohydrates as the fuel source it will “forget” how to burn fat as fuel.  This is a use it or lose type of bodily mechanism, but one that can be retrained.

Mark and Brad are far more educated and eloquent in all of these areas, and if you are interested in these ideas, Marksdailyapple.com is a great place to learn more.

“Hello, front desk, we need more towels in room 1335” (Speedy *probably)

Beyond the diet and nutrition information, just the idea of flexibility in general is one that I’d like to reflect on.  Having spent the majority of my adult life in jobs that are “on call”, and almost my entire life as a grappler, I appreciate the value of flexibility in all of it’s varying forms.

Being on call as a pilot has been an extremely rewarding and empowering career option.  On call status forces me into a level of flexibility with regards to planning and prioritization that would otherwise be unattainable.  When you never know when you are going to work, or how long you will be away when you do, anything you want to accomplish has to be easily adjusted or rescheduled.

When that post workout cold plunge is dialed in

All martial arts but especially grappling arts demand flexibility in multiple aspects of their application.  Many of the techniques and physical movements require a robust flexibility just to be a baseline participant.  Because they are arts, different styles emerge that require flexibility in how you attack, defend, and plan tactics and strategy.  Finally any training regimen in martial arts is bound to incur bumps, bruises, and the occasional more serious injury, and this demand a flexibility in scheduling and approach to training different from other endeavors.

With a myriad of experience training, grappling, and flying on call, I feel confident in my level of flexibility.  Still El Duderino and Speedy find ways to challenge that confidence.

Being a parent has been by far the part of my life that requires the most flexibility.  This my come as a shock, but toddlers don’t care about your plans.  The tight rope walk of setting boundaries while also modeling flexible behaviors and decision making is a daily struggle.

If metabolic flexibility is being able to seamlessly transition between fuel sources for a more efficient operation of the human machine, I want to model the same sort of seamless transition and flexibility for my boys when plans start to go awry. I want them to see that changed plans can mean new opportunities. I want them to roll with the punches as a part of their world view.  I want them to be flexible in mind, body, and emotion, (and metabolicly too) because that represents an optimum human condition.

Much like serenity, flexibility is not a destination to be arrived at, but rather an attribute that must be actively sought after and trained. I hope that I can continue in the pursuit of both flexibility and serenity, and that one day my boys will take up the journey as well.

Back to sweating on hotel cardio equipment, trying to train MAF and fasted.

Thanks for joining me, stay safe and stay sweaty my friends.