For many athletes, especially endurance athletes, January technically remains part of the offseason, although you may already be thinking about (and beginning to ramp up for) 2020 race/event goals. From our Sports Dietitian perspective, this off-season period is a perfect time to learn more about and fine tune your daily nutrition intake and address any nutritional concerns that you didn't figure out during your last racing cycle. This is also the perfect time of year to set the foundation of ensuring you are eating enough to fuel your recovery. January is a great month for testing different sports nutrition products to see which ones you like best and which sit well in your gut. We also encourage you to spend some time now learning more about how to eat for any other medical or health issues you may yourself have, or that may run in your family. Now is the time to try new workouts, experiment with new foods, switch up your training regimen and dare we say, add some focus to your recovery nutrition if it isn't quite there already.

 

So for today, we will focus on recovery nutrition with a twist!

 

#1: After intense training, we hope you already realize you want to ingest a combination of carbohydrates and proteins. to refuel your muscles to prepare you for the next workout. Getting in much needed carbs + protein remains our #1 sports nutrition recommendation for your recovery meal or post-workout snack. Some athlete favorites to begin your post workout recovery include: Low-fat Greek yogurt with fruit, turkey on whole grain bread + a fruit, lentil soup + bread or a smoothie with anything from a banana + protein powder to berries + Greek yogurt + oats and peanut butter or any balanced meal if your workout proceeds mealtime.

#2: Morning exercisers and caffeine loves will rejoice to learn about this next tip! According to the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, adding caffeine post workout may increase speed of glycogen restoration in the muscles when taken along with a carbohydrate source. (NOTE!!! The study used 3-8 mg/kg, which is a TON of caffeine to consume at any given time of the day or even during any one day, so if you are into trying this tip, we highly recommend sticking to the lower end of ~3 mg/kg), which for 120# athlete would = 12 oz of regular coffee, and for 160# athlete would = 16 oz of regular coffee.

For those of us who are already routinely consuming our cup of joe or tea post workout, we can feel good and keep it up. For you evening training athletes, while this science may sound interesting it is likely not something you will be interested in adding to your routine, as caffeine late in the day can disrupt sleep, and we all know how important a good night's rest is for recovery. If you do decide to drink a cup of coffee after an intense workout, go ahead and turn it into a latte if you wish. After all, your muscles need the carbohydrates and protein for muscle recovery too.

#3: Never underestimate the importance of proper rehydration after training. It may seem simple to keep yourself hydrated but doctors estimate that most of the US adult population is chronically dehydrated and may not even know it! The risk is even higher for individuals training>1 hour per day, workout out at high intensity and/or are completing multiple workouts in a day (especially under hot/dry weather conditions). As you may have heard, thirst can be an unreliable regulator of fluid intake during exercise, leaving many athletes in a negative fluid balance by the time they finish their sweat session. It is recommended that you consume 1.5x fluid lost to sweat during your workout over the next two hours. Adding a source of salt (tomato juice, pickles or simply adding some salt to your food, will help with faster rehydration). Note: Athletes with high blood pressure often still need to replace sodium during and post intense or prolonged exercise, but recommendations will differ from the usual. Be sure to see a Registered Dietitian who can help you maintain fluid balance for peak performance while helping you control your blood pressure or click HERE  to check out Nutrition Energy Owner, Lauren Antonucci's Sports Nutrition Fact Sheet for Athletes with Hypertension on the Sports Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition (SCAN) website.

#4: For our final sports nutrition recovery tip for today; we'll look at omega three fatty acids. According to the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, athletes consuming 3000 mg of omega 3's daily have been shown to be able to reduce inflammation and help reduce muscle soreness following a strenuous workout. They studied athletes taking a fish oil supplement to reach 3000 mg, but if you would like to try to reach this intake with foods, here are a few foods high in omega 3's:

 

 

We hope you implement and benefit from some of the above recovery tips and start the year and season off on the right foot. Of course, for optimal recovery and performance, overall intake of calories, eating enough from all food groups, ensuring adequate hydration and maintaining good sleep patterns are all important. As the spring rolls around and we move towards racing season again, we will of course review optional fueling habits before and after your training, but for now, we hope you will focus on eating enough to support your immune system and base training, and recovering well from early season training, so that you can remain strong and active through the year.