Is caffeine beneficial for Endurance Performance?

Caffeine is a well-established performance booster. Is it beneficial for endurance performance? Heck yes!

But more does not equal better when it comes to caffeine supplementation. It’s about finding the lowest dose to give the greatest effect, without the negative effects. It’s also about finding out what’s best for you and your specific training and racing needs.

How is caffeine absorbed?

• Rapidly – can be seen in the blood in 5 – 15 minutes
• Peaks between 40 – 80 minutes
• Maintained for 3 – 4 hours
• Half life 3 - 5 hours
• Is transported to all body tissues and organs
  
  

How does caffeine work?

• Stimulant - physiological and psychological effects
• Mechanism not fully understood
• Crosses the blood brain barrier - main action is stimulation of the central nervous system
• Lowers perception of effort
• Reduces pain 
• Improves performance 
• Think of caffeine as a chemical that keeps the on...

3 Nutrition Rules Every Triathlete Should Abide By 

When it comes to triathlon nutrition, there is a lot of crap information out there!

My passion is to cut through all the noise and give you practical, evidence-based information that actually works. To fast track your success as a time-poor triathlete. 

Triathlon can be a very expensive and tech-heavy sport. You don’t just need stuff for one sport, you need stuff for three!  There are lots of gadgets and everything is upgradable -  costs that can add up quickly if you’re not careful.

But when it comes to nutrition, people don’t value investing in their nutrition because it isn’t tangible. You don’t get a shiny new object for your money.

But I would argue your body is the thing you need to spend the most on. You have it for life!

There are so many things that can affect your long term health if you’re not putting the right things in.

In my recent podcast, I share...

The Key Ingredients You Need to Become a Successful Triathlete

There are many key ingredients to focus on if you’re wanting to train harder, feel better, and become the best triathlete you can be. 

These aspects will not only propel you to become a successful triathlete, but will also translate into having greater energy throughout your day to day life. 

Ingredient One: Train with Purpose

• The multiple discipline to train (swimming, biking and running) makes this an essential aspect to focus on, as this requires a lot of time and means you need to be smart with your training
• Find someone that is qualified in the space who can help optimally periodise your training

     - Exercise physiologist

     - Triathlon coach

Ingredient Two: Find Your Community

• Triathlon can be quite isolating, so having a squad, group, or training buddies can help mitigate the overwhelming and intimidating aspects of the sport
• You'll be in a...

How to Know if a Sports Dietitian is Right For You?

If you are looking to improve your health or enhance your performance this year, it might be time to invest in a Dietitian. But finding the right person can be overwhelming and confusing.

Here are some tips for how to know if a Sports Dietitian is right for you, and how to best work with them based on your goals, time and budget:

Check Credentials

• Make sure you're working with someone that is qualified to be giving nutrition advice
• Look for 'APD' or 'Accredited Practicing Dietitian' if you’re in Australia
• Other countries have different regulatory bodies, so make sure they have done a proper qualified university-level study in nutrition
• If you’re looking for a Sports Dietitian make sure 'Accredited Sports Dietitian' is after their name in Australia or look at what regulatory bodies are in your country
  
  

Specificity

• Look for a Dietitian that is an expert in your area e.g. gut health, fertility, team sport etc.
• I am an...

7 Nutrition Tips for Exercising in the Heat

It’s getting hot here in Australia! Training in the Aussie summer can be challenging. 

One of the biggest impacts of heat exposure when exercising is its effects on the gut. This is exacerbated when our core temperature gets >39°C

What happens to the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) when we exercise?

• Redistribution of blood flow away from the GIT towards working muscles and peripheral circulation (to cool you down)
• Results in decreased perfusion (less blood flow) of organs in the abdominal cavity causing GIT ischemia (lack of oxygen)
• Sympathetic activation (fight or flight response) - you don’t want to spend energy digesting food when you’re trying to run away from a lion
• Supressed gastric emptying (less efficient compared to normal), digestion and absorption
  
  

The longer & more intense the exercise, the worse these responses are.

Here are 7 strategies to manage exercise in the heat from a nutrition...

Everything you Need to Know About Sports Gels

There’s a lot of information out there about sports gels and it can be confusing. There's a huge variety of brands and flavours and the content of them varies as well. Not all gels are created equally.

Here are some tips to consider when you’re buying your gels:

1. Carbohydrate content

• Carbohydrate content can range from around 20-50g of carbohydrate per gel depending on the brand.
• You don’t have to consume it all at once

2. Type of carbohydrate

• A lot of gels are made up of maltodextrin (two glucose molecules joined together) which is very easily broken down in the gut and absorbed quickly into the bloodstream.
• Some products contain maltodextrin and fructose which is a different type of sugar and is absorbed differently across the stomach lining
• The right one for you depends on your overall nutrition plan

3. Is it isotonic or not?

• Isotonic = the same salt concentration as our cells and our blood
• ...

Eating on your Feet: Fuelling Long Runs 

It can be a challenge to eat and drink when you’re running. Your tummy is jiggling up and down, it’s hard to breathe and chew. It’s also common to experience gut symptoms like nausea, bloating, diarrhoea and vomiting.

Here are some practical strategies to help you eat on your feet: 

• Practice!

  • If you’re not used to doing anything at all, start with just a small sip of water and slowly build up over time
  • Your gut is very trainable - start building up slowly, being gradual, and being consistent to your approach to fuelling
  • Assist with increased blood flow to the gut by taking on small amounts of nutrition, more frequently instead of a whole gel or bar at a time
  • Avoid following carbohydrate targets per hour you’ve pulled from the internet – this is a recipe for disaster
    
    

• Have a periodised approach

  • You don’t need to fuel the same all year round
  • Focus on building up your gut tolerance in...

Coffee & Questions Today we talked all about gels!

I answered your questions:

• Why do gels upset my stomach?
• Can they be mixed with water?
• Do they need to be consumed all at once?
• What to look for when buying gels?
• How much do you need during endurance events?
• Are bloks/chews better for women?
• Are there gels safe for use during pregnancy?

There were so many good questions! Watch the replay to see the discussion or read the transcript below

Not all gels are created equal! Some are better than others but at the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference and what fits in as part of your overall nutrition plan.

_{I have definitely seen a movement away from commercial sports nutrition products towards more real food options.}

_{If you're looking for more real food options to fuel your training, check out my Fuel Your Adventure Recipe Book! It contains a collection of Dietitian Approved energy bars and balls to fuel you from your very own kitchen.  ...}

My Top Tips for how to Lose weight and still maintain energy levels through ironman training - without affecting performance

1. Eat strategically
2. Get a sports Dietitian Approved meal plan
3. Let training drive the change
4. Do it earlier rather than later
5. You shouldn’t be race weight all year
6. Conversely - you don't want big fluctuations of 5-10+kg
7. Slow and steady wins the race
8. Track changes with skin folds -  not the scales
   
   

If you are looking for a Sports Dietitian to help you with training and racing nutrition, learn how you can work with me HERE

TRANSCRIPT

Good morning everyone! Welcome to Coffee and Question! So I had a couple of weeks break there because my voice failed me, it’s still feeling pretty scratchy. So I'll see how it goes today, see if it holds up for me. But I'm sorry about the delay, a bit late – the internet is not working this morning and a bit of carnage going on in our house as well.

I’m definitely a bit...

Today on Coffee & Questions I answered a great question - How do you Carbohydrate Load?

Watch the replay for all of the gold nuggets, or read the quick summary below.

I've been up to my eyeballs in Carb Loading plans recently with everyone doing Cairns 70.3 or Ironman this weekend. A common theme is that nobody has known how to do it properly

Want to know how well you've mastered the skill of Triathlon Nutrition? 

Have you got lots of areas for improvement? 
Are you on the right track? 
Or are you nailing the fourth leg?

Download the ULTIMATE Triathlon Nutrition Checklist and find out!

What is Carbohydrate Loading?

Where you load or store more carbohydrate in our muscles - muscle glycogen

Just like you fill up your car with petrol, you can fill up your fuel tank (glycogen)

This process takes time - 24-48hours

So eating a pasta meal the night before is not going to be particularly useful. 1. it's not enough carbohydrate and 2. the timing...