Archive for August, 2009

Blood cholesterol
Cholesterol is a fat like substance found throughout the body, and although cholesterol is an essential part of body cells, high levels are closely associated with heart disease. Heart disease results from a build up of fatty deposits on the walls of the arteries leading to the heart, causing the to narrow. High cholesterol levels can be inherited and passed on within families, but the problem is more commonly the result of dietary factors.
Most (about 75%) cholesterol is produced in the body. Only 25% comes from the diet, so it is not essential in the diet. Dietary cholesterol can raise blood cholesterol, but not to the same extent that saturated fat can, as we will mention below. Rich sources of dietary cholesterol include; offal, pate, egg yolks, fish roes, mayonnaise, shellfish, as well as red meat and dairy products.

How the body metabolises fat
In order to understand the relationship between dietary fats and heart disease we need to look at how fat is metabolised in the body.

Fats (or lipids), circulate in the blood as particles called lipoproteins.

Low density lipoproteins (LDL’s)
Contain most of the cholesterol in the blood, LDL cholesterol makes up the fatty deposits on the artery walls, clogging them up, which can eventually lead to a heart attack or stroke. It is often termed ‘bad’ cholesterol. Eating a diet high in saturated fat can lead to a rise in LDL cholesterol.

High density lipoproteins (HDL’s)
Also carry cholesterol but are mainly involved in taking it from sites where too much has accumulated, to the liver for disposal. HDL cholesterol is often referred to as ‘good’ cholesterol, so the more you have of this the better. HDL levels can be raised by stopping smoking, eating a diet low in saturated fat, and taking regular exercise.

Dietary Fats
Fat in foods is made up of varying amounts of different fatty acids. There are three main types of fat; saturates, mono-unsaturates and polyunsaturates. It is the overall balance of these in the diet as a whole that is important.

Saturated fatty acids
Saturated fats include fats which tend to be hard at room temperature e.g. butter, lard. An excessive amount of saturated fat in diets tends to raise the level of LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol in the blood which increases the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).

Saturates are found mainly in;
• Full fat dairy products including full fat milk, hard cheese, full fat yoghurt, cream.
• Fatty meats and meat products e.g. sausages, meat pies.
• Savoury snacks.
• Confectionary; cakes, biscuits and chocolate.
• Butter, lard, some fat spreads, some vegetable oils, especially palm and coconut oil.

Cis and trans fatty acids
Unsaturated fatty acids can also be termed ‘cis’ or ‘trans’.
A cis fatty acid is a natural fatty acid that one would find in a good quality cold pressed olive oil. In the unheated state, this oil is very beneficial to health.

A trans fatty acid is an unnatural fatty acid as found in hydrogenated margarines. This fat is not beneficial to health. A cis fatty acid can be converted to a trans fatty acid through the process of heating or hydrogenation (manufacturing process used to convert liquid oils into solid oils as seen in the manufacture of margarine).

Mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA’s)
Rich sources of MUFA’s include some vegetable oils (olive & rapeseed and fat spreads made from them. MUFA’s are also found in nuts seeds and meat.

Recent studies have shown that MUFA’s are effective at lowering LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol, without also lowering HDL (‘good’) cholesterol, when eaten in place of saturates. In Mediterranean countries, where the rate of heart disease is low although the diet is quite high in fat, this is mainly from olive oil, rich in MUFA’s. In addition, people living in these countries eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables which are high in antioxidant vitamins. It may be that this combination of factors helps protect these populations from heart disease.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA’s)
There are two main groups of PUFA’s, and small amounts of PUFA’s are essential in the diet as our bodies cannot produce them.

Sources of PUFA’s include vegetable oils such as sunflower, soya and corn oil, some nuts, seeds and meat. Many studies have shown that such PUFA’s are effective at lowering LDL cholesterol when substituted for saturates. At high intakes, they may also lower HDL cholesterol.

The other group of PUFA’s are found in oil-rich fish, including herring mackerel, salmon, trout, pilchards and sardines. There is evidence that increasing dietary intakes of oil-rich fish can reduce the risk of death from heart disease in people who have already had one heart attack. It may be that eating more oil-rich fish can help reduce the risk of a first heart attack too, so try to eat some oil-rich fish at least once a week.

Eating for a healthy heart

1. Lower saturated fat intake – choose low fat varieties of milk and dairy products. Cut all visible fat off meat before cooking. Choose lean meat, poultry, fish and beans/pulses. Use fat spreads sparingly. Choose bread muffins, scones, tea cakes, and fruit as snacks instead of fancy cakes or Danish pastries.

2. When you do use fat in cooking – try to choose an unsaturated oil (sunflower, olive, soya or rapeseed), and only use small amounts. All fats are fattening so use sparingly.

3. Try to increase your intake of oil-rich fish (salmon, herring, mackerel, sardines or trout) to at least once a week.

4. Keep your intake of trans fats low by using all fat spreads sparingly(low fat spreads tend to have less trans fats than fuller fat products), limit your intake of biscuits and cakes, choose scones, muffins, currant buns or fresh fruit as alternative snacks. Check food nutritional information labels for ‘partially hydrogenated vegetable oils’ or ‘hydrogenated vegetable oils’. If this appears near the top of the ingredients list the food will contain some trans fats.

5. Increase your fibre intake by eating a variety of fruit and vegetables every day including; some beans, peas, oats and lentils regularly in your diet.

Starchy high fibre foods provide energy, B Vitamins and fibre. Try to eat more bread, potatoes, pasta, rice and noodles by basing your meals on these foods. This will help to switch the emphasis away from fatty foods.

Knog manufactures a distinctive range of cycle lights, cycle and urban luggage, backpacks, panniers, cycling gloves and cycle computers. The Brand Knog and all the designs originate from Melbourne, Australia and have been established since 2003.

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Once you’ve managed to work out which gear shifter control makes pedalling easier you should know how to change gear, right? Perhaps, but avoiding being the mis-shifter who’s grinding bike can’t find the right gear takes practice. Knowing what you’re doing when it comes to gear changing will ultimately make you ride faster and help eliminate the gear change clunk!

Cross Chaining
According to the cycling fraternity the usual method that is ‘cross-chaining’ is bad. That is riding in a combination of the big chain-ring and the big cog, or the small chain ring and the small cog. The reality is that it can lead to clumsy shifts. If you’re on the inner chain-ring at the front and the small cog at the back, beware of the chain falling off if you shift to the big chain ring. Conversley, shifting from the big/big is often slow.

Look Ahead
The key to correct gear shifting is thinking and looking at the terrain ahead. Anticipate what gear you need and anticipate when you need to accelerate. Changing gear after the terrain changes slows you down and spends those vital energy stores. The same applies too when approaching traffic on the road. Look ahead and be in the right gear before you arrive.

Think Smart
When you’re ready to over-take another rider during a race, don’t necessarily announce your attack with a noisy gear change. Just drift out of their draft area so they can’t hear your gear change. Done correctly this decreases your wattage for a slight moment so you can quietly shift into your attacking gear and then pounce.

Care For Your Chain
If you chain is worn out you gear changes will suffer. Change the chain more frequently and you won’t have to change your cogs and rings as often. Riding in constant wet-dry weather can also weaken your chain. If you feel that your chain is in good condition and a cable adjustment hasn’t resolved the issue, inspect you chain rings and cassette for any rough edges or nicks.

If you love your bike, and what multi-sport athlete doesn’t, it will love you in return, especially if you learn how to change gears more efficiently making the shifts lightly and carefully.

Happy Training!!

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The higher your carbohydrate intake, the faster you can refuel your glycogen stores. This is particularly important if you train on a daily basis. It makes sense that if you train on a daily basis you need to have the necessary muscle glycogen to support your efforts over successive days. Failure to achieve glycogen refuelling will soon lead to fatigue and smaller training gains.

Efficiency in refuelling improves automatically with training experience and raised fitness levels. Thus, it takes a beginner longer to replace his glycogen stores than an experienced athlete eating the same amount of food. Another adaptation to training is an increase in your glycogen storing capacity, perhaps by up to 20%.

The best time to start re-fuelling is as soon as possible after exercise, as glycogen storage is faster during this post exercise ‘window’ than at any other time. During the first 2 hours immediately after exercise as glycogen storage is faster during this post-exercise window than at any other time as muscle cell membranes are more permeable to glucose so they can take up more glucose than normal.

Most recommend consuming 1g/Kg body weight during the 2 hour post exercise period. So for example, if you weigh 75kg you need to consume 75g of carbohydrate within 2 hours of exercise. Even if you finish training late in the evening, you still need to start the re-fuelling process, so don’t go to bed on an empty stomach. For efficient glycogen refuelling, you should continue to eat at least 50g carbohydrate every 2 hours until your next main meal. Therefore plan your meals and snacks at regular intervals. If you leave long gaps without eating, glycogen storage and recovery will be slower.

Which foods are best for recovery?
Since you want to get glucose into your muscle cells fast, choose carbohydrates with a moderate or high GI. Researchers suggest that it makes no difference to the glycogen storage rate if you consume liquid or solid forms of carbohydrate; however combining carbohydrate with protein has been shown to be more effective in promoting glycogen recovery than carbohydrate alone.

Post exercise snacks (To be eaten within 2 hours after exercise)

A meal replacement shake
1-2 portions of fruit with a milk drink.
1 or 2 cartons of yoghurt.
Smoothie.
Home-made milkshake.
A sports bar containing carbohydrate & protein.
A sandwich/roll/bagel filled with lean protein – tuna, chicken, egg, cottage cheese.
A handful of dried fruit & nuts.
A few rice cakes with jam, peanut butter or cottage cheese on.
A bowl of whole-grain cereal and milk.
A bowl of porridge made with milk.
Jacket potato with tuna, baked beans or cottage cheese.

Happy Training!!

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Every hill climb regardless of how long, short, steep or steady it is has one fundamental and that is ‘effort’. This ‘effort’ has other elements associated with it too that could make or break a successful trip to the top!

Next time you’re out training, or racing for that matter, try to think about these next few topics and see how much easier it will be to reach the top.

Set A Pace
If you go above threshold too soon, you’ll blow up and slow down before you reach the top. Keep your breathing deep and comfortable and your heart rate below threshold at the start of the climb. As you get your rhythm, gradually increase your effort until you’re climbing at threshold. The final 200m of any climb is the best place to go for it and attack the hill. If you start off smart, you’ll have enough energy to finish strong.

Take Deep Breathes
Many triathletes just use the top part of their lungs, taking shallow, jagged breaths as they climb which limits how quickly and efficiently you can move fresh oxygen to moving muscles. Practise deep breathing into your belly, entirely filling your lungs. Also deep breathing will help to keep the nerves calm during the stress of the climb.

Stay Seated
Your backside should be firmly on the saddle for most of the climb. About 5% more energy is utilised when you stand on the pedals during a climb. Shift your weight back slightly for maximum leverage on the pedals. Stand only when you body needs a break from seated position or if you need to accelerate. When you stand make sure you keep your bottom back so that the saddle’s nose brushes the back of your thighs and your weight is over the crank. Standing with your weight too far forward will only loose traction on the back wheel.

Keep Loose
Your upper body should be relaxed so you don’t waste energy. A good indication that your upper body’s relaxed is slightly flared elbows. They should be outside of your knuckles. If your elbows are tucked in, your lats are stretched which can restrict breathing.

Use The Right Gear
Don’t be afraid to use easy gears. Don’t feel like you need to grind a big gear. The key is to gear down and keep the cadence high in a comfortable range. Most will say between 70 – 90 rpm is optimum spinning.

Develop Your Power To Weight Ratio
The amount of watts you generate per kilo of body weight is the key success of climbing. The top climbers will produce 6 – 7 watts per kilo, the best in the world may even be around 5. High intensity training can raise your wattage by around 5% over a season. Try this session once a week during a steady ride in order to develop your power-to-weight ratio. Climb for 10 to 30 minutes at or near lactate threshold heart rate (about an 8 out of 10 on the rate of perceived scale of exertion, RPE).
One of the easiest ways to increase you power-to-weight ratio is to lower the ‘weight’ element. By loosing those few extra pounds you’ll see much quicker results.

Happy Training!!

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Celebrate & Rehydrate
Congratulate your self no matter how you did, because you did the best you could on race day. Make sure that you take time to catch-up with other club members of friends who have also completed the race as well as your travelling supporters. Rehydrate as soon as you’ve finished by replenishing those lost salts and minerals as well as your all important energy reserves.

Recuperation
Continue to have something to eat or drink every 2-3 hours after your race. Consider going for a short walk to help loosen off those muscles and remember to perform a thorough stretch of all the major muscle groups. Not only will this make you feel better immediately following your race but will also help avoid the delayed onset of muscle soreness a day or two later.

Review Your Race
Did you prepare sufficiently for your race? If not, why not? Did you achieve your goals? If you did then congratulate yourself, however if you didn’t then what obstacles can your way? Were your gaols too ambitious? Did you face unexpected mechanical problems out on the course? More importantly what went well during the race that you could take with you to future races? What would you do differently to improve your future performance?

What Next?
With race weekend over and the race completed, you can congratulate yourself on the positives that came from your race and take a short break before you take the next steps in determining your next race and another multi-sport triumph!

Happy Training!!

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If you somehow have failed to read an article relating to cyclists risking infertility then I bet one of your work colleagues or a family member has mentioned this at some point in your triathlon/cycling career!

As with most stories of this nature, people have been quick to jump on the negatives. In a recent documented study, 15 triathletes with an average age of 33 had less than 10% normal looking sperm, compared with the 15-20% seen in the most fertile man.

The figures became significantly worse when distances of more that 186 miles were covered per week. The proportion of sperm that was the correct size and shape had fallen to 4 %, the point at which men may struggle to conceive without fertility treatment. How many triathletes do you know that ride in excess of 180 miles per week? Unless there going for Ironman, or full time pro’s!

Suggested reasons for this result are the heat from being in lycra, pressure and fiction on the saddle and the levels of cellular damage caused by the high levels of training. The choice of subject group were significant as triathletes, like time triallists, tend to sit lower and further forward on the nose of the saddle to achieve the aero position.

This position may add to the heat and the friction, and the group spent more time like this than a casual rider or a standard road racer. The other potential flaw in the study was that you don’t know what the subjects’ fertility was like before they took up competitive triathlon, so without knowing this significant figure it is impossible to place the blame on the sport.

There are steps you can take to improve your own fertility without having to give up cycling. Even reduced mileage doesn’t necessarily mean reduced performance if you are training correctly. A healthy diet high in antioxidant-rich fruit and veg has been shown to aid fertility. And, of course, your lifestyle off the bike is a major factor.

A healthy weight and not too much boozing (and smoking) will all contribute to keeping you in the best reproductive health!

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There are less than 24 hours to go before the highlight of the year as the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series arrives in London’s Hyde Park.

The Dextro Energy Triathlon World Championships Series, played out in iconic cities around the world, includes eight venues culminating in a Grand Final in Australia on September 13th.. Each race carries $18,000 US in prize money with the Grand Final worth $30,000 US.

Britain’s entry for the London leg includes reigning women’s World Champion Helen Jenkins, the in-form Alistair Brownlee, who has won three legs so far, 2006 World Champion Tim Don and top-ten ranked Will Clarke.

The event offers a separate and unique opportunity as the Olympic venue will also be the stage for a mass-participation event on Sunday 16 August. Over 1,000 people have already signed up for this event which will be organised in age-groups.

If your not one of the expected 10,000 spectators you can always watch the event live on BBC1 from 13:00.

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It is a simple fact; the more buoyant you are the faster and easier it is to swim. This is because the drag of our own bodies slows us down. The less buoyant you are, the more your body is in the water and the more drag you create. You may have noticed that you feel more buoyant and faster in salt water. That’s because salt water helps us float better due to the higher salt content.

If it were only as simple as swallowing more air, or adding floatation strips to our tri suits, however there’s not much we can do. The more heavy boned a person is the more the person will sink. The lower percentage of body fat someone has, the more that person will sink. In general, women float better than men since on average they are 5 to 10 percent higher in body fat.

More fat may help you swim better but your VO2 max is in direct proportion to your body weight. For most of us heavier is not healthier and that extra weight makes everything on land much harder, like biking then running! Some of us with the right proportion of body fat and light bones will float easier than others. Some ‘densely’ boned mortals with a low percentage body fat are just ‘sinkers’!. Not to worry though as many sinkers(myself included) can more than make up for their lack of natural buoyancy by improving their swim technique, developing core strength and generally getting their body in a more streamlined position.

If all you do is swim open water events then you have an immediate advantage in the only practical way to increase your buoyancy, by wearing a wetsuit!

Indeed the only way to instantly reduce your bodies drag, but not so legal in a pool based triathlon and you’d look a bit crazy!!

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The knee is basically a hinge joint, allowing backwards and forwards motion, but it is also able to rotate slightly in on itself. The bending and straightening is controlled by the hamstring and quadriceps muscles at the back and front of the thigh bone respectively, and their size and position affects the angles the legs move at, and particularly the way that the patella (kneecap) moves. Your anatomy and the patterns of your muscle use determine many of the injuries you will suffer.

Symptoms
‘Runner’s knee’, or patello-femoral pain (PFP) occurs when the patella fails to move smoothly and centrally through the femoral groove at the lower end of the thigh bones. This is sometimes due to muscle imbalance or abnormal anatomy, but it can also be the result of another injury which causes you to favour one leg in some way.
Pain will be felt beneath or on the side of the kneecap. It will probably feel more like a soreness or nagging pain. Pain is most severe after you run up or down hills. Swelling is also present. In severe cases you may feel and eventually hear grinding as the rough cartilage rubs against cartilage when the knee is flexed.

Causes
Overpronation (excessive inward rolling of the foot) can cause the kneecap to twist sideways. The quadriceps muscles, which normally aid the proper tracking of the kneecap, can prevent the kneecap from tracking smoothly when they are fatigued or weak. A muscle imbalance between weak quadriceps and tighter hamstrings can also pull the kneecap out of its groove. Hill running (especially downhill) can aggravate the condition, as can running on the same side of a cambered road, or, in general, over-training.

Self Treatment
Stop running. Ice the knee for 10-15 minutes 2-3 times a day. Use a flexible frozen gel pack that wraps around the knee. Remember not to ice directly onto skin, use a thin towel or pillow case. Once the pain and swelling has gone, do quadriceps strengthening exercises and remember to stretch the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves regularly.
Sophisticated tests aren’t normally required. A ’sunrise’ x-ray of the flexed knee will show if your patella is abnormal, roughened or displaced, and there is little need for scans. As many cases are the result of anatomical variations, having your running gait analysed may enable appropriate corrections to be made to alleviate the problem.

Medical Treatment
If runner’s knee isn’t responding to self treatment after 3-4 weeks of active recovery, seek professional medical help. They may prescribe custom-made orthotics to control over pronation. If the condition is severe you may, at a last resort, be referred to an orthopaedic surgeon to repair/remove the damaged edge of cartilage, however steroid injections and surgery aren’t often used to treat PFP. Some physiotherapists successfully tape the patella, drawing it back towards the mid-line, and can teach you how to do this yourself. Other forms of physiotherapy will ease PFP, but controlled exercises form the mainstay of treatment.

Alternative Exercises
Pool running, swimming and rowing. Anything that doesn’t put pressure on the knee.

Preventative Measures
You should stretch and strengthen your quads, hamstrings and calves. Be sure to include single leg exercises such as the ‘split squat’ to maintain muscular balance. If you over-pronate consider moving to motion control shoes with firm mid-soles. You should never run in worn out trainers. Avoid excessive downhill running and stay off cambered roads. Don’t all of a sudden ramp up you run mileage, take a gradual approach. Incorporate rest into your training schedule and don’t try and overdo it.

If you’ve suffered from ‘runner’s knee’ before, be aware that returning to training too soon could severely knock back your chances of a full recovery.

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