Category Archives: Fitness
Sports Nutrition Advice from Bestselling Author Anita Bean
Guest Post by Anita Bean, Author of The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition.
Recovery Nutrition
Proper nutritional recovery is vital to performance. Failure to replenish fluids and fuel after training can quickly result in sore muscles, fatigue and under-performance at your next training session. Here’s how to promote full recovery after a hard session:
Priority 1: Replace fluids
Your muscles cannot fully recover until your cells are properly hydrated. So make drinking your priority – start drinking while stretching, before you’ve showered. The exact amount you need to drink depends on how dehydrated you are after your workout. The ‘pee test’ will give you an idea how dehydrated you are, otherwise weigh yourself before and after training. For each 0.5 kg (1 lb approx) of body weight lost, drink 600 – 750 ml of fluid (e.g. water, diluted juice or squash, milk – but not all in one go.
Drink little and often – I suggest 100 – 150 ml every 10 or 15 minutes over the next hour or so until your urine is very pale yellow.
Priority 2: Refuel
You need to replace the fuel (carbs) that you’ve used otherwise you will feel sore, achey and tired during your next session.
Take advantage of the 30-minute window: This is when your muscles restock energy levels faster than normal. The sooner you supply your muscles with carbs and protein after training, the quicker they will repair and rebuild. So have your recovery drink/ snack ready in your kit bag or in the car to eat on your journey home.
Eat carbs with protein: To help the body repair and rebuild, you need carbs with protein in a ratio of 3: 1. Ideally you should consume approx 20g protein. You can achieve this either in the form of drink (milk) or food (see below). You don’t need commercial recovery drinks
Opt for a milk drink: Milk, flavoured milk and milk shakes are near-perfect recovery drinks. Research shows that all types of milk after training speed up fuel recovery, encourage muscle gain and even reduce muscle soreness after training. They also help rehydrate the body more effectively than sports drinks, according to recent studies. Opt for whole, semi or skimmed milk; ready-to-drink milk shakes or make your own yoghurt smoothie from fruit, yoghurt and milk OR milk shake powder and milk.
Here are some ideas for post-workout snacks supplying 20g protein:
- 500ml of milk or milkshake plus a banana
- 250ml milk or milkshake plus 2 pots of fruit yoghurt
- 500ml milk or milkshake plus an oat-based bar or flapjack
- 200ml milk or milkshake plus 1 pot yoghurt plus 1 slice of toast and honey
- Homemade milk shake: Blend 1 cup milk, 1 banana, 1 pot yogurt, 1 tbsp chopped walnuts, 1 scoop chocolate milkshake powder and 6 to 8 ice cubes
- Fruit yoghurt smoothie: whizz together 2 pots of yoghurt, 1 banana or a handful or berries and 150ml fruit juice in a blender
- 50g nuts (e.g. almonds or cashews) plus 2 pots of yoghurt
Anita Bean is also the author of the following titles:
Unboxing Boxing
This is a guest post written by Sarah Johansson
British boxing has become less exciting for fight fans in recent years, with the retirement of both Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe and the decline of Amir Khan. However, the Olympics brought with it an upsurge of interest for the sport, and 2012 marked the first inclusion of women’s boxing in the games. Does this mean that boxing is on the up?
I’ll admit I’ve never been a fan: it’s always been too violent for me. Maybe I’m a big old wuss, but I like sports where people are nice to each other. Not only have I not liked it, I’ve dismissed it with a passion, usually citing words like ‘barbaric’, ‘primitive’ or just ‘stupid’. So imagine my horror when I was forced to sit through a Prizefighter tournament recently. I say forced, but when you’re sharing a small flat with an obsessed boxing fan, it’s pretty difficult not to absorb the sweaty aggression emitted from the screen.
Yet I was fascinated, which leads me to preconception no. 1 about boxing: it’s all about the aggression. Sure, professional boxing is scored based on the most effective punches, style, aggression and knockdowns. Amateur boxing, however, is judged by landing the most clean punches on the target area (a glorified game of tag, if you will). This, ironically, didn’t mean much to me until I had a go at Fight Night on Xbox.
Several hours and two blood blisters later, I came to the realisation that: (a) boxing requires some serious skill and technique, and (b) I was definitely capable of letting out a whole lot of aggression myself. So I’ve started to view amateur boxing in a different light: rather than focusing on the violence, I’ve come to admire the amount of dedication and discipline required, which reaches a level that few other sports could hope to equal. Lack of funding usually means having to work normal day jobs too, trying to fit in exercise and fights whenever there is time.
That was the case for Nicola Adams who worked as a builder and Corrie extra before taking home the first female Olympic gold medal in the flyweight class last year. Before 2009, funding wasn’t readily available for female boxers, and now, after the five-medal success in London, funding and opportunities are growing exponentially and universities are endorsing the sport to a much greater extent.
This is set to provide a whole new environment for a sport that is becoming more and more popular. Some of Britain’s ‘flagship’ athletes are now amateur boxers, which lights a torch for a bright future in Britain’s professional boxing game. This transition is already in motion now with Olympian Anthony Ogogo recently turning pro.
While I admit my previous dismissal of the sport probably involved very loaded words for someone who professes they couldn’t care less for it, I guess that’s what boxing does to people; it stirs and fascinates, repulses and excites. And even though I’m struggling with some conflicting emotions about boxing, you can’t deny the obvious fitness benefits. A boxer at their peak easily ranks among the fittest athletes in the world.
Boxing exercise is guaranteed to take you to the next level in your exercise regime, regardless of whether you train or compete in a different discipline. And if you want to get fit, focused and fighting, put on the gloves and try a boxing-fitness class. They provide non-contact cardiovascular workouts with boxing-style exercise, which perfectly suits those of us who want to get toned and gain physical and mental strength – but who might want to keep the violence at a safe distance.
Spring Highlights
Just a quick sneak preview of some of our Spring highlights…
… Inspired? You should be! We’ll keep you posted on all our upcoming titles throughout the year. Happy 2013!
from Team Sport at Bloomsbury
The 50 Most Inspirational Endurance Challenges from Across the Globe
Around the world, endurance athletes are pushing themselves further and harder than ever before. While some of these athletes choose to race in the heart of the world’s biggest cities, many journey to parts of the globe where human beings are the exception rather than the norm, places like Antarctica, Death Valley or the middle of a storm-swept Southern Ocean.
For a certain breed of competitor, there is an unbreakable drive to see exactly how much the body and mind can endure. Why do they do it? Well, that is down to the individual. But more and more people are attempting to tackle challenges that can be considered extraordinary – and at times downright dangerous.
This brand new book, publishing today, profiles 50 of the world’s toughest ultra-marathons, triathlons, bike rides and many other challenges that push human beings to their limits.
The World’s Toughest Endurance Challenges is a celebration of these extraordinary events and the athletes who take part in them. With detailed profiles of the races, first-hand accounts from competitors and stunning photography, it is the definitive guide to the hottest, coldest, highest, longest and most remote endurance events on earth.
What’s your Roller Derby Name?
As The Roller Derby Athlete by Ellen Parnavelas launches today, is has inspired me to find out what my roller derby name would be. According to the website Rollers and Revellers my roller derby name is Black Rose.
For those of you that have not heard of roller derby, it’s a unique fast-paced, female-dominated sport that is taking the world by storm. It originated in the USA in the 1930s, but it is the revival that began in 2001 that has inspired this new book.
Roller derby has become one of the world’s fast-growing new sports, and there are now more than 1,000 leagues worldwide.
The Roller Derby Athlete is ideal for beginners and experienced skaters, who are looking for a book that covers roller derby from a practical perspective. The book offers advice on tactics, fitness, training, injury prevention and nutrition.
The author Ellen Parnavelas writes the popular roller derby blog secretdiaryofarookierollergirl and plays for London Rollergirls.
With the new book, my new roller derby name, now all I need to do is dust off my old roller skates and find a local roller derby team that will have me – wish me luck!
The Roller Derby Athlete publishes today priced £16.99, order your copy direct from the Bloomsbury website or on Amazon.
To find out your Roller Derby name, visit the Roller derby name generator at the Rollers and Revellers website.
Olympians in Their Own Words
“I hope the Romanian doesn’t get through, because I can’t pronounce her bloody name.”
Allegedly from David Coleman, British radio and TV commentator, at one of his many Olympic coverages, when he thought he was off air.
“These are the Olympics; you die before you quit.”
The great American discus thrower, Al Oerter, winner of four successive gold medals (1956-1968). For the third of these in Tokyo, he competed despite excruciating pain from a torn rib cartilage, strapped up and iced.
Ever wondered what Olympic Athletes and commentators are really thinking? Read a few sample pages from Richard Witts new book, A Life Time of Training for Just Ten Seconds publishing today.
Marathon Running
Keep on running…
Been inspired by yesterday’s marathon, well get ready for next years London Marathon with the new edition of Richard Nerurkar‘s bestselling book Marathon Running as recommended by Nell McAndrew, who finished this year’s London Marathon in 2 hours 54 minutes.
Written by Richard Nerurkar, Britain’s most successful marathon runner of the 1990s, the fourth edition of this classic, invaluable guide is packed with the latest training information and tips that will help you get the most from your distance training.
Fully updated to take account of the latest developments in running science and programme design. This guide also includes tips on how to choose a good marathon and the pitfalls of bad ones, as well as more insights from Richard and other leading runners.
The new edition is available September 2012. Pre-order on Amazon.
Real athletes row. Others just play games.
In a moment of madness it seems, in the euphoria of having moved near the river, I decided to join up at my local rowing club on the Thames for a beginners’ ‘Learn to Row‘ course. At just around 5ft 4in, I probably don’t have your typical rower’s physique, but having worked on my fitness beforehand, I’m hoping that I won’t show myself up too much.
The cox who will be taking us out on the river on Sunday for our first water-based session gave us a rundown on safety and general info, which included learning about the tidal Thames which has a twice daily rise and fall. The second half of the session was spent on the ergos with an experienced squad member talking us through the terminology of the parts of the stroke, and the body positions that maximize the power of your muscles in moving the boat.
Set the challenge of rowing 1000m against the clock, we rowed with passion – if not great technique . Times were taken and at the end of our month course we’ll be doing it again to see how much we’ve improved over the course through (hopefully) better technique and fitness. I’ll keep you posted as to how I eventually do. In the meantime though, I’m going to be doing a spot of swatting with the help of The Complete Guide to Indoor Rowing (out May 2012). It’s definitely worth a gander if any of you are in the same boat (pardon the pun).
Sunday approaches and apprehension increases, but as long there’s no capsizing or anti-elitist(!) swimmers to avoid, it should be a cracking day.
Top 10 Tips for Running
Guest post contributed by Bloomsbury author Graeme Hilditch
Early spring sunshine is famous for kick-starting our cold winter souls back into life after months of shivering in sub-zero temperatures.
Although a range of outdoor activities are either resumed or started, it is running which is notorious for capturing the nation’s interest in the spring, and with so many mass participation 5k and 10k events taking place in the next few months, March and April are by far the best months to get started with a running regime.
So the question is, how do you get started?
There's no better time than spring to put a spring back in your step
If running has always been something you’ve wanted to try but you’ve never had the know-how or courage to give it a go, Bloomsbury’s 5K and 10K: From Start to Finish may be just the ticket.
Just the ticket for starting out.
To give you a taster, here are ten tops tips to get you started:
- Enjoyment is key – When starting out or starting up again after a few months ‘sabbatical’, always set out for a run with one intention and one intention only – enjoyment. If you enjoy yourself, you’re far more likely to want to do it again soon.
- Walk the walk – Combining light jogging and walking is a great way to get started. Just 2 minutes of jogging followed by 3 minutes of walking is perfect for the beginner.
- Buddy up – Jogging with a friend who is also new to jogging is a great way to stay motivated, and to have a good gossip and a laugh with during a training session.
- Nice and easy – Starting out jogging is never easy, so try not to jog too fast and stick to a nice moderate pace which you feel is comfortable – gentle enough to be able to hold a conversation.
- Hydrate – Although the temperature is not quite Mediterranean yet, always make sure you are well hydrated before any run.
- Running shoes – It is really important that when you start running you wear a pair of running shoes which suit your specific running gait. All good running shops will offer this service free of charge so whether you are recommended a pair of Brooks or Nikes, it’s a good idea to get analysed. See here for more information on gait analysis.
- Slip, slop slap – It can warm up nicely in the spring, and with a gentle breeze, it can often be hard to tell if the sun is burning your skin. So it’s a good idea on warm and sunny days to slap on a hat and slop on some factor 15.
- Variety is the spice of life – Try to vary your running route a little to keep the scenery fresh and interesting. As you get fitter, try including a few gentle hills too, which will really tax those leg muscles and make them a lot stronger.
- Sign up for an event – To keep you motivated, why not sign up for an event straight away. This will help to give you a goal, keep you focused and give you a purpose to keep jogging regularly.
- Join a running forum – There are plenty of forums on the internet where you can meet other like-minded people who are also new to running. Forums are great for questions, and they can help to give you peace of mind that whatever anxiety you have about running, you are certainly not alone.
Graeme Hilditch is a top personal trainer with over a decade of experience under his belt. He is the author of 5K and 10K.
Runner’s Knee, Tennis Elbow, Skier’s Thumb?
When it comes to sport and exercise, “No pain, no gain” may be a catchy phrase, but pain can often be the first warning sign of an injury so it’s important to listen to your body.
To be on the right track in regards to managing treatment whether it be for ankle sprains, shin splints, groin pain, slipped discs or torn hamstrings, it’s worth checking out The Complete Guide to Sports Injuries by Christopher M. Norris.
The book is packed full of helpful photographs and diagrams to aid both understanding and technique in treating sports injuries, with practical guidance on massage, taping, hot and cold. Norris also gives great advice on structuring rehabilitation through exercise therapy to help with recovery through the healing process.
If you’re a sports coach, fitness instructor, student, physiotherapist or sports massage therapist, then this is the ideal introduction to understanding and treating sports injuries.
Nick in Nets
Kirsty
Naomi
Sarah
