Gu and Gatorade and PowerBars have long been quick energy fixes for endurance athletes. For a couple bucks a pop, you can energize yourself with some maltodextrin in it's various forms for a good 45 minutes until the calories are burned and you pop another gel or sip some more drink or take another chewy bite of a vanilla crisp energy bar. All of those energy sources are great products for endurance sports, but they hold little water to a much more cost-effective source of energy: WORDS.
Words are free and when used in the right way, can energize someone much better than maltodextrin. You don't even have to re-say them every 45 minutes to an hour.
When you are at the Beach2Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon in Wilmington this weekend, or the City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh, remember to not just cheer for those athletes during the race, but speak words of encouragement before their difficult endeavor and speak words of recognition after the amazing feat of athleticism they have just accomplished.
Posted by: Joe Nuss in Nutrition, Fuel on
Oct 27, 2008
It's not an old wives tale, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. A nutritious, well-balanced morning meal not only sustains your energy levels better than endless cups of coffee, but it also can help:
- Boost weight loss efforts. Research shows that breakfast eaters are more successful at losing weight and maintaining that weight loss compared to breakfast skippers.
- Sharpen your mind. People who consume a high-fiber breakfast stay more alert than those who start their day with a high-fat meal, according to research.
- Protect your cardiovascular system. A study revealed that people who consumed whole-grain cereals rather than refined cereals had a lower risk of heart disease.
- Strengthen your immune system. The right breakfast choices help you start your day with immune-boosting vitamins and minerals.
Following are some tips on finding a breakfast that's healthy and enjoyable.
Posted by: Joe Nuss in Nutrition, Fuel on
Oct 02, 2008
Apples have many nutrition benefits. They are low in calories, have no fat, and are high in both soluble and insoluble fiber. A study published in the September 2002 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that the flavonoids (plant pigments with antioxidant activity) found in apples may reduce the risk of many chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, type-2 diabetes, and asthma. Quercetin, an antioxidant flavonoid found in high concentrations in apples, is thought to be responsible for apples' potential benefit in preventing lung cancer.
A great article on the Outside Blog called Old, Drunk Man Lost at Sea was the inspiration for this inaugural edition of my weekly column -- Training With Hemingway. Check back every Wednesday to read about my current training for the Duke Half Ironman written in the style of the greatest writer ever!
My first installment is a cycling piece about the new group ride I attended in North Raleigh last night. When told the average pace was 20-21 mph, I should have known better... but unfortunately I have the spirit of Hemingway in me (minus the Mojitos).
Self-esteem is not for sale.
You can’t buy it.
But you can cultivate it – from within yourself, through personal experience.
There are a lot of opportunities to buy products and services that make you feel better today – and, believe me, I am an avid consumer of many of them (my morning coffee, the occasional dessert, frequent massages at the spa…). But it’s only the personal experiences you have that can create a perpetual degree of self-esteem that is available for you to reference as needed throughout the more challenging episodes of your life.
It’s one of the reasons we launched the Ramblin’ Rose Women-only Triathlons program.
