Maximizing Performance

By Helga Rempel

Whether you are a world class athlete or a weekend athlete, keeping track of your workouts and eating behaviour can help you maximize your performance. Coaches help map out a plan to help an athlete achieve optimum performance, but people respond to the same work in different ways. It is up to the athlete to keep track of how the training and other variables are influencing performance and health.

Many athletes keep detailed training logs. A training diary not only helps athletes keep track of their workouts by looking at past workouts, it can help identify problems or benefits. If you have been tired and weak during your workouts, referring back to the days or weeks prior can point out the problem, particularly if there is a pattern. For example, maybe the fourth week of every month is hardest because of low energy levels and poor motivation. This may be an indication that you need an easy week of training after three weeks of hard training. For a woman, this could be a particular time in her menstrual cycle when the changes in hormonal levels affect her energy level and mood.

In the log, you should chart exactly what was done in the workout or practice -- for example, 10 x 400m, 30 minutes easy run, drills, 4 x 8 repetitions of weights, etc. You could include your splits, heart rate, average speed, top speed, weight, maximum lift, or other important measurements. Keeping track of your warm-ups and cool-downs can also provide valuable information when analyzing your training.

Besides keeping track of what you did in your workouts, it is important to note how you felt in your workout. Did you feel strong, tired, powerful, weak, rested, unco-ordinated? Speculate why you may have felt this way. Was it the late night you had yesterday, the two easy days of training, inadequate fluid intake, the sports drink you carried with you, the longer warm-up, too little food, too much food, stress or over-training, or were you more motivated than usual because of a recent competition?

One of the best ways of determining whether you may be overtraining or becoming ill is to keep track of your morning heart rate. To measure your resting heart rate, take your pulse first thing in the morning before getting out of bed. At this time your pulse is approximately 10 beats per minute slower than in the evening. If you are overtraining or ill, your resting heart rate will be higher. If your resting heart rate remains higher than normal for a few days and you are feeling tired or sluggish, decrease your training volume and intensity until you are back to normal.

Recording the number of hours slept and the quality of the sleep can also provide information on why you may be tired or energized.

Besides the physiological aspects of your training, you could record technical changes such as changes in your sitting position, push rim size, gloves, wheels, etc.

Weather conditions such as temperature, wind, rain and bright sun can also affect training. Terrain or facility can be recorded. This is particularly useful if you have several training routes with different terrains, or training places with different atmospheres, quality of equipment and/or type of equipment.
One factor that can greatly affect a person’s performance but is seldom recorded is food and fluid intake. What you eat is very important because it provides the fuel for your workout. If you regularly dine on burgers and fries and your fluid consumption consists of two litres of cola per day, it won’t be surprising if you often labour through workouts. But it is not necessary to write out every morsel that enters your body. Instead, record the number of servings you ate from each food group. Keep tabs of the number of "extras" eaten that are high in fat, such as cookies, chips, butter, ice cream and mayonnaise. This can give you a rough estimate of whether you are eating correctly for performance. An athlete should be consuming at least 10 servings of breads and cereals, five servings of fruits and five servings of vegetables to keep his or her carbohydrate intake high. Extras should be limited to no more than two per day. Six ounces, or 180 grams, of meat, chicken or fish is all an athlete needs per day. And watch how food is cooked. Broil, bake, steam or microwave without added fat, rather than fry.

Most importantly, record the number of cups of non-caffeinated or non-alcoholic beverages you have. Most people consume too little fluid. A sedentary person should consume at least eight glasses of fluids (water, juice, milk and other non-caffeinated and non-alcoholic beverages are included). An active person should add two to four glasses for every hour exercised. This can double during hot weather when you are sweating more. Every pound lost during exercise is equal to two glasses of water. If an athlete is working at 70 per cent of his or her maximum in 30-degree temperatures, he or she could lose as much as three litres of water (approximately seven pounds) in one hour. This needs to be replaced to avoid the detrimental performance and health effects of dehydration.

Be the Best You Can Be Training Diary and Be the Best You Can Be Wheelchair Road Racing Training Diary are written for runners and wheelchair athletes respectively. They provide room for all of the above information. Both training diaries also provide several pages of information on training, nutrition and other factors that affect performance.

To order a copy of either training diary, send $19.95 plus $3.00 shipping and handling to: Nutrition and Sport Service, 520-10 Avenue N.E., Calgary, AB, T2E 0X6. Specify which training diary you are ordering.

Training correctly is crucial if you are going to reach your optimal potential. Keeping a record of how you are training and how it is effecting you is equally important if you want to avoid past mistakes and reach your goal more quickly.

(Helga Rempel, R.D., M.Sc. is a lecturer at the University of Calgary and the sport nutritionist to a number of national sports teams.)