In need of advice..cant recover
184
Member
360 days
psychosyd posted 40 weeks ago.
I do have a concern with your diet. You are lacking carbs. You have a lot of protein, but no carbs. This is your fuel. I would also cut back on the egg white intake. You are eating a diet suitable more for a body builder than a triathlete.
Protein is important, but carbs are equally pr more important. They provide you with the energy to do the longer aerobic workouts.
Protein is good for repairing your muscles. Why so many eggs?
Post workout you should be taking approximately 4:1 carb :protein to let your body recover and fuel you for subsequent workouts. This is exactly why you are running out of energy.
I had an athlete I was helping coach do the exact same thing. I would try having some whole grain bread in the morning, and maybe some granola in your yogurt.
Let me know if you have more Q's.
72
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625 days
hateloveschool posted 40 weeks ago.
I know how you feel, I am too training for a half iron man this next summer and when I started to increase my volume, I did feel tired a lot more. Part of the reason was not because of volume of workout, but rather of how many times a day I was working out. I used to be able to workout twice a day about three or four times a week, now I'm only working out twice a day about one or two times a week. This gives me more time to rest in between workouts. So now I'm more rested, even though my volume has gone up even more then before.
My personal suggestion would take a longer time in between workouts to rest and put more workout time in one workout instead of doing two smaller workouts in one day.
427
Member
353 days
Sully800 posted 40 weeks ago.
I agree on the carb:protein issue. It seems like your diet is very high in protein and lacking in carbs. Adjust that slightly and see if it helps.
How much sleep are you getting? Have you ever been checked for anemia?
35
Member
814 days
TriSig posted 40 weeks ago.
I'm with syd, pound those carbs dude. Another thing, most of us want to be top level, to do that honestly you will just have to learn to push through that pain and workout anyway. All the while being careful to not develop overtraining injuries or burnout. It all hinges on nutrition and being able to read your bodies signs. Lot's of veggies and complex carbs, plenty of sleep and plenty of pain. That's what will make you top level.
1636
Member
1004 days
tri-ac posted 40 weeks ago.
you may also need to be more rigorous about when you take your rest time...most folks recommend every fourth week to back way off the intensity...if you schedule it, you have something to look forward to.
also, don't bother with two-a-days if you're at 8hrs/wk. i don't think the variety is helping you and the extra time spent changing/showering has got to be a drain in your daily schedule.
the lifting is good for the off season, but it also may be the reason you are drained...ask yourself if the lifting is essential (or even targeted towards triathlons)
add a couple of carbs, but honestly i don't think that's much of an issue yet with your volume. it will be as you ramp up, tho
81
Member
922 days
ston_ar posted 40 weeks ago.
I would say just based off what I know, you may actually not be eating enough. 5'9" and 142 is pretty darn lean, and by rough calculations youre only eating around 2000 calories a day (9cals/g of fat 4cals/g of carbs and protien). You're diet is amazing but as others have said I would add in a few more carbs, especially whole grains and mabie another couple hundred calories a day, and see if that helps.
As you're training volume goes up you're definitely going to have to up your caloric intake. Im 5'9" ish and about 160, currently swimming 20 hours a week, and I eat somewhere between 4 and 5 thousand callories a day (but not nearly as healthily as you are). You probably won't have to eat that much, but i doubt 2000 is going to cut it on a serious training regiment.
2729
Member
1282 days
Anton posted 40 weeks ago.
These guys are all spot on...
It's really simple.
More carbs.
More food, generally.
More rest.
At 7-8 hours a week, and considering day for a long run, bike and swim, you should be able to get at least one, if not two days of rest a week.
In the low points of my training calender, at 8-10 hours, I still get two complete days of rest a week. In the high points I manage one day of complete rest a week...young or old, that day is a big help.
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
My Blog: http://anton.trifuel.net
736
Member
810 days
Red5 posted 40 weeks ago.
Yep. more carbs and more whole foods in general.
_______
Bryan
Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
946
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1117 days
PJT posted 40 weeks ago.
In terms of advice, I can't add anything to what's been said already.
On a much more important matter, there is no need to apologize for this being your first post. I would actually say that yours is a very good first post. You haven't tried the classic sales-pitch-in-disguise yet, so that puts you head and shoulders above the crowd! ;)
Oh, and welcome to Trifuel.
211
Member
454 days
big 3 posted 40 weeks ago.
I'm guessing you did a low carb diet to lose the weight a few years back, so you aren't interested in gaining all those pounds because of adding carbs back.
I did the low carb thing awhile back. Thought I'd do it again once I got into the Triathlon thing to try and take the weight off quicker. I found myself very lacking in the energy department during the 2 weeks I tried to go LowCarb.
I think you will find the Carbs very helpful. Just keep focused on the complex ones, Fruit and Vegetables do wonders.
If you are really concerned about weight gain. You seem to do a nice job of keeping track of what you eat. Just add a some carbs to your diet weekly and watch the scale. If it starts moving the wrong way, you've added too many. Your food journal will help you find your "carb tolerance".
If my initial premise is wrong about the diet.. just ignore this. ha ha ha
Good Luck
551
Member
1309 days
vanjames posted 40 weeks ago.
Carbs are the fuel for the workout you need protein to recover from.
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Member
318 days
Windy posted 40 weeks ago.
I would think that you could use a couple dark leafy greens ( kale, collard greens, spinach etc) and brightly colored fruits ( lots of berries, pomogranite etc.)
so this probably isnt the best first post in the history of the forums and i apologize but its something i need to workout to actually start feeling like im working out for a change.
background info: 23 y/o male 5'9 142lbs im currently swimming 3-4times a wk 30-35min 15-2Kmeters, running 3/wk 30-45 min 3-5miles nice a slow 8min pace sometimes around 7, and biking on road sat/sun 22-30miles 1.5-2hrs with 1-3 stationary bike sessions at gym during wk 30-40mins.
diet: breakfast: kashi cereal cup sized with 3-4eggwhites, 10oz soy milk. coffee 16-20oz
snack: 2-3egg whites, or protein shake in water 20g pro
lunch:bowl of veggies(diced carrots, broch,tomato, jalpenos, cuccumber, 5-7oz chopped chicken breast grilled, mustard) maybe 8-10oz coffee
dinner: whole wheat wrap with 8-10ozchicken breast and turkey with 2 slice Fat free swiss, apple
i usually snack on apples, bananna, pear (1-2 a day) 1 protein shake, light yogurt mixed with 1 scoop protein powder post workout. and egg whites. drink about 1-1.5gals water a day, take multi vitamin, L-caritine, B-12, 1-2 fish oil caps, vit C and L-glutamine.
As you can see Im still very much not up to par training volume wise, or at least where i would like to be, i do try and squeeze in 2 workouts a day one being cardio and the other very light lifting session, and stretch after every w/o. My goals are too increase my milage and volume so i can do a half iron this summer at least 1-3 HIM's, and follow the 20 wk plan here on trifuel.com
MY main problem is i can not workout more than 3days in a row without feeling like ive been smashed by a truck or walk up a flight of stairs without hurting or swim more than 2-3days in a row yet run or bike! Im young NO reason why i shouldnt be able to do this, im only training an hr or little more a day, 7-8hrs a wk! so my question is why cant i recover? am i in the wrong sport? i take 1 day off every wk, usually ends up being 2 or more i start a w/o and end up having to quit due tothe fact my too sore/ ticked off at myself for not preforming. is it my diet? ive taken rest weekends, rest weeks all within the last couple months, with my job i would say ive taken aprox 30-35days rest in last 3-4months. I would very like to be a top level age grouper, and feel as if thats nothing going to happen with low volume, i dont train fast either, everything is in moderation. I pack on fat like its cool so i watch what i eat even though i wish i could and would eat more, but afraid to return to my fat old ways a few yrs ago.
any input would be great thank you for your time and enjoy the threads alot, lots of very informative people. once again thank you for your time.
LATE ENTRY: I CONSUME APROX 5-6EGG WHITES AT 3G PRO PER EGG, MY TOTALS ARE USUALLY 30-40G FAT, 200-250G CARBS 100-130 PRO A DAY