As much as we would like to have a nice nutritious meal every night, our lives have become so hectic that we barely have 10 minutes to pull a dinner together. Here are a few ways to still eat healthfully at the end of the day.

1. If you don’t have time for a dinner or arrive too late, eat a larger lunch. Switch it around, treat lunch like dinner and dinner like lunch. Have the protein, carbs and veggies at lunch then have a sandwich with a piece of fruit for dinner. Making a sandwich is much less time consuming then making a larger dinner.

2. Have a decent size mid afternoon snack. If you don’t have dinner until the later part of the evening 8 or 9, then having a sandwich at 4 or 5 will allow you to focus on choosing healthfully meal rather than eating the table because your so hungry.

3. Make making dinner super easy—having individually wrapped foods whether you buy them or doing it your self will help decrease your time. The freezer can become your best friend, freezing food does not decrease the nutritional value. So having the following staples can really help increasing the nutritional value of your dinner with out increasing time spent.

Protein sources: Frozen marinated chicken or fish, individually packaged. Separating 93% lean ground beef in to 3-4ounce patties. Tofu can be stir fried super quick and take on any flavor that is in your food. Beans, drained and rinsed canned beans can be added to salads, soups, and mixed dishes quickly to provide a good source of protein. Canned tuna or salmon can be added to mac and cheese or other casserole dishes.

Carbohydrates: Frozen individually portioned wheat rolls, liptons make good quick rice and pasta sides (if you make them with light butter or use half of the amount they suggest, you are making it lower in fat). Whole-wheat tortillas, whole grain pitas can be used instead of traditional bread for meals. Sweet potatoes take 20 minutes to roast @ 450 degrees, add a little olive oil and seasoning and it really makes a great substitute for white potatoes.

Vegetables: Simply Steam and other brands make eating frozen vegetables as easy as putting the bag in the microwave for 5 minutes. They have a variety of veggies that are fresh, with no preservatives, and super delicious. Throwing frozen spinach or broccoli into almost any casserole or sauce will increase the nutritious value of the meal tremendously. 

4. Take home leftovers—this sounds easy enough. When you eat out, order double or eat half (depending on the serving size), knowing you will eat the second portion the next night. If you are lacking a carbohydrate, protein or veggie for the meal the second time around, see tip 3 for suggestions on how to add them in.

5. Cook a lot at one time—if you cook only once a week, make a lot that will last all the week long. Just switch the veggies that you added to it and you will shave precious minutes off of your dinner prep time. Just be sure to cook different things every other week allowing you to get different nutrients. For example, one week would be a big pot of spaghetti and the next could be a tuna casserole.

The information contained in this newsletter is the opinion of Ryan Riell and Break Through Multisport on endurance training, racing, and nutrition. These points are suggestions on how to train and not recommendations for athletes. Any article on the Break Through Multisport website may be reprinted into a paper or online newsletter for your NON-PROFIT club or organization, so long as Ryan Riell and www.BreakThroughMultisport.com are credited.  If you do reprint or link to any Break Through Multisport material, please send a courtesy email to ryan@BreakThroughMultisport.com. For medical advice, and before starting a strenuous training program, consult with a physician.

August, 2008

Volume 1, Issue 7

In This Issue:

New and Updated Classes

Proper Recovery and Days Off

Having a Nutritious Dinner on Limited Time

The CORE

BTMS at the Chicago

Tri Expo

SPONSOR of the Month-

15% OFF Trigger Point Therapy Products

Ride to Empower

How many of you have friends in endurance sports that are always going as hard as they can go? How many of you have friends in endurance sports that look at you like you are crazy when you mention “recovery week” or a day off?

The bottom line is, whether you are a runner, cyclist or triathlete, recovering from workout to workout, let along adding in a recovery week is the KEY to physically improving!

The basic principles of physical improvement are that you stress your body (muscles and connective tissues) and then let it heal to create improvements in endurance, strength, power and speed. Below are some keys to recovery!

Day-To-Day/Workout-To-Workout RECOVERY:

Whether you are working out once a day or three times a day, recovering between workouts is the key having positive and good successive workouts. The keys to recovering between workouts are:

1.Make sure that you go into each workout with a fully topped off glycogen tank

2.Make sure that you go into each workout fully hydrated

3.Make sure that you are drinking either water or a sports drink while working out and that part of your cool down consists of a solid stretching routine.

4.Immediately after a workout, consume 16-20 onces of sports drink to start replenishing your glycogen stores.

5.Within one hour of working out, eat a healthy meal with 50-65% carbohydrates and 15-20% protein.

6.If possible, take a short nap (30-45 minutes) after a workout.

7.Make sure you get a good night sleep of at least 8 hours for proper recovery.

Remember, as endurance athletes, if we are wanting to achieve our goals and set new personal records, we are eating to train, not training to eat. While it is not really feasible for the average age-group endurance athlete to go on a strict diet, we should be smart with when we choose to have that cheeseburger and large fries that we wash down with a few beers.

Most athletes have a recovery day built into their schedule, if not only for a day to physically recovery from 6 days of pounding, but a mental break from training as well. The off day or recovery day is usually followed by the key workout of the week for most endurance athletes, therefore, eating that cheeseburger with fries and a few beers might not be the best thing to do on the night of your day off If you are wanting to have a high quality workout the following day.

Days OFF/ Recovery Days:

Lets take a minute to talk about days off or recovery days. There is a distinct difference between taking a day off and a recovery day. The normal age group endurance athlete will work for 6 days and take the 7th day off .

A day off is just that, a day off from exercise. The one possible exception to this would be a light stretching based yoga session. The main purpose of the day off is to let your body recover from the training it has been put through in the past 6 days. What you do on your day off is pretty much up to you, but it is recommend that you do your best to stay off your feet. Another advantage of a day off is the mental break from training- it gives you an opportunity to catch up on busy work, spend more time with family or friends or to simply just relax.

A recovery day is NOT a day off, it is still a day of working out, just at a lower intensity and duration. Once an athlete has a few years of experience and/or a sufficient number of miles put on their body, a recovery day can be put in place of a day off.

Examples of workouts for a recovery day could be an easy swim, easy spin or a light jog. The overall purpose of a recovery day is to maintain a high level of fitness and to continue to provide an exercise stimulus to clear metabolic waste.

Whether you chose to take a day off or to add in recovery days, nutrition before, during and after each workout is a major key to achieving your goals!

Coach Ryan is a USA Triathlon and USA Cycling Certified coach, the Founder and Head Coach of Break Through Multisport Inc. You can reach Coach Ryan at  Ryan@BreakThroughMultisport.com with any questions, comments or for all of your coaching needs.

Break Through Multisport Inc.

1235 North Clyborn, #192

Chicago, IL 60610

(931) 220-7050

www.BreakThroughMultisport.com

Ryan@BreakThroughMultisport.com

It is widely recognized within endurance athlete circles that having a “strong core” or building “core strength” is an important ingredient in a weekly training schedule.  However, what is less clearly understood is:  What the core is?  Why it’s important? And How do you get it? 

What…?  Most people who think of “the core” think of their abs.  They picture a guy or girl with a washboard stomach, or six pack abs.  However the core muscles really include all the abdominal muscles (both deep and superficial, lateral and medial, superior and inferior).  The core muscles act like a bowl around your spine.  These muscles surround and brace your trunk or midsection. They form a wrap-a-round girdle or “bowl of support” that stabilizes your spine.  Core muscles also include the gluteal group, hamstrings, posterior muscles of the back, hip flexor muscles, and the quad group.  Basically any muscle located between the chest and the knees can ultimately be considered part of your core.  With that in mind, building core strength now seems to be a lot more complex than a five minute sit-up routine at the end of a workout!

Why...? So why is core strength important? Stability creates mobility- a stable torso allows increased range of motion and decreased energy expenditure during extremity movement because the extremity has something solid to move against.  Think about trying to push a car when standing on ice, you can’t move the car unless you have something stable to help generate the force. So if all movements should begin with appropriate activation of the core, what happens if the core is not developed sufficiently to cope with the demands of an athlete’s training regime? Well, there are many potential problems that may occur. Let’s just look at a couple of important ones. Posture is very important for any aspect/form of endurance sport. Without good posture the body cannot function properly, for example the lung capacity is compromised and therefore oxygen supply becomes hindered. It is possible that injury risk is also increased significantly. Take a runner who has not included a specific core strength plan in her weekly schedule. Her obliques are one of many muscle groups that may be under-developed. Her lateral and rotational stability is therefore likely to be hindered. Her hips may drop excessively during her running action and will thus compromise the level of stress on the Iliotibial (IT) band, her patella tracking, her foot and ankle position during the weight bearing phase of her gait and so on. In other words, if the core is weak – any structure below (and often above) the weakened area is placed at a greater risk of injury

How...?  So how is core strength developed for endurance sport? This question is not easily addressed within the constraints of an explanation as brief as that intended for this article. However the athlete should always start by asking “what are the demands of my sport?” If a multisport athlete wants to improve his core strength he must ensure the movements he performs during the core session are specific to the movements involved in running, cycling, and swimming.  But often times before you can dive head first into more “functional movements” you have to assure you are able to actually activate more than just your 6 pack abs. Blood pressure cuff exercises teach you to control pelvic alignment and maintain pelvis to sternum positioning while performing lower limb activities, once you’ve mastered that you can begin to incorporate these same neuromuscular connections to the sport of your choice.  For example, core strength and stability are critical in being able to effectively rotate the torso necessary for a strong swim stroke, support yourself on the bike in the aero position, or absorb the lower body during endless footstrikes in running.  

Whether you’re a runner, cyclist, or triathlete it is imperative to include an appropriate core program into your training routine.

The Interval/Run class meets every Monday night (6:30 pm) at Lakeshore Park. The actual address is 808 N. Lake Shore Dr. (metered parking is available on Chicago, just west of LSD). Each class is $10 and there is no minimum to purchase. The other option is to purchase a punch card for 5 classes and receive a Break Through Multisport t-shirt!

Each class is different and the workouts are designed specifically for each athlete depending upon the time of year and the phase of your training schedule.

The Interval/Run class is designed to:

Increase running economy and biomechanics

Increase aerobic fitness

Increase anaerobic capacity (VO2 Max)

Increase Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR)

Licitly Split Fast Meals

These meals are created to be used to make quickly with very little preparation.

Chicken Pasta

3-4 chicken breasts cooked sliced or chopped

Olive oil

4 cups of uncooked whole-wheat penne pasta

1 package of birds eye frozen vegetables (any type that you like)

½ cup of homemade dressing or can use light Italian dressing

Parmesan Cheese

Cook pasta to package. Warm chicken in a skillet with a touch of olive oil. While pasta and chicken are cooking microwave vegetables. Add chicken, vegetables, and dressing to drained pasta. Mix well. Add cheese to taste. Enjoy!

Chicken Stir Fry

1 red, yellow, green pepper sliced or 1 package of pre-sliced veggies

1 small onion chopped or 1 container of pre-sliced veggies

3-4 chicken breasts sliced julienne style or 2 packages of pre-cooked sliced chicken breasts

¼ cup Low-sodium soy sauce

Olive oil

2 packages of Uncle Bens (or the like) 90-sec brown rice

Cut the peppers and onions (or open the package). Lightly coat a large frying pan with olive oil. Sautee the peppers and onions for 3-4 minutes. Then add the chicken, let simmer for 3 minutes. Then add the soy sauce. (Feel free to use more for flavor.) In the meantime cook the rice. Once rice is done, add to veggie and chicken pan. Stir well and warm for 2 minutes. Serve warm.

**Feel free to add whatever veggies or protein you wish. This recipe can be modified to your liking.

Dina Aburmishan RD, LDN is a registered dietitian who works with several endurance athletes. Dina owns DMA Nutrition Inc. a private practice nutrition consulting company. You can reach Dina at dmanutrition@gmail.com or www.dmanutrition.com or call her at 847-581-1160.

For more information, please contact Coach Ryan at

Ryan@BreakThroughMultisport.com or at (931) 220-7050

Liz Yerly, MPT, ATC, CSCS, cART  is a licensed physical therapist and athletic trainer who has experience working with the highly trained athlete, as well as the weekend warrior She is the facility manager of the South Loop Occusport Physical Therapy clinic, as well as a treating therapist specializing in advanced certifications such as Active Release Technique and Graston Technique. She uses her manual skills to successfully rehabilitate her patients and quickly get them back to where they need to be. You can reach Liz at: lyerly@occusport.com or call her at (312) 588-0508

15%

OFF

Please use the following discount code in order to receive 15% off your order through the Trigger Point Website: BREAKTHROUGH08

Break Through Multisport is proud to announce its new partnership with the Breast Cancer Network of Strength!

Coach Ryan has been named as the Head Coach for the Ride To Empower, an all expense paid 100 mile ride this coming October in California!

The Ride to Empower is a destination bike ride, with fully-supported route lengths ranging from a 100-mile century to less than 32 miles.  The Ride will take place during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Solvang, Calif., October 23-26, 2008, with the 1-day ride on October 25.  This area is a prominent training ground for professional cycling teams and serves as host for the Discovery Channel pro-cycling team’s first training camp of the year. All of this will make Breast Cancer Network of Strength's Ride to Empower an event you won’t want to miss.

The Ride to Empower offers the challenge to complete a long-distance cycling event, the opportunity to pay tribute to friends and loved ones touched by breast cancer, and an empowering and memorable 3-night and 4-day experience.  Once registered, riders receive access to an expert training program, provided by a USA Cycling certified coach, to help guide both interested and avid cyclists to success.

All-inclusive riders are required to raise a minimum of $4,000, and in exchange for successful fundraising efforts, riders will receive airfare (from within the contiguous U.S.), accommodations at a 3-star hotel and all meals.

Network of Strength also offers a reduced fundraising package for riders opting to coordinate and fund their travel and bike transportation to the Ride to Empower location.

“Whether you are a runner, cyclist or triathlete, recovering from workout to workout, let along adding in a recovery week is the KEY to physically improving!”

“Switch it around, treat lunch like dinner and dinner like lunch. Have the protein, carbs and veggies at lunch”

Total Body Package

Plus U6 Guidebook

Plantar Fascitis Kit

Knee Dysfunction Kit

Trigger Point Technologies is a company that has established itself as a life enhancing brand, concentrating on empowering people with its revolutionary methodologies and patented products that mirror the feeling of a human hand.

It has successfully become one of the leaders in personal performance care by marketing its in-home therapy technology to consumers in the athletic, health care and personal wellness markets. It is a multi-channel company that provides a broad selection of information, media, products and services to customers that value personal development, wellness, positive lifestyles and enlightening media. It offers its customers the ability to make purchasing decisions based on these values while providing quality offerings at a price comparable to mainstream alternatives.

Trigger Point Performance Therapy provides treatment and relief for common injuries such as Plantar Fasciitis, Achilles Tendinitis, IT band Syndrome, knee pain, back pain, foot pain and more.

Hip Dysfunction Kit

New and Updated Classes!

OPEN WATER SWIM PROGRAM-

The newest addition to the list of Break Through Multisport classes started a few weeks ago and will run through August 19th. The class takes place every Tuesday morning, from 5:30 to 7:00 am. The class will meet three more times (one being a make up from Tuesday the 5th when we had serious rain storms the night before). For the remaining three classes, the cost is only $20 and includes a BTMS swim cap.

For more information, contact Coach Ryan.

CYCLING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM-

Right now, the cycling development program is meeting every Wednesday night from 7:00-8:00 pm at Mission Bay Multisport. This is not your gyms “spin class”- this is a full fledge cycling workout. Right now, we are basing our workouts off “Rate of Perceived Exertion” (RPE) and/or Heart Rate (HR).

COMING THIS FALL, we will introduce Virtual Reality Trainers that will not only operate off of Power (watts), they will allow us to utilize Functional Threshold Power (FTP). Once we’ve determined your FTP, we will be able to set training zones that are as accurate as possible, allowing you to get the most out of every training session! This class provides a workout that is unparalleled for triathletes and cyclists!

For more information, contact Coach Ryan.

INTERVAL/TRACK WORKOUTS-

This class has been meeting on Monday evenings at 6:30 pm since May of 2008 and has provided great results for triathletes and runners. This class will run through October 6th, the week before the Chicago Marathon.

At any given time, we have had up to 4 different workouts taking place at the same time- Ironman distance intervals, ½ Ironman distance intervals, intervals for the Chicago Marathon and intervals for the Chicago Triathlon. Whether you are a triathlete or a runner, this class is for you!

For more information, contact Coach Ryan.