We all know we feel better after a good night’s sleep. But as athletes, while we are often highly committed to our training sessions and love to tick those completion boxes, the reality is that we don’t always prioritize our recovery in the same way.
Travelling can be a big part of the sport of triathlon – whether it is a few hours to a race or even overseas. The tricky logistics of nutrition, hydration and bike transport can really derail your ideal race. Our star Bindi athlete Brandon, travels regularly for races, so we pumped him for his best advice on avoiding the pitfalls such as dehydration, food poisoning and mechanicals.
Studies are showing us that dehydration can affect your mood, brain function and performance. Basically, even mild dehydration can lead to lowered mood, increased fatigue and a decline in your ability to think clearly. Given that the human body is made up of 60% water, the daily consumption of water is essential for our survival.
How much protein do we really need? As an athlete, it is vital that you ensure your protein intake is adequate and this particularly applies in the post training period. When exercising, the presence of adrenaline and absence of insulin results in muscle proteins breaking down to release amino acids. As muscle protein is breaking down, post-activity protein consumption is needed in order to repair muscle protein, increase muscle mass and form new enzymes. Here are 5 simple ways to ensure you optimise muscle repair and hit those protein targets…
This week in the Bindi Athlete Interview Series, I interviewed Audrey Hall, an exceptional middle distance and mountain runner. Audrey has had an intense upbringing in sport and suffered from numerous injuries.
In this week’s issue of the Bindi Athlete Interview Series, I had a chat with Brenden Wheeler, a long course triathlete who also works in the Air Force. Brenden did his first triathlon on a whim back in 2018 and was hooked from there.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Matt for this edition of the Bindi Athlete Interview series. Matt is a hard-working and honest athlete, who often works 14-16 hour days and still manages to qualify for Kona. He achieves the impossible every day and here is how he does it….
I had the thrill of interviewing, Katie Lovis last week, an incredible and inspiring ultrarunner who lives in Margaret River, Western Australia. Katie recently completed the entire Cape to Cape trail in Western Australia in a single day and broke the female record for the 129km in 17 hours 23 minutes.
During a long endurance event such as an Ironman race there is no question that you will need to fuel yourself well throughout the day. You body has limited stores of energy, and we know that consuming carbohydrates during exercise can improve your performance. We also know that not all carbs are created equal, and so when planning a race day strategy you may use a combination of drinks, gels, and solid food to get the nutrition you need. No one wants to run out of energy or have gut discomfort, so here are some solutions to keep these problems from affecting you on race day.
Taking care of your immune system is always important, but even more so if you are facing any stress in your life. Stress can be in many forms, including a heavy training load, nutritional stress from a sub-standard diet, or physiological stress from an intense job or challenges in your personal life. And what happens when we get stressed, tired, or run down? We get sick. Which is the last thing you want if you’re training for a big event, or you’re just simply trying to stay as healthy as possible in everyday life.
