THE LATEST SCIENTIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS, INCLUDING TIPS FROM SIMON SCHEMPP, THE MOST SUCCESSFUL GERMAN BIATHLETE IN THE WORLD CUP SEASON 2014/15.

Who doesn’t know this scenario: for the optimal preparation for the race season you need to get down to race weight – but what is the most effective way to get rid of the unwanted ‘love handles’ without compromising athletic performance?

There are always reports of new ‘wonder-diets’ in the media that have one thing in common: through restricted or selective choices of food a reduction in the total amount of energy consumed is achieved. The body is supplied with less energy than it actually needs. This calorie deficit is crucial for a reduction in body weight, and there’s no way around this.

A reduction in body weight is typically achieved through the combined breakdown of body fat and muscle mass. Although a high or radical reduction in calories also leads to the biggest weight losses, muscle mass is also attacked more and broken down. However, for athletes it is much more beneficial to maintain / preserve existing muscle mass during weight loss, as it is critical for exercise performance. Therefore, instead of focusing on the maximal (quantitative) weight loss, the nutritional strategy employed should ensure that the most amount of body fat is lost, with lowest possible reduction of valuable muscle mass. In addition to specific (strength/weight) training, the macronutrient protein also plays an important role.

A higher protein intake supports the maintenance of muscle mass during a calorie-restricted diet. However, there are also other reasons why foods rich in protein can be beneficial. For example, studies have shown that the feeling of satiety is higher after the consumption of protein in comparison to carbohydrates or fats. Feeling fuller reduces hunger and appetite, and therefore makes sticking to a calorie-reduced diet easier. Logically, with an increased intake of protein there needs to be a reduction in calories somewhere else to be successful. That means that foods that contain a lot of carbohydrates and / or are rich in fats need to be reduced.

It is important to point out that a diet low in carbohydrates does not allow optimal performance during high intensity activities. For athletes the recommendation is therefore to save calories from a reduced fat intake during periods of high intensity training, or when the aim is to improve the intensity of training. This is also something the German Biathlete Simon Schempp recommends:

“I think getting rid of carbohydrates completely is definitely wrong, and is out of the question for me. During periods of high intensity training the body needs sufficient amounts of carbohydrates – not just during competition, but also during training.”

Schempp was the first ever Biathlete to win both the Sprint event and the Pursuit in Antholz (Italy) in two consecutive years.

During periods of low intensity training and volume it can indeed be sensible to use a carbohydrate restricting strategy for weight loss. In studies, calorie-restricted “low carb high protein” strategies are associated with a higher reduction in body fat. Schempp is already putting the latest scientific recommendations for body fat reduction into practice:

“If I need to lose a bit of weight to reach my race weight I plan my calorie restriction carefully. During periods of high-intensity training I mainly reduce the amount of fatty foods. In contrast, on days where I have easy sessions that are supposed to stimulate fat metabolism, I eat less pasta and bread. But I definitely always make sure I get the sufficient amount of protein. This strategy also works in the long term.”

The timing for body fat reduction is crucial, Schempp explains:

“Any diet should always be planned during periods without any competition. During the racing season I try to maintain my body weight, because during this period it’s much more important to concentrate on the maximal possible performance – physically and mentally.”

EASY TO FOLLOW TIPS FOR LONG-TERM REDUCTIONS IN BODY FAT FOR ATHLETES

Excessive diets are taboo; instead only moderately restrict the intake of calories.
It’s easy to save calories by limiting the intake of fatty foods, such a deep-fried food or rich sauces, and sweets, such as cake, biscuits and chocolate.
Carbohydrate intake should be matched according to need: during periods of high training loads or intensity the body requires more carbohydrates. If however, the volume of training and intensity is reduced, the portion sizes for e.g. pasta, bread, potatoes and rice should be reduced also.
Try to avoid sugary and energy-dense beverages such as soft drinks, fruit juices and alcohol during the day and instead have calorie-free beverages, such as water and unsweetened tea (e.g. fruit or green tea), and a moderate intake of black coffee/espresso.
Eat as natural/clean as possible. Convenience foods (e.g. packet soup, fast food) should be avoided. Instead wholesome, nutrient-dense foods such as plain yoghurt without added sugar, whole grain instead of white flour, home-made salad dressings with virgin olive oil, lemon juice and fresh herbs instead of ready made salad dressing should be preferred.
Include adequate amounts of protein-rich foods such as lean meat (lean beef, veal or lamb), fish, eggs, low-fat dairy products (e.g. cottage cheese, low-fat plain Greek yoghurt) and soya products at breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and after training sessions.
Eat a minimum of 3 portions of vegetables / salad, and 2 portions of fruit per day. Bulky foods such as vegetables and fruit don’t just contain important vitamins and minerals, but also have a high fibre and water content. This leads to a greater feeling of fullness for only a small intake of calories.
Be smart in your food choices to support losses in body fat and improve health, such as:
Boiled ham instead of salami
Make your own muesli from cereals (e.g. oats or spelt), nuts and seeds (e.g. sunflower seeds, linseed) instead of ready made muesli or granola.
Refine vegetable soups with yoghurt instead of having creamy soups
Baked potatoes instead of fried potatoes
Strict restrictions don’t work! Once a week plan a small cheat meal /snack to avoid the munchies / cravings.
AND YES, THERE IS EVEN ADVICE FOR CLEVER “CHEATING”:

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There are one thousand calories which is roughly a third of any athletes’ normal daily allowance and that’s how many calories you’re likely to burn during an intense hour of racing.
With a 5,000-calorie bike ride and doing that each day for 3, 5 or 7 days in a row, that’s a pretty deep hole you’ve dug for yourself, and the event has only just begun.
There’s really no way to avoid burning a ton of calories during a stage race or even a one day event—or to prevent an energy deficit by eating while riding—but your performance for the rest of the day depends on adapting your nutrition strategy to compensate for this deficit. Fortunately, a few tweaks to your pre-race routine and your nutrition can help you catch up on calories you may have lost.

Keeping well fuelled….
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and that old adage is never truer than on race day. You burned most of the carbohydrate stores in your liver overnight, and breakfast is your last big chance to pack more carbohydrate into your body. From then on, it’s a constant battle between using energy and replacing it.
The body runs on a seemingly flawed system that lets us burn energy faster than it can be replaced; you can easily burn 800 to 1,000 calories per hour, but you can only replace a portion of that. To maximize performance, it’s crucial that you start with as much fuel as possible in your body, and that you consume enough calories during the event to maximize the replenishment capacity of the system.

Plan to get up a few hours before the start of the race so you can eat a large breakfast and give it time to digest. For most people, this means sitting down to your final pre-race meal three to four hours before the start. You obviously don’t want to go to the start line with food sitting in your stomach, so practice your race-day plan in training to know exactly what you’ll be eating and how much digestion time you’ll need to feel comfortable when you start racing.
Before shorter events, you can often get away with a smaller meal about two hours before the race. And for all race distances, it’s a good idea to consume a bottle of carbohydrate-rich sports drink (PowerBar IsoMax) in the last hour before the start.
Nutrition is key for a good performance and when race day arrives, it becomes even more crucial to make sure your day ends in glory and not a bad bonk!

Through trial and error that includes some bad bonks, you will be able to dial in a plan that will eliminated nutrition from being a weak link in my quest for success!

For a morning start of your bike race, do the following:
• At 2-3 hours before the race start, at a good sized breakfast to get yourself full of calories, making sure to take in some quality protein. Example: Orange Juice, eggs, bacon and toast.
• With just over 1 hour to go, right before you start your warmup, eat a cup of oats and drink a half bottle of water. Quick to eat and digest! If you want less hassle, try a PowerBar Harvest Bar or PowerBar Natural Energy Cereal Bar
• With an hour to go get on your bike to begin your warmup. This is where you need to switch from stocking up calories, to topping up your body’s fluid and electrolytes stores. This is where the PowerBar IsoActive and PowerBar 5Electrolyte options come to play. There are a number of flavours and always great to change them….and can be fun too.
Race hour has arrived and now you need to provide a good amount of calories that are super easy to drink during the hard efforts of the race. This is the PowerBar IsoMax option and the magic it brings!
During the race you need to aim for a bottle each hour. Most MTB and road races are 3.5 hours or shorter, but if the race is over this time period supplement extra calories in the form of PowerGels or PowerBar Power Shots (about 1¬0 per hour).
When your race is done and you have made it onto the podium (your podium) make sure to quickly get a recovery drink into my system within 20 minutes of finishing the race. The Gold standard is by far the PowerBar Recovery Drink with some quick carbs and protein to refuel your empty muscles!

There you have a simple, not confusing strategy of how and when to fuel your body for any event. Remember too that by practicing on training rides is vital and be prepared to try different options…and make it fun.

YOU’RE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK

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