SUGAR: Friend or Foe? In the athletic world, regardless of talent or end goal, athletes and non-athletes alike can easily be swept up by the latest body-composition-enhancing diets, hoping to transform into faster, leaner running machines. Fad diet trends are nothing new and have come full circle, from Atkins to Paleo to Whole 30 to Keto (short for Ketogenic). All of these diets either eliminate a food group or have a starring villain. Just a few decades ago, fat was the bad guy; today, carbohydrates (carbs) are in the hot seat. Carbs, namely sugar, come with a nasty reputation. You’ve li ..read more

The Expert-Curated, Triathlete-Approved Race Week Menu Everything you need to know about eating for optimal performance as you count down to the big day. Race week is here. The long, hard training hours are in the rearview mirror, and now you can sit back, relax, and carb-load…right? Close, but not quite. The week leading up to your race (otherwise known as a “taper”) should include a lot of rest, but also a lot of preparation: short tune-up training sessions, prioritizing sleep, avoiding unnecessary stress, and mentally preparing to toe the line. Though you may feel like you need to ca ..read more

In an interview before the Ironman World Championship race, Lionel Sanders talked about his fueling strategy – which is centered around maple syrup. The video shows Sanders saying, “I really like maple syrup, I put it on my waffles, I put it on my toast….” To be clear, we are talking about real maple syrup, concentrated sap from maple trees, as opposed to artificial maple syrup, made up of high fructose corn syrup with added colors and flavoring.  Naturally, this has triathletes wondering about fueling with maple syrup themselves. At first glance, it may seem sticky and sweet, but then ag ..read more

Nothing can stop you from feeling like #1 on race day—except for #2. Cramping, diarrhea, and endless port-a-potty stops will ruin race day more than almost anything else Mother Nature can serve up. But it happens to the best of us, so let’s address the elephant in the room with this complete guide to preventing a crap catastrophe at your next race.  What Causes Gastrointestinal (GI) Distress in training/racing? GI distress originates from the upper and lower intestines. Common upper GI symptoms include belching, nausea and vomiting, heartburn and reflux, and bloating. Lower GI symptoms in ..read more

Race week is here. The long hard training hours are in the rear-view mirror; now you can sit back and relax, right? Sort of, but not exactly. The week leading up to the race includes short tune-up training sessions, prioritizing sleep, avoiding unnecessary stress, and mentally preparing to toe the line. However, this is not the time to let loose on the nutrition front, as tempting as it may be. So here is a nutritional guideline to help optimize race-day performance in the week leading up to your endurance race.  One week out:  In the taper week of an endurance race, your main nutrit ..read more

I’ve yet to meet an athlete who isn’t intrigued by the metrics reported on their sports device.  Thanks to wearable watches and technological advances, we are attuned to data such as resting heart rate, pace, wattage, sleep metrics, calories burned, etc.  Much of this data is beneficial for training and recovery purposes. However, calories burned during an activity can create confusion. So, before we jump into deciphering caloric output during training and how to use it, let’s take a step back and assess the components that affect metabolism. Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) RM ..read more

Rapid Sodium Replacement is Critical to a Smart Hydration Plan I’m so excited to announce a new solution to the age-old problem of sodium replacement in training/racing. It’s called BOA (Blast of Optimized Actives) ENDURE. BOA ENDURE is a fast-acting, convenient, concentrated sodium replacement for athletes in training and competition to delay the onset of fatigue by delaying dehydration.  BOA uses a novel system whereby oxygen is the compressed air that forces BOA’s unique mixture through a small valve – so that the molecules are atomized and then powerfully blasted into the m ..read more

As a female athlete, have you ever wondered how you smash a track session this week but just a few weeks ago felt flat in the same session, given nutrition, sleep, and recovery remain the same?  Or do you have days when you can’t keep your hands out of the cookie jar and others when a sugary snack doesn’t cross your mind?  Or why men lose weight so much faster than women following the same diet?  The good news is you aren’t going crazy; these scenarios occur, and the menstrual cycle’s fluctuation of hormones triggers it all.  Females are physiologically diffe ..read more

Athletes know that protein is critical to performance, but often miss the boat when properly implementing protein into their daily lives. Bad habits abound when it comes to protein, from dosing to sources and misunderstanding how it all works. Let’s go over the facts so you can be sure you’re getting the right amounts of protein at the right times from the right sources. Remember, protein improves muscle recovery, boosts strength, assists in the formation of hormones, enzymes, and neurotransmitters, supports the immune system, increases bone strength, assists hemoglobin formation and meets ele ..read more

You are in the Thanksgiving buffet line plate in hand, salivating over a full spread of turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and yes, even wine. Your head and heart are conflicted. What do you do- dive in unapologetically or practice self-control?   2020 has been a year of challenges, not just for you but for everyone across the globe. The pandemic has likely derailed your training regimen, postponed races, and changed your life as you knew it pre-COVID-19. Given these added life stressors, it would be wise to recognize this year’s Thanksgiving feast sho ..read more