The Performance Zone

The Performance Zone: Your Nutritional Action Plan for Greater Endurance & Sports Performance

by John Ivy, PhD & Robert Portman, PhD

Amazon Link

Book Review – Washington Running Review

John L. Ivy, PhD, is chairman of Kinesiology and Health Education at The University of Texas at Austin. He is an expert on the topic of sports nutrition and received his PhD in exercise physiology.  He has published over 150 papers on the effects of nutrition on physical performance and exercise recovery.

The book contains 8 chapters:

• Chapter 1:  The Performance Zone
• Chapter 2:  Working Muscles
• Chapter 3:  Fueling Muscles Before and During Exercise
• Chapter 4:  Muscle Recovery After Exercise
• Chapter 5:  Fueling Muscles After Exercise
• Chapter 6:  Your Nutrition Action Plan
• Chapter 7:  Sport-Specific Nutrition Tips
• Chapter 8:  Nutritional Supplements and Drugs

Review:

Ivy and Portman offer 2 fundamental reasons why sports drinks composed of carbs+protein are superior to carbohydrate-only sports drinks: (a) enhanced performance and (b) enhanced recovery.

The basic concept is that supplying carbs combined with protein produces a more dramatic insulin surge, which, in turn, is the key step in building muscle strength and recovery. The authors also state that, in order for this to occur, it is important to supply these nutrients within 45 minutes (preferably, within 15-30 minutes) after strenuous exercise stops. Thus, The Performance Zone explains the concept of “nutrient timing”, which is the title of another book by authors Ivy and Portman.

What I Learned:

One of Dr. Ivy’s research assistants at the Dept. of Kinesiology came and spoke at a Tri Zones Training work out in 2005 or 2006.  I was fascinated by the “science” behind exercise nutrition.   A lot of the book was over my head, but I read and absorbed the concept that I needed to make changes to the way I fuel myself before, during & after exercise.  The concept of “recovery” was entirely new to me at that time.  This was when Endurox & Accelerade were first hitting the market and the idea of adding protien to recovery drinks was becoming more popular.

I re-read the book in September 2012 as I’m trying to fine-tune my nutrition and hydration for optimal performance.  Now that I am participating in 60+ mile bike rides and Intermediate distance triathlons, I need to be more focused on exactly what and when I’m consuming during these activities.  I actually understood a lot of it this time!  I am able to calculate how much I burn during a workout, what calories I’m taking in, and what I need to add.  I have not been having simple carbs after a long workout, but I am very diligent about having 30-50gm of protein.  My sports drink is a customized formula by Infinit and it has 250 calories per serving, including 60g carbs + 3g of protein.  I am now calculating what I need to have within 15 minutes of my workout to increase my insulin levels in my blood to switch gears metabolically.  It’s hard to retrain my brain to do this since I’ve spend years focused on losing weight & NOT eating simple carbs/sugars and working on stabilizing my blood sugar levels.

This is not an everyday diet change, but is something that I incorporate into workouts that are longer than 1.5hr.

The book has a lot of good information and even applying a small portion to your routine should make an impact on you.

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The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

by: Charles Duhigg
Amazon.com Link

This book was recommended to me by my triathlon coach, Tracy Nelson of Tri Zones Training, LLC, in Austin, TX. She told me about it, sent me a recorded interview of Duhigg discussing it from NPR, and then a link to a review… so I bought it!

Review:

In The Power of Habit, award-winning New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. With penetrating intelligence and an ability to distill vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives, Duhigg brings to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential for transformation.

Along the way we learn why some people and companies struggle to change, despite years of trying, while others seem to remake themselves overnight. We visit laboratories where neuroscientists explore how habits work and where, exactly, they reside in our brains. We discover how the right habits were crucial to the success of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and civil-rights hero Martin Luther King, Jr. We go inside Procter & Gamble, Target superstores, Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, NFL locker rooms, and the nation’s largest hospitals and see how implementing so-called keystone habits can earn billions and mean the difference between failure and success, life and death.

At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work.

Habits aren’t destiny. As Charles Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.

What I learned:

Reading this book on he heels of Roy Baumeister’s Willpower has been a great reinforcement of what I learned previously.  Habits are like muscles and can be developed and changed.  Keeping the Cue and Reward the same, but replacing with a better habit will take away the thought process, and you will be “pulled” toward the subconscious reward you desire.  Similar to Tony Schwartz’ findings in The Power of Full Engagement, where he refers to them as “Rituals.”  You don’t have to think about brushing your teeth at night… you just do it.

Many of the same studies were discussed in Baumeister & Duhigg’s books, and they reinforce each other, but they give different levels of details, which I find interesting. One thing that is important is breaking down habits that you want to change, and identifying what the cues & rewards are.  This takes a lot of conscious effort as most people don’t know these steps because they have been so engrained into our behavior that they happen naturally. (Which takes no effort or willpower to perform!) Divided into the lowest common denominator you can replace something positive that results in the same feeling of content, happiness, stress relief, sense of belonging, etc.

I like that these are scholarly writings vs. “motivational” books.  I can draw conclusions and put into practice steps to change habits that are based on research on what works and what doesn’t, as opposed to going with the conventional wisdom, which many times is the exact opposite of what studies have shown that work.

I will add additional information as I process more!

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