Best source of energy

MA

Hey,
Ive just up the pace in training a bit more, i would do light weights in the morning, 5km at lunch and 1hour anaerobic circuit training (kickboxing +boxing focused) at night followed by another hour light training.

I eat as much as possible but im burning out in the circuit training bigtime, ive trained this way for years so well conditioned for it and im not that old!
The only change ive made is the circuit, ive always done circuits but this is contstant max effort with few breaks.

Live off, lean protein, wholemeal pasta, brown rice, oats etc, i take suppliments to.

Never liked using energy drinks but is this the way to go? id say it wouldnt effect body fat as youd be burning it off? when would you drink them? the morning before, or during etc

yomchi

Hi mate,
It depends on what you mean by energy drinks. The key totraining efficiently is making sure you are properly fuelled up before hand with the right type of carbohydrate which will ensure that your muscles are beefed up with glycogen to do you the length of your circuit. ATP levels need to be kept propped up also for anerobic training.
What works for me is a barley carb called Vitargo, you carb up on it a good few hours before you train and I find it great for endurance.

MA

Hey - Thanks..
I mean lucozade etc, ive always kept away from them- try to avoid sugar were possible so know little about them, prefer to get it naturally but doesnt seem to be enough these days.

Thing is i need to keep my weight down for the sport. Just looked at Vitargo and looks deadly - do you notice you pack on the muscle with it though? I guess a couple of times a week wouldnt do much harm.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/nutrex/vitargo.html

Diet wise would be 5 meals, porridge, banana/fruit, brown rice meat and veg, protein suppliment, wholmeal pasta and chicken... ive added as much complex carbs as poss...

Starting to get p.....d off with burning out, id say sleep has alot to do with it

SliteConfusion

Firstly, you need to listen to your body. Are you getting plenty of rest? What time do you wake each morning, do you work during the day etc? All of these factors must also be taken into account, not just your training schedule. What is your idea of light training? Some may consider a walk in the park light training, others may consider an hours jogging light training.

But to answer your question, carbohydrate is the way to go.

We hold limited stores in the body and carbohydrate is the best energy source during moderate to heavy exercise, it is imperative that carbohydrate be ingested before, during, and after exercise in order to perform at the highest levels possible. Carbohydrate ingested during exercise can improve endurance performance. It is recommended that 30-60 grams be consumed per hour during intense physical activity.

There are 3 main categories of carbohydrate - drinks, bars and gels. Many athletes are now turning to the cutting-edge nutrition of carbohydrate gels as their main energy source during training and competition. Carbohydrates provide the best source of energy for your body during intense training or competition and are vital for keeping your muscles and mind operating.

If you work off a high carbohydrate based diet, this should suffice as besides protein and fats, carbo is the best at providing energy.

I myself would only use drinks etc if I was focusing on an intense training programme i.e. if I was training for a marathon etc. I would not take them daily. However, my diet is high on carbs as it is.

Eat up and don't be afraid of carbs, you sound like you are training hard enough, so increase your intake and see if that helps.

SliteConfusion

Firstly, you need to listen to your body. Are you getting plenty of rest? What time do you wake each morning, do you work during the day etc? All of these factors must also be taken into account, not just your training schedule. What is your idea of light training? Some may consider a walk in the park light training, others may consider an hours jogging light training.

But to answer your question, carbohydrate is the way to go.

We hold limited stores in the body and carbohydrate is the best energy source during moderate to heavy exercise, it is imperative that carbohydrate be ingested before, during, and after exercise in order to perform at the highest levels possible. Carbohydrate ingested during exercise can improve endurance performance. It is recommended that 30-60 grams be consumed per hour during intense physical activity.

There are 3 main categories of carbohydrate - drinks, bars and gels. Many athletes are now turning to the cutting-edge nutrition of carbohydrate gels as their main energy source during training and competition. Carbohydrates provide the best source of energy for your body during intense training or competition and are vital for keeping your muscles and mind operating.

If you work off a high carbohydrate based diet, this should suffice as besides protein and fats, carbo is the best at providing energy.

I myself would only use drinks etc if I was focusing on an intense training programme i.e. if I was training for a marathon etc. I would not take them daily. However, my diet is high on carbs as it is.

Eat up and don't be afraid of carbs, you sound like you are training hard enough, so increase your intake and see if that helps.

justsomebloke

Ye I am also going to go with the you may be pushing your self to hard and mightn't be giving your body enough time to recover. Other then that post up a few days eating and training habits and we will see if there is anything that may need to be changed. Also what is your post workout nutrition like

edit: actually what are your goals and why so much training

MA

Are you getting plenty of rest? NO, I know this is a major downfall – 6hours average, 7 if im lucky- find it hard to sleep because am hyped after training (on a good day!).

Ok

General Day –
up at 630am: 30 minute weight session in Gym
830am: work
2pm: 5km run
7pm: 2hour min workout

Light training – would be 5km run and abs or weights/abs basically anything not anaerobic and under a hour.

Eating –
2minutes after waking : Banana (one a day)
830am Porridge w water, sultanas, pumpkin/linseed, oatmeal etc, honey
10am Pack of apple and grapes or protein bar or banana with natural yogurt) or Millet burger
12pm Bowl of Brown rice with chicken egg corn mushroom, bowl of mixed vege.
Or Tofu wrap with vege soup
Or Rice cakes (brown) with pack of chicken, millet burger and vege soup
3pm Protein bar – maximuscle or millet/buckwheat burger
5pm Wholegrain pasta with chicken and tomato sauce

Training – if varies depending, tend to change my goals every 6 weeks, this weeks a bit messy . Technique I wouldn’t really call training, heart rate very low

Monday –
5km run with sprints (lunch)
Thai boxing 1hour intense power/anaerobic rounds till burn out, 1 hour technique
Chest and Triceps – drop sets, 40 mins

Tuesday –
5km run, light
Thai boxing 1.5 hours, mix between anaerobic and technique 50/50
15 minutes abs

Weds – Off
5 km run with sprints or rest day, depends on energy

Thursday
Morning - Shoulders 30mintues dropsets
Lunch – abs 20mins
Afterwork – Spin Class
15 x 2min rounds
1 hour boxing technique
Legs 20mins

Friday
Afterwork – Anaerobic circuit 40mins, including 10minutes sprints, 20minute plyometrics and 10 minute burn out boxing.

Back and biceps – drop sets, 40 minutes

1 hour technique

Saturday – rest day
1 hour technique
Abs

Sunday
Run 5km
3 hours thaiboxing training including sparring, tech and burnout

MA

Ive trained this way for years but am not finding I can have a deadly couple of weeks then I just burn out all of a sudden.
Im with you SliteConfusion on the avoiding sports drinsk, that’s why ive never went near them. I just up’d my carb intake to 3 heavly carb based meals a day and so far so good but its been like 3 days so it might all be in the head. Also taking have a bottle of lucozade on the high intense training days, will have to keep an eye on the body fat though

Whats your dish on gels?? Id definitely stock up on energy drinks and sugar over competition periods, but other than that id stare clear.


JSB – Cheers, just posted there. I also take a energy suppliement, just from solgar range.

justsomebloke

I am still wondering what exactly are you trying to achieve with all the training.

Ok chances are that you are going to be seriously overtraining yourself, You don't even seem to take at least one day off to let your body even try and heal and also your diet looks a bit **** for amount of training that you are putting in, there doesn't even seem to be any post workout meal structure which would probably help your recovery somewhat.

Truthfully though I would try and reassess what your goals actually are and if your current regime and diet are actually the most efficient way of getting the results you want, as you may be able to get better results with a better structured plan focusing on your goals and even have time to have some what of a life

edit: you posted while I was writing this, ye to me it sounds like over training and a decently structured plan would probably suit you a lot better and not leave you burned out

SliteConfusion

You are going to hit a brick wall and it sounds like you already have. To be honest I was impressed with your diet, but when I saw your training programme, I am now slightly worried.

Are you planning to take on the world. To be honest, you are doing yourself no favours and with all of your training, you are actually doing more harm than good. I will say that some people can train more intense than others, but I believe, even if you do change your diet, you will not create a diet to match that training programme. You are not even giving your body time to recover.

I am with jsb on this one.

MA

Yep think you guys are both right, i tend to add new things into my training wihtout taking anything out so the program just builds up.
And i get alot that im over training, from people who know little about exercise though - not experienced people in the field


Training specifically for Muay Thai, faster, stronger, fiter, better

You both sound like you really know what your talking about so im going to go with the advice. Thanks alot.

Ill look at my program for next week and start taking 2 days off with the added carbs etc. See how i get on.

What would be post workout meal structure?

Again thanks for the answers with reasons why/why not - saved me reading books and got through to me!

ali.c

The guys seem to have you covered but in answer to your post workout meal questions, you are looking for carbs and protein. My understanding is that the carbs replenish your glycogen stores and cause a insulin spike, whereby your body uses the protein to rebuilt muscle. Your post workout meal is very important as if done correctly can really aid recovery. i use RAM after intensive sessions as its such an important meal, that way regardless of the situation i dont have to worry about what to eat!