What Steps Do You Take To Keep Healthy?

El Director

I've had an up and down tri season this year due to injury and illness. Really it hasn't been that bad, just two incidents.

1. Currently I am recovering from an achilles problem that has hampered me for the last 5 weeks. Now I know the root of this problem and will address it when the season finished.

2. I had pneumonia a few months back - kept me out for 3 weeks.

So I was just wondering what steps people take to keep healthy during intense/high volume training? As many of you may know, after a training session your immune system is down for a few hours and this window is where an infection might set in. Then the more often you train the more often that window opens.

So I have learned the hard way. I'll start, here is what I do every morning;

- Porridge with flaxseed and manuka honey
- Vit C with Zinc
- Borocca
- Udo's super 8's
- Omega 3 fish oil capsule

After a tough session or race I have a protein drink waiting for consumption directly after the race/session.

I do feel healthier with these steps fr sure, however it's pricey (super 8's 27euro/manuka honey 22euro). It is worth it however as being sick/injured sucks big time and is so frustrating.

So what says you?

Foxx92

Very interested to see replies in this thread. If it's not sickness it's injuries or something else that always seems to hamper my training. I just can't seem to stay in peak fitness!

Foxx92

El Director wrote: »

- Borocca

Don't know about Berocca. It tends to be quite counter-productive in my eyes anyways.

El Director

Foxx92 wrote: »

Don't know about Berocca. It tends to be quite counter-productive in my eyes anyways.

Why do you say this fox? What was your experience?

tunney

Avoid sick people and other peoples kids.
Eat well.
Don't overtrain.
Sleep as much as possible.

El Director

tunney wrote: »

Avoid sick people and other peoples kids.
Eat well.
Don't overtrain.
Sleep as much as possible.

+1 to all that. However I am a teacher in a school of 1200 kids, I grimace every time a snotty nosed teen sneezes in my class without covering their mouth or covers their mouth with their hands and does clean them after! I have a big alcohol based gel dispenser at the top of the room I used it after every class and before home time

shotgunmcos

Knowing yourself. Listening to yourelf. Being honest with yourself.

Most of the solutions to keeping healthy are not expensive measures

I know I can be a bit gung ho and need to relax more. This year I have backed off more often than usual and reigned in the enthusiasm just a tad

I take notice of when my motivation drops at work, or I haven't laughed in the last 24 hours. I'm either taking something too seriously or my energy is lacking. A couple of sleep ins and addressing the diet usually does the trick.

Recovery shake after hard sessions. SIS Rego Recovery drink 2:1 chocolate

I listen to my OH. She knows me and can see the signs of me over training better than I can.

Drink plenty of water.

Laugh.

I Load up on berrocca during the weeks of seasonal changes summer-autumn and spring-summer as they seem to affect me in weird ways.

Keep the whole picture in perspective. If work suddenly ramps up to heavy deadlines and 60 hour weeks, balance it by knocking some of the intensity in training and swap some regular training for fun stuff like being sociable!

big mce

Manuka honey was on a special in my local super valu last week, €6 a jar, guess there was no one else trying a live a healthy lifestyle!

I got a bad chest infection also that took me out for three weeks. I guess its just luck of the draw. A mate of mine smokes 40 cigarettes a day and never had a chest infection or flu in his life. He's always sneering at me getting sick and I'm the one with the healthy lifestyle. I might take up smoking!!:D

In fairness though I do believe that the actual training keeps you healthy. I have Crohns disease so have to be careful with my diet but I find that with all the training I never have any problems with it. If I stop training it flares up. When your training you can't worry about work/family etc.

Foxx92

El Director wrote: »

Why do you say this fox? What was your experience?

Used to take it every morning in the weeks before the leaving cert to stay alert (and awake in class!). Some days it worked well and others i sort of crashed after it. I suppose it has different effects on different people but now i only use it very sparingly.

El Director

I think it is suggested to only use Berocca a few times a year. I like to use it 4 times, one per season of the year

El Director

big mce wrote: »

Manuka honey was on a special in my local super valu last week, €6 a jar.....

The price of Manuka depends on the strength of it. I get a strong one to be on the safe side

G-Money

To be honest I rarely take any supplements or vitamins although I guess I probably would benefit from them. I have some Seven Seas Omega 3 fish oil capsules and I also have some Echniacea (spelt incorrectly) capsules, as well as some dissolvable vitamin C and some ginseng. Having said that, I usually only take those things if I feel myself starting to feel run down or like I'm getting a cold or something. I've been told Echinacea is good but that it really only benefits you if you take it before and when you are starting to feel sick as opposed to when it has come on fully.

Injury wise I had a slight injury to my knee about 2 months ago. It was just an over-use injury (newbie here) and it kept me out for about 2 weeks. As I'm still new to the whole jogging/running scene, I'm trying to be careful and not overdo it as I remember the frustration at wanting to go out and exercise and not being able to. There are days when I want to head out even though I've jogged the day before but I know that I just need to gradually build it up. Sometimes the hard part is not exercising!

kingQuez

I've no scientific evidence for any of it, but my perceived rate of illness has dropped this last year. Before that I was catching a cold or flu every few weeks (even in summer).

- Berocca + loads of fresh fruit daily
- Food immediately after every training session; often this means a carb/protein shake thing because it can be up to an hour before I get back home after most training.
- Avoid sick people. Worst for me is when someone's sick in the office; its small and fairly enclosed, and we often work two-at-a-time at a single desk on a problem (sharing mouse/keyboard). As a result I'll consciously try to avoid putting hands to face (eyes/nose/mouth) and if someone else has a cold or whatever I'll tend to use some of that de-germ antiseptic stuff on the mouse/keyboard once they're gone back to their desk.
- Sleep as much as possible; used to work off 5-6hrs, now usually manage 7-8 and im a crankey git on the days I dont get it
- Sore throat (when I started swimming I kept getting throat infections): start using those strepsils sweets and increase the number of hot drinks as soon as it feels a bit dry/sore. I was always gung-hoe about avoiding taking stuff for this because I reconed your body should just sort out the small stuff, but after a while gave in and it does seem to help prevent bad things happening for me.

dare2be

I think tunney has summed it up already. Why pay a fortune on supplements when you can get all your vitamins and minerals from fruit, veg and eating a good portion of fish in your diets? Absolute no need for buying over the counter fixes for what you can get in your weekly shopping. I have been following a lot of logs on here and the amount of training that some people are putting in during race season seems a bit over the top. If you are racing on a weekly/fortnightly basis is there a call for pushing the limits every session. Big bike rides/ swim sessions & runs!!Should you not be doing enough during the week to keep you 'ticking over' & treating your races as your quality workout?

Maybe my comments are wrong but there is a lot of injuries and illness brought on by burnout!!

Corkie100

Interesting thread, I'm always willing to try new ways to stay healthy! for me, breakfast is sacred- porridge with honey, seeds and fruit such as raspberries and blueberries. i take glucosamine and vit C every morning. However, things deteriorate after breakfast and I'm not always v careful about what I eat!
One thing I'm determined to conquer this winter is my tendency to pick up very sore throats- Missed a lot of training last winter due to running in v v low temperatures, burnt windpipe led to respiratory difficulties, so will cover my mouth when running as soon as temperatures drop this year, at least during warm-up....
don't know if avoiding sick people is all that practical, probably better to build ones own immune system so that it doesn't succumb as soon as you are exposed to any illnesses:p

RacoonQueen

I eat lots of fresh fruit and veg, salads etc a good bit of comfort eating lately has thrown me off a bit though. I'd very rarely eat junk food in general though. Berroca, cod liver oil, calcium and viviopltal. Diet is something I really have to work on, every day, as I don't eat enough on a non training day never mind a training day. I've always been the same with my appetite in that I've never really had one, another of those crap qualities I get from my dad that doesn't work well for an active person, the other, being a light sleeper who can usually only sleep for about 4 or 5 hours every night, so when woken at 5am or later not being able to get back to sleep. :rolleyes:

I've learned the hard way that I need to rest more though, to make time away from everything else and chill out and relax instead of always finding something to do(or someone to do things for). The TV is my new best friend, I love him.

Tipp man running

Personally i think you should try and have a decent eating plan. Always eat breakfast even when your not hungry, keep well hydrated during the day and sip water, eat plenty of fruit when your snacking and try have a number of small meals during the day, one with meat if your not a veggie, try and keep the junk intake to the weekend if you can. Just as important is do some fun things at the weekend and let the hair down and do something you like. The cinema with popcorn and coke is my guilty pleasure there. Breakfast is a wholegrain banana sandwich, multi-vitamin, omega3, berocca washed down with a pint of water.;)

metamorphosis

I don't take any multi vits simply because you should be able to get it all from your diet

I eat plenty of veg, some fruit, meat, fresh fish, nuts and nut butters, eggs and get nice good fats into me too.

I do every day, however, take cod liver oil and a couple thousand IUs vitamin d3 as it is quite hard to get it from food and we are pretty deficient here and seen as this vitamin is actually a hormone it plays a bigger role in the body compared to other vits which are easily attained from food.

If i feel like im coming down with something - more sleep, more vit c. I also make sure i smile every day even if i dont feel like it. Sounds stupid but i think it can help a little particualrily when you feel ****.

If you get enough sleep, do't stress too much a have a balanced diet - your ahead of the game i think.

morse3

Grazing seems to keep the immune system topped up. Small and often with lots of variation..:)

El Director

Loads of you guys seem to be great for getting everything one needs from your diet. My diet is pretty good I must say, apart from one little thing. I won't eat anything green (veg) and I am a devil for not eating fruit, I just hate fruit unless it's nice and fresh and in a hot climate! So supplements are the way to go for me and I suspect others too. :cool:

RacoonQueen

I never ate green veg up until a couple of years ago. When mammy was cooking the dinners, she overcooked EVERYTHING. Now that I do all my cooking for myself, my green veg is literally cooked for seconds, just to heat it up really and now I can't live without it I have spinach with practically every dinner and regularly cook a packet of M&S tenderstem broccoli to have as a snack. Broccoli and carrot sticks +M&S red pepper humous = heaven

Something that's handy to buy, if like me, you're lazy is a packet of carrot batons, carrots already peeled, sliced and washed you can go to the fridge, take a handful and snack on them. If you're not lazy you could always peel, slice and wash em yourself and leave them in the fridge for yourself. :pac:

I've also been known to eat a bag of lettuce like crisps.

devotional1993

The one thing everybody should take is a good probiotic from a healthfood shop fridge. Not from a yogurt!

Ruu_Old

Pretty much what has been posted already. Also, no packaged meals, they are full of crap. Take time to prepare your own foods, much better in the long run.

Oryx

I take a high dose of fish oil and a multi vitamin. I notice if Ive forgotten them for a while, my energy drops, so they must be doing something. After 23 years of being vegetarian I now eat fish and chicken. My body couldnt train like I do without high quality protein, and whey makes me queasy.

I try to keep my diet clean, with a few slips now and again (I have a weakness for jelly beans ) I notice that if your diet is good your body will crave what it needs, be that fresh fruit or protein or whatever.

I do tend to get weeks where my energy drops, then I need to ease back on the intensity for a few days and get more sleep. Basically listen to what the body needs.
Touch wood, I rarely get sick in summer, I get the odd cold in winter but less than when I didnt train.

RoyMcC

Just read through the thread and have nothing to add to all the good advice. It's turning into one of those 'platinum threads' that we had plans for ringfencing and preserving at one stage. And I reckon tunney's post #5 is as good advice as could be found in many expensive lifestyle books.

El Director

RacoonQueen wrote: »

I never ate green veg up until a couple of years ago. When mammy was cooking the dinners, she overcooked EVERYTHING. Now that I do all my cooking for myself, my green veg is literally cooked for seconds, just to heat it up really and now I can't live without it I have spinach with practically every dinner and regularly cook a packet of M&S tenderstem broccoli to have as a snack. Broccoli and carrot sticks +M&S red pepper humous = heaven

Something that's handy to buy, if like me, you're lazy is a packet of carrot batons, carrots already peeled, sliced and washed you can go to the fridge, take a handful and snack on them. If you're not lazy you could always peel, slice and wash em yourself and leave them in the fridge for yourself. :pac:

I've also been known to eat a bag of lettuce like crisps.

I am going to eat more greens. The OH has started buying spinach so I'm going to try it this week as well as Broccoli. I love carrots, parsnips and turnip too. It's silly not to eat green I know. It stems from my youth when a caterpillar ended up on my plate of cabbage.

Thanks for the great replies, throat infections/illness are my main limiters at the moment and I am determined to improve the situation.

mloc123

First sign of problems for me will be swollen lymph nodes, as soon as I notice that its time to get some more rest and eat more/better.

shotgunmcos

ElDirector, spinach is a super food but can be hardcore. As a gentle intro to greens, get a pack of sugar snaps and just wash em and graze on them. Better still dip them into some sun dried tomato houmous.. num num.. Cucumber is good to dip too

interested

El Director wrote: »

a caterpillar ended up on my plate of cabbage.

An excellent bit of protein with your cabbage champ !

I take a hit of spirulina each morning - you can buy the powder in a health food shop or boots etc. Tastes pretty bad but potentially better than cabbage with a side of caterpillar.

Sleep, lemon water, ginger tea with honey ... and backing off training intensity to a lower level will all help if you are ill or its in the post - imho