Beginners advice please

[Deleted User]

Scriptor

Theory says that when you run out of Glycogen it becomes very hard to exercise at all ..( this is what happens when Marathon runners hit the wall) ....so your idea of high intensity after your glycogen runs out in theory won't work ......

My understanding is that you'll burn more calories per min if you go at a high intensity - however although you'll burn less per min going slower you can keep going for much longer so the net amount of calories burnt will be higher .....

at an extreme the riders in the tour de France burn 1000's of cals because they are going 6 hours a day every day at mostly medium intensity - it is phsically not possible for them to eat enough to replace the cals they burn and they lose several kilos during the event ( it's pretty much accepted that most of them are on drugs these days or they would burn even more )

[Deleted User]

I read somewhere that the body (mainly liver I think) stores 2000 calories (glycogen). The average marathon runner will burn about 100 per mile depending on pace and so will run out of glycogen at about 20 miles which is typically when runners hit the wall.

Tour de France cyclists have energy drinks in their water bottles. These are really calorie dense and full of stimulants. I heard that a young lad picked up a discarded water bottle from the race and found a little bit of red 'juice' in it. After drinking it and saving the bottle as a souvenir he was bouncing around for hours.

[Deleted User]

Thanks guys.
If the 2000 calorie store is right, I don't think I'm ever going to run far enough to run out!
Just need to make sure I keep it topped up.
I found an article saying that the best way to restore glycogen and allow muscles to recover quickly is to eat carbs & protein at ratio of 4:1, starting as soon as possible after running. based on 1g carg per 1 lb body weight after 2 hours exercise. apparently most effective if half of this is taken in the first half hour, the rest within 2 hrs. Haven't tried it though.

[Deleted User]

Where is the gym? Can you run there, or walk there to warm up, do your core exercises and take a gentle run back? If you are eating a healthy diet then you do not need too much extra carbohydrate until really training hard (1 to 2 hours hard a day 6 days a week)...and it is 1.25g carbohydrate per KILO of bodyweightimmediately post-exercise (followed by 1g/kg every 2 hours for the next 6 hrs), not pound...once and if you are training at that level. Do not eat that much otherwise, or you will gain weight.

[Deleted User]

say 100lb, 45kg for ease of calculation:
100g carb over 2 hrs
or
56.25 g carb immediately plus 45g x 3 = 135, total 193.25g

Actually more on the second calculation, although you'd probably have another meal/snack after 4 hours anyway in the first example...... Probably about the same!
I'll just concentrate on small immediate top up and then go on appetite.

[Deleted User]

The reason you eat this lower amount, then spaced out, is that it goes to your glycogen stores like this, otherwise it can raise sugar levels, possibly produce too much insulin and then if not used to refuel is more likely to be stored as fat.

[Deleted User]

I read somewhere that your muscles can only absorb about 50g carbs in one go so this all makes sense. If you take in any more, they just get stored as fat if i remember correctly so not the best option for those trying to lose weight. I struggle to keep the weight on so go for the "stuff myself stupid" approach sometimes and it definitely seems to stop me dropping weight after a long run if i can face large quantities of food. ...biggest downside is that you end up so sleepy you have to have a nap

[Deleted User]

Ok, thanks, that makes sense!

[Deleted User]

I got my wife a gym membership for Christmas. She's been before but stopped for awhile. Anyway they insist on putting her with a personal trainer for 3 or so sessions. She came home one night saying that the trainer is a qualified nutritionalist and reckons the fastest way to restore glycogen stores is to eat root vegetables.

[Deleted User]

When I was into body building we used to work on a rule of thumb that you couldn't absorb more than 30grams of protein in a 2 hour period.

[Deleted User]

Root vegetables contain carbs, but they also contain a lot of fibre, so you would be hard pushed to eat enough carbs as carrots! A 156g Baked Potato = 26.7g carb
but 100g carrots = 7.9g so you wold have to eat about 800g carrots! 1 medium banana = 27g carb. Try the USDA gov.database for information and put your diet into My Pyramid Tracker. You will need a set of american Cup measures but will get a full analysis. By all means eat root vegs but make sure you know which ones are refuelling you best (potatoes, sweet potatoes etc)!

[Deleted User]

Wow. I know why you people run now. I realise I have been trying to run too fast too soon. I dropped my pace by 1/2Kmh and managed to keep going very comfortably for an hour non stop. Not a great deal of speed to lose and the feeling of getting in the groove and running without stress or strain was amazing.
The things that were going were my legs and shoulders, not my breath.
Thanks to all for their help.

BIB(cloud 9)

Robert Barclay 2

Hi
I started doing circuit training once a week after illness 5 years ago, then started running 2 years ago. Still circuit train and run 3-4 times a week. Seems a good mix. I've only lost 1/2 stone tho' as I've put on more muscle on upper body. Upside is a small bum and rejuvenated 6 pack. I think SWMBO approves and I can now do 10k in under an hour. Indeed hope to break 70 mins. on the May Hill Massacre next weekend.