Nutrition book

Wondering if anyone can help, a few issues ago RW had an article regarding nutrition which I found really helpful, extracts were taken form a sports nutrition book. I decided there and then that I wanted to purchase said book, however I failed to note down it's title or author. It has recently sprung to mind again and I have been looking through my RW mags and can I find it? Definite no!!! I can't even remember exactly what the article was about and am sure it was not that long ago. I have looked through the past 4 issues twice each and am still none the wiser. Can anyone help OR can anyone offer a good running nutrition book?

Thanks

A good option is

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO SPORTS NUTRITION : How to eat for maximum performance

By Anita Bean

Thanks I'll check that out

One of the past couple of issues has covered Chris Carmichael's (new) book, "Food for Fitness." Could that be the one you're looking for? Carmichael is Lance Armstrong's coach, among other things, and the book is a pretty comprehensive guide to eating, taking in a training programme approach along the way.

The essence of Carmichael's philosophy is "periodisation." You both train and eat according to breaking down the year into four segments, very broadly as follows:

1. Foundation: endurance training (long and slow) and resistance training (weights). Fairly low calorie intake.
Lasts 3-4 months.

2. Preparation: step up speed and power work. Increasing calorie intake. Lasts 2 - 3 months.

3. Specialisiation: your peak performance period, towards which your training year is oriented. Short workouts at near maximum pace, explosive. Actual competition is focus. Maximum calorie intake. Lasts 2-3 months.

4. Recovery: extra days off, different sports, reduced training load. Reduced calorie intake. Lasts a month or so.

Basically, if your focus was on the summer (for events), then your year would be foundation from Nov to Feb, prep from March to May, spec from June to Aug, and recovery in Sept. Then the cycle starts again. You can, of course, run races at any time of the year but your training will be set up to deliver the best results during the specialisation period.

Anyway, Carmichael is very specific in the advice he gives out (calorie counts, specific menus, recipes, etc.) and I have to say it's pretty clear, sound advice. Works for Lance, that's for sure (and he trains a lot of runners too, by the way). And the book IS written with the fit adult who works out, rather than the professional athlete in mind.

The nutrition advice is very much period-dependent (for instance, an athlete of my weight -- about 10 stone) -- ranges from 1,800 calories or so during the preparation period to nearly 3,000 during specialisation when training and competition is more intense.

Good book. Like all nutrition books, you have to use it sensibly and incorporate some things while not becoming a slave to it, but I have to say that I have taken more from Carmichael than any but one or two other similiar titles. Hope this helps.

I was looking at the Carmichael book on Amazon the other day - looks good, and thanx for the review, osd, think I might buy it! I think it might be a good companion to the Anita Bean book which, although a good general guide, and really helpful on the general priciples of nutrition is a bit shaky when it comes to anything cycling-related (for instance, her 'working out how many calories a cyclist needs' example uses a cyclist who speeds along at ... 15kph. )

Lizzy,

You'll find it excellent, obviously, from the perspective of a cyclist although I made the point that the book is written with both runners and cyclists in mind because of the likely interests of the readership on this board. Actually, Carmichael does a good job of distinguishing between the required training loads (and differing physical demands) of the two and explaining why they are what they are. Plus, as you can imagine, there are some interesting anecdotes about Lance's own use of the Carmichael nutrition programme.

With nutrition being a particular interest of mine, I am fairly widely read on the subject and I have to say Carmichael's approach is highly intelligent and presented in a way that's neither evangelical nor extreme. The relationship between excercise and food intake that's at the core of the book is, to my mind, what makes it work so well...it's not the usual "fast solution isolated from any kind of reality." What also works is that Carmichael writes with a lot of respect for people who do what I presume most of us do...work hard and are prepared to put in the effort without looking for shortcuts.

I'd say buy it. I think you'll find it actually has as much of an impact on the way you train and approach sport/fitness/exercise as it does simply in terms of what you eat.

That's the one, now I've heard the name it's ringing bells, and definitely remember the Armstrong connection. Thanks very much for the review too. I know a fair bit about nutrition too but as a petite female runner am struggling with nutrition for sport - am regularly tired and am struggling with the weight training that I do to complement my running. Sounds as if this book could be a good aid. Thanks again

you could always do as i did and do a course on sports nutrition


just a thought

:o)

I was intending doing one this year but currently working f/t in a job that takes me away a couple of nights a week, plus doing a PhD, trying to maintain my fitness and plan my wedding, I have decided to do it next year. Out of interest what course did you do?

Yes, I'd be interested too if you have a recommendation for a good nurtition course. Essex -- reading your self profile in the past two posts, us runners are a really laid back crowd, aren't we? No over achievers here, or anything silly like that.

I ended up doing a corospondance course from Stonebridge College - diploma in Sports Nutrition

Thinking about doing the Diploma in Lifestyle Personal Fitness Trainer next

Well one does try!!!

Thanks WW, will check that one out, I was planning on a distance learning route too but not sure re: general nutrition with sports element, or one with sport as main focus.

Premier Fitness offer both (just looked it up). Diploma in Optimum Nutrition or Diploma in Sports Nutrition. Website says the two courses are largely similiar in content, with the latter slightly more oriented to sports. I thought initially I would go for sports but having read the info, I am actually slightly more inclined to go for the optimum course. Might well do this, unless someone can recommend a better course.

I was looking at a year long course run by College of Natural Nutrition, takes a very holistic approach, incorporating things like the seasons, moon phases and other issues that affect us which generally we pay little attention to. You have to attend 1 saturday a month or you can do it pure correspondence.

Looks good, doesn't it? I will bear this one in mind too. I will definitely do one or the other. Speaking from experience, a better use of time than wedding planning :-)

Oooh there's a cynic if ever I heard one!!!!

I found the Anita Bean book very useful, and the recipes are yummy ( if that's any help)

Too mnay books, not enough time to read them all!!! I seem to have a book buying habit, especially if can't decide between a couple on the same topic!!!

Me, cynical? I think in Chris Carmichael's training pyramid (which, incidentally, is very useful as a discipline and easily adaptable by the individual) you'll find wedding planning comes at the very bottom of the pyramid. That's a compliment, of course. It means it's the bedrock of your future performance. Of course, once you've identified and established your bedrock you then spend the rest of your year moving as far away from it as possible!

According to another thread titled how supportive is your other half, so do the majority of the running population - and incidentally mine is not a runner either!!!!