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Impoving Performance Through Nutrition and Hydration

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Athletes are always looking for that special drink, powder, bar, or gel to help improve their performance. And with all the various diets on the market and internet, it can be difficult to know which one will be best suitable for meeting all their nutrition and fitness needs.   But while some athletes are also concerned with putting on unwanted pounds, which can indeed hinder performance, not getting enough calories will almost always guarantee a failure to achieve that next level of performance.

 

When you want to maximize stamina, endurance, and output, not only what you eat, how much of it you consume, and how often you take in calories, is critical in enhancing athletic performance. For the endurance athlete, meals and hydration before, during and after a workout can be underestimated. Depending on the type of exercise performed, along with intensity, and duration, it is necessary to replace lost nutrients back into the body within minutes post workout to promote optimal recovery, as well as to restore muscle glycogen storage. This creates a better scenario for the next workout in that torn muscle tissue is repaired, and the maximum amount of energy is available to the muscle for the next session.   What percentage of each nutrient and the number of grams needed to make this happen depend on many factors: weight, gender, sport-specific training, % lean body mass, among other variables.

If an athlete is trying to increase muscle mass, it is crucial to take in enough calories including adequate carbohydrates to prevent the body from using protein/muscle as an energy source, but rather for muscle synthesis. This often gets overlooked in that carbs have gotten a bad rap for years...remember not all carbs are created equal!  Quinoa, bulgur, barley, beans, lentils, legumes, and non-GMO soy are great ways to increase carb ratio in the diet, without adding the unnecessary processed foods and chemicals.  Add them to soups, salads, and spreads as a great source of energy!

 

Monique Boulet is a Health Expert, Wellness Coach, Certified Personal Trainer, Foodie, Saratogian and Mom of two (plus two puppies), who graduated from Russell Sage College with a Bachelors Degree of Nutrition Science. She continued on with her graduate classes at Sage Graduate School where she also acquired her Dietetic Internship. For over 15 years, Monique has had the opportunity to work in many community settings through her private practice, including corporate wellness programs, providing HARDCORE boot camps to various age groups, and as a motivational speaker throughout the country.

When she is not working or volunteering to make a healthier community, Monique loves spending time with her children and life partner, snowshoeing, skiing, boating, playing instruments, biking, hiking, and just enjoying the outdoors. A love of food has allowed her to be a regular guest on local television stations such as Channel 13 and Fox 23 News. You can find more information on her website: www.organiquebymonique.com, or through her various published articles nationwide.

www.organiquebymonique.com

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