Book Review: Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes
Posted July 18, 2007 at 02:45 PM by Katie Drummond
Section: Her Fitness, Her Health, Her Nutrition, Diet Myths, Healthy Eating, Product Reviews, Supplements, Vegetarianism, Weight Control, Workout Fuel, Special Features, HAL Reviews
While the most elite competitive athletes have the luxury of a team of coaches, advisors, and dieticians to consult with on a regular basis, the average endurance athlete preparing for an event isn’t so lucky. That’s where Monique Ryan comes in. A nutrition expert who has worked with professionals for over 20 years, Ryan has recently released an updated version of her book, Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes. The lengthy volume is a thorough, well-researched, and invaluable resource, with specific advice for athletes with a range of dietary needs according to their sport and level of training.
Ryan has divided the book into three segments. Part I has a broader focus, with an outline of general dietary needs, regardless of sport or the intensity of your training regimen. Ryan clearly outlines different macro and micro nutrients necessary for daily living, along with their roles in wellness and the best ways to incorporate them into one’s diet. But the guide doesn’t stop at food – hydration is a key element to prime health and elite performance, and Ryan offers substantive information on the intricacies of maintaining adequate hydration, from the ins and outs of caffeine to the problems associated with alcohol consumption. This section of the book is bolstered by a number of quick and easy-to-read charts and diagrams outlining nutrients, sources, and recommended intake levels, making the science of nutrition easier to digest.
Part II is where Ryan raises the bar; she focuses on how elite exercisers differ from everyday athletes in their nutritional needs. Not only do they require nutritious food and proper hydration like anybody else, but performance athletes need to consider the timing and portions of meals and snacks, as well as the right foods to consume for muscle building, recovery, and immediate fuel to boost hard training sessions. Ryan simplifies the complicated language behind body metabolism to explain the complex pathway of energy’s pathway through the body, and then ties this science to how we ought to be eating for specific purposes, whether carbo-loading, immediate muscle rebuilding, or transitioning into a more laid back off-season.
Finally, Ryan gets into the nitty gritty details of specific sports, and the precise nutritional guidelines they entail. Whether cycling, running, rowing, swimming, or training for a triathlon, competitors with particularly intense regimens can find out exactly what their sport of choice calls for. Ryan pares down each activity into its elements: pre-training needs, the rigors of training and the recovery nutrition required, and the adjustments that will make for an ideal transition to off-season periods. While any recreational athlete will surely benefit from reading the first two parts of Ryan’s guide, part III is for the truly elite, who are sure to glean valuable insights into their specific needs, and how best to improve performance, develop an ideal body frame to suit their sport, and recover from big events.
In addition to the clearly divided three-part manual, which contains information and advice that will prove helpful to all athletes, from the everyday exerciser to the ultra-ambitious trainer, Ryan provides five appendices. While the first four present previously discussed information in a compressed format (including details on the glycemic index, vitamins, and sports nutrition supplements), the fifth – several pages of detailed sample menus for athletes with different needs – is invaluable. It may be one thing to read about the best types, portions, and timing of meals, but precise examples offer unparalleled guidance for those unsure of how to fit together all the pieces of the nutritional puzzle.
Though her book is designed for endurance athletes, any active exerciser will find interesting information and new strategies to properly fuel their workouts and attain more ambitious goals. You may not be training for your fifth Ironman, but if you want to push yourself harder, you need the nutrition to do it – and with Monique Ryan’s guidelines, you’ll be one step closer to achieving that peak performance.
Tags: athlete menus, athletes and nutrition, diet, dietary needs, eating for peak performance, elite athletes, exercise, glycemic index, healthy eating, hydration, meal timing, menus, monique ryan, nutrition, portion sizes, sports nutrition, sports nutrition for endurance athletes, sports supplements, velo press, vitamins
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