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How to Get the Most from Your Endurance Training Program
By: by Amino Science
Whether you’re training for a marathon, triathlon, ironman, 5K, or league sport, we’ve got some simple tips and tricks to help you get the most from your endurance training program.
Shake It Up
Endurance athletes who want to “go the distance” will incorporate strength training, interval training, and dynamic warm-ups into their cardio workout routines.
Add three 30-40 minute resistance-training sessions a week to increase stamina and speed, improve muscular endurance, and lower your risk of injury.
Why sacrifice a marathon training workout for an interval training workout when it’s cross country and not sprints you’re after? Because it makes sure you’re optimizing all three energy systems of your body: ATP-PC (short-distance training), glycolysis (medium-distance training), and oxidative (long-distance training).
Interval training, such as HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and fartlek training, refine your cardiovascular system and improve VO2 max, which increases the amount of oxygen and energy you have available—two very important allies for endurance sports.
Improve your aerobic metabolism and race pace by engaging in two to three interval training sessions a week.
And finally, don’t just warm up with a quick jaunt on the treadmill. Run through a series of dynamic stretches and movements, like lunges and squats to work your lower body, and mountain climbers and push-ups to get the blood flowing in your upper body. A dynamic warm-up reduces the likelihood of injury, primes your nervous system for movement, and improves range and mobility.
Do 5 minutes of dynamic exercises as a warm-up, working all muscle groups and stretching and strengthening your muscle fibers.
Endurance exercise will take your farther when it’s supported by rest periods and bolstered by cross-training workouts. This way, you decrease your risk of overtraining and overuse injuries, which will leave any triathlete in the dust.
Feed It
Endurance training plans typically go 8-12 weeks and can put quite a lot of stress on the body. We know your focus is probably on carbohydrates to replace all that glycogen you’re burning up, but we’d like to recommend adding more protein and colorful fruits and veggies to your plate.
Protein from lean meats, eggs, and dairy, helps form hemoglobin, which transports oxygen to the muscles, maintains fluid balance, keeps amino acid stores high to prevent muscles from breaking down during exercise, builds lean muscle mass by stimulating muscle protein synthesis, and helps muscles recover faster after a workout. One gram of protein per pound of bodyweight is the minimum to shoot for!
Antioxidants from fruits and vegetables help protect against oxidative stress and free radical damage, which can intensify while taking part in an endurance training program.
Supplement for Even Better Performance!
Protein is made up of amino acids. Eat a balanced diet and you’ll typically meet your amino acid needs, but there’s one group of amino acids that needs a little more nutritional support—the essential amino acids, which can only be provided by food or supplementation.
Essential amino acids (EAAs) are oxidized at an increased rate during endurance exercise. An EAA supplement is needed to replace these lost EAAs. Taking an EAA supplement before, during, or after exercise increases muscle protein turnover, which improves muscle strength and function. Damaged muscle proteins are broken down and replaced by new, better functioning proteins. As a result, you enjoy greater training benefits.
Research shows that a higher concentration of leucine boosts the anabolic effects of amino acids during the recovery period, but not every EAA supplement makes the cut (1). Based on the research, Amino Co scientists formulated the precise concentration of leucine-enriched EAAs to be taken 30 minutes before and throughout endurance training.
Clinical studies show that this athletic performance blend improves muscle performance during exercise, reduces dehydration and fatigue, enhances mental clarity and concentration, and minimizes recovery times.
Click here to get the most from your endurance training program with Perform.
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