Youth Training Programs

Attached are your Phase 6 Testing, training, and daily nutritional protocols for next week. Strive to complete all of the testing protocols ideally in the same locations and at similar conditions (time of day, temperature, and humidity).

Should You Go Gluten Free?

As outlined by Julie McGinnis, R.D, going gluten-free is, without a doubt, essential for athletes with celiac disease (CD) and gluten intolerance (GI).  Both disorders can cause stomach cramping, diarrhea, constipation, bloating and in the case of CD, nutrient malabsorption.  However, the big question stems from the idea of if performance would improve if you didn’t struggle with either CD or GI?

Gluten – a protein in wheat, spelt, kamut, barley and rye has been dropped by the professional cycling team Garmin-Sharp declaring that the riders experience less inflammation and improved digestion.  Should you, an individual looking to improve your health, wellness and ultimately performance cut out Gluten from your diet?

As you know, I am all about balance and self-experimentation.  In my opinion, you want to see if eliminating gluten will benefit your performance, eat gluten free for four weeks and evaluate how you feel mentally and how you perform during your workouts.  Regardless of if you are gluten intolerant, have celiac disease or not, you should replace heavily processed gluten-containing foods with more nutritious whole foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and beans.  Ironically, some of the most nutrient-dense whole grains: buckwheat, amaranth, brown rice, teff and quinoa, are naturally gluten free and loaded with fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals.

Transition To Gluten With Caution

With a well-planned implementation strategy can lead to an inadequate intake of vitally important complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.  There are numerous gluten-free packaged foods; however, many are not nutrient dense; there is a mindset that if it is gluten free it must be healthy (even though many are gluten free products contain refined sugars and added fats).

Also, gluten is in a vast array of products including soups, deli meats, salad dressings, cheese spreads, roasted nuts, energy bars, veggie burgers, condiments, sauces and even ice cream in the form of malt flavoring, soy sauce and other various seasonings.  So as you can see, eliminating gluten from your diet quickly cuts down on your eating options (though there are more products now available at your supermarket today than there were five years ago).

Take Away Message

If you suffer from CD or GI eating gluten free is not an option.  If you don’t suffer from these symptoms, eating gluten free may improve your performance but needs to be applied and the results need to be subjectively evaluated (through specific performance results).  I have clients who have tried eating gluten free and feel fantastic.  I have had others who have tried eating gluten free and didn’t feel that the extra work it took to eat gluten free were offset with improved performance.

You can see how understanding how food influences YOUR mental and physical abilities is another tool to help you Work Smart, Not Hard and Avoid Overtraining!

Yours in sport & health,

-Coach Robb, Coaches and Staff

Thought for the week:

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you until it seems you can’t hold on a minute longer, never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”
– Harriet Beecher Stowe, Author