Surviving winter training...
January 19, 2006 8:48 AM   Subscribe

Another food/exercise/energy question: how do I arrange my life and diet so I can do two hours of a martial art every night for ten days?

It's winter training at our dojo, and I want to do two Aikido classes a night for ten days. Aikido (especially if I'm doing it correctly) is not especially cardio intensive, but it is a workout. During the week, I'll be getting up at 6am, going to work, going almost straight to the dojo after that, and then not getting home until 9:30pm.

What should I eat, and what else should I do to make sure I'm not too sore to move after the first couple of days? And does it make sense to skip dinner if I don't get home until later at night?

I've looked for similar stuff on AskMe, and there have been some recent questions about quick energy foods that have good answers. Do I just stick to the trail mix, fruit and veggies?

Thanks!
posted by bibbit to Health & Fitness (7 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
When I'm doing intensive training I tend to drink a lot of juice - it's heavy on sugar, but you'll be burning that off, and comes with lots of vitamins etc, plus is easy to digest and add to a diet on the go. I also cut out coffee and drink lots of water to stay hydrated.

As for the rest of your diet, just keep to fresh, whole grain, non-processed type foods. I'm vegetarian anyway, but if you eat meat just get fresh organic stuff; brown rice not white rice; whole grain bread, not white; quinoa (or something like that) rather than pasta; and lots of good fresh produce.
posted by mdn at 8:58 AM on January 19, 2006


Taking the time to soak in a hot bath and then stretch after you get home, before you go to bed, will go a long way towards reducing soreness the next day. If you have a significant other who can give you a massage, that's even better.

I can't handle eating before a dojo workout, so I usually wait until I get home around 9:30-10:00. I try to get a substantial lunch and if necessary I might consume a protein shake before dojo time, since that digests more quickly than solid food. I usually have a quart or two of gatorade on hand to get me through the actual workout.

Good luck. Concentrated doses of training like this are always fun.
posted by tdismukes at 9:50 AM on January 19, 2006


I've done exactly what you want to do (also an Aikidoist). What I did when faced with a class or two right after work was just eat a normal breakfast and lunch, and then have a small snack before class (fruit, or granola bar, or the like). And nothing after class. And like tdismukes, I had a big bottle of something to have at the break (Orangina or my own mix iced tea & juice).

And bibbit, I take exception to your "if done correctly" statement. I found, at the height of my practice, Aikido to be VERY cardio-intensive. Feel free to email me for further Aikido related flames discussion. Where do you practice?
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 10:08 AM on January 19, 2006


My personal experience: A normal breakfast and lunch, small snack (trail mix, granola, energy bar, etc.) 45 min before workout, with Gatorade during, then a lite dinner afterwards.

Usually, if I go for an extended workout (like 2-3 hours) after a full day of work without ingesting some energy foods beforehand, I lose focus and get fatigued easier. Maybe not at first, but definitely towards the end.

Also, people may disagree with this, but I've found taking small amounts of analgesics (e.g. ibuprofen) before workouts helps to reduce soreness the next day. YMMV.
posted by Gamblor at 12:44 PM on January 19, 2006


That's not that bad.. Just eat full meals. Be sure you have breakfast. Stay hydrated (espically as winter is pretty dry). Snack (healthy = nuts, yogurt, fruit, etc) when you are hungry. Not sure about this sport, but sports i do, energy bars/gels do wonders for during the activity..
posted by joshgray at 1:20 PM on January 19, 2006


I would avoid the sugary suggestions like juice and energy bars, personally. I prefer to eat high protein and fat foods if I'm doing something intensive on a daily basis: PB sandwiches, meat or fish, nuts and dried fruit. Oatmeal for breakfast. Avoid heavy starchy foods or raw vegetables to avoid digestion related nausea. You want compact, calorie rich and easily digestible (which varies from person to person).

Drink lots of water and stretch an hour after you get done working out and then every morning, starting with your core and working your way out. Best tip I ever got to avoid muscle soreness.
posted by fshgrl at 6:31 PM on January 19, 2006


Response by poster: Thanks, all, for your thoughts. All good stuff, and about what I expected - I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything!
posted by bibbit at 1:58 PM on January 23, 2006


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