|
Jump Start Your
Workout with Soy-based Smoothies
(ARA) - While it's not uncommon
for elite athletes to spend more than 40 hours a week training,
most spend far less time focused on the food that keeps them
going strong.
However, across all sports and
at all levels of competition, this is changing. From the AYSO
soccer fields of Iowa to the lava fields of Hawaii' s Ironman
Triathlon World Championships, coaches and seasoned athletes
are mentoring their young counterparts not only on athletic training
techniques, but on the importance of eating to win.
|
According to Bob Babbitt, publisher
of Competitor, Fitness Runner and Triathlete magazines, the number
of endurance athletes in the United States, at amateur and professional
levels, has never been higher. Triathlon clubs are found in hundreds
of cities across the country, and more people than ever spend
their non-working hours running, biking and swimming -- getting
their bodies to the pinnacle of personal fitness. However, not
until recently have athletes been encouraged to look closely
at diet.
"Dave Scott, the six-time
Ironman Triathlon Champion, is a perfect example of how things
have progressed," says Bob Babbitt. "Dave was into
a healthy diet long before it was fashionable. He was a vegetarian
for a long time and he was making smoothies with soymilk and
putting soy on his cereal when other athletes didn't know what
soy was. Back then he took lots of ribbing for it, but now everyone
realizes he was way ahead of his time," he says. |
|
Scott, 47, a long-time advocate
of "plant-based" nutrition, says, "For years athletes
were in the dark about nutrition. Then a trend emerged and we
were told to load up on carbohydrates to win races. Some people
took that to heart -- living on bagels, pasta and not much else
-- forgetting about the importance of protein, fat, vitamins,
minerals and antioxidants."
Scott, still competitive at elite
levels, was the first inductee into the Ironman Hall of Fame.
When not training, he coaches and leads clinics across the country.
As expected, a big part of his
coaching focuses on nutrition. With a degree in athletic physiology
from the University of California Davis, Scott has been a consultant
to companies like Saucony and Imagine Foods, a leading producer
of soy-based energy drinks. In fact, during training for the
Triathlon World Championships in Hawaii last October, Dave used
an all-natural soy energy drink called Power Dream as a cornerstone
of his nutrition program, eschewing energy bars for energy liquids
because of their ease of digestion and refreshing taste.
"Athletes are continually
looking for the nutritional "magic bullet" that will
allow them to achieve and maintain peak fitness. The problem
is that many don't have the basic knowledge. They try to load
up on supplements and often follow fads. It would help them to
know about fueling with natural products like Power Dream that
offers vitamins, minerals and more in the form of organic soy.
Everyday athletes and elite athletes need nutrient-dense foods
to enhance, promote and nourish the body," adds Scott.
For athletes who are new to natural
fueling, Dave Scott offers this recipe, containing the calories,
vitamins and minerals athletes need:
Dave's Super-Smoothie:
- 1 11-ounce container Power Dream
(any flavor)
- 1/2 teaspoon Peanut Butter or
another "nut butter"
- 4 ice cubes
- 2 fruits (e.g., one banana plus
a handful of raspberries)
- 2 carrots (yes -- try it!)
- 1 teaspoon of whey protein isolate
powder (optional)
Put all ingredients in blender
and process for 30 seconds.
This recipe can be cut in half.
Total calories: 650-800 (approximately). Carbohydrate grams:
100-125. Protein grams: 30 (with whey protein and Peanut Butter).
Fat: 10 grams (with Power Dream and Peanut Butter)
The ratio of carbohydrates, protein
and low fat is excellent for a quick calorie boost during your
workday, or as a late-night snack. |
