On Wednesday, March 25, 2009, Brian Frank, founder of Hammer Nutrition gave a talk on nutrition at Breakaway Performance in San Francisco. Here are the notes I took. As you’ll see from the notes, not what you would have expected. I have been using Hammer Heed, Perpeteum, Gels, and Endurolytes since 2006 so I decided to test out Brian’s no breakfast thing before races and my morning bathroom breaks dropped from 4 down to 1 or 2 - and I thought it was just nerves! I also have less stomach issues during races as well. Sorry if some of my notes don’t make sense, next time I’ll bring a voice recorder!

• Brian
  • holistic family (all natural, no wheat)
  • competitive swimmer at Long Beach
  • 180° turn from what you’ve heard -> less is best!
    • most problems from excess consumption!
• Avoid Over Consumption
  • liver 1 gram carb/min -> glycogen
    • 280 calories/hour max
    • 165 lb. male -> 220-240/hour on bike (75% when running)
  • if you’ve had too much… it’s too late! (it can’t go anywhere)
  • fluid also over consumed (especially when hot)
    • perspiration rates almost irrelevant (we aren’t camels)
    • max of about 24-28 ounces/hour (regardless of heat) or it goes to the bladder
    • drink > 1/2 body weight (80 - 128 ounces for average male)
    • slowly increase daily water intake
  • if you max your fluid -> slow down, don’t drink more
  • when it’s 50-60°, only 10-12 ounces of water/hour
  • electrolytes, not just salt!
    • salt problematic due to daily habits
    • salty sweaters are salty eaters!
    • body doesn’t store sodium -> no sodium loading!
    • 8-12 grams/day -> average American and athlete
    • 1200-1800 mg/day -> ideal average American
    • 2400 - 3 grams/day -> ideal athlete
    • too much salt is toxic -> just as much for athletes!
    • cramping occurs after electrolyte imbalance
    • sustainable dietary habits -> not everyone could care less about food!
      • reduce processed foods (read labels for sodium)
      • reduce restaurants (sodium in the sauces)
    • 300-400mg at most / hour of sodium during exercise in heat
    • you want a proportionate amount of vitamins and minerals
    • if you have cramps… 1-3 endurolytes and all good in 5 minutes
• Post Workout Recovery
  • 3 hour window starts after you finish a workout
    • 30 min (60 grams carbs) -> 12 hours to be 95%
    • 3 hours (60 grams carbs) -> 36 hours to be 95%
  • replace glycogen stores
  • 3:1 carb/protein ratio
    • 30 grams carbs / 10 grams protein
    • 120 calories carbs / 40 calories protein
  • glutamine -> immune system
• Pre-Race/Workout Meal
  • 60-90 minutes before is NOT good!
    • digestion while exercising -> blood in stomach and extremeties
  • it takes 3 hours to digest a normal meal, so eat no closer than 3 hours before racing
  • if you work until 5:30pm and workout right after, eat lunch at 2:30pm
  • never sacrifice sleep for a meal!
  • don’t over do it the night before -> eat until satied and don’t eat fiber!
  • low fiber in the morning… 300-400 calories… no oatmeal!
  • 5 minutes before the start have a gel (hormones like insulin elevated)
  • on race morning, hormones (insulin) is up, body stops burning fat!
    • need to normalize insulin levels to burn more fatty acids, even at race pace
  • 800-1000 calories/hour can be burned at high intensities
  • consuming sugar/food between 3 hours and 5 minutes before raises insulin so you burn glycogen and not fatty acid
  • simple sugars flash and crash -> once the insulin is out of the pancreas and into the body it’s gone (3 hours to spike and rebound)
    • habitual high sugar intake -> diabetes
  • top anabolic agents
  • 1. testosterone
  • 2. human growth hormone
  • 3. insulin
  • breakfast -> carbs, little protein, almost no fat (300-400 calories)
    • half bagel, cup low fat yogurt, few strawberries
    • brown rice, steamed veggies, raw almonds
    • pasta w/ little olive oil, turkey breast/chicken
  • glycogen you use overnight not worth topping off by risking insulin levels increasing, so don;t eat after 3 hours before race start
  • once you start exercising… it all changes!
    • during exercise fuel passes isotonically
    • not sitting in your stomach for 3 hours -> turns into glycogen quicker
  • people adapt to caffeine… so don;t have more caffein that you normally do
    • but you don’t get ergogenic benefits if already adapted!
• Products
  • 10% naturally occurring sugars or less of total product
  • Hammer Gel, Heed <= 2 hours (body doesn’t cannibalize protein)
  • Perpeteum > 2 hours (need supplemental protein… otherwise burns lean muscle!)
  • body burns fat last (avacados, raw nuts, salmon, hemp seed -> good oils)
  • Perpeteum -> meal replacement
  • you can do 48 hours of all liquid!
  • honey-like fructose goes to blood, not liver -> that’s bad!
  • bars -> post workout, snacks, not specifically for during but you can
  • Endurolytes in capsules (dispenser) or powder
  • Race Cap Supreme is the ultimate performance enhancing supplement (koki-lo)
    • take 1 every 1-2 hours
    • liebernan & bigum -> 54 nutrients in perfect blend
  • Premium Insurance Caps -> balanced diet is a myth!
    • supplements fill in the pot holes
    • no way you can get 100% RDA top 9 nutrients completely from food w/ balanced carbs/protein/fat
    • not an option… it’s essential!
    • 7 capsules/day with 2 hours exercise/day
    • tablet vitamins -> expensive stools, people poop vitamins!