Recovery: Junk Food or No Food? | GTN Coach's Corner

Is junk food better than no food for recovery after a workout? Is splitting your long run the same as doing it in one go? Why do my forearms get tired when I go running? Is a sleeveless wetsuit a good idea? James & Mark answer your latest #gtncoachescorner questions!
Intro 0:00
Junk food vs no food 0:25
Split long runs? 3:17
Arms ache...after running? 5:43
Sleeveless Wetsuits 8:12
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[@gtn]

Leave your questions in the comments using #gtncoachescorner 👇

[@michaelchiller2494]

Three time world champion Peter 'Robbo' Robertson use to carry a small wooden stick in each hand when he ran to remind him to relax his hands and arms and stop them from crossing the centre line. Dual world champion and Olympic Gold medal winner Emma Snowsill and Commonwealth Games champion Brad Kalefeldt also ran with hand sticks. In the end it is all psychological. I pretend I am playing piano, like I would if riding a bike, just to relax my fingers, and then arms. Great show as usual. Thanks.

[@Jeaglelol]

Thanks for replying to yet another one of my questions. This series is great! I will keep usually doing 18k+ long runs once a week (going to get longer as I get closer to my races next summer). But every once in a while my wife is working a nightshift and my kids wake up earlier then planned so then I dont really have a choice. So good to know that the occasional 9+9 has pretty much the same aerobic effect.👍

[@gtn]

Everyones schedule changes up, It's just part of life. Keep up the good work and good luck in those races 🙌

[@chowzisiong7800]

Big picture first: overall calorie needs are met. Secondary to that would be nutrient timing. So getting something is better than nothing, especially if you're feeling hungry and have another session coming up within the next 6 hours or so. But if you train 'just' once a day or even less frequent (e.g. 4-5 days of 1x per day), then it's no big deal. Simply eat enough during the rest of the day - which should be the end goal in any case.

[@emmaduizend]

Thank you for answering my question! That is very helpful :)

[@gtn]

Glad we could help 🙌 Thanks for being part of the amazing GTN community

[@TamaEnergy]

Interesting esp with all the great research on UPF recently!

[@urklenurkle]

Can confirm in America there’s sometimes nowhere to get some healthy quick. Just recently salad to go drive thrus have come up in my area

[@jc74435]

Doing 2 runs instead of 1 long run, is fine if you can’t do a long run for whatever reason. Better 2 runs, than no run.

[@gtn]

Rodger that! Any run is better than none 🙌

[@veganpotterthevegan]

2 runs isn't always better than 1 though. It all depends on your previous training and what's ahead

[@veganpotterthevegan]

No idea how 2 runs or no runs would be your only options in the end though😂

[@peterfalk7084]

I've been eating fish and chips (or occasionally sausage and chips) half way through my long run of 5km, is this ok?

[@mikew6840]

Makes sure it’s 4 to 1 ratio of chips to fish 😂

[@mda05rnr]

if you're managing to finish a 5k Ultra, you can pat yourself on the back and declare yourself a legend, and normal physiology doesn't apply. I'm suprised you aren't eating a whole shark though.

[@peterfalk7084]

@@mikew6840 That's a lot of fish, I've just been eating the one, so a ratio of 1 fish to 40 chips. If you're saying I've got to do a ratio of 4:1 that means...........7 and a bit fish, Christ, I've really got to up my calalrie in take........thanks for the steer!

[@peterfalk7084]

@@mda05rnrThank you.......... I've been doing loads of 5k ultras, I always knew deep down I was achieving something quite spectacular, but I've never had that recognition, until now that is.........never give up on your dreams.....😂

[@gtn]

Hahahah! 2024 nutrition trend will be mid run Fish and chips, You didn't get any mushy peas?

[@alexacb63]

Before my first marathon I made the mistake of in my long runs having a short (5-10 min) break halfway through - so whilst I thought I'd done long enough runs beforehand, I'd not actually run *continuously* for long enough so I definitely hit the wall earlier than I was expecting in the race...

[@peachxblue]

Yes I bet the person is in America doing a bike ride and forgot nutrition and the only options are lays , oreos, or Coca Cola at the local convenience store or vending machine. Been there!!

[@gtn]

We've all been there - The petrol station dash is a right of passage on any long bike ride 😂

[@moorseytours]

I've used the double run/brick day with very good results (PBs) for both marathon & ironman races recently. Idea being that your long run gets up to ~28k in one go, then can train longer distances closer to race day but without risking injury & needing too much recovery, e.g. 2 x 15, 17, 18k with varying recovery in between. Same for ironman peak training, had 2 weeks out a double brick of 2 x 90/15k and i felt super prepared after that without taking too much strain. Thoughts @gtn?

[@Underdog_Triathlete]

#GTNCoachesCorner Hi all, and thanks for the excellent advice as always! Following on the theme of nutrition, I’ve recently started experimenting with higher-carb fueling, especially during my long rides (3-5 hours, depending on the week). I know I definitely need more carbs than I’m used to-I’ve usually just had a gel or half a bar per hour, probably close to 20g/hr, which is way too low-but I’m worried about what else I’m taking in as I aim for that 60-80g carb target. Specifically, how concerned should I be about sugar? It feels almost impossible to hit 320 grams of carbs without also taking in 80 or more grams of sugar-close to twice a normal person’s total daily intake. How bad is that, or is it something that I as an endurance athlete should disregard completely?

[@keliimoeanu]

Love these - question for another #coachescorner - I’m about 50, did 1st Ironman (California) just under 12h. Everyone was run walking. But strategies differed. I walked all uphills and aid stations. Others alternated run walk by time. Is one strategy for run walk better than another?

[@Ivan_Nano]

#gtncoachescorner I’ll give my question one more shot. The long distance triathlon diet. I’m concerned about how much sugar one eats in a full IM with all the gels. Eating 60g of carbs per hour mainly in the form of sugar gels means that you can easily reach 400g of sugar intake. Is this a problem for one’s health and pancreas? We hear so much about the dangers with sugar: insuline resistance/diabetes, etc. Or are the health harms mitigated by the fact that you are burning it as you consume it? Even if you don’t race often, one has to have that diet in training to practice. Hope you can answer it this time. Thanks!

[@iggalan]

#gtncoachescorner Hi GTN. I have a question regarding hydration and fueling for longer events. I still I can't figure out the whole picture when you add salts to the mix to prevent cramping. I know with electrolytes and gels I will still get cramps on longer events. My sweat is very salty, so how do I get the extra salts? I bought some tablets that have salts, but they also have carbs, so maybe I have to replace 1 gel every hour?

[@desroin]

I just need my nuggies with sweet-sour sauce from time to time :x That being said most "junk" food is not in itself unhealthy it just has a lot of pointless calories due to sugary sauces and breading and the like.

[@SimonBransfieldGarth]

Surely if you have just done a hard session, you will be sodium depleted and so some salt (alongside plenty of water) is a good idea?

a bit of salt, things like chips tend to have way too much

[@SimonBransfieldGarth]

@ To take a specific example, Walkers ready salted crisps have 340mg per pack. Precision hydration recommend 500-1000mg per hour during exercise, so does not seem out of proportion.

[@mathieurochette3431]

Having a readymade protein shake with a truck load of artificial ingredients and chemicals is not any better than junk foods, in my opinion. I prefer to eat those real veggies and proteins instead.

[@dylanhunt5368]

When choosing food, there is a distinct difference between weightloss/cutting and recovery for performance/strength. If your exercise is aimed at cutting you're probably better off not eating if there's only junk. If you want to get more powerful, the junk will get absorbed and you can just compensate in other ways.

i'm on weight loss journy, after swim I usually eat an apple and that's it, but sometimes I get snack wrap in mcdonalds or itwist in kfc with junk food it depends on how much you eat, not just what kind it is... if you eat bucket of fried chicken for 4 people in kfc by yourself, that's not a recovery meal anymore I'm 25kg down from march to december, planning to do a bit more, but I'm not cutting junk food completely

[@gtn]

Great point! There are so many variables but you always want to make sure you are eating enough of anything to fuel your exercise 🙌

[@larrylem3582]

Sure took a long time to answer the first question...

[@ccamire]

This must be a carbs channel. Sorry You need protein and electrolytes.

[@mda05rnr]

they definitely mentioned protein!

[@kc270352]

I'm sure they know that 🙄