5 Things Athletes Should Do to Optimize Health & Performance
Avoid Eating Candy as Fuel
This may trigger some as I often see athletes eating nerd clusters on long runs, but I have to share my perspective on fueling for training: Please. Don’t. Rely. On. Fake. Food. For. Fuel. Ditch the candy. Yes, you will get that quick burst of energy from the simple sugars found in processed snacks like candy and it may help you power through a workout or race. As a coach and personal trainer, I like to consider the bigger picture—the long-term effects on your health.
While candy may provide an immediate energy source, it’s essentially empty calories with very little nutritional value. Beyond the sugar, you're also consuming a variety of additives like food dyes, preservatives, 'natural flavors,' and chemicals that aren’t doing your body any favors. These ingredients can accumulate over time and lead to a range of health issues. For instance, food dyes and additives can disrupt the gut microbiome, potentially leading to gut dysbiosis. This imbalance has been linked to inflammation, digestive problems, hormone shifts, and even mood changes.
Furthermore, constantly fueling your body with these processed foods can mess with your metabolism. Over time, relying on foods that are high in sugar, but low in essential nutrients can lead to blood sugar imbalances, energy crashes, and difficulty maintaining a healthy weight. In the long run, this kind of fueling strategy could even affect your ability to recover, perform consistently, and stay injury-free.
Instead of reaching for candy or processed energy bars/gels, I encourage you to try cleaner, more whole food options that provide not only the energy you need but also additional nutritional benefits. Foods like dates, honey, maple syrup, or even fruits like bananas provide those same simple sugars for quick energy, but they also come packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that support your body during training and recovery.
Cleaner Fuel Options:
2. Address Gut Health
Gut health is key! Optimizing your gut can be the missing link in achieving optimal performance and overall well-being, especially for athletes. Often overlooked in the world of sports, your gut plays a fundamental role in nearly every aspect of your health. It's often referred to as the ‘second brain’ because of its profound impact on both your physical and mental health. Your gut is connected to nearly every organ in your body and the state of your gut microbiome can directly influence your performance, recovery, and overall health.
First and foremost, a balanced gut microbiome is essential for proper digestion and nutrient absorption. As an athlete, the ability to efficiently process and absorb the nutrients from your food is crucial. Remember, food is fuel! Poor gut health can impair your body’s ability to absorb vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, which are necessary for muscle repair, energy production, and immune function. Without this balance, you may experience deficiencies, decreased performance, or slower recovery.
Your gut also has a major player in hormone regulation. The gut microbiome interacts with the endocrine system, affecting hormones like cortisol (which regulates stress), insulin (which controls blood sugar), and even sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone. When your gut is out of balance, it can lead to hormonal imbalances, contributing to issues like fatigue, mood swings, poor sleep, and difficulty recovering from intense training. For female athletes, this is particularly important as hormonal fluctuations can impact not only performance but also menstrual health, weight management, and bone density.
The gut is a cornerstone of your immune system function. Around 70-80% of your immune system is located in your gut, meaning it acts as a barrier against harmful bacteria, viruses, and pathogens. A healthy, balanced gut microbiome supports your body’s defense mechanisms, helping you recover quickly from training while reducing your susceptibility to illness. However, an imbalanced gut can lead to chronic inflammation, a weakened immune response, and increased vulnerability to infections, all of which can hinder your athletic performance.
Gut health also plays a crucial role in mental well-being. The gut and brain are in constant communication through what’s known as the gut-brain axis. A disrupted gut microbiome can lead to issues like anxiety, depression, or brain fog, which can significantly affect your focus, motivation, and overall mental state during training or races. This gut-brain connection means that if your gut is struggling, so might your mental clarity and drive.
Many endurance athletes overlook gut health, but issues like food sensitivities, leaky gut, or an overgrowth of yeast or bad bacteria can lead to symptoms such as bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, or stomach cramps, all of which can interfere with training and performance. More importantly, these gut imbalances contribute to systemic inflammation, which can increase the risk of injury, delay recovery, and negatively affect your ability to perform at your best.
Addressing gut health is not just about avoiding discomfort—it's about optimizing your body’s ability to perform, recover, and function at its highest level. So, if you’re serious about improving your health and performance, don’t overlook the importance of a healthy gut.
Here are a few at-home gut lab tests I run with my clients that have been game changers to their health:
3. Prioritizing Sleep
Optimizing sleep is one of the most important components of training and overall health—especially for athletes. Sleep isn’t just about rest; it’s the foundation of recovery, performance, and longevity. For athletes, your body undergoes significant physical stress during training, which is why proper sleep is essential for muscle repair, energy replenishment, and mental recovery. It’s during deep sleep stages that muscle tissue repairs, the immune system strengthens, and growth hormone levels increase—all of which are vital for building endurance, preventing injury, and enhancing performance.
Beyond the physical benefits, sleep is also essential for mental recovery. Sports require a significant mental focus, and sleep helps with cognitive function, memory, mood regulation, and decision-making. A lack of sleep can lead to decreased focus, slower reaction times, and poor decision-making, all of which can negatively impact performance.
For overall health, sleep is equally critical. Chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to a range of health issues, from weakened immune function, increased inflammation, impaired cardiovascular health, and hormonal imbalances. Long-term poor sleep can also affect mental health, leading to issues like anxiety, depression, and burnout.
Athletes often focus heavily on following their training plan, nutrition, and cross-training, but sleep should never be an afterthought. It's just as important—if not more so—than your other training habits. So, whether you’re aiming to run a marathon or simply enhance your general fitness, prioritizing sleep is key to unlocking your full potential and maintaining your overall health.
If you struggle getting sleep, here are a few recommendations:
4. Take Recovery Days
Taking recovery days is a sign of training smarter, not harder. We all know that pushing ourselves in training is important, but what’s just as crucial, if not more so, is allowing your body the time it needs to rest and recover. Recovery isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s an essential part of the process. Without proper recovery, you’re not giving your body the opportunity to repair muscle tissue, replenish energy stores, and restore the balance needed for peak performance.
When you skip your recovery days, you’re increasing your risk of injury. Overworking your muscles, tendons, and joints without giving them time to heal can lead to strains, sprains, or even long-term damage that will sideline you for far longer than a day of rest. Recovery helps prevent burnout, reduces muscle soreness, and ensures that you’re in optimal condition.
In fact, taking regular recovery days will actually make you a better athlete. When you’re well-rested, your body is stronger, faster, and more efficient during training. So rather than pushing yourself relentlessly, think about recovery as an investment in your long-term success.
Natural Recovery Support:
5. Avoid Training Fasted
There’s a time and place for fasting, but this isn’t it. Your body needs fuel to thrive and to tolerate long training sessions, especially when the intensity and duration are high. Fueling your body properly before a workout helps ensure that you have enough energy to perform at your best. Without this fuel, particularly if you’re exercising in a fasted state, you run the risk of experiencing quicker fatigue, muscle cramps, and that dreaded feeling of heavy legs. When your body doesn't have adequate energy stores, it will struggle to maintain endurance, and you'll likely hit a wall much sooner than if you had properly fueled.
Training fasted can especially impact women, who may experience additional hormonal imbalances when exercising in a fasted state. Intense exercise in combination with fasting can stress the body and affect hormones like cortisol, estrogen, and progesterone. These imbalances can lead to a range of unwanted symptoms, such as irregular menstrual cycles, increased stress levels, disrupted sleep, or even a decline in bone health.
Ultimately, while some people might find success with fasted workouts, the risks associated with long endurance sessions without proper fuel often outweigh the benefits. For optimal performance and long-term health, it’s essential to prioritize fueling your body with the necessary nutrients before embarking on a long training session.
Follow these 5 tips and you’ll be well on your way to peak performance and health! If you want additional support, accountability, and coaching - sign up for a free discovery call with me!
