Body Composition Focus in the Post Season
It is nearly the post-season for a lot of athletes. A long season and one that has been incredibly rewarding for so many of Fuelin’s athletes. For the World Championships this year, we had a total of 54 athletes competing on both of the big stages. 25 in Kona. 29 in St George. An incredible achievement and one that everyone can be incredibly proud of. It is amazing to be part of a team that supports coaches and athletes in their quest to be the best that they can be.
We have had a lot of requests from athletes relating to improving body composition. The post-season period can be a change in focus for training that can be beneficial to targeting body composition. Changing body composition, losing weight or losing fat mass is nearly always a topic that creates hot debate in the triathlon world. This is due to negative associations with low energy availability (LEA) and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (RED-S) at the forefront of a lot of people's minds at the moment. We are very pro-awareness and proactive in helping athletes recover from or avoid LEA and RED-s. You would have seen our campaign with FASTr and Feisty Media over the past few weeks. That being said, there are athletes on the opposite end of the spectrum that do have a need to improve their body composition in order to improve their health and their performance in doing so. It is these athletes who have reached out and we want to assist.
Catering for everyone.
We should not be excluding one group at the expense of another. Being open to the idea that not everyone is super lean and suffering from intentional or unintentional low energy availability is something we are also very keen to educate athletes on. It is possible to follow a structured nutrition plan that is tailored to your training schedule and still achieve weight loss and fat loss without compromising your health. A caloric deficit is imperative yet it does not need to be a staggering deficit and one that is unsustainable in the long run. Remember that the best diet is one that puts you into a caloric deficit and is also sustainable over a longer period of time until your health goals are achieved.
Why are we offering this?
Post-Season Shift in Focus - While overall training volume and intensity are lower (such as during the post-season), it is an excellent opportunity to focus on body composition and strength gains to maximise your health.
What is it?
Body Composition + Strength-Focused Nutrition Plan
- Custom macros that focus on facilitating body-composition improvements and building strength and lean mass.
- Designed to work with a strength training program with lower overall cardio training intensity and volumes.
- The nutrition program is based on 2-3 strength training sessions per week in combination with lower-intensity cardio Monday to Friday
- We have adjusted Saturday and Sunday to accommodate normal training volume and intensity as this is commonly still going to be higher for most athletes.
Duration
- Guidance is to focus on the body comp + strength phase for 8-12 weeks. Adjust depending on your individual needs and race schedule. The duration will also depend on your coach's plan.
Time Restricted Feeding (TRF)
- You have the option to do Time Restricted Feeding (eating within a 7-hour window during the weekdays. We have set this from 1200-1900) as a tool to assist with caloric restriction and adhering to the nutrition plan. TRF does not impact your ability for you to be successful in the program.
- It is an individual preference and useful for some athletes to assist adherence to a plan
- If you do choose to use the TRF model, you are advised to do strength training and any higher intensity sessions during the afternoons once you have eaten and can refuel post-session to maximise your gains. TRF will not be programmed for Saturdays and Sundays. It is only set to occur Monday to Friday if selected by the athlete.
Strength Programs
Start with speaking to your coach to ask if strength can be included in your plan, many coaches have a strength training program offered. If you do not have a strength training program, we recommend the following two coaches to assist your journey.
CONTACT: Craig “Oscar” McFarlane craig@newportript.com
CONTACT: Matt Herring m.herring.bda@gmail.com
Use the FitBod App and execute 3 strength training sessions at 45-60 minutes each per week. (No Training Platform Required, just enter the 3 days per week you are lifting into TrainingPeaks, TodaysPlan or Final Surge).
Confirm that this is the right program for you
Do you fall into this criteria?
How do you get going?
You can sign-up for a Fuelin Program here
or
if you are already a Fuelin athlete, switch your profile over
Send through your DXA measurements and your Blood Marker results (Preferably via Inside Tracker. Link us to your profile via code FUELINPRO25 or email Joe (jgershman@insidetracker.co) to get added to our coach's panel.
In Fuelin app , within your athlete profile, select
Primary Goal -> ‘Body Composition, Training Focus -> ‘Post Season/Gym’ then Optional, select a Time Restricted Fasting option
Click update profile and you are done (see below)
Your plan will automatically adjust to meet your desired goal.
