2012 USASA National Championships #1

The 2012 USASA Nationals journey has begun.  Coaching and competing at Nationals is more than just the event; it’s seeing old friends in Colorado, lots of snowboarding, homemade lasagna and other cool surprise adventures along the way (not to mention hours of board waxing).  I’m looking forward to training and coaching with the practice sessions for Boardercross (SBX) starting next Wednesday.  Be sure to check back for post updates with pictures and video during and after the competition.  I’ll also be tweeting throughout my travels @theMtnAthlete.

Welcome!

Seasonal Nutrition #4

Please read “Seasonal Nutrition #1, #2 and #3" before checking out this post.

The second type of seasonality is the impact the actual seasons of the year (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) have on nutrition.  Late Fall and Winter tend to have a drying effect on our bodies.  We also endure colder temperatures during this time frame.  The Spring tends to be wetter and warmer.  Late Spring through early Fall tends to be warmer and somewhat drying (depends on what part of the world you live in too).    

I use Ayurvedic eating guidelines (food choices) to help address this type of seasonality.  Ayurveda is a traditional medicine of India and includes food/eating recommendations based on an individual’s body type and environment (one of the first resources I read on how to incorporate an Ayurvedic principles into your diet was Dr. John Douillard’s book, "Body, Mind and Sport"). 

Salmon w/ Organic Green Beans, Sweet Potato and Squash 

Seasonal Nutrition #3

Be sure to read “Seasonal Nutrition #1 and  #2" before checking out this post.

The first kind of seasonality we’ll look at is “Competition” vs. “Off-season”.  Right now, I’m in my competition season (SBX Racing) and spend approximately 4 hours on snow, 3 days a week.  I also weight train 2 times a week for about 2 hours each (depending on travel – some weeks I can get 3 days in).  So that’s 16 total hours of physical activity per week.  The remainder of the week is not that stressful activity-wise.  The lack of activity the remainder of the week means I’m only at a Moderate Activity Level (see post #2 in the series for more info about Activity Level). 

On Course in NY

During the off-season I weight train in the gym 4 days a week (2 hours each day) and mountain bike or trail run on another day (1 or 2 hours at the most).  My total activity time is about 10 hours per week, which earns me the Light Activity Level category.