Keep Healthy This Winter
As winter approaches in the southern hemisphere, the likelihood of catching coughs, colds, and the flu increases significantly, with research indicating a threefold higher risk of upper respiratory illnesses during this season, coupled with a heightened risk of reinfection shortly after recovery. This cycle of illness can disrupt training progress, which is crucial for fitness and performance improvement. Raysmith's (2016), found that those athletes who had >80% training availability were significantly more likely to succeed in their outcome goals than those who did not. To put this into perspective they found only 2-4 bouts of injury or sickness were sufficient to disrupt training availability beyond that 20% threshold of training loss.
Last winter our daughter started at daycare so I feel like somewhat of a connoisseur when it comes to the flu, having experienced what felt like every possible strain last season had to offer. It’s rough! As many of you will know.
A great mini review from Walsh (2018), offers some great practical evidence-based tips for staying healthy this winter. I have massively summarised the key recommendations that stood out to me in this paper. I would recommend you read the source to get the full context and detail this paper provides. Fortunately it's all basic stuff. The small levers really are tiny. If you are pulling the big levers and still get sick the supplements will offer marginal gains.
Big Levers!
The take away is essentially be careful through winter. Understand you are more likely to get sick. Consistency is what will make the biggest difference in the long run. Try not to spike the load suddenly. Place high importance on what you do for recovery between sessions.
Tips
- Avoid sick people, wash your hands, and refrain from drinking copious amounts of road water (tire spray), This is where supplementing with indoor rides is so beneficial.
- Consistent bedtime (Simply being regular with sleep patterns) when unable to get enough sleep.
- >7hs of quantity ideal (8-10 for teens in my opinion).
- Quality of sleep. Optimise sleep hygiene, cool dark environment, screens off 1h before bed (at least turn your phone off).
- Schedule training appropriately: Carefully managed training loads be careful when exceeding 5-10% training load build. Smaller more regular training spikes over large less frequent spikes. Shorten micro cycles to include recovery periods more often e.g. moving 3 weeks on 1 week unload to 2 weeks on 1 week unload.
- Monitor life demands and stress more closely and adapt training accordingly. Take more rest when you need it.
- Fuel your body well by meeting your energy demands. No fasting! At least 30-40g/h carb on your long easy 3h+ rides. If the long rides have efforts, this needs to go way up!!!
- Keep well hydrated - Dehydration puts the body under stress which like any form of stress down regulates immune function. Our saliva also contains many anti bacterial properties which get affected by dehydration.
Small Levers!
Supplementing the following has some evidence for reducing the severity of symptoms of the flu if you do get sick. If your not doing the above dont bother with any of this down here...
- Vitamin C
- Probiotics
- Zinc
- Increasing protein
Future Grit Camps
Before Covid, we used to do a training camp every year. We stopped and then haven't done another one since. Last week we had our St Kent's cycling camp in Cambridge and it was a wicked 4 days on and off the bike. We were able to get some great riding in away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we did a track session, I gave a couple of presentations and we were able to run through a basic individual performance plan in groups. We also included lots of fun team building games and skills.
I want to bring this back to you all and offer it to the wider public outside of the Grit coaching crew. I would love to know what a great cycling camp would look like for you!
Content Worth Consuming
Article - Rouleur Blog: Would I lie to you? I might not have to.
The placebo effect has always fascinated me. There is an endless array of studies that have experimented with the effects of placebo.
Article - Is Sugar Bad For You?
This is a great evidence based article looking at whether sugar is good or bad for us. Short answer is that it depends what you are doing and when you consume it.
Book - Why We Sleep
A great book on sleep, explaining the functions of sleep in memory consolidation, emotional regulation, immune support, and overall brain health, while also discussing the negative impacts of chronic sleep deprivation on physical health and cognitive performance, advocating for the prioritization of adequate and quality sleep for overall well-being.
If you got this far congrats! That's a wrap!
Cheers Team!
