Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Brad Lackey's championship training program By Dean Miller and Len W eed Th is and future ins tall me n ts are excerpted from Ch ampionshi p T rai n ing, featuring Brad La ck ey, by Brad 's personal trai ner, Dean M iller, and Le n Weed. A ll first person com me nts are by Dean M ill er. Be awa re th at ma n y areas of spo rts m edicin e, train ing , and nutrition do not offer black -an d- white answers. Tra ining is as much an art form as it is a science. I n man y ways, preparing an athlete is sim ilar to tu n ing a racing engine. It 's part stu dy , part ex pe rimen t, part dream in g up new approach es, part trying different com binati ons . It' s putting past results an d present ideas togeth er, searching for so me thing that works bett er. R esearch often suggests answers bu t conclusive evidence m ay be lack in g. And co ntinuing research so metimes questions or inva lidates pr in ciples and approach es previously accep ted. Differing views, wh ere applicable, will be mention ed along with indications of new research that may change prevailing views. Calories and weight control A calorie is a measure of heat - the heat energy tha t ge nera tes body activity. O ne calorie eq ua ls the hea t needed to raise the temperature o f one kiloga m (2.2 po u nds) of wa ter one deg ree Cent igrade. T his, 100 calories will rai se th e tem perature of a kilogr am o f wat er (a bo u t o ne quart) fro m freezin g to boi ling. The basal metabolic ra te, the energy needed to susta in th e body a t rest , m ay be estima ted by usin g th e following formula: Body weight divided by 2.2 times 24. Dividing the weight by 2.2 (the number of pounds in a kilogram ) produces the hourly requirem ent. Multiplying by 24 yields th e daily requirement. For exa m p le, a 200pound person will hav e a basal energy requirement of abo u t 2182 calories per da y (200 div id ed by 2.2 times 24). The ca lo rie value of fat (abo u t 4000 per pound) is more than twice th at of carbohydrat e a n d protein nutrients (a bo u t 1700 cal ories per pound). Fat o ffers abo u t nine calories per gram. (T he re are 28.35 gr ams in an o u nce .) Carbohydrate a nd p rot ein nutri ents offer four calories per gram. (Wa ter and th e micronutrie ts - vita m ins and minerals - have no calorie value.) The d iet' s ca lo ries sho u ld be allocated between th e three maj or nutri ent groups to favor athletic fueling needs. 20 Weight control Pi cture a seesaw, horizontally ba la nc ed, with two box es on opposi te ends: D Calories Eaten. D Calories Burned. As lo ng as these two elements remain equal, weight is maintained. Any cha nge o n one side no t ma tched on the other side destroys the balance. Weight loss ] ust as there are no shortcu ts for deve lopi ng muscul ar fitn ess, there is no easy way to rem ove fat. It m us t be bu rned off - th ro ugh exercise, red uced calorie inta ke. T o set up a weight loss p ro gr a m: ( I) Calculat e dai ly mainten an ce needs. (Weight in pounds divided by 2.2 tim es activity Iactor .) (2) Calculat e th e number o f calo ri es that must be su btrac ted from :Jaily mainten ance needs to ac h ieve th e desired weight loss. (Eac h po un d of bod y fat eq ua ls 3500 calories.) For exa m p le, consider a normally proport ioned, l72 -pound moderat e exerciser wh o wants to lose tw o pounds in one week. Weight d ivided by 2.2 a nd multiplied by an acti vit y factor o f 35 indicat es 2800 ca lo ries needed for daily maintenance. The desired loss, 7000 ca lories in seven da ys, eq ua ls 1000 ca lor ies pe r da y. Subtra cting 100 from 2800 leaves a figure o f 1800 ca lo ries . A di et o f 1800 ca lo ries p er da y plus mod erat e exer cise for one week will p roduce a two p ound fat loss. Weight watching tips D Weigh yo urse lf regu larl y, preferabl y first thing in th e morning. D P ay ba ck after indulgin g in ca lo ries. Eith er ea t less th an normal a t th e next meal or increa se exercise . D Eat m ore vege ta bles, grain products, fruits, and salads. D Eat smaller m eal s. D Cut down on desserts and sweet snacks. D Reduce use o f hi gh ca lorie salad dressi ngs with bread sprea ds. D Chec k th e calo rie ratin g in form ation on labels, expec ia lly th e distr ibu tion of calo ries betw een the three nutrient groups. D Limit fat to a llow great er co nsu m p tion of lower-calor ie protein and carbohydra te foods . D Consider swi tch in g to lo w-fa t or skim m ilk . Weight losing tricks Hun ger, triggered by th e h ypotha lamas (the ap pe tite co ntrol center in th e brain ), ca n so me times be o u twitted. These tri cks include: D Ex ercise. In creasing oxyge n in take infl uences th e hypothal amas to delay hun ger signal s. Exercise a lso tak es th e m ind o ff hunge r. D Exe rcise on an em p ty stom ach . Th e body is mor e likel y to burn fat wh en minimal carbohydra te fuel is a vaila ble. D I ncrease bod y h eat. Ea t o r dr ink so me th in g hot or mov e a bo u t. Any increase in body heat tends to delay hunger sig nals. D Drink large am ounts of w ater. In creasing fl u id intake fills th e sto m ac h and a lso reduces th e bod y' s tendency to preserve fat supplies wh en the fluid su p p ly is lower th an normal. D Eat low calo rie foods. They fill the stomac h without ra ising calorie intake si~nif i cantl y. Sa lads a nd vegetables are good fille rs. D Don 't yie ld to p sych ol og ical hunger. Nervou sness or boredom o ften tri ggers a n urge to ea t a s so me th ing to do when the body reall y isn 't demanding nourish m ent. Find so me th ing else to do. Weight losing don 'ts D Don ' t fast or use crash di ets to weight. Your body can only burn off so much excess fat so quickly . Stre n uo us exerci se while cras hdi eting m ay for ce th e bod y to feed on muscle tissue . A loss of three or four p ounds a week is sen sibl e. D Don 't use deh ydr ation to lose wei gh t. Water lo ss is n o t fat loss. Fa t ca n not be swea ted o u t o f the body. D Don 't a ttem p t to spot reduce fa t with exercise, m assage, heat, or swea t bands. Fat loss is uniform th roughout th e body a s weight is reduced . Specifi c exercise, how- . ever , may trim in ches in an area because it ton es muscles. D Don 't be d iscouraged by temporar y plateaus in th e first month of a weight loss program . Even though fat is being eliminated, weight m ay not drop because water temporaril y rep laces th e vacated fat cells . This water retention ratel y lasts more than (our weeks .

• Cover