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Training Tuesday: Eating Right!

Greg MacPherson by Greg MacPherson
February 14, 2012
in Vicki Schouten
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Train Right; Eat Right!

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I promised you that this week on the Training Tuesday blog I would talk about nutrition and healthy eating habits that you should consider when training for motorcycle road racing. I must warn you now, nutrition is a vast topic and by no means will I cover all of it in one simple blog post, especially not when there are entire blogs out there dedicated to very specific types of nutrition and eating habits. So, I’ll do my best to give you the basics today and as the season draws near we’ll get into some more specific nutrition discussions.

For now, however, let’s talk about nutrition and the importance of the food that fuels you. Are you familiar with the expression, “You are what you eat?” Well, there’s some truth in those words. Unfortunately, we live in a fast-paced society where people are too busy or too lazy to cook for themselves. As motorcycle enthusiasts or racers, we’re always on the go driving to the next race or working up until the wee hours of the morning trying to repair last week’s crash damage so we can get to next weekend’s race on time. I mean really, who has time to cook? Toss one of those fancy Lean Cuisine meals in the microwave and you’re good to go. Dinner is done in 2 minutes or less, all with the magic press of a button; all for under $4.99! Heck, it even looks pretty healthy since it’s got the appropriate balance of protein, carbs and fat, right?

Wrong.  Take a look at the packaging on those frozen dinners sometime. What exactly do you think is in them that allows the ingredients inside to remain “fresh” for so long. Nevermind the high sodium content to help the food taste like, well, food. Yep. We’re motorcycle racers. We’re cheap and we’re lazy. We’d rather save our pennies for tires and race gas than spend a few extra bucks on some healthy foods, and heaven forbid we should take the time to cook them when there’s brake pads to be changed and bodywork that needs repairing!

How do you Shop?
Have you ever taken a moment to think about the layout of your typical grocery store? Do you shop the perimeter mainly, or the aisles? Something all groceries have in common is this: Fresh, healthy produce, meat and dairy products are on the perimeter of the store; in the aisles you can find your packaged, processed, inexpensive foods like crackers, snacks, Coca-Cola, toilet paper. You catch my drift. Do you really want to be shopping for food in the same aisles where you purchase your toilet paper? Considering how many chemicals are in highly processed, pre-packaged foods found in the aisles of grocery stores, you might as well be eating toilet paper! In fact, toilet paper might actually offer a higher nutritional value.
Processed Foods are the Enemy
If you have been training all winter long to become a better motorcycle racer or trackday rider, it is important to note that you also need to fuel your body with the appropriate ingredients to allow your body to operate at its optimum state, and run as efficiently and effectively as possible. Just like you wouldn’t put low octane pump gas in your race bike, you also shouldn’t be fueling your body with processed foods.

Processed foods are foods that have been altered from their natural state, primarily for convenience. Several processed foods are made with trans-fats, saturated fats and high levels of sodium and sugar, none of which should be the staple of a healthy diet. Generally speaking, if you can’t pronounce the name of the ingredient, it’s likely not all that good for you!

What are some examples of processed foods, you ask? Take a look at some of these:

  • Potato chips and other snacks;
  • Packaged cakes and cookies;
  • Breads and pastas made with refined white flour as opposed to whole grains;
  • Frozen foods;
  • Processed meats such as hot dogs, sausage, ham and other packaged meats;
  • Processed cheese such as cheese slices or cheese sticks.

Replace Processed Foods with Whole Foods and Healthy Snacks

With all this training you’ve been doing, it’s important to fuel your body with the most healthy nutrients, vitamins, minerals and proteins as possible. So they next time you’re at the grocery store, consider skipping the aisles and shopping the perimeter for healthy, wholesome meals and snacks. Ditch the Doritos and pick up a bag of apples and oranges instead. Dig up some recipes online, make a large batch, and refrigerate the  leftovers so you’ve got ready-made meals all week long. It’s really not that difficult. You’ll feel a whole lot better in the long run, you’ll lose some unwanted weight, your training will pay off and you’ll be passing your friends on the racetrack in no time.
Parting Shot
Before I sign off, I’ll leave you with this parting shot; in this case a video. Ben and Eric Bostrom are two successful motorcycle road racers who have always been very careful about their eating habits. This video was from the 2011 racing season and the “Road to Daytona” with JD Beach and Eric Bostrom. While neither Eric nor JD is riding for Kawasaki this year, the video has some great footage of Eric taking JD under his wing to train and eat healthy. Of course, JD’s alternatives are interesting as well!

Until next week! Keep it going! 

Tags: motorcycle racing nutrititionnutrition for superbike racingtraining for superbike racing
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