Rowing Taught Me a Lot About Food! by Joan Kent, PhD
Recently, I was asked to discuss nutrition “worsts” for athletes. I zeroed in on one. It works year-round and not just for athletes.
An “off-season” with food is as energy-draining as it gets.
Jim Karanas, my endurance coach, used to say, “Endurance athletes don’t mind expending energy, but they never want to waste it.”
Wasted energy is energy spent with no performance payoff. An off-season with food wastes energy like crazy:
• It wastes physical energy for your body to deal with junky food.
• It wastes time and energy to get things back on track for the next “on” season.
• It wastes time and emotional effort to correct bad habits, weight gain and mood swings.
• It wastes mental energy to re-create motivation and your healthy mindset.
Talk about body / mind stress!
When I was a kid, pro sports teams had terrible habits. They’d stop training during their off-season and then use pre-season training to get back in shape. They really did. Think of the time, effort and money that wasted. Yikes.
Wisely, pro athletes no longer do that. But some people may still do it with food!
How Can Indoor Rowing Help with Food?
In his book The Stress of Life, Hans Selye defines stress as anything that takes the body out of homeostasis. If healthful eating is your habit most of the time, letting your nutrition slide is stress on your body.
Once you’ve established a new, junky pattern, shifting gears to get back to healthful habits again is more stress on your body.
A few years ago, I learned a concept from the best rowing coach I’ve had. Such a talented instructor and coach deserves a shout-out: Duncan Kennedy, who rowed with the U.S. national team in 1993 and 1994. He knows his stuff, loves to teach, and is superb at it.
Duncan suggested that his indoor rowers use an outdoor rowing technique called Battle Paddle. In a crew boat, even during recovery, rowers need to be in sync to prevent an 8-oar free-for-all. The strokes are relaxed, but the team stays in formation.
Most importantly, the rowers are ready to drive into action as soon as they get the signal. That vigilance is present at all times.
What if we mirrored that concept when breaking from healthy food habits? Call it the nutrition equivalent of Battle Paddle.
Even on the break, keep your food quantity and quality under control. Perhaps allow an occasional dessert once a week. With that approach, driving into action for the “on” period will be a simple and disciplined matter.
How Can Battle Paddle Work for You?
Non-athletes and athletes can use this concept anytime, even during holidays or family vacations. Too often, my clients let food pandemonium take over — with all the stress that means for the body, and all the effort to undo the damage.
Ideally, we’d avoid troublesome foods all year long. But choose your Battles, right?
If you can’t bring yourself to avoid goodies completely — and if you really believe you can handle this (which may not be true!) — follow your healthful guidelines 99% of the time.
Like rowers on the water, maintain the discipline of good form. Relax only enough to have an occasional — “occasional” is the operative word — treat.
YES, this plan may backfire for anyone with an addictive reaction to specific foods, especially sugary foods. That’s definitely me, so I don’t use Battle Paddle. It’s better for me to stay away from trouble altogether. I encourage my clients to do the same, but the decision is theirs.
At least the Battle Paddle food plan is a giant step ahead of “kitchen anarchy!”
Bonus Tip
The drawback of Battle Paddle is discovering that an occasional dessert has led to many, and you have to start all over again.
Instead, why not avoid the pre-training season? Why waste energy with no performance pay-off?
I’d love to help you blast into an easy, effective way of eating — and create huge momentum from day 1 — without the stress of periodic do-overs. I invite you to find out how by visiting www.LastResortNutrition.com and grabbing your free Craving Crusher Consult®. Discover how easy it is to enjoy foods — even foods you love — without backsliding and starting from square one over and over!
Brought to you by Dr. Joan Kent, best-selling author of Stronger Than Sugar: 7 Simple Steps to Defeat Sugar Addiction, Lift Your Mood and Transform Your Health.
