Should I eat more on days I train extra?

Here is a good question I thought I would share-

"I was also wondering how to fit my run work outs into this plan. That is something I don't want to go by the wayside. I would like to possibly double up on some days and run on my Sport Fusion days (hopefully still getting in 4 runs a week) in addition to the classes. Will that alter my meal plan for those days? Should I be consuming additional calories? The food is where it gets tough for me. I LOVE to eat!! I love theaccountability of this program and hope that it helps me make somebetter healthy eating habits. I'm not a fast food eater, but I love to cook and I don't scrimp when I do :)Thanks for the help! Looking forward to getting my butt kicked tomorrow."

I say run! I say do it all! There are a lot of 80's & 90's mentality trainers that will disagree with me. If you take a good look at the people who look flat out awesome, they are busy bodies. They ski, they mountain bike, they run, they kickbox, they shovel their driveways and then they chase their kids for an hour with snowballs in hand.

Athletes often train several times during the day. In fact, my sister, who is a professional boxer, has a crazy training schedule. I can't recall it exactly, but it consists of something like- running in the morning, sparring at noon, then plyometrics in the afternoon.

Now, onto the nutrition aspect. Should you increase your calories on these days where you are training more? The answer is yes. For some people the answer may be no. Let me explain.

Remember the old adage- calories in vs. calories out. If you are on a fat losing quest, you have your stored energy, most likely around your midsection, butt, thighs, etc. In my opinion, you need to stay consistent with your nutrient intake. There is a concept called the "Zig Zag". There are Up Zags and Down Zags. If you are on a fat losing quest, then you will use the Down Zag concept on days you don't double up on your workouts. See the UBC manual for how to do this.

If your mission is to trim a little, and build a little muscle mass, then you must increase your caloric intake on these days. You can simply increase your activity level on your composition sheet by .1 or you can follow the Up Zag concept. Otherwise, your body will begin to break down your muscles in order to receive the nutrients it's requiring.

I hope this helps!

Respectfully,

Duncan Richardson
Chief Master Instructor
http://www.FreeKarateLesson.com