Tuesday, April 12, 2011

My New Weapon? I Just Might Be On To Something......

 Keep reading if:
A.Your an endurance athlete.
B.You are sore after workouts.
C.You want to recover move quickly.
D. None of the above but hell,  I wanna see what this "weapon" thing is all about.


Ok.. here we go...   LISTEN UP. You just might wonder how you got yourself up everyday  without this!


L-Glutamine   


I'll try to give a brief overview of what you need concerning this subject since I've already done some research,  so grab your coffee and settle in.
I first heard about L-Glutamine from MD my trainer dude who punishes me 2x a week with TRX suspension training. My current issue at the moment is recovery or rather the lack of it. Nutrition, sleep and sandwiching in recovery "days" just isn't working for me.
 I need help or potentially I will be digging myself into a hole or worse, getting injured again. (shutter)


Below is a typical  pattern for me without getting into the meat of my combined/other workouts:


Monday I'm fresh as a wild  field daisy. I can bang out a prescribed swim set at  morning Masters leading Lane 3 confidently. Bring it on baby...


Tuesday MD STEAM ROLLS me early AM with TRX and then I'll do a hard tempo run at 
lunch to add to my fatigue for the day.  I do eat within the prescribed window for recovery and it's always protein loaded but it doesn't appear to be enough in terms of recovery.


Wednesday I saunter back to the pool early morning  and I'm trashed from Tuesday's Fun In The Sun, feeling a tad bitchy, ( who me??!!)  while moaning and begging someone else to lead the freakin' lane.


Thursday  TRX thrashing repeated.  MD could CARE LESS that Wednesday was "Distance Day" at Masters and pummels me just as hard if I complain. Bastard...
 I'll  throw in a run- hill repeat session to add to the mix. Heck, is all about suffering, right?


Friday I'm back in the water bright and early and I'm cooked again like Wednesday. I just want my paddles and my fins to motor me through what ever pool punishment is doled out for the morning and by midday, I'm looking for a nap and someone to knead me like dough.


I possibly can't continue down this meat grinding path so here's where my new"secret weapon" is going to rescue me in terms of aiding my recovery ( one hopes)
L-Gluamine  L-Gluamine  L-Gulamine


"Research  has shown that after intense training,Glutamine levels in the body are reduced. 
  Studies suggest supplementing with L-Glutamine minimizes the breakdown of muscle tissue and improves muscle metabolism"


Supplementing with L-Glutamine: 


Helps build protein within your muscles
Helps prevent muscles from breaking down
Helps restore glycogen levels which increases performance
Helps boost your muscle recovery time
It supports growth hormone levels
Helps regulate your blood sugar
It's not a banned performance substance
It's easy to incorporate into your routine with no side effects unless you take
too much at one time and it's virtually tasteless.


The key to using it is consistency and finding the right dosage for yourself. Typically as athletes, the recommended dosage is 5- 15 grams a day spread out through the day.
I found that using the powder form is easier and less expensive that trying to take
it in pill form. One scoop equals 5 grams.
You should take it everyday like a vitamin.
Example dosage:
5 grams with your first meal
5 grams post workout
5 grams at bedtime when you are in REAL recovery mode.


I will be totally honest here in saying that I've just stared this supplement 6 days ago and on further research, it takes approximately 2 weeks to notice the effects of consistent dosing with L-Gluamine.


Stay tuned  as  I will be honest in my evaluation of this supplement and either save 
you some money or  risk giving up my secret in making you a lean, mean, recovery machine. Just don't be in my age group come race day.  :-)

9 comments:

Cathy said...

But what about Saturday and Sunday? ;)

Born To Endure said...

http://www.grastontechnique.com/SlideShowHowGTWorks.html

Unknown said...

certainly interested to see what your findings will be :D

GoBigGreen said...

I was researching this as well. ITs in my First Endurance Ultragen recovery drink so i know it works, just havent really checked dosages. Hope it works great!
PS When's your birthday? ha kidding.

Heidi Austin, PT, DPT said...

sounds good thank you for sharing! i think i might have to experiment myself once NOLA 70.3 is over

Jennifer Harrison said...

Excellent, E!!!

Tracy said...

Awesome....add it to my list :-) I actually use to take this and then we ran out and well we ran out....Thanks for the info, time to go get some more and repeat!
Tracy

Jamie said...

I got my fingers crossed, hoping that this is the secret weapon that you've been looking for for a while.

Swapnil said...

Awesome

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