Interview with Rui Escaleira: Sports Nutrition, Sleep and Performance
Rui came to visit the Fawz Athletes in Dubai at the start of January 2020; we had a 2-hour individual consultation with him. During the consultation we covered topics such as blood mineral analysis, body composition, training and race fuelling, recovery, wellbeing… the list goes on. I (Lottie) personally felt that I could have spent all day with Rui, as he is one of the most knowledgable and inspiring humans I have ever met. The consultation has had a huge impact on me already: I am able to train better, recover better, train better the next day, race better and also mentally prepare myself better. It may all sound a bit dramatic, but I hope you will read on some additional questions that I sent to Rui and also appreciate how knowledgeable he is. We are honoured to have him on the Fawz Coaching Team and we can’t wait to welcome him back to Dubai in a few months time.
RECOVERY
1) How important is it to get a good nights sleep for performance?
Sleep is a fundamental tool for athletes such as training or nutrition. The main function of sleep is recovery. This recovery focuses not only on metabolic, muscular and cardiorespiratory issues, but also and mainly on neurological and hormonal issues. It is during sleep that the release of anabolic hormones (good for athletes, such as melatonin and growth hormone) occurs. That will promote the synthesis of energy stores and muscle repair and growth. In addition, it is during sleep that new neurotransmitters are synthesized, which are fundamental for the functioning of the nervous system in athletes. For all these reasons, we can say that sleeping at least 7 to 8 hours a day during the night is essential to maximize performance.
2) How can athlete tell when they are injured/ill and need to stop training vs continuing?
In order to answer this question, it is necessary to consider 2 different situations: the situations of illness and the situations of musculoskeletal injury.
If the athlete is really sick (with flu-like symptoms, particularly with fever), he / she should not train until is healthy. However, if the athlete has mild cold symptoms, if he / she does not feel muscle soreness, chills or fever and feels overall well, he / she can train with caution, that is, with low intensity and low volume. We should avoid taking NSAIDs to train, as we may be masking important symptoms. When in doubt, you should not train and seek advice from a healthcare professional.
Regarding the states of musculoskeletal injury, we must first consider the type of injury, the location of the injury and the associated symptoms. In general, the athlete should not stop training after an injury since he / she can always train avoiding mobilizing the injured limb. For example, if a triathlete has a myofascial injury to the leg, while recovering from the injury he / she can swim with a float between the legs by exercising the upper limbs. If, on the other hand, you have a shoulder injury, you can train on the exercise bike with the handlebars raised to support your healthy upper limb ... or run, as long as running does not aggravate your symptoms.
3) If an Age Group triathlete has a stressful day at work, what’s the best way for them to manage their evening training?
More and more we see high-level triathletes who accumulate their sporting activity with other work activities also of high responsibility, which sometimes limits the physical and mental availability to train at the end of the day. What we have verified is that, after a stressful day of work, we sometimes feel fatigue that “deceives us”, that is, we are mentally fatigued, and we think that we are physically fatigued, which is a mistake. As a result, athletes often mistakenly choose not to train or shorten their training sessions and lose the possibility of training with quality that in turn will help them forget their daily professional life and relax (intense physical exercise helps to reduce effects of stress by “spending” stress hormones). That is why I suggest that whenever a triathlete feels stressed at the end of the day, he / she will train, start the training session easier and increase the volume or intensity towards the goals according to the perception of effort. Believe me… some athletes will have some surprises… in my case in particular, some of my best training sessions took place after hours of stress (remember I’m a surgeon) when I didn't feel like training!
BODY COMPOSITION
4) What should athletes prioritize for performance: body composition, recovery or nutrition?
Everything is important to maximize performance. An adequate body composition is not achieved without proper nutrition. Adequate levels of recovery cannot be achieved without proper nutrition. On the other hand, performance depends on body composition, recovery and nutrition. So far my answer seems like a syllogism, but it is quite true. However, for all athletes, especially for beginners, the priority must be to obtain an adequate body composition through a focused nutritional strategy before defining performance objectives.
5) How does body composition influence performance?
First, the characterization of the body composition consists roughly of the characterization of the athlete in terms of weight, lean mass and fat mass. It is easy to understand that in the case of triathlon it is important that the athlete has an adequate weight, mostly dependent on lean mass, with a minimum percentage of fat mass. The natural tendency is to think that the lighter the athlete, the better his performance will be. However, this is not true, as the athlete, in addition to endurance (which is favored by low weight), needs strength and power, which in turn are dependent on muscle mass (lean mass). Therefore, for each athlete it is possible to determine what the ideal weight / power ratio is and as such for each of us there is a “minimum weight” below which our performance will decrease. Nevertheless, it is easy to understand that fat mass, given that it is a metabolically less active tissue than muscle and does not generate strength or power, should be reduced to the minimum necessary for the proper maintenance of our vital functions. That is why reducing the percentage of fat mass is an important step in order to achieve the ideal body weight to obtain maximum performance with less effort.
6) And what’s the impact of a few additional kilograms on an athletes body?
Weight gain in the triathlete can be beneficial if this results in gain in terms of the power / weight ratio. Examples of adaptive weight gain are gains in muscle glycogen, water and lean muscle mass in general, as long as they contribute to performance gains. Nevertheless, the “excessive” or “maladaptive” weight gain will always imply an increase in work and energy expenditure per unit of time for the same task with no performance benefits. For example… if an athlete with 70 kg does not have the proper nutritional care and gains 2 kg of fat, what will be the impact in a 21 km race? Bearing in mind that in a 21 km race an athlete usually takes 55,500 steps (man) and 63,000 steps (woman), and if at each step the athlete has to push 2 kg more fat (maladaptive weight), then at the end of 21 km had to boost cumulatively 111 000 Kg (111 tons) in men and 126 000 Kg (126 tons) in women !!!! Think of the amount of extra energy that was spent without a benefit on performance!!!
DIET
7) Even with a good diet, are additional supplements something essential?
I would dare to say “yes”. As all triathletes know, the volume and intensity of exercise they are subjected to on a weekly basis is huge. That is why the elite triathlete is always at risk of developing fatigue if he / she does not eat properly. In fact, most triathletes are not professionals and therefore accumulate sporting activity to their professional activity, which reduces the availability to eat properly. This situation increases the risk of insufficient nutrition (the so-called sports malnutrition), which in turn increases the risk of chronic maladaptive fatigue (non-functional overreaching and / or overtraining). The use of nutritional supplements in the triathlete can be carried out to correct deficiencies in their daily diet if they occur (as examples we can find carbohydrates, proteins and sports drinks among others), but also to increase their performance (as examples we can find beta alanine and creatine among others). Nevertheless, a fundamental point that I often emphasize to my athletes is that no supplement can replace proper nutrition, adequate rest and sleep and hard work!
8) Do you ever suggest “bad foods” for athletes?
Yes ... several times, whenever necessary!
There are no bad foods for athletes ... The same food can be a bad option at a certain time and an excellent option at the right time. I teach my athletes that an athlete's body resembles a Formula 1 car. And as such we must always offer the best fuel. Obviously, the athlete as a human being always has to fight against "emotional hunger" and sometimes chooses bad options at decisive moments ... according to his emotional desire and not according to his metabolic needs. We must learn to choose the right foods at the right times. On the other hand, don’t forget that sometimes we also have to nourish our emotional brain. If we don't do it at the right time, we will take unnecessary risks ... because the “electronic part of the Formula 1 car will not work well”!
9) What is the impact of ingesting carbohydrates on a triathletes weight?
It depends ... Carbohydrates, although fundamental to the triathlete, can be gold or crap. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for athletes and they must be part of any nutritional plan, especially during the precompetitive and competitive phase. However, if athletes ingest a higher amount of carbohydrates than they need and preferentially ingest low quality carbohydrates (simple sugars), to the detriment of better quality carbohydrates (slower digestion complex carbs) will stimulate the synthesis of fat and will put on weight increasing the “maladaptive” weight, compromising the power / weight ratio and performance.
Rui Escaleira
Sports Medicine Doctor
General Surgeon
Portuguese Olympic Committee Doctor
Medical Doctor and Director of Portuguese Swimming Team High Performance Department