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  • Jun 23, 2017

    Don’t Get Fooled Again #6 – Whole wheat bread is healthier than white bread

    This is our sixth installment in the Don’t Get Fooled Again series. Today, it’s bread.  Here is the statement: Whole wheat bread is healthier than white bread. (True or False?) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you are like me, my knee-jerk answer would be “True!” After all, that’s what we’ve been told. The foundation of “healthier” was that whole wheat bread contains more fiber and has a lower glycemic index (doesn’t raise insulin as much or as fast) than white bread. In fact, white bread is one of the baseline foods to measure how much any particular food raises insulin. But…not so fast…...

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  • Jun 20, 2017

    Don’t Get Fooled Again #5 – Athletes on a high-carb diet don’t produce ketones.

    This is our fifth installment in the Don’t Get Fooled Again series. Thanks so much for the participation and discussion! I’ve had several messages letting me know the series has been fun/good. For today, it’s ketones. One of the benefits of a low-carb, high-fat diet is the production of ketones. The body can use ketones as a supply of energy, rather than relying on using so much glucose. Here is the statement: Endurance athletes following a high-carb, low-fat diet do not produce ketones. (True or False?) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alan Schenkel nailed this one in the Facebook group discussion. False. Ketones are...

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  • Jun 16, 2017

    Don’t Get Fooled Again – Vegetables are not carbohydrates.

    The fourth installment in the Don’t Get Fooled Again series is a two-part statement. So you need a true or false about each statement: Vegetables are not carbohydrates. (True or False?) Bread is a carbohydrate. (True or False?)       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vegetables are not carbohydrates. (True) Bread is a carbohydrate. (False) A vegetable is a plant or some part of a plant. Bread is a processed product made from grains and other ingredients. That process can be done at home or by a big manufacturer. All vegetables contain carbohydrates (carbs), because carbs are produced during the photosynthesis, or the...

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  • Jun 14, 2017

    Best 70.3 Triathlon Training Plan, Thanks!

      Hi Gale, I followed your plan as best I could for a dad of two with a tough travel schedule. I would say 80% on plan, 20% trying my best.  I raced Eagleman 70.3 this weekend and finished in a respectable 5:32. I was 42nd in the 45 to 49 age group. Not bad for my first half-Ironman and second triathlon ever! My next goal is a few Olympic distance events and a sprint or two. I’m contemplating a fall 70.3.   Great plan! I highly recommend it to anyone who asks.  Phil Whittaker ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hi Phil, First -...

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  • Jun 13, 2017

    Don’t Get Fooled Again – It is legal to use Dr. when you are not a medical doctor?

    The third installment in the Don’t Get Fooled Again series is a statement about the use of the abbreviation “Dr.”: When giving advice to endurance athletes, it is legal to use the abbreviation “Dr.” before your name even when you do not have a degree that would allow you to practice as a doctor in medicine. (True or False?)   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ True.  “Doctor” is an academic title for a person who has obtained a research doctorate or PhD degree. The ethical and accepted use of “Dr.” preceding (Name) varies depending on the country.  In the USA, some states protect the...

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  • Jun 09, 2017

    Don’t Get Fooled Again – Can the brain only use glucose?

    In this second installment of the Don’t Get Fooled Again series is a statement about the brain. A statement made recently in a column written for long-distance endurance athletes: The brain is completely dependent (100%) on sugar as its main fuel.  (True or False?)   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ False.  The brain can also use ketones. In fact, as much as 70% of the brain’s energy needs can be supplied by ketones. Research has shown that ketone energy supplied to the brain is more efficient than glucose. Ketogenesis, or the production of ketones by the body, occurs in a few different scenarios. Ketones...

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  • Jun 05, 2017

    Don’t Get Fooled Again – Workout Recovery

    I’ve decided to start a series titled “Don’t Get Fooled Again” to help endurance athletes sort out information that is true or false at face value. I’ll post a question in the morning on Gale Bernhardt Consulting Facebook and have people weigh in with comments. I’ll comment later the same day on Facebook. I’ll store the series here on my blog so it is easy to find. Let’s begin with workout recovery: In order to optimize performance and recovery, athletes need to continually load and reload muscle glycogen stores. This process cannot happen on a low-carbohydrate diet. (True or False?)...

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  • May 03, 2017

    Exercise in a pill – a slippery slope

    Scientists at the Salk Institute know that people can improve endurance through training. Along with the ability to do an activity for longer periods of time, people’s ability to burn fat improves; additional mitochondria and blood vessels are built; and muscle fibers that prefer fat-burning over sugar-burning are increased. All of these are contributors to improved health. But, what if you cannot do aerobic exercise? Age, obesity, heart disease, pulmonary disease or other physical limitations restrict some people’s ability to exercise. Scientists set out to explore whether or not they could replicate some of the benefits of exercise through pharmaceuticals....

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  • Apr 27, 2017

    Screen shot of swim workout builder

    I recently added a new swim training plan on TrainingPeaks.com. Right now the sample view of the training plan doesn't include the actual workout details. https://www.trainingpeaks.com/training-plans/other/swimming/tp-113460/swimming-plan-for-olympic-or-70-3-half-im-triathlon-level-i Above, you can see a screen shot of some of the workout details. You can use the workout with our without a downloadable device. All the details of the workout will display in your TrainingPeaks plan one way or the other. Let me know how it goes for you!

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  • Apr 20, 2017

    Steps to upload a TrainingPeaks workout to TrainerRoad

      There are a few nuances to uploading a TrainingPeaks workout built with the structured workout builder to TrainerRoad. I experienced those nuances today and hopefully I can save you some time and/or frustration. The very first thing you must do is be certain you are running the latest version of Adobe Air. After downloading, in order for me to get it to save and work correctly, I had to right click on the file and run it as an administrator   (https://get.adobe.com/air/) Then, download the TrainerRoad [Workout Creator] (http://trainerroadcdn1.blob.core.windows.net/software/workoutcreator.1.4.0.air) The first two steps made TrainerRoad not work on my PC....

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