👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #120 of The Everyday Athlete Newsletter.
Here are my 3 favourite ideas, learns and resources to help you improve your performance this week (4 min read):
☕️ Theacrine
Early research out of Australia on theacrine suggests it might give us the same brain boost as caffeine—without impacting our sleep.
Found in China’s kulcha tea plant, theacrine stimulates the nervous system like caffeine.
But doesn't seem to block our adenosine receptors (the proteins that make us feel tired) as caffeine does.
The study dosed up some willing humans (probably cashies to uni students) with different doses of theacrine in the morning, arvo and night.
And found it improved cognitive function, without impacting sleep quality, efficiency or duration.
It’s still early days, but it could be a huge play for the afternoon kick at work.
As caffeine after midday can wreck sleep quality (even if you have no problem falling to sleep).
Might be worth a try for a couple weeks if you’re a habitual arvo coffee/caffeinated tea drinker. And note the difference on sleep.
There are a couple of powders out there you can use to make tea. So the ritual will still be there, which is a good way to substitute a habit.
🏃 Improving endurance fatigue resistance
Another interesting learn from David Roche’s Leadville 100 ultra marathon course record (see last week's newsletter)…
Knowing fatigue resistance can be improved when we access carbohydrate oxidation after fat oxidation (i.e. use glycogen as fuel, after using fat as fuel), Roche would do high-intensity bursts after his easy runs e.g. 5-10 mins hard on an inclined treadmill.
Essentially teaching the body to become “metabolically flexible” (improving our ability to tap into different fuels as needed).
To use fat as fuel during the easy run, spare glycogen stores, and switch between them during the race more efficiently.
⛽️ Fat oxidation vs fat loss
On that note, a quick one on fat oxidation vs fat loss…
Burning fat as fuel is not the same as losing fat.
Either glycogen (from carbs) or fat (from food or fat stores) fuel the body’s energy.
A few things influence this, though generally, the higher the intensity we’re working at, the more glycogen we’ll use as fuel.
But if we work at a lower intensity, we’ll use more fat as fuel.
This isn’t the same as losing fat though.
At a high level, losing fat requires an energy deficit. Meaning we burn more energy/calories than we eat.
Even if we’re using fat as fuel, if we’re eating more calories than we’re burning, those calories will eventually be converted to and stored as fat.
It seems to be a common misconception out there. No thanks to marketers promoting "fat-burning" exercises and training zones. Not a thing.
That's it!
Have a great weekend 🤙
Matt
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The Everyday Athlete Newsletter is not a licensed health service nor a substitute for professional health advice, treatment or assessment. The information shared in this email is general and written for a specific audience. If you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional.
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