Super shake update

Just wanted to do another short entry on super shakes and how they've really made a big difference on strength-training days (for my purposes, strength training mean upper-body strengthening exercises). I posted earlier about retching problems I'd had when we do our strength training, and about how I hoped drinking a super shake on workout day might address that problem.

Drinking the shake on strength-training day did, in fact, help to alleviate the problem. And in this entry I just want to reiterate that and to recommend to anyone who may have this sort of retching problem when they work out that they should consider a super shake lunch/afternoon snack on workout days as a potential solution.

To be more concise, here's how the shake diet has helped me on strength-training days. We usually work out in the evening--around 6 or 7 P.M. I will eat a solid breakfast on those days and often have a mid-morning snack as well (yogurt, perhaps some fresh vegetables and/or some corn chips). But after about 11 A.M. I switch to what is essentially a liquid diet until supper (after the workout). So, most of a large supershake for lunch, then the rest later in the afternoon. This diet has made a big difference with respect to the retch factor.

Granted, you may not have such acute digestive issues as I have (I suspect a hiatal hernia). But using these shakes on workout days may nonetheless bring you some relief if you have the retch sensation during your workout.

Now, the urge to retch is not limited to strength-training for me, though it is more pronounced (owing, usually, to supine or prone positions you assume when doing certain exercises). So the question I now face is, should I consider--now that the cycling season impends--doing super shakes on hard cycling days as well?

I've definitely given it some thought. I'll be providing updates on that.

BTW, the backs of my legs are a bit sore today--hamstrings, calves, behind the knees. I'm guessing that's from yesterday's ride and owes largely to the fact that I ride an upright bike for off-season, stationary-bike training, while during cycling season I ride a recumbent on the road. Slightly differing muscle groups are involved in each of the two configurations.

Super shakes and the retch factor: a post-preliminary report

I think I've found a pretty good remedy for the retch factor that had been interfering with my strength-training workouts. The super shake lunch/afternoon snack really does seem to make quite a difference with respect to the problem I've been experiencing. So I'll be continuing to have a super shake for lunch/afternoon snack on strength-training days: it really seems to be about the best resolution to the problem that I'm going to find.

Having said that I have to point out that the problem is not completely alleviated by the super shake . . . for want of a better word . . . let's say, diet. When I'm pushing myself very hard I do still feel some back pressure from the stomach--especially when I'm doing some exercise that involves bending over. But the feeling is much less intense, and thus is less likely to interfere with my breathing pattern.

So, once again, if you, like me, have this problem of feeling as though you're going to regurgitate during intense exercise, try switching to a lighter meal like the super shake on your workout days. I make a really large one, of which I consume about three quarters for lunch. (at about 12:30 P.M.) I consume the other one quarter at about 3 P.M. as a snack and by the time our strength-training routine occurs (around 6 P.M.) I'm able to push hard with minimal interference from the retch factor.

The burning sensation I get in my chest when doing intervals, though, continues to plague me. I'll undoubtedly be writing further about that sensation and its connection with the retch factor in future entries. Stay tuned for those.

Another installment on super shakes and creatine

Ok, now that I've done a handful of strength-training workouts after starting creatine I have some more data to report. Also, I started having a super shake for lunch/afternoon snack on strength-training days as a means of possibly counteracting what I called the "retch factor," so I have information to report on how that's gone as well. Would've posted this last night, but this Saturday was a really busy one that also took up part of Friday.

First, about the super shake remedy for retch factor. As you'll recall, I was having a problem pushing myself in strength-training workouts because of the retch factor, which necessitated suppressing the urge to, well, vomit. I came up with the idea of, instead of eating solid food on strength-training days, having more of a liquid lunch to see whether that might mitigate or eliminate the retch factor.

So we've now done two strength-training workouts on days when I had a super shake for lunch--actually an extra large one that I even save a portion of for a mid-afternoon snack. And I have to say that having this sort of lunch does definitely mitigate the retch factor.

I can't say that, on days so far when I've tried the super-shake lunch, I don't feel any sort of regurgitative urges whatsoever while pushing myself hard during strength training. But I can say that I feel that much less frequently and urgently, and can consequently push myself harder. So I'm sticking with this diet for strength-training days. If you have a similar problem with the retch factor, I recommend you also try the super shake remedy. I'm glad I tried this.

I also have to report, on a related note, that I've been experiencing this intense burning in the chest, and that I identified with the retch factor, during our recent interval training sessions. And I'm beginning to think that the burning sensation, while often accompanied by the urge to regurgitate, may actually be a separate sensation.

I cannot say, for example, that during our recent strength-training sessions when I got that regurgitative urge, it was accompanied by burning in the chest: sometimes it is, sometimes not. I'm still working on analyzing the interrelation of the two and will likely post more on this topic later.

Finally, I have kind of a mixed review of creatine. During Monday's workout I definitely felt the effects of the creatine. I felt as though I was able to use heavier weights and that I didn't get nearly as winded as I had been. I was ready, at that point, to pretty much reverse initial observations I'd made about creatine. But then came Friday's workout.

During Friday's strength-training workout, I can't say I felt much of anything at all from the creatine. Perhaps a slight decrease in recovery time, but nothing nearly as dramatic as I felt on Monday. So I have to say it's still a bit of a mixed bag on the creatine front. I'll need more time to assess the situation. That said, I do feel some slight mental benefits from it.

As for why the creatine seemed to have a much more dramatic effect on Monday than on Friday, one possibility is that Monday was much closer to the end of the creatine "loading phase," so I likely had more of it in my system at that point than on Friday. Also, I actually reduced the dosage during the course of this week from the recommended full teaspoon to half a teaspoon. So I will try increasing it back to the normal dosage and see what effect that has on next week's strength-training workouts.

Look for further reports later.

Gross-out warning: intense exercise and the retch factor

Here's an entry about a long-standing problem I've had in my athletic pursuits. It relates to my current exercise endeavors in that, for me, exercise means, by definition, strain and heightened effort.

Did you ever get the feeling during your workout that you were on the verge of vomiting? I sure have. It happens to me all the time and my efforts at preventing myself from dumping lunch regularly cause me to curtail my output.

Back in my bicycle racing days one of the things--apart from the rather lackadaisical approach I took to training--that kept me from doing better was, I think, the way my digestive system was malfunctioning. To be more particular, I often found that when I would try to explode my effort, as is often required in a race if you don't want to get dropped, my stomach would go into rebellion.

What would happen very regularly shortly after I'd begin to put out maximum effort is that my esophagus would begin to burn intensely: it was as if hot coals were trying to force their way out of my stomach and out through my esophagus to issue in a fiery stream of vomit (yeah, that's a picture of me on the right, finally relieving the pent up pressure as I cross the finish line of a race that took me about 6 hours longer than everyone else to finish . . . just kidding!). It's a sick image, I know. But I had that sensation on many, many occasions when racing or on hard training rides.

The accompanying sensation of feeling as though stomach contents are about to eject and the corollary reaction of trying to keep that from happening has, let's say, a negative effect on effort. With respect to a highly aerobic sport like cycling its impact is very signficant: the attempt to suppress regurgitation disrupts breathing patterns in a major way--and just at a time when your leg muscles are crying out for maximal amounts of oxygen. It's hard to compete seriously in that state.

I never asked my fellow racers whether they'd ever experienced such a thing but I wish I had. My guess is that, while every serious athlete will regurgitate from exertion at some point--usually in conjunction with having eaten too close to the start of an event or a difficult workout--they probably did not have either the burning sensation or experience the regurgitative impulse as frequently as I have.

These bouts, along with some other stomach issues I experience, led me later to theorize that I probably have a hiatal hernia. It remains a theory, though. I did have an endoscopy some years ago and, when I mentioned my theory about the hiatal hernia to the doctor that performed the procedure, he said he hadn't seen signs of one. But I am unconvinced.

Be that as it may I bring up this longstanding issue now because, with my renewed fitness efforts, I'm once again confronting this old problem. It comes up when we cycle in the summer and I'm riding hardest. I'd say the burning sensation I get is proportional to the effort I'm expending, but even when I don't have that intense burning sensation, I do nonetheless feel as though I'm on the verge of barfing.

And I'm getting this feeling during our strength-training workouts as well. In fact, it's begun to plague me to the extent that I have to eat a very light lunch on strength-training days so as to be able to not feel nauseous during the latter part of the workout. It's especially bothersome with moves like incline push-ups but any exercise that involves being prone or bent over can exacerbate it. I've begun to realize just how much the attempt to suppress regurgitation takes out of my overall effort: it's kind of hard to give it your all when part of you is struggling to keep stomach contents down.

It's kind of a gross subject but something I need to address and figure out how to deal with. The simple solution is to be very careful about how and when I eat in relation to the workout. That's easy enough to do with strength-training workouts which are relatively short. With cycling it's harder since we're often out for several hours: you need to have some decent calories in your system before departing.

The odd thing in my experience is that, even 5 or 6 hours after I've eaten I can still get this sensation of stomach contents trying to breach their gastric confines. In the case of our strength training, for example, I'm trying to eat no closer than 6 hours before the workout. I feel and do so much better when I don't have to suppress the urge to toss my cookies. But it does take some will power to keep from snacking closer to the workout.

My latest idea is to try having a "super shake" for lunch on strength-training days, perhaps even an extra large one, a portion of which I'll save for a small snack a little later in the afternoon. I'll try that in the coming days to see what are the results. But when it comes to cycling season and those long rides, the problem will become harder to address.

Anyone care to share their gross-out experiences with working out or athletics and the retch factor?