There was an article in today's paper discussing Lance Armstrong's sub 3 hour marathon in New York. Other than observing how impressive a feat that is for his first marathon (I've done dozens and dozens and my best is about 3:40) the author made note of how he described the difference between cycling and running.

The key observation Lance made? œCycling is so different from long distance running because on the bike it's easier to eat and keep energy levels stable.? The important word in his statement is 'energy'. The clients that I've had the most breakthroughs with are the ones who have finally come to grips with the observation that, for the most part, the consumption of food is specifically for the purpose of generating energy.

I know it sounds real simple but I can't begin to tell you how many people don't see the relationship between how fat they are and the quality of food they are eating as a mechanism for exercise. In a nutshell, your level of energy is predicated by the quality and quantity of your nutrition. And let's take Lance's statement as a case in point.

I've done my fair share of hundred plus mile bike rides. And I've had good days and bad days in the saddle. What's the most common cause of having a bad day riding compared to a good day? Nutrition. It's either not enough, too much or the wrong type. So when Lance talks about being able to keep up your energy level on the bike better than in running he's talking about 'good' nutrition. Not just food!

So what's my point? You're not going to enter the Tour de France or run a marathon. But you are trying to burn calories aren't you? You have read or heard somewhere that losing weight has got something to do with burning off more calories in a day than you consume (see other articles regarding this concept). And generally speaking that's not too far from the truth. But let's take a little deeper look into that concept.

Let's us me as an example. Last night I jumped on the bike at the gym. It's one of those that gives you all kinds of information and feedback “ rpm, calorie consumption, miles, heart rate, etc. I took the information regarding heart rate literally and chose to keep my heart rate at approximately 65% - the 'fat burning zone'. To accomplish this I rode at level 13 for 30 minutes. 14 for 10 minutes. 15 for 10 minutes. And the last 10 minutes at level 16. (Okay, remember that I'm a personal trainer and am quite fit. So cycling like that didn't really exert me!)

As I finished the workout I had cycled 18 miles and 'burned off' 800 calories. What I didn't divulge was the fact that about one hour to my workout I ate a snack that consisted of a low fat PBJ on a fat free whole wheat muffin. I can guarantee you that if I had either not eaten that snack or had eaten something that was not readily converted into energy a couple of things would have happened.

1 I wouldn't have been able to complete the workout.
2 My performance would have been diminished meaning I would not have rode as far as I did and subsequently not burned as many calories.
3 My heart rate would have gone outside of the 'fat burning' zone into the 'cardio' zone.

And the whole reason for this article is to let you know that there's absolutely no difference between me, you , Lance, Peyton Manning....you pick the person. If you feed yourself the right stuff at the right time you're going to get the best results possible. If you don't you won't! Pretty simple stuff....in theory!! If you're having issues with this aspect of your life come join our family and see how it's possible to make changes. You may also want to take a look at an article that fits in with these thoughts “ Nutrition in a Nutshell..it's all about the 2 P's...