The term “climbing” encompasses a diverse array of sports. Just as “running” includes everything in the spectrum from 100 meter sprints to 100+ kilometer ultramarathons, “climbing” could mean bouldering, sport climbing, big wall ascents, or mountaineering (with other disciplines like ice climbing in the mix, too). Despite many similarities, each discipline differs in important ways. Not only do […]
Read the full article...Don’t Spray Diet Beta
You’ve heard that you shouldn’t spray beta, right? The basic idea is that you shouldn’t presume to know whether someone wants your advice, so don’t just shout it out even if you see an obvious problem. Instead, you should do the polite thing and ask them if they’d like some beta first—that way you don’t just insert yourself […]
Read the full article...Sodium Bicarbonate Supplement Guide
Facts at a Glance Sodium Bicarbonate Summary Sodium bicarbonate increases buffering capacity, which improves power endurance. While cheap and easily available, its effects last only a short time and it must be taken in large amounts, so it is ideal mostly for competitions and final days on projects and less so for daily use. Best […]
Read the full article...Is There Such a Thing as a “Good Fat” or “Bad Fat”?
It’s been a good year for fat. In March, the US revised its guidelines on dietary cholesterol to allow unlimited consumption, and just earlier this month the FDA formally ruled that trans fat is not safe to put in food. Now, there’s even news that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are going to remove the “recommended […]
Read the full article...Are Nightshade Vegetables Inflammatory?
Nightshades are sometimes accused of being inflammatory and contributing to the development or exacerbation of inflammatory diseases like arthritis or autoimmune diseases. Is this really the truth, though, or just bad science?
Read the full article...FDA Bans Trans Fat
The FDA has ruled that trans fats are not GRAS, or “generally recognized as safe”. Within three years, food manufacturers will need to remove all partially hydrogenated oils from their products. In many ways, this is not a surprising move. We’ve known for a long time that artificial trans fats are terrible for the body, and for almost a […]
Read the full article...Your Diet Has Plenty of Magnesium—Really!
You’ve heard the headlines, right? Your diet is low in magnesium! If you’re like most adults (45-85% of all men and 48-70% of all women), then you only get an estimated 352 milligrams of magnesium per day—even less (256 milligrams) if you’re a woman. Considering that the official RDAs for men and women are 400-420 and 310-320 […]
Read the full article...Creatine Supplement Guide
Creatine is quite possibly the most ergogenic supplement a climber can take, whether they primarily sport climb or boulder. It boosts strength, power, and power endurance, not to mention the long-term gains from better training.
Read the full article...A Good Rule of Thumb for Sports Nutrition
There is a ton of sports nutrition advice out there, and it can be difficult to parse. In time, I hope to cover all the major aspects of sports nutrition right here on this blog (as it pertains to climbing, anyway)—but I haven’t yet, and until I do you’re going to be reading or hearing about […]
Read the full article...When Should a Climber Use a Sports Drink?
Sports drinks have their time and their place. As eager as I am to extol their performance benefits, they are not helpful in all situations. Like any other aspect of nutrition (or training), it’s worth understanding the context of timing sports drinks so you know when it’s good to use one and when it may not be useful. […]
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