This week’s coaches corner is a summary of a presentation by Ola Luczak. Ola is an accredited sport dietician with Sport Dieticians Australia (SDA). She has a background in tennis, playing in the American College system and a passion for working with runners and triathletes.

She has had great success working with Ironman athletes preparing their hydration and nutrition plans for long-duration training and racing. The GPC squad members and Geelong Cross Country Club were very fortunate to have her present and answer questions on one of the biggest causes of fatigue- hydration.

She highlighted the need to have an awareness of your own sweat rate for different environmental conditions and training intensities. This will allow you to put in place an effective hydration plan throughout the day/week(s) to prepare for the training session or event.

Sweat rates can be calculated simply using your weight difference before & after training sessions, but a lot more detail including your electrolyte balance needs to be considered.

Ola has various methods of calculating your exact individual electrolyte balance based on your genetics, fitness, age etc. If you would like more information please contact her on the details below.

Take home points:

  • Have a hydration plan in place for day to day life eg. approx.1.5L of fluid per day
  • Add additional fluids if you perform training sessions according to their intensity & environmental conditions
  • Sessions longer than 60mins should include electrolytes and possibly some carbohydrate
  • Speak to Ola regarding specific individual hydration or nutrition plans for races/training, especially if considering half to full Ironman or marathon events

Contact Ola for more information:

Ola Luczak

Accredited Sport Dietician

Email: luczak.diet@gmail.com

Mobile: 0402 259 555

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ola-Luczak-Sports-Dietitian/1584134855197973

Web Site: http://www.olaluczak.com