Chris Lowe

‘Tis But A Scratch’ The Black Knight in Monty Python may get away with a flesh wound, but the athlete who needs to compete at the highest of levels cannot. It’s been reported that the greater number of training sessions an athlete misses, the less success they’ll achieve in their career. Therefore, an athlete’s greatest … Read more

Today we find out if a few cans of full fat Coke actually enhances performance, or whether this is simple enduro folklore? Is it their belief that a can of coke will boost performance due to its sugar and caffeine content? Or is it the fact that they simply crave a can of coke? Either … Read more

Today, we’re talking about DOMS. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a consequence of exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD) – I.e. you subject the muscle to a large stimulus that it’s unfamiliar with and you become sore AF. As you’re probably aware, DOMS is usually associated with a temporary loss of muscle function and has … Read more

Today, we address the elephant in the room… ‘I’ve hit a fat loss plateau’‘My metabolism is damaged’ Granted, you do get metabolic adaptation to weight loss which can vary from person to person and cause rates of fat loss to decline. However, there’s a more prominent issue as to why you’re not making progress…your inability to track your … Read more

Today we’re answering a very common question that many athletes have… ‘How quickly can I lose body fat?’ When it comes to dropping body fat, we need to consume fewer calories than we expend – this is fat loss 101. However, many athletes get the magnitude of the calorie deficit wrong. From experience, athletes will … Read more

I’m sure most of you will have heard something along the lines that your body can only absorb ~30g of protein in a meal….well, is this actually true? How much protein can you actually absorb at once? When we think of absorption, we think of the passage of nutrients from the gut into systemic circulation. … Read more

Today is for those who have zero appetite after intense training sessions, games and competitions. For athletes who have high training demands and urgent recovery needs, this poses a serious problem. As mentioned in episode 15 of the Average to Elite podcast (Ultra-Fast Recovery), the hours after intense exercise is an opportunistic period to accelerate … Read more

When we typically look at intermittent fasting (skipping breakfast) and exercise performance, we see a decline in overall work capacity. However, these are when the exercise sessions are done in a fasted state. The question is; how does skipping breakfast impact performance when training later on in the day [5pm]? In a 2015 study by … Read more

In the world of a cyclist, power-weight ratio is everything. The aim is to churn out a high power output whilst having a low bodyweight to skyrocket your watts per kg, and ultimately make you a better cyclist. This definitely makes sense… The question is what is the best way to develop your power-weight ratio? … Read more

Today, we look at a potential ‘holy grail’ approach to sports nutrition for endurance athletes: The Keto:High Carb periodised diet. As mentioned last week, ketogenic diets improve the ability of the muscle to use fat for fuel (nearly unlimited fuel) and have less reliance on carbohydrates (limited fuel). We concluded that keto diets do have … Read more