This book is a bible for female athletes and anyone who works with female athletes.
As printed on the front cover, it is about:
“How to match your food and fitness to your female physiology for optimum performance, great health, and a strong, lean body for life.”
Calories are not all made equal.
Are you getting enough protein?
Should you take supplements?
How do you fuel before, during, and after a race?
What about strength work?
How do we grow muscle but stay lean?
What impact do extreme temperatures have on the female anatomy?
The science of running (and other sports) is more complex than many people realise. It’s not just a case of lacing up your trainers and putting one foot in front of the other. The female body is not simply a smaller version of our male counterparts. Oh, and how the hell do we train in and around the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and menopause anyway?
This article will outline some of the golden nuggets found in Roar by Dr. Stacy Sims.
Ali’s takeaways from the book
This article is not a standalone information source; I urge you to read the actual book for the scientific background of my takeaways. The book is packed to the brim with actionable takeaways. I simply can not do this book justice.
About The Authors
Roar by Dr. Stacy Sims and her co-author Selen Yeager is a mind-expanding read.
Dr. Sims has worked as a Stanford University exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist. Her specialty lies in sex differences in performance and the role of nutrition in recovery and optimum performance.
Dr. Sims doesn’t just talk the talk; she walks the walk. Or perhaps I should say she runs the run. She is an elite athlete and Olympian. From racing mountain bikes professionally, she brings years of experience to her studies. She also advised Paul in his first couple of WS100 races on preparing for the heat!
Selen Yeager is a health and fitness writer with a lengthy list of qualifications. NASM-certified personal trainer, USA Cycling-certified coach, pro mountain bike racer, and All-American Ironman triathlete.
I think it’s fair to say these ladies know their sh*t!
General Daily Lifestyle
Let’s start with 9 key tips to promote our athletic fitness in daily life. We will then consider race preparation.
1. Protein
Female hormones wreak havoc with our ability to grow and repair muscle. Estrogen lowers muscle's growing capacity, and progesterone increases muscle tissue's breakdown. When these hormones are high (during the luteal phase of menstruation), our bodies struggle to make or maintain muscle.
Protein is made up of 22 amino acids. Out of these, 9 are considered essential because our bodies can not make them. Not all protein sources are considered complete, meaning they don’t have all the essential amino acids. It is vital that we get adequate protein for muscle repair and growth.
Get a load of this — a nighttime dose of protein can increase protein synthesis by 22 percent!
Leucine is the amino acid that is essential for muscle building. And not all protein sources contain adequate quantities of this. It’s also important to mention the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), which contain 3 amino acids; leucine, isoleucine, and valine.
In strength training, our bodies require 1–1.2 grams of protein per lb daily.
Our bodies require .8–1 grams of protein per lb daily for endurance training.
Actions
Aim to take 25g — 30g of protein within half an hour of exercising to aid muscle growth and repair. Make sure this contains roughly 7.5 % leucine.
Have a protein-rich bedtime snack.
2. Recover like a queen!
Recovery is a key part of training. Unfortunately, women don’t recover as effectively as men. This is explained by several factors, including:
The female ability to access and use stored carbs is generally lower than men's.
Females need more carbs to avoid eating into muscles during exercises and to aid recovery post-exercise.
The female fat-burning system returns to normal levels post-exercise after 3 hours, whereas the male’s fat-burning post-exercise continues for up to 21 hours!
Sleep is the best recovery aid there is; this is when our body recovers and repairs. For peak performance, it is vital that we prioritize our sleep hygiene. Getting adequate sleep can be an issue during menopause.
Action
Don’t scrimp on your sleep hygiene, and don’t miss out on those carbs!
3. Never exercise fasted
The days of exercising when fasted are over. Even intermittent fasting isn’t healthy for us.
The golden rule is to ensure you have some fuel on board before exercise. This may be a simple snack with protein and carbs, approximately 150 calories worth. This is particularly important in the morning when cortisol (the stress hormone) levels are already high. Fuelling before a run will help address the cortisol levels. Not fuelling will only serve to exacerbate them. The odd fasted run may not cause us harm. But if this becomes a habit, the elevated cortisol levels can wreak havoc with our hormones, which in turn can lead to:
Bone stress fractures.
Reduced metabolic rate.
Weight gain.
Increased fatigue.
Action
Always remember to eat something before you exercise. My go-to pre-run snack is a homemade protein ball; what’s yours?
4. Training in and around menstruation
The menstrual cycle is around 28 days. It is comprised of 2 phases:
Follicular phase (starts on the day of your period and lasts up to 14 days).
Luteal phase (this is the high hormone phase).
The follicular phase is when our physiology is most similar to men’s in terms of its propensity to fuelling, exercise, and thermo-regulation. We are more likely to gain strength and be physically stronger during our follicular phase. We are also likely to feel less pain and recover faster. This means that training during our period can actually be a positive experience. However, if a race lands on a high hormone day, specifically the days leading up to our period, there are ways to navigate symptoms. Please refer to the book for more information here.
The high hormone phase impacts our blood sugar levels, breathing rates, and thermoregulation in a negative way. It may be worth taking iron tablets if you suffer from heavy bleeding during your menstrual cycle.
Regarding muscle gain and strength work, it is advised to go with how you feel. If you feel strong, feel free to lift. If your strength is depleted, don’t force yourself, and maybe opt for yoga or something more gentle. In fact, Dr. Sim notes that women who sync their strength training to their cycle and go easy in their high hormone phase saw a 32% increase in strength. Women who lifted routinely regardless of their cycle only saw a 13% increase!
A note of reassurance is that our VO2 max and lactate threshold does not change throughout our cycle.
Action
Familiarise yourself with the different cycles. You may want to tweak your training plan according to your cycle.
Listen to your body, and maybe monitor how you feel at different stages of your cycle. This will allow you to identify optimum times for different training sessions.
5. Relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S)
What we used to know as the female triad is now termed relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) and isn’t restricted to females. It is what it says on the tin. When we don’t consume adequate calories for the exercise we are completing; something has to give.
Dr. Sims quotes the 2014 International Olympic Committee, who described the triad as a consequence of “relative energy deficiency that affects many aspects of physiological function including metabolic rate, menstrual function, bone health, immunity, protein synthesis, cardiovascular and psychological health.” Women who excessively deprive themselves of carbs risk increased cortisol levels, which signal the body to store fat.
Action
It’s elementary. Don’t scrimp on the calories. Especially not carbs.
6. Contraception
There are many forms of contraception for women. While the primary purpose is for birth control, it’s worth understanding how contraception impacts our training.
Hormonal contraceptives contain estrogen and/or progesterone. We have already discussed the impact of these hormones on muscle repair. They can also lead to weight gain and fluid retention, not to mention many other side effects impacting our everyday life.
Action
Review your method of birth control.
7. Menopause and perimenopause
Perimenopause can last up to 10 years before actual menopause comes about. Menopause brings about many changes to the female physique. During this time, we can make nutrition and training adaptations to maximize our capacity for peak performance. For instance, menopausal women cannot metabolize fructose (fruit sugar) as effectively as in their younger years. Guess what many gels are comprised of? Yip, you guessed right - fructose!
Menopausal women burn less fat and rely on their carb stores. But at the same time, we become more sensitive to carbs with age due to lower estrogen levels. We may want to consider obtaining a high percentage of our carbs from vegetables.
Don’t neglect your skeleton! A woman’s bone density can decline up to 20 percent in the years following menopause. Due to changes in hormone levels and increases in body temperature, sleep can be evasive during menopause.
Dr. Sim recommends several aids:
Melatonin supplements.
Montmorency tart cherry juice concentrate.
Valerian root (tea of pills).
Black cohosh
Dr. Sim highlights that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is linked to higher breast cancer rates, heart attacks, strokes, dementia, and other health issues. But she also recognises that HRT is very much a personal choice and can be life-changing for some people.
Action
Recognise the need to amend training habits depending on the stage of life.
Pay attention to the ingredient labels, and avoid gels or sports nutrition with fructose.
8. Prevent injury and enhance performance (PEP)
Strength work!
I hate the word “should,” but the fact is we should be doing strength work 3 times a week. Dr. Sims talks about strengthening our steering wheel. The steering wheel consists of the glutes, core, obliques, and back muscles. We need a rock-solid butt to keep our muscles aligned.
Action
Build a strength habit. Ditch the crunches and bring in the plank.
Race prep
A quick look at some tips for race day.
Pre-race
During the taper weeks, fuelling is crucial. Continue taking protein recovery drinks 30 minutes after training.
Take another 25g — 30g of protein 2 or 3 hours post-training.
In the final weeks, load up on essential electrolytes. Dr. Sim suggests fuelling up on essential electrolytes during the taper weeks by adding the following quantities to our diet daily, either through food or supplements.
150 milligrams of magnesium
500 milligrams of calcium
300 milligrams of potassium
1,000 milligrams of sodium
Also, this time to top up glycogen levels. Carb loading is an effective way to ensure our carb stores are as full as possible. This article by Runners World outlines how to fuel for an ultra marathon. It may be beneficial regarding carb loading and the number of carbs required hourly in a race.
Race day
Start the day with a pre-event breakfast that should be low-fiber, carb-based, and low-fat. You may opt for gluten-free toast that is easy to digest. If you are prone to GI issues, consider taking Tums (calcium carbonate) 20 minutes before the start.
Remember — muscle glycogen is depleted after about 2 hours of low-intensity exercise. This causes us to hit the wall. Fueling is crucial, but the wrong fuel can lead to GI issues.
Take in mixed macronutrients to avoid GI issues.
Take 0.9 to 1.13 food calories per lb per hour; this includes 7–10 grams of protein per hour. Some recommended real foods include figs, dates, nuts, salted small potatoes, rice balls, and small pretzels.
Glucose tablets are a good go-to to get us through the last race hour.
The track stack
This is a combination of compounds that, when taken together, can prime our training for race day readiness. A health warning comes with this, do not use the track stack if you have heart or blood pressure issues.
To be taken 20 minutes before the race start:
1 x 100 milligrams of caffeine (stimulant)
1 x 81 milligrams of baby aspirin (dilates blood vessels)
1,500 milligrams of beta-alanine (improves muscle fiber firing rate)
Miscellaneous
Research suggests we should restrict our fructose consumption to 50 grams daily. However, Dr. Sims takes this further and suggest we cap it at 25 grams per day. Bear in mind a banana has 7 grams of fructose.
The supplements Dr. Sim recommends are limited to:
Iron
Magnesium
vitamin D
Wrapping up
The thing with this book is that it is succinct and easy to read, which makes it full to bursting with golden nuggets. I’ve barely scratched the surface of my takeaways. For the sake of your own performance, please do look it up.
Ultimately Dr. Sim promotes eating a healthy diet without depriving our bodies of all the good stuff they need to function and perform optimally. There is no mention of counting calories.
In a nutshell, Dr. Sim’s motto is very simple:
“Food in your pocket and hydration in your bottle.”
I’m making a concerted effort to take in enough protein and fuel my long runs and races with the right type of fuel. So far, so good, but I’ve got a lot to learn.
We would love to hear your take on this book and what works for you in terms of fuelling and utilising food and exercise to achieve optimum performance.
Ali Hall - Pyllon Coach, writer and ultra-runner
