In February 2010, the XXI (21st) Olympic Winter Games will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Thousands of athletes representing more than 100 countries will compete in 86 different winter sports. A number of PowerBar
® Team Elite™ members are among those vying for spots to represent the United States in Vancouver. Three of them took time out of their busy training and pre-Olympics competition schedules to share the nutrition plans they use when preparing for competition.
In the first of this two-part series, we hear from Bryan Fletcher, who is making a bid to represent the United States in the Nordic combined event. In part two of the series we’ll tap into the collective wisdom of two Winter Olympic veterans — cross-country skier Kris Freeman, who is attempting to make his third trip to the Olympics, and skier Sarah Schleper, who is shooting for her fourth Olympics.
Athlete: Bryan Fletcher
- Age: 23
- Height: 5'9"
- Weight: 145 lbs
- Hometown: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
- Olympic event: Nordic combined, a combination of ski jumping and cross-country skiing
Q: For those not familiar with the sport, what is the Nordic combined event?
Bryan: For the Olympics, the Nordic combined event involves ski jumping both a large hill and a normal hill, and then a 4-man team event where each athlete takes a jump and then skis a 5K cross-country race, tagging off to a teammate. I’m training to hopefully compete in all three events. If all goes according to plan, we have a good chance for a medal in the team event. The ultimate goal for me is to be part of the team event and do my best to help win the United States an Olympic medal.
Q: How did you get your start in the sport?
Bryan: I was born and raised in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and I started ski jumping at the age of 4 years old when I was undergoing chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The ski jumping was for fun. It kept me lighthearted and my mind off the hospital and all the things I was going through at the time. At the age of 6, I switched to Nordic combined, and once I started I was hooked. In 2006, I was named to the U.S. Ski Team. In 2007, I made my first World Championship team, and then again in 2009. Basically, I’ve just tried to work my way up the ranks to be one of the top competitors for a spot on the Olympic team this February.
Q: As a U.S. Ski Team member, what’s your training like?
Bryan: Each year our coaches write out a training plan for each athlete on the team, based on our abilities. The training is increased by a percentage every year to ensure we are making the proper gains necessary, without overtraining. For my sport, the training is broken down into jump training and cross-country training.
On the jumping side, we start out in the spring with a strength phase and work on core and leg strength primarily. For ski jumping it’s ideal to have a light upper body, so we focus on various back squats and squat jumps, as well as core circuits. At the end of June we move to a power phase. This is where we develop more speed and allow our legs to recover from the heavy lifting we’ve been doing. We do more squat jumps and start to work plyometrics into our workouts, including hurdles, drop jumps, lateral bounds, and weighted squat jumps. This gets the body moving faster and makes use of the strength we’ve acquired. This phase lasts until mid September, and then we do a strength phase again and finish with another power phase before winter. During winter, which is the competition season, we work into a maintenance phase, which is made up of a few of the key workouts in the summer, such as back squats at about 80% of maximum, squat jumps, weighted squat jumps, lateral bounds, and core strength. This is done about once or twice a week throughout the winter. In the summer we are in the gym twice a week doing our weight and plyometrics training. We also jump on the hill just like we do in the winter, on a material known as “plastic.” We jump about 4 or 5 times a week, averaging around 350 jumps over the summer.
For cross-country training, we follow a 4-week block system. The first 3 weeks we ramp up in minutes, and the fourth week is a recovery week. For example, in my biggest block of training this summer, I did 790 minutes of endurance training the first week, in addition to jumping 3 days and weights and plyos 2 days. The next week, I increased to 950 minutes of endurance training along with jumping, weights, and plyos. The third week was 1,140 minutes of endurance work; jumping, weights, and plyos took a back seat. Then the fourth week was recovery where I only did about 650 minutes of endurance training. Throughout the summer, we also do interval sessions twice a week, and I train on a bike.
Q: With all of that training, how does a typical day play out for you?
Bryan: I usually wake up around 7 a.m. I need to be up 2 hours prior to jumping, to allow my body time to wake up and loosen up. This also gives me the chance to get a good breakfast and a cup of coffee. Next I prepare my equipment to make sure everything is working properly and nothing is broken or will become a problem during training. This preparation allows me to focus on my training instead of worrying about what could happen if a screw pulls out of my ski, or my wheel blows up while roller skiing. Then comes warming up. For jump training, I have to be properly stretched out and warmed up. Consistency in a warm-up is key. For cross-country ski training I ski for 30 minutes prior to any kind of intense workout. After warm-ups, I complete my morning training session, grab lunch, and then rest! The most important part when training twice a day is to recover between sessions! The best rest is lying on the couch or in bed watching a movie or taking a nap. “Get horizontal,” as my coach always says. Then I head to the afternoon session, which is usually a distance workout or weights and plyos. I complete whatever is on the workout schedule, eat my recovery foods, and then take a contrast bath, which is 2 minutes in the hot tub and 1 minute in the ice bath. Afterwards I head home, eat a good dinner, and get ready for the next day of training.
Q: What do you do nutritionally to support all this training?
Bryan: Nutrition is a huge part of my training. The U.S. Ski Team has a nutritionist work with all the athletes to make sure we’re getting the most out of our diets and workouts. I’ve learned a lot about myself and what works best with my body by working with a nutritionist. Being lean is important in this sport in order to stay light. So I’m not eating to get bigger. Instead, I focus on training the muscles I have and making them stronger. Vegetables and grains make up most of my meals. I try to eat as much variety as I can, and I do this by making my meals as colorful as possible. So it’s usually lots of different vegetables such as green beans, asparagus, red potatoes, red onions, bell peppers, zucchini, and many others. This allows me to get all the different nutrients I need.
Q: Do you have a target daily calorie intake?
Bryan: I don’t have a specific target goal for calorie intake. Instead, I find it works best to be flexible and eat less on the easy training days and more on the hard days. I train enough that I don’t focus on specific levels of protein, carbohydrates, or fat either. I just make sure I’m eating healthy meals and I try not to eat fast food.
Q: What’s a typical pre-workout or pre-race meal?
Bryan: I start the day with a big, healthy breakfast and then taper smaller as the day goes on. In fact, I try to eat as much at breakfast as I do at dinner; this allows me to use those calories throughout the day. My favorite pre-training/pre-race meal is a “monkey sandwich” — at least that’s what I called it when I was a kid. It’s peanut butter, honey, and a banana on a roll or wheat bread. This gives me great energy along with carbs and protein before training or races. I also usually have a
PowerBar® Performance Energy bar before a race just to make sure I’ve got enough fuel to burn. It’s a great way to get fuel without filling up my stomach too much. I find it’s best to eat my meal about 2 hours before racing or training. My body needs time to digest the food before a race.
Q: How do you meet your hydration needs before racing?
Bryan: I’ve had problems with hydration in the past, causing me to race slower. I used to cram hydration in before a race, which was limiting my performance. And overhydrating is just as bad as being dehydrated. I’ve learned a lot since then and basically I try to stay properly hydrated all the time. What works for me is to drink plenty of water the day before a race by gradually sipping water throughout the day. If I had to guess, I’d say I probably consume a 20 oz bottle of water every 2 hours or so the day before a race. The morning of the event, I sip from a bottle of
PowerBar® Endurance sports drink, and I do that throughout the day and through the warm-up. This keeps me ready to go come event time.
Q: Do you eat anything during your training sessions?
Bryan: One thing I’ve learned from the team nutritionist is that I need to provide my body with simple carbohydrates throughout the day when I’m training.
PowerBar® Gel Blasts™ energy chews work great for this. They keep my blood sugar from falling, so I have a more consistent energy level throughout the day. During long bike rides, I rely on
PowerBar® Gels for energy. Also, I use PowerBar
® Endurance sports drink to keep me hydrated on the bike and while I’m training in the summer.
Q: What do you do nutritionally to promote recovery between and after workouts?
Bryan: The most important thing is to get something small in my belly within 30 minutes of finishing a workout. Half of a PowerBar
® Performance Energy bar works great for this. In addition, I always drink a bottle of
PowerBar® Recovery beverage. If I don’t have any PowerBar
® products with me, I’ll eat a piece of fruit. This gets my body into the recovery mode. After that, I resume my normal eating-and-drinking routine. I love to eat a “monkey sandwich” for recovery as well!
Bryan’s Go-To PowerBar Products
| Product | Bryan’s Quick Take |
| PowerBar® Gel Blasts™ energy chews | They work great as fuel before races. I eat them 40 minutes prior to a race. The caffeine in them is a good boost as well. I also use them when training. |
| PowerBar® Recovery beverage | After a workout it’s important to rehydrate and replenish carbs, protein, and sodium lost during exercise. |
| PowerBar® Performance Energy bars | They’re great to eat before a workout or race to provide fuel, and afterwards to provide nutrition for recovery. |
| PowerBar® Gels | They are the single best item for training! When I am on long bike rides, I eat 1 for every hour I ride, to refuel. This keeps me from bonking during my training. |
| PowerBar® Endurance sports drink | It keeps me hydrated on the bike and while I’m training in the summer, and replaces what I’ve lost in my sweat! |
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The XXI (21st) Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver will take place February 12–28. Check PowerBar.com for updates on the performances of Team Elite members competing in the Olympics.
PowerBar is not sponsored or endorsed by any National or International Olympic Committees.
*PowerBar Team Elite consists of athletes, coaches, fitness trainers, and dietitians who range from world champion competitors to regional teams and local educators. PowerBar sponsors Team Elite members with PowerBar products and gear; in return, Team Elite members share their passion for their sport and PowerBar products with their communities.
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