NUTRITION
Jono Hall’s Take on Nutrition
Nutrition isn’t always front and centre when it comes to performance for either an athlete or coach – at any one time both have a lot of other elements at play. Jono Hall, the head coach at the National Performance Centre in Victoria, spells out how Canada’s top triathletes, and their coaches, integrate nutrition to maximize performance.
How big a focus on nutrition education is there within the Canadian national program? And how is this education implemented or delivered?
There has always been a focus, but I believe this focus has increased recently. The theme at the elite level is around fueling to train and compete at a very high level while aiming to maintain healthy function, especially in the younger athletes. My theory has always been to start off with early education of athletes, but perhaps even more important is the education of the “influencers” – coaches, parents, practitioners – so that there is a single, or welldefined message and approach.
Triathletes are generally very lean and also very driven and focused. How do you, as a national program, deal with the realities of performance physique and the necessity to fuel adequately with other potential pressures?
I see the role of the national federation as being to educate, with a strong and consistent message that is always underpinned by this notion of health ahead of performance, and by highlighting examples of where athletes are successful and also healthy. I use the term health or healthy as a generic expression that covers physical and mental health. While triathlon is a sport that lends itself to pursuing lean body compositions, there is a clear tradeoff with the strength component needed to perform at the highest level.
Are athletes’ nutrition requirements individualized based on particular testing, much like training programs might be? And are they monitored/tracked like training programs?
At the top level, absolutely. We attempt to periodize or match the nutritional component with the training component, without taking any enjoyment out of the relationship we all have with food and eating. Some athletes respond well to a very detailed and integrated approach, others need rough guidelines. The key thing that underpins this, however, is athletes always having readily available energy to complete all aspects of training, recovery and rest. Hydration also falls under this category. We do test BMR (basal metabolic rate) if we feel we need to go to that level of detail to best prescribe interventions, but we try to make the focus small and not make anything bigger than it needs to be.
Elite athletes are on the road travelling for large portions of the year – how do they manage their nutrition while on the road? And is this something the national program oversees at all?
When we travel as a group or as individuals, we just use the simple approach of replicating what works at home, wherever we may be. This is the theory. In practice, it is not as easy, but I have found it to be 100 per cent achievable with good preparation. We travel to a great number of exciting and exotic locations and knowing what local produce and groceries can be purchased allows us to identify if there will a gap. We overcome these gaps by travelling with food from home or by making sure that, when planning for accommodation, we book a location that has a kitchen or at least access to a kitchen.
The sport continues to evolve – utilizing technology as well as improved knowledge in all areas. Have you seen any changes in how nutrition is utilized strategically? And are there any areas where you see we could benefit from understanding more?
We live in a data-driven world, and the ability to measure is higher and more readily available than ever. There is a very clinical and sterile way to use this data and knowledge to program what is required nutritionally. The challenge is that there is a much deeper relationship that we have with food, and we need to be careful not to oversimplify the demands without taking into consideration this emotional piece. As a coach, I try to make sure that nutrition is a focus, but not a focus to the extent that everyone fixates on it. This is not easy to achieve, but underestimating the sensitivities around the moving components
of nutrition, energy availability, body image, peer pressure and performance expectations (just to name a few) is a fluid process. I think that the vast majority of athletes can put together and implement a plan that does not need to be measured or assessed three times a day. I have a simple assessment that I use as a gauge:
• Do my athletes have a healthy relationship with eating and food?
• Do my athletes maintain regular hormonal function?
• Do my athletes have the energy to meet the demands of the training and competition they practice?
• Do my athletes have the fundamental knowledge and tools to guide their decision-making?
• Are my athletes strong enough to compete and meet the demands of competition?
• Are there times in the year where my athletes need to meet or change body composition to reach their goals, and is this the piece that will make the difference anyway?
It has become much harder to work as a coach and deal with issues related to nutrition and behaviour around food. One of the questions I also ask myself as a coach is this: is the athlete I am coaching better, or are they just lighter? The intent needs to be clear: health first, performance second.
What is the most important piece of nutrition advice you would give to an aspiring age grouper looking to PB in their next race?
Seek professional guidance when it comes to nutrition for training and race day, have a plan, and stick to it. Value your health above and beyond any performance goal.
Unfortunately, there can be short- and even long-term performance gains from just being lighter and athletes and some coaches gravitate toward this approach.