It's Janus!

Heheh...not so easy for this one...did anybody get this right??

About Nutrition

It’s important for you to eat healthy and eat at the right times because 70% of what you do within dragonboating is about your diet. Today I’m going to explain in detail about the different types of nutrients within foods that you need to be aware of. These are the build blocks to eating right and having a fit body for dragonboating.

Macronutrients
Macronutrients are the food substances that fuel and repair our body. They are made up of carbohydrates, protein and fat. It is only when these macronutrients are in the correct ratios that a person can have a lean, heathy body, irrespective of their total calorie intake. The macronutrient profile, when combined with food timing, is an excellent way to burn both fat and strengthen your muscles for dragonboating.

Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates (carbs) can be broken into two broad categories, simple and complex. Simple carbs include fructose (fruit sugar), lactose (diary sugar), sucrose (white sugar), maltose (malt sugar) and glucose (blood sugar).

Some experts argue that because fructose (fruit sugar) is ‘healthier’ than sucrose (white sugar) large amounts of fruit should be eaten regularly. Although fruit is definitely a healthy food loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, phytochemicals and fibre, eating a large percentage of your carbohydrates from fructose is not sufficient to help you build lean muscle and strength.

Lactose (dairy sugar) is a naturally occurring simple sugar you can eat in moderation if you tolerate it well; however a lot of people do NOT. Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest diary products. There are a lot of people who don’t have the enzyme to digest lactose and therefore get gas, bloating, water retention, abdominal cramps and diarrhea when they eat diary products. Dairy products should not be used as your primary source of protein or carbohydrates.
Dairy products contain simple carbohydrates and all simple carbohydrates should be minimised in your diet. Whereas complex carbohydrates include both starchy and fibrous carbs. It is the fibrous carbs (vegetables) you should include in your diet more frequently. Also starchy carbs are often slow release (low GI) and they contain too many grams of carbohydrates and these you should also minimise.

Protein
All animal proteins (fish, meat, poultry and eggs) are ‘complete’, which means they contain all the necessary amino acids. If you are a vegetarian, your diet would combine different plan products (rice and beans) to include all the essential amino acids.

Fat
Fats play a vital role in many processes including primary energy reserves, membrane constituents, hormones, fat-soluble vitamins, thermal insulators and biological regulators. For these reasons, fats are absolutely essential in your diet. Most vegetable fats are ‘good fats’, while most animal fats are ‘bad fats’. Trans fats are the main problem and must be avoided.
Many food companies use trans fats to make their food more appealing. Some examples of these foods include cakes, pastries and biscuits which give it a more solid consistency, and to prolong shelf life. Trans fats are also found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, and snack foods. Like saturated fat, trans fats are bad for the heart.

Try to avoid products that have partially hydrogenated oil listed on the ingredients list and also avoid foods that have high trans fat content e.g. deep fried fast foods and takeaways, cakes, pies and packaged biscuits.

Alcohol
Just like protein, carbs and fat, alcohol is a macronutrient. Whilst training for dragonboating try to minimise the amount of alcohol intake and keep in mind that there are 7 calories in a gram of alcohol. As it is a toxin it is the first fuel to be used during your recovery process and that way you are not getting the proper nutrients into your blood stream if you have alcohol too often.
As you may have realised by now, nutrition plays a huge role in dragonboating. Though, the above nutrition can be applied to any other sport. What is crucial is understanding how it works and then tracking what you are feeding your body.

*Article from www.dragonglobe.com

Training - 4 April 2010

Date: 4 April 2010

Time: 7.45am - 11.00am

Venue: SDBA (Kallang)

*Land training after rowing. Please meet at 7.45am inside SDBA for warm up. We will be training in 2 small boats.

Training - 28 March 2010

Date: 28 March 2010

Time: 8.45am - 12.00pm

Venue: Water Venture (Kallang)

*Land training before rowing. Please meet at 8.45am outside SDBA for warm up.

Will it kill you to exercise?

Experienced marathon runners, professional athletes and people who work out religiously are those we expect to be at the top rung of the fitness ladder. So when they suddenly die – like 42-year-old Deutsche Telekom Asia chief executive Lee Wee Sing did during the Osim Singapore International Triathlon – it is a matter of much concern and speculation. Heart diseases are often silent in young people, manifesting only during rigorous exercise, and leading to a cardiac arrest and sudden death. We explore some of the hidden conditions that could spell your final workout.

HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY (HCM)
This is a congenital problem where parts of the heart muscle get thicker, causing difficulty in the pumping of blood. According to a report in the Journal of American College of Cardiology, HCM represented a common cause of sudden death in young and previously undiagnosed male athletes. A person with HCM does not experience any symptoms; the first sign is unfortunately death.

Some people may experience shortness of breath, chest pain, fainting spells or dizziness, which must be taken very seriously and investigated thoroughly. Detailed history taken by a physician about early death in the family due to cardiac reasons may provide a clue to this problem.

CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE (CAD)
While exercise is said to prevent CAD, it could also trigger a heart attack in those who already have fat deposits in the arteries of the heart or the coronaries. Besides, a person who exercises could have other pre-existing risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol levels and the like, increasing the overall chances of CAD.

Congenital defects in the coronary arteries can also compromise the blood and oxygen supply to the heart during exercise resulting in anginal pain (chest discomfort), myocardial infarction (death of a part of the heart muscle) or an abnormality in heart rhythm, causing sudden death. Such conditions are more common in the younger population compared to atherosclerotic coronary disease (thickening of the artery wall due to fatty build-up). This can be diagnosed by examining those who experience cardiac complaints like chest pain or fainting spells with a treadmill stress test and coronary angiogram.

MITRAL VALVE PROLAPSE (MVP)
According to a report in the Singapore Medical Journal, MVP is one of the common heart valve problems affecting 5 to 15 per cent of the general population, where the valve separating the left atrium from the left ventricle is floppy. When the left ventricle contracts to pump blood out to the body, some of this blood regurgitates back into the atrium. Usually this is a harmless problem, but in some cases the heart’s electrical system gets hampered, giving rise to arrhythmias in the form of innocent missed beats or improper pumping by the ventricle, which can be fatal. Defibrillation pads used at this stage can put the heart back in its normal rhythm and save the victim’s life.

ARRHYTHMIAS
In most cardiac causes of sudden death during exercise, abnormal rhythm is the final cause of cardiac arrest. This could be due to HCM, CAD or MVP. However, the conduction pathways in the heart responsible for maintaining normal heartbeat can have congenital defects, leading to conduction abnormalities, which could end up fatal. These people experience palpitations and an electrocardiogram (ECG) may pick up some abnormalities. Death due to conduction disorders are tough to diagnose on post-mortem. If in a case of sudden death on exertion and there is no evidence of infarction, inflammation of the wall of the heart or of cardiomyopathy, then it could be assumed that the death was due to arrhythmia.

MYOCARDITIS
Inflammation of the heart can lead to rhythm problems that can cause sudden death. Athletes rarely let fever pose as an excuse for missing a run or a workout. In the rare chance that this fever is due to myocarditis, exercise can trigger a fatal arrhythmia. To be on the safe side, any exertion should be avoided during a fever or when you are recovering from illness.

EXERCISE-INDUCED HYPOGLYCAEMIA
In Type 1 diabetes patients who are on insulin, the increased insulin in the blood can cause lowered blood sugar during, immediately after, or six to 12 hours after exercise. Severe hypoglycaemia can be prevented by not exercising when insulin is peaking and by taking insulin in the subcutaneous fat layer. According to the guidelines of the American Diabetes Association, it is important to carry a fast-absorbed carbohydrate source and to monitor blood glucose regularly before and after exercise. Eat extra carbs before exercise if your blood glucose level is less than 100mg/dl. Any symptoms like fainting or chest pain on exertion, or palpitations with chest pain or breathlessness should be taken as a serious warning signal to see a physician and get a complete examination.

*Article from www.menshealth.com.sg

Training - 21 March 2010 & Additional Training

Date: 21 March 2010

Time: 8.45am - 12.00pm

Venue: Water Venture (Kallang)

*Land training before rowing. Please meet at 8.45am outside SDBA for warm up.

We will also be having additional training leading up to PA Paddle Championship on 24th & 25th April 2010. Please take note of the training slots for April below and hope to see all of you at training for the final preparations before our first race of the year!

Mixed-20 crew training at bedok reservoir, 3.45pm-6pm
Saturday, 10th & 17th April (Please meet at the boathouse)

10-crew training at SDBA (Kallang), 7.45am-11am
Sunday, 4th, 11th & 18th April (Please meet in SDBA)

Sunday Dragons Sa!

Guess Who? IV

Hello fellow Sunday Dragons! Time for a challenge! Let's see who can get this right....heheh...

Training - 14 March 2010

Date: 14 March 2010

Time: 8.45am - 12.00pm

Venue: Water Venture (Kallang)

*Land training before rowing. Please meet at 8.45am outside SDBA for warm up.

Featured Rower of the Month - Matt!

In the month of March, we talk to one of our most hardworking and also one of the quieter rowers on the team, Matt! Oh yes, in case you are not aware, he is a certified coxswain as well. Great asset to the team. =)

How did you get to know about Sunday Dragons?

It was by fate that I joined Sunday Dragons. I met one of the Sunday Dragons rower, Kai Ming (ex-rower already....maybe you can get him back? haha.) in one of the courses I took with SSTI. Chatted with him over break time and found out that he was with Sunday Dragons. He invited me to join in and I agreed. Totally by chance. (We are all glad you spoke to Kai Ming, that is definitely a special moment for you and the team....fate is such an amazing thing...haha!)

How long have you been in the team and what made you join the team?
1 year plus I suppose. I decided to join cos the gals and guys were tough. (Ahem, we shall take that as a compliment. Yes! We are tough! And you are one of us!)

How do you feel about the sport?
Its mentally and physically challenging. I am glad I am in it. I always thought it is a mindless sport. "Just do it", no thinking kind of sports. (Haha, we are sure you are not the only one thinking that way....everybody who tries the sport should feel the same...you just keep getting better as long as you train...)

Has Sunday Dragons changed your life in some way?
Made me fitter, less susceptible to sickness, allow me to know more nice peeps. =) (Looks like joining us is the best thing that happened to you hahah...get your friends to join us too!)

What other things do you do during your free time?
Giving free tuition, resting, ktv with frens, housework and other boring stuffs u can think of... hahaha (eh....yes, not very exciting....maybe being part of Sunday Dragons is interesting enough since we are such happening people to hang out with haha...)

We all know you are going to be a teacher. So why do you want to teach?
I find no meaning in my previous work. Having to work and help people at the same time is a bliss for me. (noble, noble)

How long have you been a vegetarian?

1 year plus. I just prefer vegetables and fruits over meat. (hmm, ok...healthy diet you have...we should learn from you...)

Is it difficult being a vegetarian?
Nope. being a dragon boater is tougher. (hahahaha....yes yes yes, totally agree!)

Tell us something about you that few people know.
I was super overweight when I was in Primary 6. I am still overweight now. (Show us your Primary school photo leh....sure damn cute looking!)

Describe yourself in less than 10 words!
An overweight guy with fats around waist (but will only get fitter!)

It's Summer!

Well, this one is obviously easy....1 look and we can tell already...after 20+ years still can tell haha...