Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I'm an avid tennis player and have been a little concerned about a certain amount of conflict between this sort of, not chronic cardio exactly, activity, and a relatively low carb intake--not to mention the potential issue of inflammation from long exercise sessions.

I have observed a certain amount of fatigue in myself since bumping up the tennis to 3-4 times a week, 1-2 hours per session, and have since augmented my diet with a bit more starch--carrots and sweet potatoes--to see if that will help.

Furthermore, I've been gathering the courage to go out on the court in my Vibrams--been putting this off until I build up a little more experience sprinting/changing directions in them first. The only things on the web about Vibrams + tennis are pretty much mocking the idea.

A few of you have mentioned tennis is part of your exercise regimen; what wisdom do you have for me please? I probably get 40-50% of my calories from animal/coconut fat, and <100g of carbs per day from leafy veggies, 1x fruit/day, and the aforementioned starches. Nuts=1-2x per week only, 2-4 grams at a go. D/Selenium/Magnesium/fish oil å la Harris, plus kelp (å la Melissa!).

edited Aug 4 2010 at 3:09

asked Aug 4 2010 at 2:28

Zev Averbach
769●1●4●12

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You don't need answers! You need affirmation. You are affirmed. But I will say one thing: if you notice fatigue, the solution is probably not diet. It's probably sleep and rest. – Matt Baldwin Aug 4 2010 at 4:40

More carbohydrate, 1g per kg of bodyweight after your workout. – Chris Aug 4 2010 at 14:43

I would imagine the front of your vibrams are worn out by now if you still play tennis in them? – oliverh Feb 7 2011 at 11:59

Eva · Answer 1 · 2010-08-04 03:17:54Z UTC

Sounds like you have it under control. YOu know what the issues are and you are acting accordingly. SOme of it will just need to be an n=1 experiment to see what is best for you personally. If tennis really gives you pleasure, then I say play tennis! Happiness is very paleo! ;-P Just try to keep it in balance with what your body tells you it can handle. -Eva

Erik Cisler · Answer 2 · 2010-08-04 06:53:30Z UTC

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I play outdoor basketball in Vibrams just fine. I say go for it.

answered Aug 4 2010 at 6:53

Erik Cisler
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Ditto, people on the court seem to think I am a bit crazy. – Chris Aug 4 2010 at 17:29

TexasPrimalSurfWahine -TPSW- · Answer 3 · 2010-08-04 13:33:43Z UTC

Not an expert, just someone who had a tennis knee injury years ago playing in tennis shoes that gripped real well. I would think that the vibrams could actually be less likely to cause injury as they might allow you to lose footing before the injury would occur. Might decrease your effectiveness on the court but be protective of the joints. (note lots of wiggle words) Just a gut feeling. It also seems that the sprint then rest cycles of the game would be pretty darn paleo.

Ed · Answer 4 · 2010-08-04 23:50:50Z UTC

Hi Zev. I'm not a tennis player, but depending on the pace and intensity of your game, for most people tennis is a form of interval activity (heart rate intermittently between 75 and 100% of max), not low level cardio (heart rate consistently below 75% of max). 8 hours of interval activity per week is a lot, so a gradual approach to increased activity may be in order. Most humans tolerate low level cardio far longer than interval activity, but training can increase your interval tolerance. You may need to back off your activity to a level where you weren't fatigued, then very gradually increase it to your desired level. Use a heart rate monitor to make sure that you're not spending too much time in the higher heart rate zones (above 70 to 75% of your max). And get plenty of sleep and rest, as Matt Baldwin noted above.

jared · Answer 5 · 2010-08-04 03:04:48Z UTC

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I think that with proper form tennis works just fine, but tennis shoes are designed to keep the foot a certain way. i think that it's possible to play in vibrams, but i think a hard court at least should be played with proper shoes. grass would easily work for vibrams, and clay would be slippery either way.

answered Aug 4 2010 at 3:04

jared
106●5

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Any shoe designed to keep your foot a certain way sounds like a good candidate for removal, so that you can develop your own muscles to keep your foot that way. Shoes that are protective of outside forces, OTOH, like steel toed construction boots, should probably be kept. – Ambimorph Aug 4 2010 at 13:54

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not tennis shoes though. the fronts of the toes are meant to be unusually reinforced to keep the shoe from being worn away by the court, so if zev is playing tennis beyond beginning strokes, he would quickly wear away the fronts of the shoes. also, the shoes are meant to give the foot a wider brace because otherwise, theres a good chance that you will roll your ankle hard – jared Aug 5 2010 at 7:34

Tennis vs. Paleo

5 Answers