Fruits are nutrient-rich carbs.

Jiu-Jitsu practitioners looking to improve athletic performance or every active person who would like to have more stamina and energy to work out should know that consuming carbohydrates is essential since they are the primary fuel for your body.

According to sports dietetics specialist and columnist for www.active.com, Katie Jeffrey, “carbohydrates are key for maximum energy, speed, stamina, concentration, recovery and better fluid balance.” Besides being stored in the muscles for energy, they are also responsible for the use of protein to build muscle. During a physical activity, the body as a way to continually produce energy consumes carbohydrates.

However, it is imperative to know that the types of carbohydrates are just as important as the amount of carbohydrates you eat. “Complex or nutrient-rich carbohydrates such as whole grains, beans, legumes, fruits and starchy vegetables provide many vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. They are also excellent sources of fiber. Therefore, they are necessary for optimum health, energy levels and athletic performance.” Katie explains

Thus, GRACIEMAG has selected a light and delicious whole-wheat pasta salad recipe for you today, filled with vegetables and laudable ingredients. Check it out:

Fresh Pasta Salad

By Jack La Lanne’s Power Juicer Fresh Recipe Collection

Ingredients:

1 lb. whole-wheat pasta (cooked and drained)

¼ c. red bell pepper pulp

¼ c. yellow bell pepper pulp

¼ c. asparagus spears

¼ c. onion pulp

½ c. zucchini pulp

½ c. carrot pulp

2 tbsp. olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Cook and drain the whole-wheat pasta and let it cool off in room temperature. Using a powerful juicer extract the pulp from the peppers, onions, zucchini and carrot. Mix the vegetable pulps with the asparagus spears, olive oil and then into the whole-wheat pasta. Use salt and pepper to taste. Serve it fresh!

Hope you enjoy it. Be healthy!

Lucas Lepri against JT Torres at the Worlds. Foto: Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG

Lucas Lepri conquered in 2014 his second World Jiu-Jitsu Championship tittle after winning five matches in his weight division. In the final match, the black belt outscored JT Torres by 12-0, with guard passes and one takedown.

Fighting at Alliance BJJ, the athlete is used to train hard and roll with opponents that are much stronger and heavier than him. Knowing that, GRACIEMAG went after Lucas to find out what does the lightweight do to fuel up energy and have the stamina to endure tough hours of training at the gym and compete.

GRACIEMAG: What do you eat before training?

Lucas: In the morning I usually eat Brazilian yucca (tapioca) or whole wheat bread with almond butter, mashed bananas with hemp seed and honey. Especially, I feel very well and light while training when I have tapioca for breakfast.

Do you take any supplements?

I prepare some green tea and drink it on my way to the gym. I take a Multi-vitamin, Maca, Red Ginseng and amino acids – Glutamine only after training. I don’t enjoy taking a lot of supplements to enhance performance; I prefer to eat healthy.

How do you think your eating habits affect your performance?

I feel very good and energized to start the day and train.

So, dear reader, did you like the diet tips of the world champion? Comment here!

Leandro Lo tries to choke Alan Finfou at the Rio Open. Photo: Gustavo Aragão / GRACIEMAG

Last weekend, the gymnasium at Tijuca Tennis Club hosted the sixth edition of the IBJJF’s Rio Open, an event that occurs parallel to the charming International Masters and Seniors.

More than that, it also served as the stage to a great fight between a skinny fighter and a super-heavyweight, a type of duel that has always been part of the essence of Jiu-Jitsu.

Leandro Lo, the lightweight world champion, signed up this time at middleweight, and the tactic worked: he won the absolute at the end of a final versus João Gabriel Rocha.

After passing through the light heavyweight Felipe Preguiça (Gracie Barra) in the semifinal of the open, Lo beat João Gabriel by one advantage. After the match, he commented on his victory with GRACIEMAG: “The decisive point in this fight was again my guard; I had to take my spider guard to its limit to win this [laughs]! After many years of training, I feel good under my opponent, regardless of whether he is a big guy like João or a smaller guy. I use this game of spider guard and it has always worked – I always control one sleeve and hold tight there near the bottom of the pants, and I drill it in the gym. And it worked in the absolute final,” said the Cicero Costha student.

That same afternoon, Leandro won gold at middleweight with an arm submission against Alan Finfou (Checkmat) in the final. He told of what changed for him in this new category: “I prepared myself better than for the Pan, when I fought also among the middleweight and did not do well. Now I am doing weight training and preparation! I think that was key for me to get good at middleweight. I did not really like working out, but now I’m picking up the weights and feeling much stronger,” said Lo, who praised the runner-up.

“The fight with Alan Finfou was good; I had fought with him in Sao Paulo before the Rio Open. He is very tough on top, he applies good takedowns and is fast. Finfou threw me down, but I adjusted myself and got back at him with a sweep. Then I got his back and applied the choke, but my arm was a little over his mouth and ended up slipping. So I made the correct grips on his arm and found an armbar at the end.”

Before leaving the venue, GRACIEMAG wanted to know about Lo’s stamina, which seems to have no end during fights. To which Leandro replied with this nugget: “It’s what I always tell people, teammates and fans: in fact I do not have a lot of stamina. What
I do is pace myself very well during fights, holding my grips fast. It looks like I’m attacking all the time, but sometimes I pretend to attack – some of those times I rest… You need to know how to pace yourself.”