Discover your Pre, during, and post workout / race fueling strategies.
Objective:
Maximize the body's carbohydrate stores (i.e., liver and muscle glycogen).
Why ? : The
depletion of these stores has a detrimental effect on performance.
The carbohydrate capacity of
an active individual is relatively small compared with what's necessary to fuel
a long ride or run. Studies on trained
athletes have found when carbohydrate is the primary fuel source; stored
glycogen (muscles and liver) can be exhausted by just 60 -90 minutes of hard
exercise.
When glycogen in working
muscles becomes depleted, fatigue becomes very noticeable as well as your new
found race pace. This would be a pace where fat is your primary energy source,
below your aerobic threshold. If your aerobic threshold is low so will be your
pace. The key to extending your energy reserves, besides replenishing, is to
have a well developed aerobic base.
When?: Experiment and practice
your fueling strategy during your daily workouts so on race day you'll have a
practiced strategy in place. Don't introduce something new on race day.
A pre-event meal can't remedy inadequate
training, the failure to carbo-load, or an
inadequate daily diet.
What should I eat before workouts / Race?
You can eat normally up to 3
hour before a workout. 1-3 hours before a workout, you should only eat easily
digestible foods such as fruit, energy bars, and breads. To avoid rebound
hypoglycemia, a sudden drop in blood sugar during the onset of exercise, you
should not eat anything within an hour of your workout.[2]
What should I eat during workouts / Race?
Consuming carbohydrate (CHO)
during exercise can enhance performance and improve endurance. Studies
measuring the exogenous oxidation of carbohydrate have shown the body can burn
a maximum of 1.0 g of ingested CHO each minute during exercise. Therefore, you
should aim to consume 30-60 g of CHO every
hour of exercise in the form of gels and/or energy drinks. Eating more than
this will not improve your performance and increases the risk of indigestion.[3, 4]
What should I eat after workouts / Race?
Your fitness does not improve
when you exercise. Your fitness improves when you recover from exercise. The
quicker you can recover, the more you can improve. In order to recover from
endurance exercise, you must restore your muscle glycogen. Research has shown
the fastest way to restore your glycogen is to consume 0.8 g of CHO per kg of
body weight with protein 0-30 minutes after exercise. Continuing to consume 0.8
kg of CHO per kg of body weight every hour, up to four hours, until your next
full meal will keep glycogen synthesis at its highest rate.[5] This can be accomplished by consuming 1 serving of a commercial recovery drink or
2 cups of low-fat chocolate milk every hour until your next meal.[6]
References
1. Insel, P.M., R.E. Turner, and D.
Ross, Nutrition. 2nd ed. 2004, Sudbury,
Mass.: Jones and Bartlett. xxx, 740, [170] p.
2. Wilmore,
J.H. and D.L. Costill, Physiology of
sport and exercise. 3rd ed. 2004, Champaign: Human Kinetics.
3. Jeukendrup,
A.E. and R. Jentjens, Oxidation of
carbohydrate feedings during prolonged exercise: current thoughts, guidelines
and directions for future research. Sports Med, 2000. 29(6): p. 407-24.
4. Rehrer,
N.J., Fluid and electrolyte balance in
ultra-endurance sport. Sports Med, 2001. 31(10): p. 701-15.
5. Jentjens,
R. and A. Jeukendrup, Determinants of
post-exercise glycogen synthesis during short-term recovery.
Sports Med,
2003. 33(2): p. 117-44.
6. Karp,
J.R., et al., Chocolate milk as a
post-exercise recovery aid. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 2006. 16(1): p. 78-91.