Whether you're training or competing, preparation is key to performing at your best. Sports nutrition is the practical science of hydrating and fueling before, during and after exercise, and it's a vital component of your preparation. Done properly, sports nutrition can help make you a better athlete. Done wrong or ignored, it can detract from your ability to perform.
The following practical sports nutrition and training tips help you get it right!
Practical Sports Nutrition and Training Tips for Before Exercise
The physical benefits of endurance training will be greater, and your performance during a competition will be better, if you start with your muscles fully fueled, your body well hydrated, and feeling comfortable.
During endurance exercise you rely on both fat and carbohydrate as fuel sources. The greater the intensity of the exercise, the more you rely on carbs as the fuel source. The problem is that your stores of carbohydrate muscle fuel, called glycogen, are very limited. Sixty to 90 minutes of moderate-intensity endurance exercise can seriously deplete your glycogen reserves. When you run out, you hit the wall or you bonk, and you have no choice but to slow down or even stop. Slowing down or stopping generally doesn't cut it when it comes to achieving performance or training goals. So it's important to fuel-up and hydrate before exercise.
How do you prepare optimally for a workout or competition? First off, realize that one size doesn't fit all when it comes to sports nutrition. What works for your training partner won't necessarily work as well or at all for you. Instead, plan to do some experimenting, and plan to do it during training. Preferably early in your training, try different approaches to the hydration and fueling recommendations below. The objective is to adjust and fine-tune these strategies to meet your individual needs, and then use the perfected strategy on competition days.
Fueling for exercise lasting less than 90 minutes
For workouts and events less than 60-90 minutes in duration, the combination of 24-36 hours of rest and a high-carbohydrate diet (~ 7-10 grams of carbs for every 2.2 pounds of body weight) will generally provide sufficient muscle fuel. For many athletes, scheduling a day of rest or light training, while continuing to follow a high-carb eating pattern, is all that's needed to be refueled for this type of event or workout. However, not all athletes eat sufficient carbs in their everyday diets to maximize glycogen storage, particularly female athletes who may be restricting their calorie intake to control body fat levels. If you fall into this camp, it's important to temporarily lift the embargo on total calories and focus on intake of carbs the day or two before a competition in order to fully replenish muscle glycogen stores.
Avoid the trap of going too hard the day before a competition. Instead, a day of rest or a light training day is recommended. Definitely avoid training sessions that cause significant muscle damage on the day before a competition as this can interfere with glycogen storage.
Carbo-loading for endurance events
Carbohydrate-loading is the term used to describe strategies aimed at super maximizing muscle glycogen storage, typically before an endurance event where muscle fuel reserves are going to get depleted. An increase in glycogen stores can delay the onset of fatigue during endurance events lasting longer than 90 minutes. Many methods of carbo-loading have been investigated. The simplest and probably most effective involves resting for 36-48 hours before an event while simultaneously consuming a very high carbohydrate diet (10-12 grams of carbs for every 2.2 pounds of body weight).
Carbo-loading isn't just for marathon runners and triathletes. Team sports have been shown to benefit from boosting muscle glycogen stores before exercise including soccer and ice hockey. Athletes in other sports may benefit as well. For athletes involved in any team or racquet sport that extends for at least 60-90 minutes, attention to loading muscle glycogen stores prior to important games and competitions is probably a prudent move.
If carbo-loading is new to you, practice your exercise-tapering and carbo-loading regimen by implementing it prior to a long training session or an event of minor importance. Also, where athletes typically stumble when it comes to carbo-loading is not tapering sufficiently, and consuming too few carbs. If you want to effectively carbo-load, rest or do light training a day or two before the event, and really strive to boost your intake of carbs.
How do you know if your loading regimen is working? Try weighing in. Glycogen is bundled with water when it's stored in muscle, and water is heavy. Therefore, effective glycogen loading generally causes a temporary boost in body weight by a noticeable few pounds or so. Don't worry, it's temporary. Look on it as a sign that your carbo-loading regimen is working.
The pre-event meal and snack
There are a number of important reasons for eating a pre-exercise meal and/or snack. The obvious one is that you want to prevent feeling hungry during exercise. But you want to accomplish that without causing gastrointestinal distress. That means avoiding eating too much and eating the wrong things. The pre-exercise meal and snack is also the window of opportunity to continue replenishing muscle glycogen stores. They also help to replenish liver glycogen stores that get depleted during an overnight fast. Thus, the pre-exercise meal, or at least an appropriate snack, is especially important for events or training sessions held in the morning.
Pre-event meals and snacks should feature carbohydrate-rich foods and beverages because carbs are the building blocks for glycogen synthesis. A moderate protein intake is fine, but try to avoid slow-to-digest fatty foods or those loaded with fiber as these can lead to gastrointestinal discomfort during exercise. Most athletes feel best with a meal somewhere between 2 to 4 hours before exercise, and possibly a carb-rich snack about an hour before exercise.
Does pre-exercise feeding really help? According to a study of cyclists who fasted overnight it does. Those who ate a pre-exercise meal providing roughly 200-300 grams of carbohydrate were able to cycle significantly longer than when they skipped the pre-exercise meal.
When meals aren't feasible
For early morning events, it's the rare athlete who wants to get up extra early in order to eat a hearty pre-event meal. Instead, a light meal or snack will do. But with this scenario, it would be wise to also consume carbs throughout the event to balance out the fact that pre-exercise fueling opportunities were missed.
Some athletes are predisposed to gastrointestinal discomfort or pre-event nerves. Here again, a light meal or snack may be all that is realistic. Liquid meal supplements or carb-containing beverages, bars, and gels may be helpful options.
Carbs within an hour of exercise
The benefit of consuming carbs within 60 minutes of exercise varies from one athlete to the next. Some studies show no benefit while others show up to 20% improvements in endurance performance. There are also a small percentage of athletes who develop low blood sugar and fatigue in response to a carb-rich snack within an hour of exercise.
Should you eat in the hour before exercise? Try it out during training and find out what works best for you.
Most athletes lose more fluids during exercise than they consume. Make it a point to begin your workouts or events well hydrated. Try not to carry fluid deficits from one workout to the next.
Prehydration timing and volume
If the timing is feasible, consume water, a sport drink, or a similar type of beverage, about 4 hours before exercise. The volume to consume depends on your body weight. Approximately 8-11 fl oz is generally recommended for those weighing in around 100 pounds, 12-16 fl oz for those closer to 150 pounds, and 15-22 fl oz is suggested for those in 200 pound range.
If you are well hydrated this fluid intake should lead to urine production. If it doesn't, or the urine that is produced is dark in color, drink roughly half again as much fluid about 2 hours before exercise. This should allow sufficient time for urine to be eliminated before starting the event.
Fluids to avoid immediately before exercise
Fluids to avoid immediately before training or competing include large volumes of fruit juices and sugared soft drinks. These beverages can cause stomach cramping and gastrointestinal distress during exercise. Both tend to be too concentrated in carbs which can slow fluid absorption. In addition, some fruit juices contain lots of fructose.
What about caffeine?
For reasons that aren't yet fully understood, caffeine may help you work out or compete at a higher intensity without actually feeling like you're working harder. Then again, it might not because effects seem to vary from one person to the next. If you want to see what impact caffeine has on your endurance performance, use it during training first, and stick to a moderate intake in the range of 100-300 mg taken prior to exercise. If it doesn't help or makes you feel too jittery, cut back or skip it altogether.
You may find that you're able to tolerate a carb-rich snack as early as 30 minutes before the start of exercise and never experience any digestive discomfort. Or, maybe you simply can't eat a meal before a competition because you're just too anxious. The point is that there is individual variability. There is no question that carbs and fluids are very important to serious endurance athletes. But these recommendations are simply a starting point. Your job is to fine-tune them to meet your individual needs. Do that fine tuning during training.
The following are ideas for carbohydrate-rich foods to consume as a snack or part of a pre-exercise meal:
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Cold or hot cereal with fruit or fruit juice and low-fat or nonfat milk
- Pancakes with maple or fruit syrup
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Toast with jam or honey
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Pasta noodles with low-fat, tomato-based sauce
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Baked potato with vegetarian chili
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Rice and bean burrito
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Low-fat energy bar with a serving of fruit
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Roll or sandwich made with a banana and honey
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Fresh fruit or fruit salad with low-fat or nonfat yogurt
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Fruit smoothie made with mango/banana/berries and low-fat or nonfat milk or yogurt