Whether you are training for a triathlon, your first Ironman or just preparing for some weekend warrior action on your bike, the right nutrition is vital for your performance. If you want to get your fuelling plan to the same level as your training program, read on for some great advice.
First things first. What exactly do we mean by nutrition? In this article, we’re going to look at the macronutrients; protein, carbohydrates, fats – and staying hydrated. Let’s take a look at each macronutrient in turn.
Protein
Protein is key for any type of exercise as it provides the essential nutritional building blocks for all tissues and organs in the body. Especially, protein helps to maintain and boost muscle mass[1] and strengthen the tendons and bones[2]. And when it comes to endurance exercise, protein helps the muscles burn carbohydrates and fats[3],[4].
Many athletes tend to consume most of their protein for their evening meal, which is not ideal for recovery[5]. However, if you can have your protein directly after your training, you’ll get all the benefits. Taken after exercise, protein helps muscle recovery[6] by reducing any exercise-induced muscle damage[7],[8] and any feelings of muscle soreness[9].
Carbohydrate
Getting the carbs before and during exercise boosts your endurance performance for short and longer periods[10]. If you’re planning to exercise for a period of 2.5 hours or more, it’s recommended that you get around 1.2 grams per kilogram of body mass every hour to help you perform [11]. This also delays glycogen depletion [12]. Glycogen is the fuel source that athletes need to restore after hard training and if you combine protein with carbs during recovery, you’ll also help ensure the optimal glycogen refilling[13]. Interestingly, recent studies have shown lactose and its components, galactose and glucose, as useable and efficient energy sources during endurance exercise when compared to supplementation with just glucose or in combination with fructose[14]. This indicates that lactose has an untapped potential in sports nutrition and can compete with well-established carbohydrate supplements.
Carb Guidelines
Fats
During endurance exercise, you might find it hard to get all the carbohydrates you need for energy. That’s why athletes need to be able to use body fat as fuel[15]. If you want to burn fat during your exercise session, you can even consider avoid eating carbs before and thereby start your training with a low carbohydrate level[16].
Hydration
How much liquid you need is dependent on your training conditions. If you are exercising in hot or humid conditions, it goes without saying that you need to drink more. You also need to rehydrate during and after exercise.
Fluids and minerals such as sodium, potassium and magnesium can help you stay hydrated. And to make it even easier to rehydrate, you can add protein and create a combination of water, minerals and protein. This has been proven to rehydrate athletes better compared to water and minerals alone[17].
Finally, don’t leave it up to the last minute to test your fuelling strategy! Just like your training, it needs to be refined throughout the period up to the big day so you can make any changes and deliver your best performance when it matters most.
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A. (2022). Oxidation of independent and combined ingested galactose and glucose, during exercise. J Appl Physiol (1985). https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00105.2022
Odell, O. J., Podlogar, T., & Wallis, G. A. (2020). Comparable Exogenous Carbohydrate Oxidation from Lactose or Sucrose during Exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 52(12), 2663-2672. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002426
[1] EFSA Journal 2010;8(10):1811, 2011;9(6)2203, Cermak et al. 2012
[2] EFSA Journal 2010;8(10):1811, 2011;9(6)2203, Rizzoli et al. 2018
[3] Hansen et al. 2020 (https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-020-00376-3)
[4] Rowlands et al. 2011 (https://doi.org/10.1152/physiolgenomics.00073.2011)
[5] Gillen et al. 2016 (https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2016-0154)
[6] Cintineo et al. 2018 (https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2018.00083)
[7] Hansen et al. 2015 (https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2014-0083)
[8] Brown et al. 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2017-0412)
[9] Jäger et al. 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-017-0177-8)
[10] Stellingwerff and Cox 2014 (https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2014-0027)
[11] https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/18221/8/Fuelling%20the%20female%20athlete%20carbohydrate%20and%20protein%20recommendations.pdf
[12] Beelen et al. 2010 (https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.20.6.515)
[13] Thomas, Erdman et al. 2016 (https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000000852)
[14] Odell et alOdell, O. J., Impey, S. G., Shad, B. J., Podlogar, T., Salgueiro, R. B., Rowlands, D. S., & Wallis, G. A. (2022). Oxidation of independent and combined ingested galactose and glucose, during exercise. J Appl Physiol (1985). https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00105.2022
Odell, O. J., Podlogar, T., & Wallis, G. A. (2020). Comparable Exogenous Carbohydrate Oxidation from Lactose or Sucrose during Exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 52(12), 2663-2672. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002426
[15] Maunder et al. 2018 (https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.00599)
[16] Impey et al. 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0867-7)
[17] Li et al. 2018 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2018.1442499), EFSA Journal 2011;9(6):2211