Performance Nutrition - On and Off the Road

Training and racing present many challenges for endurance athletes to manage. One factor that is often overlooked is the importance of nutrition in optimizing your performance. In this article I will discuss some important things that you should be aware of to train and race at your potential. Establishing a good nutritional strategy is truly the most important factor in endurance sports and the longer your event, the more important it becomes.

Nutrition Off the Road

When looking at your day-to-day training and recovery you need to pay attention to the following:

- Overall caloric needs
- Metabolic type – macronutrient intake
- Food quality – nutrient density

Determining your overall caloric needs is not an exact science due to individual metabolic variability. There are machines that can test your basal metabolic rate (BMR) to establish a benchmark for the amount of calories you burn each day (without exercise), or you can get a good estimate of your BMR by using an on-line calculator. Once you know your BMR you can determine additional caloric needs by using a similar calculator that accounts for exercise.

A more accurate way to track calories burned is to use a power meter on your bike and/or a Garmin (or other GPS device) while you run.

Once you know your caloric needs, you can monitor your diet and appropriately manage your food intake. Many endurance athletes do not eat enough calories to sustain their training load, which can lead to fatigue, lack of motivation and injury. This is also a common reason some athletes have trouble losing body fat. If you don’t meet your body’s caloric needs, your metabolism will down-regulate to become more efficient and burn fewer calories. You need to keep your caloric intake close to what you require in order for your body to burn body fat and up-regulate your metabolism.

Your diet also has an enormous effect on your performance. Everyone should take the test to determine their metabolic type, either through the website www.healthexcel.com or by working with a metabolic typing advisor. This process will guide you to find the most appropriate ratios of carbohydrates, fats and protein to suit your biochemical and genetic needs. Each athlete is unique and will thrive on his or her own particular diet. Finding the right balance is the key to unlocking your athletic potential, as well as your overall health.

Once you have determined your metabolic type, the next step is improving the nutrient density of your diet. Your goal should be to eat as many whole, unprocessed foods as possible. Eating locally produced and/or organic food is ideal. Getting more nutrients in your diet means you will have more of the raw materials you need to run the biochemical and metabolic systems of your body, and not just empty calories.

Nutrition On the Road

Once you have improved your overall diet, there are a few things you should be aware of before, during and after training and racing:

- Pre-workout and pre-race nutrition
- Training and racing nutrition
- Post exercise – recovery/glycogen storage

For pre-workout and pre-race nutrition, there are two basic strategies that should be followed. Traditionally, athletes eat and drink whatever their stomachs can handle. This is usually a process of trial-and-error, and each athlete needs to determine what works best for him or her. More recent research makes a good case for a specific strategy of limiting caloric intake to three hours before training and racing in order to limit insulin response and in the process spare glycogen stores. Once you begin your race or workout you should begin fueling in a way that will support your efforts over the duration of time you will be exercising.

For pre-workout and pre-race, there are two basic strategies that may be followed. Traditionally, athletes just eat and drink whatever their stomach can handle. More recent research makes a good case for a specific strategy of limiting caloric intake to three hours before training and racing in order to limit insulin response and in the process will spare glycogen stores. Once you begin your race or workout you should begin fueling in a way that will support your efforts over the duration of time you will be exercising. This is usually a trial-and-error process and everyone needs to work out what works best for them.

Whatever strategy you choose, it is important to be systematic with your calorie intake once you get moving. You will need to take in anywhere from 250-400 calories of carbohydrate per hour depending on numerous factors (body size, metabolism, fitness, heat, cold, wind, altitude, hydration, electrolyte balance, etc.). You may choose to use solid foods, bars, gels, fluid replacement and/or meal replacement drinks. The source is a matter of preference, but consuming the calories is mandatory to optimize your performance.

After your workouts and races it is critical to replenish glycogen stores (reserve energy stored in muscle and liver). Your body has a “glycogen window,” which is within 20 minutes after your hard effort. During this time your body is most able to absorb and store the sugars in your blood stream and convert them into muscle and liver glycogen. If you miss the “window” you will likely have reduced glycogen stores and in turn have reduced performance and recovery for your next workout.

Following these basic rules of nutrition will get you aligned with the natural needs of your body and allow you to get the most out of your training and racing. Do your best to train smart and keep a nutritional balance in your world and you should have years of good results.

Photo by Brando Makes Branding on Unsplash