Refuelling during exercise
The area of nutrition is an area we touched on recently in terms of the importance of establishing the right pre-exercise meal. Getting the timing of your meal right and eating the right type of food are seen as vital in terms of ensuring you achieve your peak physical performance. Eating too much, too little, or indeed the wrong type of food, will have an adverse effect on your performance. A related issue is that of what to eat or drink during exercise, particularly longer sessions or events, and getting this right can be important in helping reach your potential.
Once again there are many factors to consider when planning what fluids and food you need to take on during your session. For example, the duration of your routine or event, even the weather conditions, and when you have last eaten. Riska Platt a nutrition consultant for the Cardiac Rehabilitation Center at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, provides some direction when she recommends that athletes should keep their body hydrated with small frequent sips of water, whether you are a professional athlete who trains for several hours or you have a low to moderate routine.She suggests that it is not necessary to eat during a workout of less than an hour’s duration. However, for sessions that are of higher intensity or longer, she recommends eating 50-100 calories every half hour of carbohydrates such as raisins, an energy bar or banana. Karen Reed in 7 post workout recipes to keep you energized throughout the day explains the time bracket known as the “window of opportunity” in which you should be eating after a workout to make sure your body recovers and that you stay energized throughout the day as well as providing some delicious recipes.
Boost your energy levels
Research suggests that our bodies can store enough energy to gets us through an average of one hour of high intensity activity. As a result we need to be able to boost those levels if our training or competition goes beyond that, and in planning for this there are certain things that we need to be aware of. One of the first concerns for an athlete is to ensure that they are properly hydrated during exercise, no matter what its duration. Sufficient fluids must be taken to replace sweat loss in order to prevent dehydration and in turn reduce the chances of fatigue which will affect performance. It is recommended to determine your sweat rate in order to get the correct amount of fluid. Sports Dieticians Australia develop this idea and point out that fluid intake during exercise should aim to match fluid losses so that the overall fluid deficit remains low.
Water will replace fluid losses, and is a good choice for sports lasting less than an hour, and perhaps, for situations where you don’t need to perform at your best. However, sports drinks have a number of advantages, including a taste that encourages better fluid intake, and the provision of carbohydrate for the benefits mentioned above. They also contain some electrolytes to help you better retain the fluid you drink and to replace the electrolytes lost in sweat.
Another important area is ensuring that you have the desired mix of fluids with carbohydrates and electrolytes. Stomach cramps or similar problems can result from having too little fluid or too many carbohydrates. In Work Out Nutrition Explained Brian St. Pierre, while looking at the benefits of taking protein, carbohydrates and fats, informs us that we need to take on nutrition during exercise in order to:-
- Stay hydrated
- Provide immediate fuel
- Boost performance
- Preserve muscle and
- Improve recovery
The article states that protein helps prevent muscle breakdown, but is only necessary for athletes doing long, intense training bouts, multiple daily training sessions, or in an attempt to gain mass. Carbohydrates provide an immediate fuel source but again is only beneficial in certain circumstances: endurance athletes on long runs, for people who want to gain a lot of muscle. Meanwhile fats should be avoided as they can be difficult to digest.
A plan tailored to your needs
As is always the case when it comes to exercise, establishing a pattern to suit your own particular needs is important as we learn from this useful Nutrition fact sheet: Eating During Exercise.
Experiment with sport drinks and foods for different types of workouts and competitions and record your tolerance to learn what works best for you. Dietician Clare Wood agrees that identifying your own individual needs is crucial and that intake quantity will depend on exercise intensity, weather conditions and glycogen storage at the start of the event. She suggests a guideline of 50g of easy to consume carbohydrate foods for every hour of exercise. This food should be easy to swallow with limited chewing. A nutrition plan based on YOUR needs can help maximize your performance.
References
Food as Fuel – Before, During and After Workouts, American Heart Association
Workout nutrition explained: What to eat before, during, and after exercise by Brian St. Pierre
Getting the right pre-workout meal will pay dividends by Monica Reinagel
Nutrition Fact Sheet: Eating During Exercise
What should I eat and drink before, during and after an endurance exercise?
Eating and drinking during and after Sport from Sports Dietitians Australia
Nutrition during exercise by Clare Wood
7 Post Workout Recipes To Keep You Energized Throughout The Day by Karen Reed
About Metrifit
Metrifit is an athlete monitoring system that gathers subjective and objective information from both coaches and athletes in a simple but effective manner with intelligent visualization helping coaches and athletes to act on that data. Why not have a look at our Ready to Perform product and gain insight on the physical and mental state of your athletes through our daily wellbeing questionnaire? To find out more visit our Metrifit Product Overview page or get in touch for a free demo.
Kari Thompson
Head Volley Ball Coach, Southern Illinois University
Previous Post
Next Post
