What should you eat during a high resistance test?

One of the advantages of being a serious endurance athlete is that you can train with impunity. All that training burns a lot of calories, which is why you can do real damage to all-you-can-eat buffets.

In fact, sometimes it may seem like you’re hungry all the time, except during an intense workout or race. In such situations, the “fight or flight” response is activated, sending your nervous system into overdrive and calming your appetite so you can focus on the job at hand.

The only problem with this little hormonal autofocus is that it can cause you to burn a ton of calories, so if things go on too long (say, more than 90 minutes) you’ll run out of gas.

To avoid running on an empty tank, here’s how to fuel your body during a race.

How your body burns fuel when you exercise

When you exercise, your body can draw fuel from several places:

• Adipose tissue (through lipolysis, the breakdown of fat)
• Muscle mass (through proteolysis, the breakdown of proteins)
• carbohydrates (via glycolysis – the breakdown of glucose, also known as blood sugar, which is also stored in muscle and liver cells as glycogen).

when you effort level is low, or when you are training in a lowest heart rate zoneYour body burns a higher percentage of fat than carbohydrates for fuel. Even really lean athletes have enough fat to last a while, so if you’re in recovery mode or building a base, nutrition during training isn’t as important (but hydration It still is!)

In fact, many athletes deliberately train fasted (i.e. glucose deficient) during these types of workouts to teach their bodies to better use fat for fuel. But as the intensity of your training increases, your body’s reliance on carbohydrates for energy also increases.

If you plan to put in a real effort, or if you plan to train for more than a couple of hours, you’re probably better off refueling with carbohydrates while your body burns through its glycogen stores.

What is glycogen?

Glycogen is basically a backup supply of blood sugar. It is easily converted back into glucose to be used for energy. Liver glycogen can diffuse throughout the body, including the muscles, but muscle glycogen only works for the specific muscle in which it is stored.

When your glycogen stores are completely full, you should have between 90 and 120 minutes of fuel to work with. After that, you “fuck” or “hit the wall.”

If you’ve ever been in the middle of a training session and suddenly felt like even the simplest task was an epic challenge, that’s crazy. Technically, you can still function at that point, since you still have fat and muscle reserves to draw on, but you won’t perform as well.

How to recharge during a long event (60+ minutes)

1. Get a head start on carbs

Increase your carbohydrate intake for a couple of days. before your raceAnd since there’s no easy way to know when your glycogen is at 100 percent, hedge your bets by eating a carbohydrate-rich meal a few hours before you start.

2. Fuel proactively

Start feeding about 30 minutes after starting rather than waiting for the first signs of fatigue to appear. Because? Because if you wait until you’re tired to refuel, you’ve waited too long. (Our bodies did not evolve to optimize fuel production for 140.1 miles.) iron man races and double centuries.)

During extreme exertion, the human body can burn between 800 and 1000 calories per hour. Unfortunately, we can only absorb around 360 calories from carbohydrates one hour, which means that we are facing a situation of diminishing returns from the starting line, so it is important to make a jump in glycogen replenishment.

Since there are four calories in one gram of carbohydrate, 360 calories of carbohydrate equals 90 grams. But getting those 90 grams isn’t as easy as devouring a jelly donut, since different sugars are absorbed in different ways and at different speeds. If you consume nothing but glucose, you will only absorb about 60 grams per hour, for example.

3. Combine types of sugars

There is a trick to maximizing carbohydrate absorption: fructose is absorbed differently than glucose; It needs to go through the liver. This process can occur simultaneously with glucose absorption, so if you consume a combination of the two, you should be able to absorb more carbohydrates in total: 90 grams per hour.

But while this figure is backed by some reputable science, don’t take it too lightly. Just because you can probably absorb 90 grams of carbohydrates per hour doesn’t mean you can. ought. During “shorter” events that last between one and two hours, you probably won’t need 90 grams per hour, so you might as well save the stress on your digestive system and stick to the 30 to 60 grams per hour.

However, if you are going to last longer, your best bet is to keep 60 grams per hour as a baseline and add up to 30 grams per hour on top of that, depending on what your system can comfortably tolerate.

90 grams may seem like a lot of carbs to absorb, but as with most aspects of training, you can increase your body’s ability to handle them. Start with an amount that works for you and then slowly increase your intake. Just remember to experiment during training, not during races.

4. Set reminders

Plus, use all that fancy data technology you’ve probably invested in. Set a timer on your computer/phone/bionic implant that reminds you to drink and eat at regular intervals.

How to hydrate during an event

The science behind event feeding is surprisingly vague, but the science behind event feeding hydration It is relatively solid, so by fixing it down, you can simplify the feeding part.

The amount of fluid you drink should vary depending on your sweat rate, which, according to the American College of Sports Medicine, can range from 8 to 67 ounces per hour during an event. Finding the perfect hydration level can take some time, but cyclists typically start at about 24 ounces per hour. That’s about the volume you’ll find in a standard water bottle, which makes it easy to keep track of.

Should you use a sports drink?

You may be tempted to fill that bottle with a sugar-laden drink. sports drink so you can feed and hydrate yourself at the same time. There is a slim chance that this will work for your unique physiology, but most likely the hypertonic (more concentrated than blood) of that tasty drink will not be absorbed effectively.

It can cause gastric upset or, as experienced in many cyclocross races, vomiting. It is better to drink a hypotonic drink (less concentrated than blood) with less sugar. These solutions tend to be absorbed more efficiently and effectively.

A good sports drink It will offer carbohydrates as a combination of fructose and glucose. A portion of Beachbody Performance Hydration It contains 10 grams of carbohydrates, so if you drink four servings per hour, that’s 40 grams, meaning you’ll only need to eat 20 to 50 grams (or about 80 to 200 calories) of carbohydrates from food in that hour.

You can always try to consume all carbohydrates in liquid form, which is not uncommon during triathlonsbut this presents a couple of problems. First, if you are left with a hypotonic mixture, that is a lot of water.

Second, consuming only one product for hours on end while suffering mentally and physically is a recipe for taste fatigue, where you reach such a distaste for food that your exhausted, exercise-addled brain actively prevents you from eating or drinking. . By mixing liquids and solids, you have a better chance of avoiding taste fatigue and maintaining your appetite.

What types of foods should I eat?

Anything that tastes good and is made up primarily of carbohydrates will probably work. You want to absorb those sugars quickly, so high glycemic index foods (i.e. those that quickly raise blood glucose levels) are excellent in this situation.

Some popular options include bananascantaloupe, other low-fiber fruits, and mini pretzels. (Three or four hours after a particularly difficult event, I also really enjoy an eight-ounce can of Coca-Cola. Hooray for carbs and caffeine!)

But if your event is going to be constantly exhausting or jarring to your system… triathlons and marathons come to mind: gels and chews are easily digestible food options. Again, make sure read the ingredients to check sugar sources.

The swimming dilemma in triathlon

You Ironman friends are probably scratching your heads, since it’s pretty difficult to get fuel while swimming. And by “difficult” we mean impossible.

So make sure you’re fully fueled and hydrated before you start the race, and focus on fueling by the time you arrive. mainland. Keep a full bottle next to your bike or in your transition bag to drink as best you can while you change.

As for feeding, it is up to you to determine how much you can tolerate and/or adapt to. If you can chew one or two chews during the transition without slowing down, great. Otherwise, try to feed it during the first few kilometers of your bike. Keep in mind that it’s easier to fuel yourself when you’re cycling than when you’re running, so don’t fall behind here.

That said, suddenly filling your gut can lead to gastrointestinal issues, so it’s important to know what your intake limits are here. Treat this transition feeding like any other part of your training.

A few words about proteins

While protein is critical after the event, it should play very little role in food during the event. Your goal is to restore glycogen as quickly as possible and protein slows absorption.

The exception is a multi-stage race. In this case, you want to maintain the balance of protein turnover (muscle synthesis and breakdown) as much as possible, so some protein during such an event is a good idea. Simply keep carbs at the front of your diet and experiment with protein during training to determine how much you can tolerate.

The last word: do what you like

While all of this advice gives you a great starting point for event nutrition (or, hopefully, a way to troubleshoot your current method), keep in mind that personal taste and biology go a long way in determining the right foods for you. Never, ever experiment during a race. But when you’re training, don’t be afraid to try different foods, in different quantities and in different ratios of solid to liquid.

Also, don’t be afraid to grab samples offered at race registration booths (for later use) or trick your friends when they have something you’ve never tried.

Find the intersection between what works scientifically and what works personally. Once you’ve figured that out, you’ll be unstoppable.