Top Endurance

By implementing a year-round nutrition program in conjunction with their training program, endurance athletes can reap the benefits of enhanced health, improved performance, and better control of weight and body composition. Remember that the eating program should ebb and flow just as the training does; the athlete’s physical performance will be much more supported when nutrition matches the needs of physical training. The most important nutrients to consume during training are carbohydrate, fluid, and electrolytes. Table 4.1 provides recommendations for the intake of carbohydrate, protein, and fat during each training cycle. These recommendations are discussed in further detail in upcoming sections.



                                         COMMON ERRORS IN NUTRITION PROGRAMS

Endurance athletes commonly make the following two errors in carrying out their nutrition programs:

• Inadequate hydration during and after training. Hydration is essential for optimal performance and optimal recovery. Athletes who ingest too little fluid will compromise the effectiveness of training and will increase the length of time it takes to recover from training.

• Not maintaining an appropriate nutrient intake on a day-to-day basis. Athletes and coaches need to recognize that ingesting too many calories is just as detrimental as ingesting too few calories. Ingesting too many calories can lead to weight gain, usually in the form of adipose. Ingesting too few calories minimizes training effectiveness and the recovery from training. Nutrition periodization helps ensure that nutrient intake is based on training load.



                                              
                                                      Nutrition for the Preparatory Cycle

In addition to the athlete’s physical goals, losing weight and improving body composition may also be a high priority during the preparatory cycle. Daily carbohydrate intake depends on body weight and activity level:

 For moderate-duration and low-intensity training (1 to 3 hours per day), the recommended daily intake is 4 to 7 grams per kilogram of body weight.

 For moderate to heavy training (3 to 4 hours per day), the recommended daily intake is 7 to 10 grams per kilogram of body weight.

 For extreme training (4 to 6 hours or more per day), the recommended daily intake is 10 or more grams per kilogram of body weight.

Most endurance athletes will not likely fall into the extreme training category during this cycle. Until training volume significantly increases, a general recommendation is that the majority of carbohydrates come from fruits and vegetables, because these foods contain a good balance of beneficial vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. A good goal would be to eat 6 to 12 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. This may sound like a lot, but the serving sizes of fruits and vegetables are fairly small. Athletes can distribute the servings throughout the day by eating 1 or 2 servings every meal and snack. This makes it much easier to ensure that an adequate amount is eaten. Whole grains can be included in controlled amounts to satisfy carbohydrate needs.

Daily protein intake can range from 1.2 to 1.7 grams per kilogram of body weight depending on the athlete’s goals for body weight. Athletes should choose the leanest sources of protein, such as low-fat dairy products and lean cuts of meat, chicken, turkey, or fish without skin or visible fat.

The recommended amount of fat to be consumed on a daily basis remains relatively low at 0.8 to 1.0 grams per kilogram of body weight. The types of fat that are most beneficial include monounsaturated (found in avocados, olives, and nuts) and polyunsaturated, specifically omega-3 fats (found in salmon, trout, walnuts, and flax products). At all costs, athletes need to minimize the intake of saturated and trans fats found in processed and snack foods and high-fat meats.

Some athletes make losing weight and reducing body composition a primary goal during the preparatory training cycle. If an athlete falls into this category, the recommended daily intake of carbohydrate should be reduced to 3 or 4 grams per kilogram of body weight. A higher amount of protein—from 1.8 to 2.0 grams per kilogram of body weight per day—should be included; this intake of protein should have a special emphasis on branched-chain amino acids because they have a higher satiety factor (they keep a person fuller), which will help stabilize blood sugar. A person with a stable blood sugar level will eat less throughout the day, so including a good source of lean protein at each meal and snack is important. Continue to keep fat intake around 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight.

Fueling for Training Sessions During the Preparatory Cycle
Staying hydrated and maintaining carbohydrate stores are key components when it comes to eating during any training session. However, the nutrition recommendations are highly variable based on environmental conditions, weight goals, sweat rate, and training load. These variables change as the athlete progresses through the preparatory training cycle. The athlete’s nutrition plan should adapt accordingly; however, the following recommendations provide a starting point.

Staying hydrated is the most important factor during the sessions in this cycle. The most recent general guidelines on hydration recommend the following: drinking 0.07 to 0.10 ounce (2.1-3 ml) of fluid per pound (0.45 kg) of body weight 4 hours before training and an additional 0.04 to 0.10 ounce (1.2-3 ml) of fluid per pound of body weight 2 hours before training if the athlete’s urine is not pale yellow in color. For example, a 150-pound (68 kg) athlete would drink 10.5 to 15 ounces (~310-444 ml) of fluid 4 hours before training and an additional 6 to 15 ounces (177-444 ml) of fluid 2 hours before a training session. For endurance athletes who train early in the morning, this is not realistic; thus, the recommendation for these athletes is that they consume at least 0.04 ounce (1.2 ml) of fluid per pound of body weight in the 30 to 45 minutes before training.

If losing weight or body fat is not a goal for the preparatory cycle, athletes should consume 30 to 50 grams of carbohydrate per hour of training. Current recommendations for carbohydrate intake during preparatory cycle training are based on absolute values rather than relative values (grams per kilogram of body weight). The training sessions in this cycle are usually low to moderate volume and low intensity, so athletes do not need more carbohydrate than the basic recommendation. Additional carbohydrate is needed only when the volume and intensity increase during later training cycles.

Athletes can consume carbohydrate from a variety of sources, including solids (crackers, bananas, energy bars) and liquids (sports drinks, gels). Keep in mind that during low- to moderate-intensity exercise, blood flow to the stomach is adequate, which means most athletes should be able to choose easily digestible carbohydrate (i.e., those that have less fiber and are more simple in nature). However, during higher-intensity exercise, blood flow to the stomach is lower, which means solid forms of carbohydrate will probably be more difficult to digest. Protein is typically not needed in high amounts, if at all, during most training sessions in the preparatory cycle.

As mentioned earlier, many individual aspects of hydration must be considered, but in general, athletes should drink 3 to 8 ounces (89-237 ml) of fluid every 15 to 20 minutes during exercise in order to remain hydrated. Of course, this will depend greatly on the training environment, because sweat rates can be drastically different from a hot and humid climate to a cold and dry climate. Cyclists can usually absorb fluid at a greater rate than weight-bearing athletes such as runners. This is partially because cycling uses a smaller muscle mass, which allows more blood flow to the gut and thus helps with gastric emptying. Triathletes must find that delicate balance between drinking enough to maintain hydration status but not drinking so much that it has a negative effect during the run portion of training or racing.

Athletes who are actively trying to lose weight should consider a sports drink that contains electrolytes only; these sports drinks are useful in this situation, especially for low-intensity training sessions shorter than 90 minutes. The individual training sessions within each training cycle will dictate hydration somewhat. That is the point in using nutrition periodization. The body has enough glycogen to fuel moderate-intensity exercise. If an athlete seeks weight loss and eats before the training session, then extra calories are not needed during this training cycle. Consuming extra calories will slow the progress of weight loss.

After training, the athlete needs to replace the nutrients that were lost. Four nutrients—fluid, carbohydrate, protein, and sodium—are the main focal points for postworkout nutrition and should be consumed immediately after and up to 60 minutes after a session is finished. In the case of fluids, athletes may need to consume quantities greater than those lost. This will help ensure that the necessary fluid levels are adequately restored before the next training session. Drinking 150 percent of fluid losses will help the body rehydrate. Drinking 24 ounces (710) of fluid for every pound (0.45 kg) of body weight lost during the training session is a good practice to follow. Including at least 500 milligrams of sodium in the fluid consumed after exercise will help the body retain the fluid consumed.

If the training session taxed glycogen stores by lasting longer than 90 minutes or by including very high-intensity intervals, postworkout recovery can be enhanced by consuming carbohydrate sources with a higher glycemic index. The athlete should consume 1.0 to 1.2 grams of these sources per kilogram of body weight. High-glycemic carbohydrates include food sources containing high levels of sugar and sources that are highly processed (e.g., most sports drinks). Consuming this type of postworkout snack is easy to do by choosing low-fat chocolate milk, a lean-meat bagel sandwich, or a milk-based fruit smoothie.

Postworkout protein is needed for optimal recovery, although not at the same levels as carbohydrate. Protein intake helps the body shift into positive protein balance. Athletes should eat 10 to 20 grams of high-quality protein (composed mostly of essential amino acids). The postworkout snacks listed previously also meet the postworkout protein requirements needed for optimal recovery. Fat is typically not needed in the “window of opportunity” after a training session and should not be included immediately after exercise.

After the initial postworkout nutrition protocol, athletes who are not seeking weight loss should eat another 1.0 to 1.2 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight 2 hours after the initial carbohydrate intake; they should repeat this in 2-hour increments throughout the next 6 to 8 hours. This strategy will refill glycogen stores the fastest, typically within 12 to 16 hours instead of 24 hours. (Athletes who are actively trying to lose weight should not follow this regimen; after a moderate training session, these athletes should simply have a small snack of carbohydrate, protein, a little sodium, and some water.)

During this time, any combination of carbohydrates is beneficial as long as they are less processed and refined. Ideas include carbohydrate-rich snacks or meals balanced with lean protein such as a lean turkey sandwich with tomato, lettuce, cucumbers, pickles, and mustard; a nonfat milk or yogurt-based fruit smoothie; a bowl of whole-grain cereal with berries and skim milk; or oatmeal made with skim milk and raisins or other dried fruit. The goal is to maximize glycogen repletion; therefore, smaller snacks or meals are preferred over larger meals that fill the athlete up so much that she cannot eat again in another 2 hours.