Nutrition and Endurance Exercise
Find out how to nutritionally support endurance exercise!
Nutrition for Endurance Exercise
Even though DediKate is all about short and effective workouts for busy women, quite a few of you are also taking part in endurance exercise. Go you! Here are some pointers for fueling yourself correctly for some of those longer duration training sessions.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrate is a macronutrient found in plant based foods e.g. vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes. Carbohydrate is stored in the liver and muscle as glycogen for readily available energy, which is particularly handy during exercise. However, these stores may be drained by long duration exercise e.g. >90-120 minutes. It is therefore important as an endurance exerciser to build up glycogen stores before endurance training and to use strategies to boost the amount of carbohydrate available to provide energy during particularly long sessions.
Pre-Exercise
Endurance exercisers are recommended to consume 5-8g of carbohydrates per Kg of body weight the day before a rigorous training session to increase glycogen stores. This would look like a 70Kg person eating 350-600g of carbohydrates. Start out by trying to have 2 cups of high fibre, nutrient dense complex carbohydrates with each meal in addition to less starchy vegetables. When possible, consume more simple, easy-to-digest carbohydrates two hours before training. The amount here will depend on your ability to digest these foods close to training.
Complex Carbohydrate Ideas (2 cups)
Potato
Kumara
Wholegrain Rice
Wholemeal Pasta
Beans
Pre-exercise Carbohydrate Ideas
Bananas
Dried Fruit
Honey and banana on toast
Creamed Rice
Sports Drink
During Exercise
For long sessions that will drain glycogen stores you will likely benefit from extra carbohydrate fuelling during exercise. Start fuelling after the first hour of exercise to stay ahead of the game. It is recommended to take on 30-60g of carbohydrates per hour during endurance exercise, depending on your rate of intensity. Start out by aiming for 30g of carbohydrates per hour in the form of 10g every 20 minutes using high sugar, portable carbohydrate options.
High Sugar Carbohydrate Ideas (10g portions)
- ½ sports gel
- 10g of jelly sweets
- 200ml Isotonic sports drink
- 1 baby food pouch
Basically...
Aim to consume 5-8g of carbohydrate per Kg of bodyweight per day before prolonged endurance exercise. Start by including 2 cups of complex carbohydrates at each meal and eating simple carbohydrates prior to a training session. Using quickly absorbed high sugar foods during exercise can help to maintain higher available carbohydrates for energy.
Protein
Protein is a macronutrient that helps to repair and maintain all cells and tissue in the body. Protein requirements are increased in endurance exercisers as muscle tissue damage is increased. It is important to eat enough protein to meet all increased protein requirements to avoid muscle loss, which can happen if protein is preferentially used for more vital functions. Eating enough carbohydrate will also help with this to act as a protein ‘sparer’. Protein is not an efficient fuel for exercise therefore, it is unnecessary to attempt to fuel exercise with protein. You can however use it to mitigate muscle damage during extended endurance events such as ultra-marathons.
Pre-Exercise
It is generally recommended that endurance exercisers intake 1.6-2.5g protein per Kg of body weight per day. This is dependent on the overall energy requirements and the intensity of the training schedule. Start by aiming for 1.6g per Kg of body weight. This would look like a 70Kg person eating around 112g of protein across the day. Timing is less important than hitting the overall amount of protein required, however spreading intake across the day will give you the best shot at supporting ongoing recovery. Aim for around 20-40g of protein per meal and add high protein snacks if you are not quite reaching your target.
Protein Ideas (30g)
100g chicken
185g tin springwater tuna
140g beef steak
400g beans
260g tofu
High Protein Snack Ideas (15g)
3 boiled eggs
45g cheese and apple slices
100g cottage cheese and apple/ cucumber
25g biltong
150g high protein yoghurt
During Exercise
Protein during exercise is not necessary or generally recommended for endurance exercise as it is not involved in fuelling. Having said that, longer duration exercisers such as ultra-marathoners may benefit from the addition of small amounts of protein to help aid repair during the training or event. This is because prolonged exercise such as ultras, will generally involve more tissue damage and be less well fueled due to the extended time of exercise. In this case, it is recommended to consume 5-10g of protein per hour of exercise.
Basically...
Aim to consume at least 1.6g of protein per Kg of body weight as an endurance exerciser. These requirements will be higher if your training calls for higher energy intakes, is intense or causes a lot of tissue damage. Aim to eat around 20-40g portions of protein across the day to make up your requirements. Protein is generally not recommended during exercise unless you are an ultra endurance exerciser.
Let's Sum It Up!
Carbohydrate provides an efficient and effective supply of energy to us during exercise. We can store carbohydrates as glycogen in our liver and muscles however these stores are drained in around 90-120 minutes of exercise. Eating a high carbohydrate diet filled with nutrient dense, complex carbohydrates will help to maximise glycogen stores before exercise. As they start to run low, it is a good idea to use additional simple carbohydrates (sugar) to increase available carbohydrate for energy. Endurance exercise can create tissue damage, increasing requirements for protein as the macronutrient capable of repair and maintenance of tissue. Protein requirements can be met by eating protein containing foods in each meal and having additional snacks where necessary.
For more in depth discussions about how to nutritionally support endurance exercise, listen to Amy's Eat Great Chat on the topic! Amy delves deeper into other important aspects such as fluid needs and avoiding exercise induced gut issues.
Members can find this under 'Nutrition Chats' on DediKate!
