Your Training Nutrition
A common question about nutrition is "Should I eat breakfast before an early morning training session?"The short answer is: Yes, training requires energy and you get energy from the food you eat.
And the next question is how much how many? There is not short or easy answer to this, because what works for one person does not work for the next, that's why in our previous tip we suggested about "trial and error" during training, here are some guidelines to help you:
The calories you take should match the ones you burn every day to be able to train and compete at your best. If you take too many calories your body fat stores will go up, and the extra weight can slow you down and affect your performance. And too little calories will lead to a fall-off in your performance. The risk of injury and illness increases in both cases.
Full/Half Ironmans and Marathons require so much energy and so many hours of training that taking enough calories can be challenging. Snacks and small frequent meals, especially between workouts, are a must.
There is no way to know exactly how many calories you need a day. It's based on the intensity and duration of your workouts, your races, and your every day activities. If you are training frequently, long and hard, your caloric needs are high. But in periods of low activity, like the off season, or when injured, you caloric needs are less. The key is to adjust the calories going in to the number of calories going out.
The three sources of calories are Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat.
Carbohydrates are the most important muscle fuel for endurance sports and are stored in your body as glucose in your bloodstream and glycogen in your muscles and liver. Carbs come from foods like fruits, vegetables, breads, cereals, pastas and potatoes. The carbs stored in your body are limited and need to be replenished constantly. You must provide the carbs needed for training and for recovery of the muscle glycogen stores.
- For moderate duration and/or low intensity training days (easy), take about 2.5–3.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight. So, for a 150-lb athlete needs about 375-525 grams of carbs daily.
-On days of great intensity or long duration, take in about 3.5–4.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight. That is about 525-675 grams of carbs daily for a 150 lb athlete.
With the above guidelines, you will be able to replenish your glycogen stores within 24 hours.
Remember from one of our previous Tip of the Week, the importance of starting the recovery within 30 minutes after a work out. You should take about 0.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight. That’s about 75 grams for a 150 lb athlete.
During heavy training (i.e. Ironman) when doing two workouts a day or if you have less than 24 hours between workouts, you’ll need to expedite your recovery. Make sure you consume 0.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight within 30 minutes after exercise, preferably through a recovery drink, and within an hour of this window of recovery you should have a well balanced meal. If you're refueling right -eating every 3-4 hours- you should have about 2,000 calories stored in the form of glycogen and glucose ready for you to use in your next workouts.
Protein is the next source of calories. Sources of protein include lean cuts of beef or pork, chicken, eggs, fish, beans, low-fat or nonfat dairy foods (cheese, yogurt) and nuts. If you eat right and balanced you'll get plenty of protein so no need to obsess about protein intake. The key is to time your protein intake in relation to your workouts:
-If your training is mostly aerobic or for endurance, consume 10–20 grams of protein as soon as possible after you finish. This protein will provide the amino acid building blocks needed to promote muscle tissue repair and building in response to your training. This is why it is important to choose a good recovery drink that has protein too.
-For resistance training workouts, consume 10–20 grams of protein just before and just after working out, to help with the repair and building of lean tissue. A good energy drink with some protein or a protein bar low in calories with water are good choices.
Fat, is the last source of calories. Fat is the primary source of fuel for your muscles during long and low-intensity exercise and when resting. You shouldn't be concerned about replacing the fat you burn during exercise. Running out of fat stores is not a worry, the average athlete has more than 60,000 calories stored in the form of fat! That's why it is so important during Ironman and Marathon training to do your long rides and runs at low intensity (HR's zone 1 and 2), so your body learns to use the stored fat as the main source of energy.
Finally, make sure you meet your carb and protein needs each day. The remaining calories needed should come from healthiest sources of fat like the heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon, nuts, seeds, grains and avocados, and vegetable oils like olive and canola.
Keep drinks and snacks rich in carbs and protein in hand to eat before, during and right after training, to obtain the proper refueling and start the recovery process.
By Andres Torres
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