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Gaining Your Endurance Edge With The High Performance Diet®
If you've decided that you want to increase your aerobic performance, training for an endurance activity is a great way to achieve your goal. Whether it's a 10K or a marathon, sports nutrition science can give you more information about how to eat to improve at your sport than just about any other athletic competition. To gain the competitive edge, read on...
The Basics Of Endurance
During aerobic or endurance exercise, your body burns mainly carbohydrate and fat for fuel. With mild to moderate-intensity aerobics, say a light jog or fast walk, the fuel mix burned is about 50/50. Pick up the pace, and you'll burn more carbohydrate — as much as 80%. Initially the energy source is glucose circulating in the blood. At this higher level of intensity, especially at the beginning of exercise, it's just not as easy for the body to liberate fat for energy as it is stored carbohydrate. Mobilizing fat for the fuel mixture involves a series of complex chemical reactions requiring oxygen.
But as your heart starts pumping harder and more blood flows into tissues, oxygen is transported into cells. This means fat can be burned, too, and the fuel mixture for exercise starts changing. Eventually your oxygen-carrying capacity begins to drop off and your body reverts to using stored carbohydrate for energy. The more carbohydrate that's left in the muscles toward the end of exercise, the longer you can last.
The amount of carbohydrate stored in muscles (a.k.a. glycogen) is directly related to how much carbohydrate you eat and how well trained you are. In general, diets containing 60-65% or more of calories from carbohydrate allow for the greatest storage of glycogen in the muscles on a daily basis. The more glycogen you store in your muscles, the longer you can train or work out. So to maintain your performance edge, your diet should always be high in carbohydrates.
Here are some training diet specifics for events lasting 90 minutes to 3 hours:
With heavy training lasting 2 hours or more per day, you need to replenish your carbohydrate stores and cover your protein needs, take in enough calories to provide adequate energy, and drink plenty of fluids.
| 1 |
Eat 3.6-4.5 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight per day (8-10 grams/kg).
If you are training more moderately, eat 2.7-3.6 grams per pound (6-8 grams/kg).
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| 2 |
Eat 0.55-0.64 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day (1.2-1.4 grams/kg).
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| 3 |
Fat will provide the remainder of your calories.
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| 4 |
Stay well hydrated. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke can occur in runs as short as 6.2 miles. Drink 4-10 ounces every 15-20 minutes. For endurance training and events, sports drinks containing 6-8% carbohydrate (e.g., Gatorade and Exceed) will decrease fatigue and improve your performance. DON'T SKIP FLUID STOPS!
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| 5 |
Carbohydrate loading in the days before the event will increase muscle glycogen stores. Follow the plan below.
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| 6 |
Eat a pre-race meal 2-3 hours before the event. Consume 0.45-1.8 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight (1-4 grams/kg) and combine your meal with some protein and little fat. Base your intake on proximity to the event, i.e. less carbohydrate the less time until the race. Good pre-race food choices are a combination of some of the following: breads, pancakes, pasta, nonfat or low-fat yogurt and milk, chicken, turkey, egg whites, peanut butter, fruit, fruit juices, jams and jellies, and high-carbohydrate liquid meals or supplements. Avoid fatty foods, very sweet foods, high-fiber foods, and high-protein foods that are also high in fat. They slow digestion or cause blood sugar to spike. CAUTION: Always test your pre-event meal in training, not before an important competition.
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| 7 |
After training or competition, replenish your muscle glycogen stores ASAP for a faster recovery. Within 30 minutes after heavy exercise you need to consume 0.7 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight (1.5 grams/kg), combined with 0.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight (.5 g/kg), followed by an equivalent carbohydrate/protein feeding 2 hours later. You might prefer to take in your first replenishment in liquid form, followed by a meal the next hour. Continue this strategy for the next 3-4 hours, and continue consuming your usual high-carbohydrate diet for the 24 hours after heavy exercise.
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Supplements For Endurance Performance
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There is no question that the greatest ergogenic aid is carbohydrate loading. This is the dietary technique of pushing more glycogen into muscle storage than normal. Followed the week prior to competition, carbohydrate loading works best for endurance competitions lasting at least 60-90 minutes or more. The basic strategy is twofold: rest your muscles prior to the race, and eat as much carbohydrate as you can. Both parts are essential for success. Seasoned athletes gain a greater benefit than beginners: the more well-trained you are, the greater your capacity to store glycogen. Even so, carbohydrate loading helps the novice, too.
The High Performance Carbohydrate-Loading Plan
| Days Prior to Competition |
Training Intensity |
Diet |
| 6 |
Flat out, hard — 90 minutes |
60% carbs; 2.7g/lb. |
| 5 |
Moderate — 40-60 minutes |
60% carbs; 2.7g/lb. |
| 4 |
Moderate — 30-40 minutes |
60% carbs; 2.7g/lb. |
| 3 |
Moderate — 20-30 minutes |
70% carbs; at least 4.5g/lb. |
| 2 |
Light — 20 minutes |
70% carbs; at least 4.5g/lb. |
| 1 |
Rest |
70% carbs; at least 4.5g/lb. |
| Race day |
Go for it! |
See above recommendations |
Adapted from Kleiner, SM and Greenwood-Robinson M. High-Performance Nutrition. The Total Eating Plan to Maximize Your Workout. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1996
- Liquid carbohydrate supplements and high-carbohydrate sports bars are very helpful in the high performance diet, especially during the carbohydrate-loading phase. Sports drinks with 6-8% carbohydrate are very helpful for maintaining hydration and offering an additional source of carbohydrate for exercise lasting longer than 60 minutes.
- Caffeine may help with endurance beyond 60 minutes, and may especially improve endurance in events lasting 90 minutes and more. Caffeine is a banned substance in drug-tested events. The recommended dosage to remain within legal limits is 1.4-2.7 mg/pound body weight (3-6 mg/kg) taken 1 hour before exercise. Remember, caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant and may have adverse effects on performance. Always test its use first during training and not during a competition.
- Vitamin E is at the center of a lot of excitement in sports research about antioxidants. Antioxidants help fight free radicals, chemicals produced naturally by the body that cause irreversible damage to cells. Ironically, among the many factors that increase free radical production, exercise is one. Because the primary source of vitamin E in our diets is vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and wheat germ, anyone following a low fat diet naturally has a low intake of vitamin E. A supplement of 100 to 400 IUs of vitamin E per day is adequate to cover any increased needs due to intensive exercise.
- The combined supplement of glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate is being sold as an arthritis cure. In fact, although the research is ongoing, there is good initial evidence that this supplement does help relieve the pain and ease the movement of arthritis sufferers. One study of athletes with cartilage damage in their knees showed that 76% had complete resolution of symptoms and resumed full athletic training after 140 days of supplementation. More research is needed in this area, but supplementation with these compounds looks promising.
- Glutamine is an essential amino acid, particularly important for immune function and proper functioning of the gut. One symptom of the overtraining syndrome (OTS) is low glutamine levels in the blood. More research is also needed in this area, but athletes intensively training for competition and at risk of OTS may benefit from glutamine supplementation.
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