NUTRITION FOR ENDURANCE ATHLETES

What and When? H dration Su lementation

Carbohydrates Background Let's Make a Deal
• Carbohydrates are the primary fuels your muscles use for exercise; think of it the Hotter/more humid = More sweat = More dehydration Focus your time and energy on good food and building healthy habits in your diet
same way we use gasoline in our cars • Your body has to work much harder to cool itself when it's hot and humid Consider supplementation only after:
• During regular endurance exercise you can burn 60 - 80 grams of carbohydrate for • With no plan in place to monitor fluid loss and to replace lost fluid, dehydration can 1) You regularly eat breakfast on a daily basis
every hour you exercise reduce your perfonmance in as little as one hour of exercise, maybe faster! 2) You regularly eat three meals and two healthy snacks each day
• 60% of your diet should come from carbohydrates. In other words, when looking at a • The longer you exercise, the more you wiU sweat. This further increases fluid loss and 3) You only use a meal-replacement as a snack and NOT a meal
plate of food, a little more than half of the food should be carbohydrates makes dehydration even worse 4) You identify five quick healthy snacks that are available to you at all times
• Good carbohydrate sources include rice, grains, fruits, pastas, and potatoes 5) You only use one serving of whey protein at a time (20 - 25g)
• Foods that come packaged and/or contain high amounts of sugar are not good Strategy 6) You begin eating fresh fruit or whole grains with protein shakes or sports drinks
carbohydrate choices

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• Hours of exercise require your muscles to be able to recover
• Optimal recovery requires good nutrition and rest. Without proper
recovery, your body will become tired and sore. This may make
you more prone to sustain an injury
fj Don't wait until you are thirsty; dehydration has already reduced your perfonmance
You should drinks fluids:
- All day long
- Before it's time to exercise
- During your workout, practice or competition
- After your workout, practice or competition
Three things need to be replaced when your body sweats for a prolonged period of time:
Carbohydrate
• The most important consideration is to replace the fluid, carbohydrate and electrolytes
you lose while exercising
• Regular ingestion of a sports drink before, during and after a workout or competition is
critically important
Drink 2 cups of a sports drink within 30 min of starting a workout
• Protein should make up around 15 - 20% of the calories you 1)The fluid (water) you are sweating Drink 1.5 - 2 cups of a sports drink every 15 min during exercise
eat every day or what one large piece slice of pizza would look like 2)The carbohydrate your muscles are burning for fuel • • For every pound lost, drink 2 cups of a sports drink or alternate with water
when taken from a ful pizza
• A 110 - 130 pound athlete should ingest around 100 - 115 grams of protein each day
3)The electrolytes found in your sweat
Drinking only water replaces the fluid you are losing
~~/ \. , Protein is Important for Recovery t~
• Don't eat TOO MUCH protein. Replacing carbohydrate with protein may limit your Drinking a sports drink replaces all three of these things • Adding a little protein to a carbohydrate source may help
body's ability to recover and have a negative impact on your health and performance Soda, energy drinks, and alcohol do NOT provide adequate amounts and present speed up recovery and minimize muscle damage
• Good protein sources include chicken, turkey, beef, fish, dairy (milk, cheese, cottage additional challenges to your body • Whey protein is a popular, high quality form of protein found in milk
cheese), and eggs • If exercising for more than one hour, especially when hot, do NOT drink just water, you • 15 - 25 grams of a high quality protein source provide adequate --l
• Vegetables contain small amounts of lower-quality protein should drink a sports drink -- nutrients to maximally stimulate recovery and muscle growth
• After exercise, chocolate milk is a good alternative to • Ingesting 3 - 4 grams of carbohydrate for every gram of protein may be
U1 replace lost nutrients and help your body to recover the most beneficial and an important combination for recovery
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• A very important nutrient! DON'T AVOID or eliminate fat from your diet
• Your brain, nerves, and muscles aU NEED fat to function Monitoring

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• Minimize your intake of saturated fats and trans fats. Cookies, donuts, Drink before you feel thirsty Other Possibilities
and potato chips all contain high amounts of saturated and trans fats (2~ Your urine should be clear • Caffeine may help improve focus and endurance exercise perfonmance
Urine that is dark yellow, orange or brown means you are dehydrated • Energy drinks providing high amounts of sugar and caffeine may not be the best choice
Timing " Your body weight should remain similar from one practice to another for health and performance; limited research suggests performance increases
• Eat more frequent, smaller meals Don't alow athletes to practice if their body weight doesn't return to within one pound of • Nitric oxide stimulators have ZERO studies to show they help improve strength,
• Eat breakfast every day, NO exceptions! their previous day's body weight. No more than three pounds should be lost each week muscle gains or anything related to a positive outcome
• Consume a small amount of protein with every meal and eat something as soon as Record body weight before and after every practice • Creatine is not ideally suited for endurance activities and may stimulate an increase in
possible after every workout. For every gram of protein, eat 3 - 4 grams of carbohydrates • For every pound lost, drink 1.5 - 2 cups of fluid until body weight returns your body weight that may make it harder to compete effectively
Eat a snack like this within 30 min of every workout! Rapid weight loss isn't fat being lost, it's water. This is not good!
Proudly developed jn support of SL Mary Medical Center by Chad M. Kerksick, PhD, ATC. FJSSN, CSCS·D.
• WHEN to eat may be just as important as WHAT to eat For additionsl c;ue,tions about infonnation or othe- services, CQ"tacl.~......... ~
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