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Carbohydrate and Fluid Requirements for Endurance Athletes
It takes just a 1% fluid loss to impair your performance. That’s around 700ml for a 70kg bodyweight. If you are engaging in physical activity for periods longer than 60 minutes your performance can be improved through the use of carbohydrates and fluid before, during and after exercise.
Whether you are on a training run, playing sport, or competing in an endurance event you should aim for ONE gram of carbohydrates per kilo of bodyweight every hour. The carbs should be consumed in small servings - every 20 or 30 minutes. So if your bodyweight is 70kg, you should consume up to 70 grams of carbs per hour - about 30 to 35 grams of carbs every 20 or 30 minutes.
You want a combination of mainly long chain or sustained release carbs, and some short chain, fast and medium release carbs. Energy gels like Leppin Squeezy, Clif Shots or GU Energy Gel provide about 25 to 30 grams of carbs with added electrolytes - typically sodium and potassium which help replace the salts lost in your sweat to guard against muscle cramp and impaired performance - and so can be easily used every half hour to help extend your endurance.
Many energy gels use a blend of fast and slow release carbs, helping provide an instant energy boost as well as sustained energy. You can also choose to use wholefoods like energy bars, jelly babies, dates, and banana’s.
Before you decide, it’s a good idea to try out a few different things and find the one that best suits your training as well as your stomach. Make sure to always test energy gels and drinks during training runs rather than on race day to ensure it agrees with you. To ensure that the carbs are digested at the optimum rate you need to drink about 200 to 300 mls of water with every gel. This will help improve the rate of absorption in the gut and reduce gastrointestinal discomfort.
If you’re training or racing for less than 60 mins all you really need is water to help prevent dehydration. Ensure you are adequately hydrated before training and aim to drink about 125-250 mls every 20 minutes. For optimum performance and health, you should consume 3 to 4 litres of water per day.
Remember caffeinated drinks - coffee, red bull, cola etc, and alcohol, have a diuretic action, and remove body water which can impair performance. If you are a regular coffee drinker, make sure to counter any fluid loss by drinking an extra glass of water per day for each caffeinated drink.
You want a combination of mainly long chain or sustained release carbs, and some short chain, fast and medium release carbs. Energy gels like Leppin Squeezy, Clif Shots or GU Energy Gel provide about 25 to 30 grams of carbs with added electrolytes - typically sodium and potassium which help replace the salts lost in your sweat to guard against muscle cramp and impaired performance - and so can be easily used every half hour to help extend your endurance.
Many energy gels use a blend of fast and slow release carbs, helping provide an instant energy boost as well as sustained energy. You can also choose to use wholefoods like energy bars, jelly babies, dates, and banana’s.
Before you decide, it’s a good idea to try out a few different things and find the one that best suits your training as well as your stomach. Make sure to always test energy gels and drinks during training runs rather than on race day to ensure it agrees with you. To ensure that the carbs are digested at the optimum rate you need to drink about 200 to 300 mls of water with every gel. This will help improve the rate of absorption in the gut and reduce gastrointestinal discomfort.
If you’re training or racing for less than 60 mins all you really need is water to help prevent dehydration. Ensure you are adequately hydrated before training and aim to drink about 125-250 mls every 20 minutes. For optimum performance and health, you should consume 3 to 4 litres of water per day.
Remember caffeinated drinks - coffee, red bull, cola etc, and alcohol, have a diuretic action, and remove body water which can impair performance. If you are a regular coffee drinker, make sure to counter any fluid loss by drinking an extra glass of water per day for each caffeinated drink.
