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THE 10 BIGGEST MISTAKES
ENDURANCE ATHLETES MAKE
By: Steve Born
This was one of the first articles I ever wrote, and it was probably the easiest.
Why? Because at some point in my cycling career I made EVERY ONE of these mistakes! Some of these seem so basic, but you'd be surprised how many athletes keep making the same ones over and over and then wonder why their performance falters. Take a good, thorough read through each of these common mistakes and see how many you commit. Identifying and correcting them will yield tremendous benefits in your overall performance.
1. EXCESS HYDRATING
On the average, an athlete loses one liter (about 33 oz.) of fluid per hour of exercise. This rate differs widely due to many variables, including body weight, body mass index, temperature conditions, duration and intensity of exercise, and acclimatization level. Experts suggest that consuming 16 ounces of fluids every hour during exercise will normally forestall dehydration in events lasting three to four hours.
But what about ultra-endurance events lasting much longer than that? Now, in addition to potential dehydration, another problem, over-hydration, arises. One researcher studied the effects of endurance athletes and noted that typically the front-runners tend to dehydrate, while over-hydration occurs most often among middle to back-of-the-pack athletes. Both conditions lead to hyponatremia (low blood sodium), but they have different outcomes. Excess water consumption causes what is known as “dilutional hyponatremia,” or an overly diluted level of sodium and electrolytes in the blood. This is as bad as under-hydrating in regards to cramping but has the added disadvantages of stomach discomfort, bloating, and extra urine output. In some unfortunate circumstances, excess hydration can lead to severe physiological consequences, including death.
Far too often endurance athletes adopt the “if a little is good, a lot is better” approach. This can lead to significant problems when you’re trying to meet your hydration requirements. All it takes is one DNF due to cramping and you start thinking, “Hmm, maybe I didn’t drink enough.” Next thing you know, you’re drinking so much water and fluids that your thirst is quenched, but your belly is sloshing and you’re still cramping. Under most conditions, we recommend an hourly fluid intake of no more than 20 – 25 ounces. If you feel it is necessary to consume more, remember that you will also need to consume more electrolytes to balance the fluid increase.
2. CONSUMING TOO MUCH SIMPLE SUGAR
For general health purposes, avoid refined simple sugars, as these have a direct link to a myriad of diseases and ailments (for more on this, please read “113 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health” on our website, www.e-caps.com). Simple sugar absorption into the bloodstream will cause an insulin burst; the liver then converts the excess insulin into triglycerides. Triglycerides make up most of the fat that you eat and most of the fat that circulates in your bloodstream. They’re essential for good health and your tissues rely on triglycerides for energy, but as with that other essential molecule, cholesterol, high triglycerides may also be linked to heart disease. Sugar in the diet has a proportionate relationship to elevating triglyceride levels in the bloodstream. Triglycerides comprise the largest proportion of fats (lipids) in the diet, in adipose tissue, and in the blood. Eating excess sugar loads the body with excess calories that will eventually turn to fat.
This insulin spike also concerns athletes. More than likely we’ve all experienced this quick burst of energy followed by the ensuing crash characterized by fatigue, lethargy, and mood swings, i.e., bonking!
Just as important, though, is the fact that simple sugars, unlike complex carbohydrates, take longer and require more fluid to empty from the stomach and GI tract. This is due to a physiological feature known as osmolality, or the solution concentration of particles carrying an electric charge. If the osmolality of your sports drink deviates from body fluid levels, it will not absorb. A simple sugar drink will only match regular body fluid osmolality at a very weak 6-8% concentration; otherwise, it will remain in the stomach until sufficiently diluted. This may cause stomach distress that is obviously detrimental to performance. With a simple sugar drink you’re left with three bad choices. You can drink a 6-8% solution, but you’ll get too few calories. You can drink a lot of a 6-8% solution to get adequate calories, but you’ll overfill on fluid. You can make a concentrated drink to get enough calories, but then you’ll get poor absorption. In any case, you’re done in. Simple sugar drinks just don’t cut it for the endurance athlete.
Using complex carbohydrates instead of simple or refined sugars in your diet will best fuel your exercise. For example, a two-scoop mixture of PERPETUEM (260 calories), or a two to three-scoop mixture of SUSTAINED ENERGY (228 – 343 calories) will provide up to three times more calories to the body than a 6-8% solution of a sugar-based drink can, and still match body fluid osmolality. All Hammer Nutrition fuels—HAMMER GEL, SUSTAINED ENERGY, and PERPETEUM—are preferred fuel sources that contain no added simple sugars. They provide sufficient calories during exercise without causing stomach distress.
As far as solid foods are concerned, bagels, sandwiches, and pretzels are all better fuel options than candy bars and other sugar-filled energy bars and sports drinks—but read on.
3. EATING TOO MUCH SOLID FOOD DURING EXERCISE
In the 1985 Race Across America, Jonathon Boyer rode to victory using a liquid diet. Since then it has become the norm for endurance and ultra-endurance athletes. Liquid nutrition is the easiest and most convenient way to get a calorie and nutrient-dense fuel. Solid food, for the most part, cannot match the precision or nutrient density of the best liquid food supplements. In addition, too much solid food consumption will divert blood from working muscles for the digestive process. This, along with the amount of digestive enzymes and fluids required in breaking down the constituents of solid food, can result in a feeling of bloating and/or nausea. Lastly, a good portion of the calories ingested from solid foods is used up simply to digest them; in essence, these calories are wasted. Some solid food intake is certainly OK and welcome during endurance exercise or races, particularly during ultras, but for a more rapid utilization of nutrients with less chance of stomach distress, a liquid energy source is preferred. When it comes to fueling the body during prolonged workouts or races, use solid foods sparingly; they should be the exception, not the rule.
4. STAYING WITH YOUR GAME PLAN WHEN IT’S CLEARLY NOT WORKING
Endurance athletes tend to be strong-willed and uncompromising. Most strive to have a game plan in place for training and racing. This is, of course, a good idea and something we strongly recommend. Problems arise when the athlete’s game plan is no longer working, due to any number of unforeseen circumstances. Unfortunately, too many athletes consider the thought of re-evaluating and making changes to be a worse idea than continuing with the same ineffective game plan.
Often, not only do athletes stick with their original game plan, they exacerbate it by doing more of what’s not working. This happens commonly after a poor race. Many athletes think the cure for a poor race is to train harder and harder. Instead of recuperating and focusing on optimizing their training, many athletes will train themselves into the ground. This only digs a deeper hole for the athlete. Instead, the athlete needs to recognize the symptoms of overtraining and spend enough time recovering completely.
The most common symptoms of overtraining are irritability, restless sleep, elevated resting heart rate, and inability to reach peak heart rates during training. As an endurance athlete, make sure you take your recovery as seriously as your training.
Another time it’s not a wise idea to stick to an ineffective game plan is during an event. For instance, it is important to maintain consistent caloric intake, but when it’s hot outside, the body’s ability to process fuel becomes compromised. It’s important to recognize this and to listen to your body. Continuing to force down “X” amount of calories an hour (the original “game plan”), especially under extreme conditions when your body cannot properly assimilate them, puts a burden on your stomach and can cause feelings of bloating and nausea or worse, which will certainly hinder performance. During the heat it becomes more important to stay hydrated and maintain electrolyte levels, so be willing to cut back on calorie consumption. Body fat stores, which fulfill up to 65% of energy requirements during endurance exercise, will also be able to accommodate fueling needs during occasional breaks from regular intervals of fuel consumption. During the heat, fueling is still important, but the focus shifts towards maintaining hydration and proper electrolyte levels. Resume regular caloric intake when you start feeling better and your stomach has had some time to assimilate the fuel it already contains.
5. TRAINING ON TOO FEW CALORIES
You may be training your muscles to do what you want them to do (riding 100 miles for example) but are you also training your stomach? If you want to be able to comfortably ingest “X” amount of calories per hour during a 5-6 hour (or longer) event, you need to be practicing that in training. Exercising at a maximum intensity level and assimilating a lot of calories hour after hour are not things that the body would normally prefer to do simultaneously. So, just like running or cycling far and fast, this too is a learned skill that requires the same amount of practice and attention to detail. Don’t skimp on calories during training, and use the same fuels in training you plan to use for competition.
6. CONSUMING IMPROPER AMOUNTS OF CALORIES DURING COMPETITION
In the heat of the battle it sometimes becomes hard to maintain the discipline of caloric intake. Endurance athletes can get so wound up with trying to keep up the pace that they sometimes forget to fuel the engine properly. Consistent intake of calories (allowing for adaptations due to weather conditions, as noted above) provides consistent energy, prolongs endurance, and protects muscle tissue from being cannibalized. If you want to go strong in the latter stages of a race, you must consume sufficient calories in the earlier stages. Caloric intake in the range of 200-300, perhaps slightly more, per hour (from carbohydrates, protein, and, in ultra distance events, fat) is necessary to prevent energy levels from dropping. As mentioned earlier, you will be able to determine your personal caloric needs only by practicing fuel consumption during training.
Conversely, taking in too many calories during competition can present a real problem. It’s the “if a little is good, a lot must be better” mind-set that creates this problem. So many athletes (including myself in years past) believe that “if I expend 700 calories an hour, I need to consume 700, or I’ll bonk.” However, this simply is not possible. Even though your body is burning several hundred calories an hour, it cannot replenish them at equal rates from outside sources (your fuel). The body is only able to accept, process, and assimilate a limited amount of calories an hour and to force additional food down, in the hopes of maintaining, or even getting ahead, of calorie needs, will usually, if not always, backfire. Instead of having more calories available for fuel, they will sit in your stomach causing at least bloating, or even worse, nausea and vomiting. Few things will slow you down faster than taking in more calories than your body can handle. Do not make the mistake that far too many athletes do: consuming too many calories hourly during workouts and races. Replenish your body with an adequate amount of calories (see the “Proper Caloric Intake” article), amounts that “keep the fire stoked,” and allow your body glycogen and fat stores to make up the difference, which they will easily do.
7. FAILING TO CONSISTENTLY TAKE SUPPLEMENTAL ELECTROLYTES
Athletes who have suffered from painful and debilitating cramping usually need only cross that bridge once. While consuming enough calories and fluids during workouts and races is vital, it is equally important to provide the minerals necessary for proper cellular metabolism, cardiac function, and muscle contractions. All too often endurance athletes find out too late that these electrolytes have been depleted through bodily fluids and perspiration, the signs of which are muscle weakness, nausea, and cramping. However, this doesn’t mean that athletes should indiscriminately ingest copious amounts of one or more electrolytes. The body has a very intricate and complex way of monitoring and maintaining proper electrolyte levels. Supplementing with only one electrolyte (sodium is usually the most misused) or consuming too much of one or more electrolytic minerals overrides body mechanisms that regulate proper electrolyte balance. The solution is to provide the body with a balanced blend of these important electrolytes in a dose that cooperates with and enhances body mechanisms. Sodium alone (meaning salt) cannot sufficiently satisfy electrolyte requirements. A blend of calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chlorine, and manganese provides superior protection for the athlete’s endurance training and competition, especially in hot weather.
Even when it’s not 100 degrees outside, electrolyte replacement is still vital, as any cross-country skier will tell you. You may not need as much as in hotter weather, but your body still requires electrolytes during workouts, especially when exercise exceeds two hours. Even if you’ve never cramped or don’t see this as a real issue, there are other problems that arise from electrolyte depletion, problems that will adversely affect your performance.
A deficiency in calcium, for example, can lead to achy joints, heart palpitations, nervousness, and hypertension. A deficiency in potassium will manifest itself in muscular fatigue, diminished reflex function, fluctuations in heartbeat, headaches, and edema. The signs of magnesium deficiency include insomnia, chronic fatigue, poor digestion (to the point where the stomach will shut down), and irritability. A lack of manganese can result in excess perspiration, rapid pulse, and hypertension. During an endurance event, and in particular an ultramarathon event, these problems become more acute. Making sure your electrolyte needs are met will help you avoid cramping and a host of other potential disasters.
Finally, please note that no sports drink in existence can provide electrolytes in appropriate amounts. Electrolyte needs can vary several hundred percent, depending on heat levels, while caloric intake may only fluctuate by 25-50% and fluid intake may only vary 20-30%. This makes sports drinks, with their finite and inadequate amount of electrolytes and calories per serving, unacceptable for meeting the unique and individual needs of athletes. Effective electrolyte replacement can and should come from an independent source. Electrolytes are as important as the water you drink and the calories you eat, so make sure you replenish them consistently. ENDUROLYTES and ENDUROLYTES POWDER are the most complete, proportionately balanced, and absorbable ways to provide these minerals to the body.
8. CONSUMING TOO MUCH PROTEIN DURING EXERCISE
During endurance exercise, approximately 10-15% of your caloric intake should be protein. Meal replacement drinks that some athletes use as endurance fuels during exercise typically contain too much protein and very little carbohydrates. The human body, while being able to handle 20-30 or more grams of protein in one intake, cannot tolerate that amount on an hourly basis during exercise. Too much protein fills the blood with amino acids. Excess amino acids are converted into carbon dioxide, water, and ammonia. The ammonia is toxic to the body and is a primary cause of premature fatigue. While the body is equipped to handle excess ammonia by converting it to urea and filtering it through the kidneys, too much puts a burden on the kidneys. Both SUSTAINED ENERGY and PERPETUEM contain protein within the desired 10-15% range, providing the perfect balance of carbohydrate and protein.
9. NOT CONSUMING ANY PROTEIN DURING EXERCISE
The primary source of muscle energy production is adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Each muscle stores its own supply of glycogen, which is a long-chain carbohydrate having a chemical structure similar to the carbohydrates found in a common potato. When we exercise, the body has a much easier time of breaking down muscle glycogen into ATP than either fat or the limited amounts of protein donated from lean muscle mass. However, after about 90 minutes (and becoming more important the longer a workout session or race lasts) the body will require protein for fuel as carbohydrate reserves are reduced. This metabolic process, called gluconeogenesis, allows for the synthesis of glucose from protein. The body will cannibalize protein from muscle tissue if protein intake is inadequate. This process not only deteriorates lean muscle tissue, but also hinders fat burning capabilities and speeds up the production of ammonia. To prevent this, the endurance athlete should make sure carbohydrate intake is consistent and that some protein is consumed during endurance exercise. Soy protein’s amino acid profile and naturally occurring isoflavones make it the preferred choice during exercise. Soy is also preferable as it produces less ammonia than whey protein. SUSTAINED ENERGY and PERPETEUM provide a proper balance of complex carbohydrates and soy protein, making them the perfect fuels for any endurance activity two hours or more in length.
10. NOT CONSUMING ENOUGH CALORIES AFTER WORKOUTS
After a hard workout or race, it’s far too easy to neglect the proper replenishment of your body. Sometimes all you want to do is lie down and not move for several hours. As tempting as this might be, please take the time for recovery nutrition first, as this is the best time to provide your body with the carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals necessary for proper recovery. This is when your body is most receptive to replenishing nutrients because it is going into high gear to recover from and adapt to the stress it has just experienced. Carbohydrate replenishment is especially important because glycogen synthase, the enzyme that controls glycogen storage, is most active in the brief period following exercise. Habitually consuming 70-100 grams of carbohydrates and 20-25 grams of protein within 30-60 minutes of completing a tough workout or race will replenish what has been used up during exercise and reduce recovery time. Ideally, you should have a complete meal within the 60-minute post-workout window of opportunity. If this is not feasible, then it is necessary to have a post-workout snack ready. Four servings of HAMMER GEL and one to one-and-a-half scoops of HAMMER PRO WHEY in eight ounces of water is a perfect solution.
This is also the best time to provide the body with cellular protection support in the form of antioxidants. Because athletes use several times more oxygen than sedentary people, they are more prone to oxidative damage, considered a main cause of degenerative diseases. Consistent supplementation with a full spectrum vitamin/mineral supplement, high in antioxidants, along with any additional non-vitamin antioxidants, boosts and maintains the immune system and reduces recovery time.
Steve Born is the senior technical advisor for E-CAPS with over a decade of involvement in the health food industry. He is a three-time RAAM finisher, the 1994 Furnace Creek 508 Champion and 1999 runner-up, the only cyclist ever to complete a Double Furnace Creek 508, and the holder of two ultra- marathon cycling records. Most recently, Steve was awarded a nomination for induction in the Ultra Marathon Cycling Hall of Fame.
© 2003, Endurance Marketing Group. This information is copyright protected. Please feel free to distribute this information as long as the copyright notice, phone number, and/or URL are included. Content must remain unchanged and original authorship acknowledged. www.e-caps.com
ENDURANCE ATHLETES MAKE
By: Steve Born
This was one of the first articles I ever wrote, and it was probably the easiest.
Why? Because at some point in my cycling career I made EVERY ONE of these mistakes! Some of these seem so basic, but you'd be surprised how many athletes keep making the same ones over and over and then wonder why their performance falters. Take a good, thorough read through each of these common mistakes and see how many you commit. Identifying and correcting them will yield tremendous benefits in your overall performance.
1. EXCESS HYDRATING
On the average, an athlete loses one liter (about 33 oz.) of fluid per hour of exercise. This rate differs widely due to many variables, including body weight, body mass index, temperature conditions, duration and intensity of exercise, and acclimatization level. Experts suggest that consuming 16 ounces of fluids every hour during exercise will normally forestall dehydration in events lasting three to four hours.
But what about ultra-endurance events lasting much longer than that? Now, in addition to potential dehydration, another problem, over-hydration, arises. One researcher studied the effects of endurance athletes and noted that typically the front-runners tend to dehydrate, while over-hydration occurs most often among middle to back-of-the-pack athletes. Both conditions lead to hyponatremia (low blood sodium), but they have different outcomes. Excess water consumption causes what is known as “dilutional hyponatremia,” or an overly diluted level of sodium and electrolytes in the blood. This is as bad as under-hydrating in regards to cramping but has the added disadvantages of stomach discomfort, bloating, and extra urine output. In some unfortunate circumstances, excess hydration can lead to severe physiological consequences, including death.
Far too often endurance athletes adopt the “if a little is good, a lot is better” approach. This can lead to significant problems when you’re trying to meet your hydration requirements. All it takes is one DNF due to cramping and you start thinking, “Hmm, maybe I didn’t drink enough.” Next thing you know, you’re drinking so much water and fluids that your thirst is quenched, but your belly is sloshing and you’re still cramping. Under most conditions, we recommend an hourly fluid intake of no more than 20 – 25 ounces. If you feel it is necessary to consume more, remember that you will also need to consume more electrolytes to balance the fluid increase.
2. CONSUMING TOO MUCH SIMPLE SUGAR
For general health purposes, avoid refined simple sugars, as these have a direct link to a myriad of diseases and ailments (for more on this, please read “113 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health” on our website, www.e-caps.com). Simple sugar absorption into the bloodstream will cause an insulin burst; the liver then converts the excess insulin into triglycerides. Triglycerides make up most of the fat that you eat and most of the fat that circulates in your bloodstream. They’re essential for good health and your tissues rely on triglycerides for energy, but as with that other essential molecule, cholesterol, high triglycerides may also be linked to heart disease. Sugar in the diet has a proportionate relationship to elevating triglyceride levels in the bloodstream. Triglycerides comprise the largest proportion of fats (lipids) in the diet, in adipose tissue, and in the blood. Eating excess sugar loads the body with excess calories that will eventually turn to fat.
This insulin spike also concerns athletes. More than likely we’ve all experienced this quick burst of energy followed by the ensuing crash characterized by fatigue, lethargy, and mood swings, i.e., bonking!
Just as important, though, is the fact that simple sugars, unlike complex carbohydrates, take longer and require more fluid to empty from the stomach and GI tract. This is due to a physiological feature known as osmolality, or the solution concentration of particles carrying an electric charge. If the osmolality of your sports drink deviates from body fluid levels, it will not absorb. A simple sugar drink will only match regular body fluid osmolality at a very weak 6-8% concentration; otherwise, it will remain in the stomach until sufficiently diluted. This may cause stomach distress that is obviously detrimental to performance. With a simple sugar drink you’re left with three bad choices. You can drink a 6-8% solution, but you’ll get too few calories. You can drink a lot of a 6-8% solution to get adequate calories, but you’ll overfill on fluid. You can make a concentrated drink to get enough calories, but then you’ll get poor absorption. In any case, you’re done in. Simple sugar drinks just don’t cut it for the endurance athlete.
Using complex carbohydrates instead of simple or refined sugars in your diet will best fuel your exercise. For example, a two-scoop mixture of PERPETUEM (260 calories), or a two to three-scoop mixture of SUSTAINED ENERGY (228 – 343 calories) will provide up to three times more calories to the body than a 6-8% solution of a sugar-based drink can, and still match body fluid osmolality. All Hammer Nutrition fuels—HAMMER GEL, SUSTAINED ENERGY, and PERPETEUM—are preferred fuel sources that contain no added simple sugars. They provide sufficient calories during exercise without causing stomach distress.
As far as solid foods are concerned, bagels, sandwiches, and pretzels are all better fuel options than candy bars and other sugar-filled energy bars and sports drinks—but read on.
3. EATING TOO MUCH SOLID FOOD DURING EXERCISE
In the 1985 Race Across America, Jonathon Boyer rode to victory using a liquid diet. Since then it has become the norm for endurance and ultra-endurance athletes. Liquid nutrition is the easiest and most convenient way to get a calorie and nutrient-dense fuel. Solid food, for the most part, cannot match the precision or nutrient density of the best liquid food supplements. In addition, too much solid food consumption will divert blood from working muscles for the digestive process. This, along with the amount of digestive enzymes and fluids required in breaking down the constituents of solid food, can result in a feeling of bloating and/or nausea. Lastly, a good portion of the calories ingested from solid foods is used up simply to digest them; in essence, these calories are wasted. Some solid food intake is certainly OK and welcome during endurance exercise or races, particularly during ultras, but for a more rapid utilization of nutrients with less chance of stomach distress, a liquid energy source is preferred. When it comes to fueling the body during prolonged workouts or races, use solid foods sparingly; they should be the exception, not the rule.
4. STAYING WITH YOUR GAME PLAN WHEN IT’S CLEARLY NOT WORKING
Endurance athletes tend to be strong-willed and uncompromising. Most strive to have a game plan in place for training and racing. This is, of course, a good idea and something we strongly recommend. Problems arise when the athlete’s game plan is no longer working, due to any number of unforeseen circumstances. Unfortunately, too many athletes consider the thought of re-evaluating and making changes to be a worse idea than continuing with the same ineffective game plan.
Often, not only do athletes stick with their original game plan, they exacerbate it by doing more of what’s not working. This happens commonly after a poor race. Many athletes think the cure for a poor race is to train harder and harder. Instead of recuperating and focusing on optimizing their training, many athletes will train themselves into the ground. This only digs a deeper hole for the athlete. Instead, the athlete needs to recognize the symptoms of overtraining and spend enough time recovering completely.
The most common symptoms of overtraining are irritability, restless sleep, elevated resting heart rate, and inability to reach peak heart rates during training. As an endurance athlete, make sure you take your recovery as seriously as your training.
Another time it’s not a wise idea to stick to an ineffective game plan is during an event. For instance, it is important to maintain consistent caloric intake, but when it’s hot outside, the body’s ability to process fuel becomes compromised. It’s important to recognize this and to listen to your body. Continuing to force down “X” amount of calories an hour (the original “game plan”), especially under extreme conditions when your body cannot properly assimilate them, puts a burden on your stomach and can cause feelings of bloating and nausea or worse, which will certainly hinder performance. During the heat it becomes more important to stay hydrated and maintain electrolyte levels, so be willing to cut back on calorie consumption. Body fat stores, which fulfill up to 65% of energy requirements during endurance exercise, will also be able to accommodate fueling needs during occasional breaks from regular intervals of fuel consumption. During the heat, fueling is still important, but the focus shifts towards maintaining hydration and proper electrolyte levels. Resume regular caloric intake when you start feeling better and your stomach has had some time to assimilate the fuel it already contains.
5. TRAINING ON TOO FEW CALORIES
You may be training your muscles to do what you want them to do (riding 100 miles for example) but are you also training your stomach? If you want to be able to comfortably ingest “X” amount of calories per hour during a 5-6 hour (or longer) event, you need to be practicing that in training. Exercising at a maximum intensity level and assimilating a lot of calories hour after hour are not things that the body would normally prefer to do simultaneously. So, just like running or cycling far and fast, this too is a learned skill that requires the same amount of practice and attention to detail. Don’t skimp on calories during training, and use the same fuels in training you plan to use for competition.
6. CONSUMING IMPROPER AMOUNTS OF CALORIES DURING COMPETITION
In the heat of the battle it sometimes becomes hard to maintain the discipline of caloric intake. Endurance athletes can get so wound up with trying to keep up the pace that they sometimes forget to fuel the engine properly. Consistent intake of calories (allowing for adaptations due to weather conditions, as noted above) provides consistent energy, prolongs endurance, and protects muscle tissue from being cannibalized. If you want to go strong in the latter stages of a race, you must consume sufficient calories in the earlier stages. Caloric intake in the range of 200-300, perhaps slightly more, per hour (from carbohydrates, protein, and, in ultra distance events, fat) is necessary to prevent energy levels from dropping. As mentioned earlier, you will be able to determine your personal caloric needs only by practicing fuel consumption during training.
Conversely, taking in too many calories during competition can present a real problem. It’s the “if a little is good, a lot must be better” mind-set that creates this problem. So many athletes (including myself in years past) believe that “if I expend 700 calories an hour, I need to consume 700, or I’ll bonk.” However, this simply is not possible. Even though your body is burning several hundred calories an hour, it cannot replenish them at equal rates from outside sources (your fuel). The body is only able to accept, process, and assimilate a limited amount of calories an hour and to force additional food down, in the hopes of maintaining, or even getting ahead, of calorie needs, will usually, if not always, backfire. Instead of having more calories available for fuel, they will sit in your stomach causing at least bloating, or even worse, nausea and vomiting. Few things will slow you down faster than taking in more calories than your body can handle. Do not make the mistake that far too many athletes do: consuming too many calories hourly during workouts and races. Replenish your body with an adequate amount of calories (see the “Proper Caloric Intake” article), amounts that “keep the fire stoked,” and allow your body glycogen and fat stores to make up the difference, which they will easily do.
7. FAILING TO CONSISTENTLY TAKE SUPPLEMENTAL ELECTROLYTES
Athletes who have suffered from painful and debilitating cramping usually need only cross that bridge once. While consuming enough calories and fluids during workouts and races is vital, it is equally important to provide the minerals necessary for proper cellular metabolism, cardiac function, and muscle contractions. All too often endurance athletes find out too late that these electrolytes have been depleted through bodily fluids and perspiration, the signs of which are muscle weakness, nausea, and cramping. However, this doesn’t mean that athletes should indiscriminately ingest copious amounts of one or more electrolytes. The body has a very intricate and complex way of monitoring and maintaining proper electrolyte levels. Supplementing with only one electrolyte (sodium is usually the most misused) or consuming too much of one or more electrolytic minerals overrides body mechanisms that regulate proper electrolyte balance. The solution is to provide the body with a balanced blend of these important electrolytes in a dose that cooperates with and enhances body mechanisms. Sodium alone (meaning salt) cannot sufficiently satisfy electrolyte requirements. A blend of calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chlorine, and manganese provides superior protection for the athlete’s endurance training and competition, especially in hot weather.
Even when it’s not 100 degrees outside, electrolyte replacement is still vital, as any cross-country skier will tell you. You may not need as much as in hotter weather, but your body still requires electrolytes during workouts, especially when exercise exceeds two hours. Even if you’ve never cramped or don’t see this as a real issue, there are other problems that arise from electrolyte depletion, problems that will adversely affect your performance.
A deficiency in calcium, for example, can lead to achy joints, heart palpitations, nervousness, and hypertension. A deficiency in potassium will manifest itself in muscular fatigue, diminished reflex function, fluctuations in heartbeat, headaches, and edema. The signs of magnesium deficiency include insomnia, chronic fatigue, poor digestion (to the point where the stomach will shut down), and irritability. A lack of manganese can result in excess perspiration, rapid pulse, and hypertension. During an endurance event, and in particular an ultramarathon event, these problems become more acute. Making sure your electrolyte needs are met will help you avoid cramping and a host of other potential disasters.
Finally, please note that no sports drink in existence can provide electrolytes in appropriate amounts. Electrolyte needs can vary several hundred percent, depending on heat levels, while caloric intake may only fluctuate by 25-50% and fluid intake may only vary 20-30%. This makes sports drinks, with their finite and inadequate amount of electrolytes and calories per serving, unacceptable for meeting the unique and individual needs of athletes. Effective electrolyte replacement can and should come from an independent source. Electrolytes are as important as the water you drink and the calories you eat, so make sure you replenish them consistently. ENDUROLYTES and ENDUROLYTES POWDER are the most complete, proportionately balanced, and absorbable ways to provide these minerals to the body.
8. CONSUMING TOO MUCH PROTEIN DURING EXERCISE
During endurance exercise, approximately 10-15% of your caloric intake should be protein. Meal replacement drinks that some athletes use as endurance fuels during exercise typically contain too much protein and very little carbohydrates. The human body, while being able to handle 20-30 or more grams of protein in one intake, cannot tolerate that amount on an hourly basis during exercise. Too much protein fills the blood with amino acids. Excess amino acids are converted into carbon dioxide, water, and ammonia. The ammonia is toxic to the body and is a primary cause of premature fatigue. While the body is equipped to handle excess ammonia by converting it to urea and filtering it through the kidneys, too much puts a burden on the kidneys. Both SUSTAINED ENERGY and PERPETUEM contain protein within the desired 10-15% range, providing the perfect balance of carbohydrate and protein.
9. NOT CONSUMING ANY PROTEIN DURING EXERCISE
The primary source of muscle energy production is adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Each muscle stores its own supply of glycogen, which is a long-chain carbohydrate having a chemical structure similar to the carbohydrates found in a common potato. When we exercise, the body has a much easier time of breaking down muscle glycogen into ATP than either fat or the limited amounts of protein donated from lean muscle mass. However, after about 90 minutes (and becoming more important the longer a workout session or race lasts) the body will require protein for fuel as carbohydrate reserves are reduced. This metabolic process, called gluconeogenesis, allows for the synthesis of glucose from protein. The body will cannibalize protein from muscle tissue if protein intake is inadequate. This process not only deteriorates lean muscle tissue, but also hinders fat burning capabilities and speeds up the production of ammonia. To prevent this, the endurance athlete should make sure carbohydrate intake is consistent and that some protein is consumed during endurance exercise. Soy protein’s amino acid profile and naturally occurring isoflavones make it the preferred choice during exercise. Soy is also preferable as it produces less ammonia than whey protein. SUSTAINED ENERGY and PERPETEUM provide a proper balance of complex carbohydrates and soy protein, making them the perfect fuels for any endurance activity two hours or more in length.
10. NOT CONSUMING ENOUGH CALORIES AFTER WORKOUTS
After a hard workout or race, it’s far too easy to neglect the proper replenishment of your body. Sometimes all you want to do is lie down and not move for several hours. As tempting as this might be, please take the time for recovery nutrition first, as this is the best time to provide your body with the carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals necessary for proper recovery. This is when your body is most receptive to replenishing nutrients because it is going into high gear to recover from and adapt to the stress it has just experienced. Carbohydrate replenishment is especially important because glycogen synthase, the enzyme that controls glycogen storage, is most active in the brief period following exercise. Habitually consuming 70-100 grams of carbohydrates and 20-25 grams of protein within 30-60 minutes of completing a tough workout or race will replenish what has been used up during exercise and reduce recovery time. Ideally, you should have a complete meal within the 60-minute post-workout window of opportunity. If this is not feasible, then it is necessary to have a post-workout snack ready. Four servings of HAMMER GEL and one to one-and-a-half scoops of HAMMER PRO WHEY in eight ounces of water is a perfect solution.
This is also the best time to provide the body with cellular protection support in the form of antioxidants. Because athletes use several times more oxygen than sedentary people, they are more prone to oxidative damage, considered a main cause of degenerative diseases. Consistent supplementation with a full spectrum vitamin/mineral supplement, high in antioxidants, along with any additional non-vitamin antioxidants, boosts and maintains the immune system and reduces recovery time.
Steve Born is the senior technical advisor for E-CAPS with over a decade of involvement in the health food industry. He is a three-time RAAM finisher, the 1994 Furnace Creek 508 Champion and 1999 runner-up, the only cyclist ever to complete a Double Furnace Creek 508, and the holder of two ultra- marathon cycling records. Most recently, Steve was awarded a nomination for induction in the Ultra Marathon Cycling Hall of Fame.
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