![\"Fueling](\"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/fueling.jpg\")
<\/a>These days, you have a lot of options for training fuel.\u00a0 As in a bazillion.\u00a0 There are so many options, many athletes become overwhelmed, confused, and frustrated trying to make a choice. \u00a0It seems like a distant past when only two or three commercial sports drinks were available, and there was one type of energy bar with three flavors. Most times, I like variety.\u00a0 But, when faced with so many options, it\u2019s good to have a foundational understanding of what you need before you open up the wallet.<\/p>\nThere are three keys to ensuring you get the fuel you need during training. Despite being in the midst of sports nutrition product and information overload, many athletes fail to meet these three keys consistently. Whether or not they realize it, it\u2019s likely affecting their performance. These are the foundation.<\/p>\n
Before diving into the big three, first establish your goals and priorities. Your nutrition plan will follow.<\/p>\n
Are you a mountain biker who wants to optimize performance above all else? Is your main goal to get better, faster and stronger and set new personal bests? Maybe you\u2019d also love to lose a few pounds, but when you\u2019re on your bike, you mostly want to improve. I\u2019ll call this goal group performance athletes<\/b>.<\/p>\n
Is weight loss your main goal? Are you biking simply because you want to lose weight and\/or improve health? Are you less concerned about getting better and better at biking and more concerned about your body size and weight loss? I\u2019ll call this goal group weight-loss athletes<\/b>.<\/p>\n
Lastly, are you a competitive athlete? Not only do you want to get better and prioritize your performance, but you want to win. You push yourself to the limit in your races, and many of your training sessions mimic this intensity. You don\u2019t care one ioda about taking in too many calories when riding. You want whatever fuel it takes to be your best. This group will be called competitive athletes<\/b>.<\/p>\n
Do you fit within any of these three? Maybe or maybe not. Of course there\u2019s a lot of gray area, and you can form your own title that combines them. Remember:<\/i> This is not some overall life goal. This is simply your training goal. It drives your nutrition plan, and it\u2019s important to fuel yourself to meet your goal.\u00a0Here\u2019s how each group can use the three keys of training fuel.<\/p>\nKey #1: Fluids<\/b><\/h2>\n
Fluids are paramount, as both chronic and acute dehydration directly affect performance. Even a tiny amount of weight loss from sweat (1 to 2% of body weight) can increase your sense of effort, cause nausea, decrease appetite and reduce performance. The vast majority of athletes are at least slightly dehydrated day to day and within training. What\u2019s an athlete to do?<\/p>\n
Anytime you\u2019re training for more than 60 minutes, I recommend hydrating during training, from at least the 30-minute mark onward. If you\u2019re training for 60 minutes or less, you can likely get by with no hydration as long as you\u2019re well-hydrated going into training. Or, you can take along water. <\/ins><\/p>\n In high heat or humidity, you must hydrate while training\u2014no matter the duration. But, what about over-hydration? I\u2019ll cover this below in the electrolyte section. Over-hydration is really too little electrolytes compared to the amount of fluid intake. It\u2019s not the fluid that\u2019s the problem, but the lack of electrolytes.<\/p>\n Within each goal group, there\u2019s subtle difference in my fluid recommendations.<\/p>\n \u00a0 Weigh yourself immediately before and after training, in the buff or in only underwear if possible. If not, have on the same clothes both times. Calculate every pound lost as 16 fluid ounces. Then, add in any fluid you consumed during training. This is the amount of fluid you lost during that specific exercise session. Plan to hydrate proactively for the next one.<\/p>\n You can also take this a step beyond and estimate your sodium needs: It\u2019s estimated that you lose 800-1250 mg of sodium per liter of sweat (about 1000 mg\/liter on average for easy math).\u00a0 Once you know how much fluid you\u2019re losing, you can estimate how much sodium you\u2019re losing.\u00a0 If you lose about 25 oz. fluid in sweat each hour (approx. 0.75 liters), you\u2019re likely losing around 750 mg sodium.<\/p>\n Simply put, you will perform better when you add efficient carbohydrates to any training greater than 60 minutes. Many athletes can push through without negative affects until 90 minutes. My rule of thumb:<\/i> Add carbs if training at high intensity for 60+ minutes or at any intensity for 90+ minutes.<\/p>\n Your body needs fuel during training from some source. If you\u2019re looking to improve performance and train with any sort of high intensity, it will usually work best to provide that fuel source in the form of efficient carbs. If you\u2019re goals are more weight-loss driven, you can reduce your carbs and oxidize or burn more fat. <\/ins><\/p>\n But beware, omitting fuel and oxidizing fat doesn\u2019t necessarily mean fat loss in the long term as you may not train as well or may overeat later in the day because you\u2019re under-nourished. It simply means that you\u2019ll oxidize more during that workout.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nQuick Tip: Want to know exactly how much fluid you need during training?<\/b><\/h3>\n
Key #2: Carbohydrates<\/b><\/h2>\n