Putting Gas in the Tank

I’ll be writing regularly on topics within the realm of Performance Nutrition, across a variety of topics, and with a variety of depth and detail. It only felt right to begin with a brief overview of what I generally see as the most misunderstood concept within sports performance - particularly at levels where access to education and practitioners is perhaps limited.

“Fuel for the work required” Carbohydrate is a consistently investigated nutrient when it comes to the evidence base and literature. Despite that, it only takes five minutes on google scholar to come across a wide variety of recommended intakes for athletes. That being said, there is an increasingly prominent message starting to be pushed increasingly commonly by practitioners - and it makes absolute perfect sense.

That message is the idea of fueling for the work required, and is here referred to under the analogy of putting gas in the tank. Simply put, if you had a car sitting in the driveway, and you knew that in the next 24hrs, you had a significant drive ahead of you, you would ensure that you have enough gas in the tank to complete the journey ahead. Likewise, if you knew you weren’t going to need the car for the foreseeable future, you’re probably not going to be in a rush to make sure the tank is full.

Carbohydrate ingestion should follow the same principle if you’re looking to fuel your performance. If you have trained on the Friday, and know that you have a competitive 80/90minutes ahead of you come Saturday Lunch-time, then it’s important to replenish carbohydrate stores, and ensure that you are appropriately fueled come game day. This doesn’t mean buckets of pasta with potato sandwiches for desert - but a carbohydrate based evening meal, and a easily digestible carbohydrate breakfast (>3 hours prior to kick off), should be more than enough. A late (~60-90mins prior to kick off) top up from an isotonic drink (as an example!) will have you good to go.

Replenishment Following intense exercise, muscle glycogen stores are often depleted, as are liver stores (rarely completely!) and so there is a necessity to replenish and refuel for forthcoming activity. There has been a large wave of pseudo science emphasising the importance of immediate replenishment, and taking advantage of the “golden hour” post competition where certain metabolic pathways are most responsive. Whilst this holds true if you have to train/compete within the next 24hrs, there probably isn’t a requirement for mad panic post-match to wolf down 500g of egg-fried rice if you have a 48hr recovery window - as is often incorporated amongst pro-sport. For those training multiple times a day - as is common amongst combat athletes, you’re fighting the battle of adequate replenishment between sessions, whilst avoiding having to run to the sick bucket inbetween sets on the heavy bag. Here it’s key to try and avoid foods with higher fat content, as they delay gastric emptying (or at least have a longer rate of emptying), and are likely to sit heavier on the stomach. This is prime time to make the most of liquid nutrition - whether this comes from sensibly and informed source supplements, or from home made smoothie/juices - it’s a time to ensure that you can tick the box from an intake perspective, whilst simultaneous ensuring the last session and the next session are accounted for.

Diamonds are forever, Carbohydrate stores are not It wasn’t long ago that you could delve into a textbook and find recommendations for 9-10g of carbohydrate per kilogram of bodyweight for elite rugby players. Now whilst that might sound appealing to the bread and pasta lovers amongst you, asking a 115kg prop to consume 1,150g of carbohydrate in a day, is nigh on impossible, and almost certainly not as enjoyable as it might have first seems. Overfeeding on carbohydrates is something that I have seen quite prominently whilst working with athletes, as it has probably been passed down/along the line that these huge magnitudes of carbohydrates are neccessary to fuel performance. However more recent research and anecdotal evidence certainly suggests that it may not be the case., Your body does not have an infinite capacity to store carbohydrates, but does have a comparably gargantuan capacity for fat storage. Worth considering before carb loading 3 days out from a game, having 1kg of pasta with garlic bread the night before, porridge for breakfast, and three bowls of spaghetti a couple hours out from kick off. I’ll be releasing a Performance Nutrition E-book later this year for field sport athletes with more details around quantities and timings to optimise competition performance.

Low Carb Training Although carbohydrates are key when it comes to fueling high intensity performance, there are (according to more and more emerging evidence) benefits when it comes to training in a low carbohydrate state. Liverpool John Moore’s continue to churn out high quality research within multiple sports and with a variety of athletes that support the metabolic adaptation to training in a low carbohydrate state. It is by no means something that you should be doing all the time, and it can be periodised into your programme sensibly to have a lasting benefit on your adaptation to training. Metabolism, is a trainable tool.

PRPerformance offers nutrition support to a variety of athletes, and there are a wide range and magnitude of service packages available. From one off advice, to ongoing support & assessment, to workshops & seminars - the level of support that is right for you, is readily available. Simply head to the contact page and plug in your details to start the conversation. Follow on Instagram and Twitter @_PRPerformance to get updates and alerts on new blog posts, content, and offers.

Thanks for reading,

Paul