Sports nutrition has long been a part of athletes’ lives. If earlier sports nutrition was the prerogative of cyclists or skiers who overcame distances crazy in their duration and intensity, then with the establishment and popularization in Russia of sports running, runners also thought about sports nutrition. Such products are especially relevant for athletes participating in major races. It is possible to run 5–10 kilometers without special energizing of the body. But running a half marathon or marathon is not so easy.
Many have heard stories from foreign and domestic colleagues who have run abroad about the existence of gels and drinks that give strength and speed at marathons. Russian runners did not want to lag behind the rest of the running community. The question was spiced up by the ultra-runners, who claimed that without a sports nutrition it is impossible to run a distance of 6 hours or more. So is this a myth or is it true? It’s time to figure out what sports nutrition is and why runners actually need it.
Sports nutrition — what is it and how do you eat it?
Sports nutrition is artificial food supplements, which in concentrated form contain a large number of micronutrients, minerals and biologically active substances necessary for the athlete’s body. Sportpit is convenient to use during long workouts and competitions to quickly replenish energy and useful substances. Sport nutrition is mainly in the form of gels, bars and isotonic drinks. All of them are substitutes for natural food and consist of special biologically active substances and minerals.
Depending on the time of ingestion, sports drinks are divided into:
- consumed before exercising;
- consumed during sports activities;
- Consumed after sports activities.
Each of these types has a different function and differs in the content of active ingredients and nutrients, for example, you should consume nutrition that is high in carbohydrates while running. Be guided by these time points when choosing sports nutrition.
When should a runner consume sports nutrition?
To begin with, you need to understand what sports nutrition is for. It is a fast and high quality energy restorer. In a normal daily regimen, we eat at least 3 meals a day. And that’s without much physical exertion. Now imagine running for 20 hours or more. The runner expends a tremendous amount of energy, which is vital to replenish. Sports nutrition is a more effective substitute for regular food. Without sports nutrition, an athlete would have to lug around huge amounts of food to recover at least somewhat.
It can be argued that in the old days, athletes ran just as long distances as they do now without having a huge supply of food or sports nutrition. But that is not right, and rather not safe for the body, and today even the most experienced athletes admit this.
The main source of energy during running is glycogen. The human body is capable of storing it. The longer a person exercises, the better most of the body’s characteristics become. The ability to store glycogen also increases with time. But this skill will not be enough for long distance running — not every sport of running allows you to limit yourself to your own resources.
For example, during a classic multi-hour marathon, a runner will experience a loss of energy after the first hour of the race. If at this point the energy reserves are not replenished, the next hours of the race will become a real self-torture — the strength will leave the athlete, and fatigue will accumulate quickly. This is why the body definitely needs a boost. Taking a whole set of food with you for a long training or competition is absolutely impractical, so sports nutrition is an ideal option for special occasions.
Thus, sports nutrition is necessary:
- Athletes of cyclic sports.
- Connoisseurs of long hikes, trekking, other outdoor activities.
- Fans of extreme sports.
- Fans of active long sports games.
So, sports nutrition is necessary for sportsmen whose physical activity lasts more than one hour regardless of sport and will last for at least another half an hour. If a workout takes no more than 1.5 hours, there is no acute need for such nutrition.
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However, it should be understood that this still applies to very intense workouts. That is, you should not eat bars or drink an isotonic drink every workout. Many athletes purposely do not consume sports drinks during short or low-intensity workouts in order to provoke the body to accumulate glycogen.
But during the final workouts and directly during complex competitions, gels, bars and isotonics are not at all superfluous. They are needed to assess how specific formulations suit your body and how best to use them.
Composition of sports nutrition
Pay attention to the composition of sports gels. Although all gels contain a number of the same substances, such as maltodextrin, which helps replenish energy, gels from different manufacturers differ significantly in their overall composition.
Manufacturers combine ingredients, remove or otherwise include some additional substances. Some gels contain specific extracts, such as guarana extract.
It is desirable to have a good understanding of the composition of sports nutrition, to know the characteristics of your body, because it is not the fact that you will suit any gel or isotonic. Therefore it is recommended to try sports nutrition products before the competition and choose the most suitable for you, because it will partly depend on it whether you finish or get out of the race.
How does a runner consume sports nutrition?
Many people wonder how long after the start of a marathon or a long run they should start to consume sports nutrition. Strange as it may seem, experts disagree on this question.
Some believe that sports drink can be consumed after 20 minutes of the race, others tend to 30–40 minutes after the start. Some professional runners take gels every 20 minutes during the race. Others, on the other hand, may procrastinate eating in order to win those coveted seconds on the course.
For very long races, athletes consume both gels and bars. Still, at the 20-hour distance the body needs solid food.
By the way, you can choose a suitable sports nutrition for yourself, but at the race itself it may fail for some unknown reason. Competition is always different even from the most intensive training, so be prepared that something will go wrong and your usual sports nutrition will not work for you. For such cases, take several different gels with different compositions. Do not forget that the longer you procrastinate with the consumption of food, the faster your energy is gone.
What are sports gels and how to take them?
Gels are something in between isotonics and candy bars. Compared to isotonics, gels contain more nutrients for the same volume, but gels do not need to be chewed like candy bars.
The basis of sports gels are carbohydrates — fructose, glucose or maltodextrin. Carbohydrates are used to run marathons — competitions where endurance is a must. In addition to carbohydrates, gels contain other substances necessary for athletes — electrolytes (salts of potassium, sodium), caffeine, taurine, vitamins and extracts.
General recommendations for taking the gel are as follows:
- The first tube of gel at a long distance should be consumed 30–40 minutes after the start of the competition.
- The second and all subsequent ones every 30–40 minutes.
- In particularly long races it is recommended to alternate the gels with
- bars — two gels, then one bar and so on.
GOAT Stamina is a modern, multi-component bioactive supplement for players. Thanks to the appropriate combination of ingredients, the product reduces the feeling of fatigue without causing irritation, which often occurs with coffee or energy drinks.
A great advantage of GOAT Stamina is its effect time, which can last up to 6 hours from consumption! The product contains no sugar and does not cause the “caffeine crash” effect. GOAT Stamina supports concentration and cognitive functions, helps you pay attention and focus, and improves mood and productive thinking!
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Do I need to drink sports gels?
The answer is unequivocal — yes. Despite the statements of some manufacturers that there is no need to drink gels, it is necessary to do so. If this is not done, you can worsen dehydration during the race, since the body needs water to convert carbohydrates into energy. In addition, the gel leaves a sweet taste in the mouth, which can cause serious discomfort to the runner. To wash up you need on average 100–200 ml of water or an isotonic drink.
It is better to wash down sports gels with regular water or isotonic drinks. You should not consume sports energy drinks together with the gel, otherwise the concentration of carbohydrates will be too high, which may lead to an upset stomach.
Why do I need caffeine gels?
Gels with caffeine and other strong additives can make you a real sprinter — the energy will be pulsating. But it is important to understand that such gels are not for constant use. They should not be taken every 30 to 40 minutes after the start of a race, as this will greatly increase the strain on your heart.
Gels containing caffeine should be used a limited number of times, for example, before a race for a good start, or at that moment of the race when you feel very tired and absolutely no motivation to continue the race. They are really necessary at ultra-trails, when athletes are pushing themselves to the limit over many kilometers. At such moments, when there is no energy left to continue the race, you need a powerful boost of energy and vigor, which is exactly what caffeine gel can give you.
Please note that not all specialists and athletes have a positive attitude toward such gels. Many categorically do not accept them, pointing to serious consequences for the functioning of the body in the case of an overdose. So only you can decide for yourself whether to use caffeine gels or not.
Sports drink packaging
Since sports drinks are consumed directly during a race, manufacturers make the packaging most convenient for such use. Many produce gels in tubes. This is a fairly convenient option that allows you to take the same food several times. The tubes are also convenient in terms of storage — they do not leak after opening, allow you to keep the contents intact and your clothes clean.
There are sports gels “for once”, they are available in disposable packaging. Such gels are easy to open on the run, even with your teeth, quickly eat the contents and put the tube away. At the same time, it is worth checking if there is some gel left in the package, so that the residue again does not remain on your form. Sports gels have a rather sticky texture, so this will be a very unpleasant circumstance.
The gel packaging with a twist-off lid is also very convenient. It will allow you to eat several times without the risk of the gel leaking out. And after consumption, the package will not take up much space, it will be almost flat. The disadvantage of such gels is that they take up more space and have hard lids.
An important point to pay attention to is the protective seals or rings on the packages with the cap. Open them before the race, because in the process you will be very uncomfortable trying to open them, and it will take extra time. This is especially inconvenient when running in cold weather or at high altitudes — your fingers get cold and physically unable to open the cap.
And a few words I would like to say about used containers. Don’t throw them away on the street, please! Think about nature and the terrible pollution of the planet. Let your run have only positive motives. Take all the packaging with you and throw it in the trash!
What are isotonics?
Isotonics are an equally important type of sports nutrition for cyclic sports. They replenish the balance of electrolytes, necessary salts, which are actively excreted from the body with sweat, and also help to restore energy and quench thirst.
“What about plain water,” you ask? Water also does a good job of hydrating the body, but unfortunately water alone cannot adequately replenish micronutrients that are lost by the body during a long training session or competition.
Isotonics contain quickly digestible carbohydrates consisting of fructose, sucrose and glucose and maltodextrin. Isotonics also contain various vitamins and micronutrients: B1, B6, B12, PP, potassium, sodium and magnesium. In order to diversify and improve the quality of taste, they add coloring agents, flavorings, and an acidity regulator to increase the shelf life.
Naturally, prolonged training and intense long runs are an absolute indication for the use of isotonics. Professional runners and discerning amateurs can’t do without using them.
GOAT Stamina is a modern, multi-component bioactive supplement for players. Thanks to the appropriate combination of ingredients, the product reduces the feeling of fatigue without causing irritation, which often occurs with coffee or energy drinks.
A great advantage of GOAT Stamina is its effect time, which can last up to 6 hours from consumption! The product contains no sugar and does not cause the “caffeine crash” effect. GOAT Stamina supports concentration and cognitive functions, helps you pay attention and focus, and improves mood and productive thinking!
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How are isotonics different from energy drinks?
Sports energy drinks are similar in composition to isotonics. In addition to water, they contain the same sucrose and glucose, vitamins, flavor additives, and an acidity regulator. Also in energy drinks add caffeine, guarana, taurine and a number of other elements (so the drink is called energy drink).
These drinks differ not only in the presence of caffeine in energy drinks, but also in their caloric content. A typical energy drink is twice as caloric as an isotonic, since the composition contains twice as much sucrose and glucose, and as a consequence the amount of carbohydrates also increases.
Effect of isotonics and energy drinks on the runner’s body
Isotonics and energy drinks help replenish the body with life-giving moisture. They save the body from dehydration, a dangerous condition that leads to irreparable consequences during training and races. During moderate to light exercise up to 40 to 60 minutes, the body needs only water to replenish strength. But with long workouts and competitions, water alone is not enough. “Fast” carbohydrates, which are the basis of energy and sports drinks, quickly restore lost strength. Glucose and fructose are easily processed and give energy to a tired body.
The U.K. National Center for Biotechnology Information has conducted a number of studies on the effects of “fast” carbohydrates on the athlete’s body. Taking fructose and glucose in a one-to-two ratio rather than glucose alone increased endurance levels by 8% and improved aerobic endurance by 19% relative to the results when an athlete took only water.
The composition of carbohydrates that make up isotonics is more rapidly absorbed by the body and gives strength than the sugars that underlie energy drinks.
When a person experiences physical activity for 2 or more hours, the body loses water, energy, and a number of micronutrients. Due to profuse sweating, salts are excreted on the surface of the skin, gradually leading to a deficit of sodium, magnesium and potassium, which play an important role in the metabolic processes of the athlete’s body. During strong and prolonged exertion, organs and muscles function at their limits. If you restore the body after each workout and do not lead to a critical lack of these substances, then the muscle pain that is characteristic of athletes will go away.
Isotonics help replenish the body with these elements and maintain a normal water-salt balance. Energy drinks do not contain these useful substances. In addition, due to high caloric content and the presence of sugar energy drinks are heavy for the gastrointestinal tract during training and can cause its disorder.
Energy drinks give you an instant boost of energy due to the presence of caffeine. This drink stimulates the central nervous system and heart, dilates blood vessels, and quickens heart rate. Caffeine and glucose together quickly bring the internal organs into tone. If the body needs such a shake-up, energy drinks can be consumed shortly before physical activity. They will help you recharge your energy and vigor, both before fast races and before tiring long distances.
Is caffeine so harmful?
Caffeine has a number of contraindications and side effects, before using energy drinks for sports purposes, it is necessary to consult doctors. Excessive use harms the health of people suffering from heart disease, glaucoma, atherosclerosis and arterial hypertension. Even a non-athletic person should consume up to 300 mg of caffeine per day. One can of energy drink contains about 75mg of this substance, so you should be careful in consuming the drink, if on top of that there is also a predilection for cups of coffee during the day, the likelihood of overdosing increases.
Overdose is signaled by the following symptoms: a severe headache, dizziness, increased anxiety, confused speech and consciousness, abdominal pain. An overabundance of caffeine in the body also causes dehydration.
Benefits of sports nutrition
- By consuming sports nutrition during the race, you help your body maintain its strength to finish the race.
- Sport drinks have a balanced composition of nutrients and calories.
- A small weight is a big benefit. The average volume of a tube of gel is 50 ml.
- Convenient and practical packaging, allows you to take nutrition while running.
- Low weight, allowing you to take the nutrition with you.
Where can sports nutrition come in handy besides running?
Gels, bars, and isotonic drinks are not only used by professional athletes. They can come in handy for other exercise enthusiasts as well. Here is a small list of sports activities:
- Long hikes.
- Climbing in the mountains.
- Mountaineering, rock climbing.
- Trekking, hiking.
- Sky-climbing.
- Downhill skiing.
- Snowboarding.
- Cycling marathons.
Any other prolonged sporting activity, in which it is physically difficult to take a lot of food with you.
To conclude the topic, it is worth noting that gels and isotonics should not replace a full meal in your life. Experts officially state that using sports gels exclusively for more than two days in a row can be detrimental to your health. To the use of sports nutrition should be taken seriously, do not overdose.
Prolonged use is fraught with many unpleasant consequences. First of all the stomach will suffer. Sportpit is a high quality food substitute, but the body should receive normal solid food regularly. Professional athletes recommend eating a plate of regular food prepared at feeding stations even directly during a long run. For one- or two-day hikes you can replace all or almost all of your food supply with sports drinks, but for longer events you should definitely take regular food with you.
GOAT Stamina is a modern, multi-component bioactive supplement for players. Thanks to the appropriate combination of ingredients, the product reduces the feeling of fatigue without causing irritation, which often occurs with coffee or energy drinks.
A great advantage of GOAT Stamina is its effect time, which can last up to 6 hours from consumption! The product contains no sugar and does not cause the “caffeine crash” effect. GOAT Stamina supports concentration and cognitive functions, helps you pay attention and focus, and improves mood and productive thinking!
