Nutrition is without doubt one of the most important aspects of race preparation, yet athletes typically spend far more time thinking about training than about nutrition. Hours and hours are spent in the pool, on the bike and on the trails. Far less time is spent on careful nutrition planning. Nutrition is sometimes called the 4th discipline and this is for a reason. Nutrition can mean the difference between winning a race and not even finishing a race. Athletes who did not have a great race often state that it was caused by nutrition related issues: they ran out of energy, became dehydrated or experienced stomach problems. They ingested too much, or ingested too little. They tried new products they had not used in training and so on.
The new Challenge Family Nutrition Guide will guide you to a successful nutrition strategy.
Key Topics addressed in the Challenge Family Nutrition Guide include:
- Nutrition just before the race start
- Nutrition during the race
- Carbohydrate sources for training and race day
- Enhancing your performance and the role of bars, energy drinks, gels and carbohydrate drinks
- Staying hydrated by improving fluid delivery, addressing dehydration and calculation of sweat rate
- Fueling recovery, and;
- Training your race nutrition.
The Challenge Family Nutrition Guide has been prepared by Professor Asker Jeukendrup: a leading sports nutritionist and exercise physiologist who spent most of his career at the University of Birmingham (UK) and is currently a visiting professor at Loughborough University. During his career, Professor Jeukendrup has authored over 200 research papers and book chapters, several of which have changed the sports nutrition landscape. He is a strong believer in unlocking the power of science to help athletes and teams achieve their goals. During his career, he has worked with many elite athletes, including Chrissie Wellington and Haile Gebreselassie) to develop personalized nutrition plans to enhance recovery and optimize performance.
Asker practices what he preaches and is competing in long distance triathlons himself. To date he has completed 21 full distance triathlons. For more information on sports nutrition please visit www.mysportscience.com (twitter @jeukendrup).