How should I structure the pre-fueling hours before intense or long training to get to a high carb intake?

Why is structuring your meals before training important??

Glucose and fructose are both simple sugars that provide quick energy, but they're absorbed and metabolized differently, which makes them both valuable during running training:

1. Flexibility matters: Hitting your carb target often requires combining 1, 2, or all 3 meal options to suit your personal tolerance, time schedule and training demands.
2. Maximise carb intake: Eating well in advance, especially before high-intensity sessions or races, allows for larger carbs intake to meet energy. Consuming a carb-rich meal 3-4 hours before exercise can boost muscle glycogen stores, which is linked to improved endurance performance.
3. Maintain blood glucose: Eating carbs up to 1 hour before exercise provides a readily available source glucose energy and contributes to liver glycogen replenishment, which are crucial for maintaining blood glucoselevels during training. 
4. Avoid gut issues or feeling empty: Take timing and size of your pre-training meal(s) into consideration to avoid gastrointestinal discomfort. Eating too close to your training may cause stomach issues, while a long gap can lead to hunger and low energy. Balancing carb intake and timing helps prevent these issues and supports performance.
5. Fast recovery: For athletes training multiple times a day, eating high-glycemic carbs before a session helps quickly replenish glycogen, speeding up recovery and preparing them for the next workout.

How do I get my pre-training meal strategy on point?

Dependent on the type of training, training moment and individual tolerance, the optimal meal timing and amount carb-intake variate. You can get your pre-training meal strategy on point by:

1. Timing of meal(s): Timing your meal well in advance, especially before high-intensity sessions like a race, enables you to consume larger amounts of carbs to boost performance.
   - 3-4 hours before: Have a carb-rich meal to replenish glycogen and avoid discomfort, crucial for high-intensity sessions.
   -1-2 hours before: Opt for a smaller carb-rich snack to maintain blood glucose, ideal for endurance or recovery trainings.
   -Up to 1 hour before: Add a light snack to meet carb needs, provide quick energy, and prevent hunger. Aim to take this 5 minutes before training, or to personal tolerances to avoid Hyperglycemia.
2. Consider type of carbs: Considering the type of carbs before exercising allows you to customise your nutrition strategy based on the characteristics of your training. For endurance sessions, choose low-GI carbs for steady energy and stable blood sugar, promoting fat use over long distances. For short, high-intensity sessions, opt for a mix of easy-to-digest, high- and low-GI carbs to quickly boost blood sugar and energy.
3. Practice and align with goals: Test your strategies in various scenarios to identify the best approaches. Strategize carb intake to match specific race or competition demands, preparing your fueling plan to support your peak performance on event day.

Paying attention to the timing and amount of your pre-training meal can boost your overall performance.

Use the FoodCoach app and the 'Fueling Before Running' or 'Fueling before training' (cycling) medal to master pre-training fueling step-by-step. Start with the basics, build consistency with personalised strategies, and optimise for peak performance!

• Get it on Google Play
• Download on the App Store