How to Fuel Long Duration training sessions

Knowing how to fuel your training session makes the difference between a podium finish compared to someone who might not even cross the line on race day. Wining is done in the training ground. This is why you need to nail down your nutrition plans in line with your training.

Not knowing how to fuel your training will cost you in two ways

1. you'll suffer through your training sessions and potentially might not even get to finish your training sessions.
2. And secondly, you will see diminishing returns from all your hard work in your training if you're not fueling right, as you won't give the body what it needs to adapt to getting fitter, faster, and stronger.

Reaching the end of this blog you will be rewarded with;

• A better understanding of how to match your nutrition to your training exactly how the elite do it.
• The top two strategies to fuel during your long intensity low duration training sessions.
• And how to train in a fasted state the right way to avoid crashing out in your training session improving your fat max performing like the elite.

 Quick recap

 What does a low-intensity/long-duration session look like?

Long duration steady state, 60min+, working between 45-70% Vo2max/HR max, in zones 1&2/3, with no rest.

What's the aim of the session?

 Typical speaking training at a lower intensity will be during your base and build phases of your training, to increase your metabolic capacity, oxygen economy & Vo2 max, and "going slow to go fast". The aim here is to use training low principles from the carb periodization model. With the aim of you doing these sessions in a glycogen-depleted state.

How do we fuel these training sessions?

 We use the Carbohydrate periodization model, which is a big fancy word, simply put it's a dietary model where you manipulate the carb content of your meals throughout the day depending on your goals and training intensity. Otherwise known as "fuel the work required". For example, some meals will be high carb and other meals low carb and these meals will interchange through the week based on the training you have each day. For the intention of today's blog, we will be focusing on low-intensity long duration sessions and how to fuel during them following in line with the carb periodization model.

 If you're looking for more information on carbohydrate periodization, follow the link below to read all about what is carbohydrate periodization.

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 What is training low Carbohydrate ?

Simply put it's training with little to no carbohydrates before/during/after sessions, combined with depleted muscle stores of glycogen (muscle fuel source). With the end goal of improving the intensity, you can exercise while still using fats as the primary fuel source.

Intra training fuelling

Intra-training fuelling refers to the nutritional strategy you adopt to fuel while you are exercising/completing your training. This strategy is dependent on the type of training you are completing and the main aims of the training session. However, for this article, we will be focusing on low-intensity / long-duration training. Therefore from a nutrition standpoint, we want to fall in line with this type of training focusing on increasing your fat max.

What's our main aim?

What we are doing here is increasing your fat oxidation (ability to use fat as a fuel source when exercising) mobilising free fatty acids and amino acids to be converted into glucose for the working muscles, improving your fat max (the threshold at which you switch from fat as a primary fuel to carbohydrate), doing this allows you to preserve those precious glycogen stores, preventing you from emptying the tank too early into a race. A secondary advantage of relying on fat as the primary fuel source is we don't run into the issue of that burning session we feel in our muscles when exercising ("lactic acid burn"). This is due to the body's ability to remove the waste by-product from producing energy in the muscle cells at the same rate as its creating it, preventing a build-up which leads to the muscular cell environment becoming more acidic resulting in that burning sensation. This situation can as lead to muscle cramps too. Which as I'm sure you know isn't a nice feeling.

So what do we need to eat/drink ?

 Well, the short answer is you need to do 1 of either of these two methods.

• Training in a fasted state
• Fuelling with fat & protein during training.

Fasted Training

If we consider fasted training we need to bear in mind to obtain the adaptations for this method its best practice to complete your training fasted in the AM after a night's sleep (overnight fast of 8-12 hours) for example if training at 7 am last meal will be at 7 pm the night before (for a 12 hour fast). This is to insure that your glycogen stores are depleted sufficiently to force the body to mobilise fat tissue (releasing fatty acids) that gets converted to glycogen the energy source for the working muscles (hence improving fat max). If this is something you are going to do make sure you hydrate before training and start with shorter sessions i.e. for 30-40 sessions and progress from there, capping it at training sessions lasting up to 90min in duration.

If you looking for some more guidance on how to get your hydration on point to your needs click the link below and check out a previous blog that will help you identify how much you need to drink for your training.

 Read More

Side note on caffeine, you may want to consider having caffeine (from coffee or supplements) before your training. Caffeine ingestion pre-training has been shown to increase exercise performance by reducing your rate of perceived exertion (how hard & intense you feel the training is) which can allow you to maintain a higher performance output during your training. This can be specifically beneficial when first starting fasted training as it can take some time to get used to doing this method.

It is recommended to consume 3-6mg of caffeine 30-90min pre-training. With additional caffeine every 1-2 hours during exercise as needed (25-50mg of caffeine per hour during exercise).

Note: work within the limits of your gut, start with small dosages and work up to avoid GI distress. For example, start with 3mg/kg of body weight. And do not exceed 400mg of caffeine within 24 hours.

Fuelling your Training

If we consider fuelling training, we need to identify the duration of the training session first. For this type of training intensity, you will need to fuel training sessions that are 90min+ in duration (as we have enough stored glycogen to keep us going for 90min).

Prolonged endurance training had been shown to have a catabolic effect (breaking down of muscle tissue) therefore it is recommended to consume protein in small quantities to create a muscle-sparing effect (maintaining muscle mass). We want to keep as much muscle mass as possible because muscle creates the power we need to compete with. So the aim here is to minimise any potential muscle loss.

The recommended amount of protein to consume is 0.25 grams per kg of body weight per hour. Make sure the protein source contains all essential amino acids.

Or 5-10 grams per hour.

Secondly, we want to be consuming small amounts of fats. Following in line with the carb periodisation model if we can increase circulating free fatty acids (break down from dietary fat) we enhance this fuel utilization within the muscle cells. If we are consistent over time our muscle cells will get more efficient using fat as a fuel and thus our fat max will increase.

 The recommended amount of fat varies as it all depends on the individual feeding tolerance. Typical ranges are seen to be between 0.03-0.06 grams per kg of body weight per hour. Or 2-17 grams per hour

Note; the types of fat consumed should be from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated sources.

What/when should I eat/drink?

Well, the short answer you need to be consuming small amounts of Protein and fats during your training sessions.

And what you choose comes down to personal preference, and really what your gut can handle. However, don't worry I'm here to give you recommendations I use with my athletes inside our high-performance coaching community.

Getting Protein in during training

• Liquid - My number 1 choice is using Essential Amino Acids (EAA) powder, you can add this to your water bottle or electrolyte drink.
• Gel - You can have high protein drinkable yoghurts (ie Skyr yoghurts)
• Solid – You can have jerky, protein bar, trail mix

Getting Fat during training

• Solid – Dark chocolate 70%+, nuts and seeds, trail mix, cheese, olives.
• Gel–nut butters
• Liquid – MTC oil added to a water bottle.

Timing of fuelling

I would recommend little and often when fuelling during exercise to help avoid any GI distress that can occur with large feedings during exercise. I recommend aiming to consume small amounts every 20min during your training. To make life easy I would work in 60min blocks;

• Feed 1 – 20min mark
• Feed 2 – 40min mark
• Feed 3 – 60min mark

If you have never fuelled training with fats and protein before I would recommend capping the amount to max 15 grams of protein and 10 grams of Fat per hour. As it can take some time for your gut to adapt to breaking down and digesting these hard-to-digest foods at first. Your gut should adapt within 2-4 weeks and from here you can increase your fat & protein intake per hour based on the recommendations above.

If you're looking for more advice on how to fuel pre and post-your training follow the link below to read our guide on the 4 keys to master of what to eat for your training.

Read More

 Actionable steps

1. If training in a fasted state best practice is in the AM after an overnight fast for 8-12 hours.
2. Protein I take guidelines during training 5-10 grams per hour
3. Fat intake guidelines during training are 2-17 grams per hour.
4. Work within the limitations of your Gut
5. Practice your training nutrition and allow time for your Gut to adapt.
6. Try a combination of solid, gel and liquid options.

Keen to discover more about how you can fuel for each specific duration of training? 

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References

• Impey, S.G. et al. (2018) "Fuel for the work required: A theoretical framework for carbohydrate periodization and the glycogen threshold hypothesis," Sports Medicine, 48(5), pp. 1031–1048. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0867-7.
• Jeukendrup, A.E. (2017) "Periodized nutrition for athletes," Sports Medicine, 47(S1), pp. 51–63. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0694-2.
• Parr, E.B., Heilbronn, L.K. and Hawley, J.A. (2019) "A Time to eat and a time to exercise," Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 48(1), pp. 4–10. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1249/jes.0000000000000207.
• Seebohar, B. (2011) Nutrition periodization for athletes taking traditional sports nutrition to the next level. Boulder, CO: Bull Pub. Co.
• Tiller, N.B. et al. (2019) "International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Nutritional Considerations for single-stage ultra-marathon training and racing," Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 16(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-019-0312-9.
• Vitale, K. and Getzin, A. (2019) "Nutrition and supplement update for the endurance athlete: Review and recommendations," Nutrients, 11(6), p. 1289. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11061289.