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Runners Diet Handbook: Revolutionary Scientific Principles That Will Prepare Runners for Peak Performance

What do I need to know about endurance athletes?

Endurance is the foundation of physical fitness. When we have endurance athletes we must understand the importance of training both muscular endurance and cardiorespiratory endurance. These two components are vital functions that have to be trained efficiently in order for the endurance athlete to perform the desired exercise.

Muscular Endurance: The ability to contract a group of muscles that can maintain force without fatiguing for a long period of time (1+ hours).

Cardiorespiratory: The delivery of oxygen through the bloodstream to the working muscles so that the muscle can continuously contract through the entire duration of the exercise performed utilizing both the respiratory system and muscular endurance.

Endurance Athletes: Are athletes whom perform exercise from 30 minutes to 4 hours. All athletes should put importance on endurance and need to train endurance in some way. When it comes to a runner’s endurance, focus becomes even more vital for optimal performance and health to endure.

Ultra Endurance Athletes: Are those whom perform exercise over 4 hours long.

Nutrition needs to endurance athletes (especially when talking about marathons) is a vital component of health and performance success. Endurance athletes expend tremendous amounts of calories not only in competition but also in training.

We get energy to perform all that we need from our food. Endurance athletes need to put a huge focus on energy reserves, daily training caloric needs, and making the diet a key factor in their training, health, and performance.

Caution About Nutrition: If an athlete fails to focus on nutrition they can very quickly engulf chronic fatigue, dehydration, muscle wasting, illness, and upper respiratory infections.

Energy Pathway Systems: All sports utilize each energy pathway to produce enough energy to perform the sport from the body.

Aerobic Energy Pathway

• Has an unlimited capacity to produce ATP (Energy)
• Cannot produce energy quickly
• Endurance Athletes can train their aerobic power in which is the speed at which their bodies can produce ATP.
• In order to maximize our aerobic energy pathway we must eat the correct nutrient composition, at the right time, while increasing our aerobic power through diet and cardiorespiratory fitness training endeavors.

Nutrition Needs for Endurance Athletes

The biggest difference between endurance athletes and other athletes is the quantity of food consumed.

• Glycogen Energy Stores (liver and muscle) in endurance athletes can be stressed due to the extreme caloric needs to perform the exercise.
• Fats are a huge component in getting enough calories in for endurance athletes and helps to transport glucose to cells.
• Carbs are the biggest importance for energy and supporting the aerobic energy pathway (glucose is the wood for this energy fire).
• Proteins are not as important for energy but is vital for muscle repair, training progressions, and keeping the athlete healthy over all.

Post exercise an endurance athlete should consume 200-300 calories immediately. Followed by a small snack and substantial meal within the next 1-2 hours. Quality matters as well because this is what you’re using to rebuild those muscles