How to Enhance Recovery and Avoid Fatigue.
Feeling tired and sluggish? Do you feel like you left your legs at the field or you can’t find enough energy to make it back to the locker room, some like to call this “bonking” or “hitting the wall.” Well you are not alone- this is how most athletes feel if they do not eat the right foods or are not eating at the right time.
Well the solution may be easier than you think. Replacement of energy after training is a key to maintain training and performance throughout the entire season. Some keys to sustaining general energy throughout the day are to eat small, frequent, and nutritious meals. Mixed meals containing mainly carbohydrates, protein, some fat and fiber provide longer-lasting energy.
A food with a 4:1 ratio of Carbohydrates (CHO): Protein (PRO) will provide the necessary fuel for athletes to replenish and maintain muscle energy stores prior to competition and during training. Athletes can easily deplete their energy stores either from intensive training or long endurance sessions. Depletion of energy stores after a training session does not mean that you need to decrease training, it means that an athlete must replace these energy stores properly.
Competitive athletes need to know what and when to eat to prepare for practice and competition! The best type of CHO to eat after a training session is complex CHO (grains, pasta, rice, fruit) and limit refined CHO or simple sugars (fruit juices and candy). Excess simple sugar contributes to excess calories and fluctuations in energy levels. Eating simple sugars can provide calories for energy but are almost completely empty in vitamins and minerals. If eaten at the wrong time, sugar can be pulled from the bloodstream, leaving athletes feeling lethargic when it is time to practice.
Protein will helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and keep it from being pulled to quickly from the bloodstream.
Timing is everything when it comes to consuming a CHO:PRO meal and performance. The optimal time for consumption of replacement of energy is up to 1 hour after your training session is complete. Replacement of energy stores immediately after training is possibly the most important key to preventing fatigue and staleness in performance. Eating a 4:1 CHO:PRO food within one hour is important because following exercise your body is highly sensitive to storing carbohydrates in the muscles and liver so it may be used for the next workout.
Taking advantage of this window of opportunity will provide a speedy recovery, prevent fatigue, and make you less inclined to over eat later. Eating within 1 hour after training will help athletes recover 50% faster and increase energy stores 50 to 100% faster than if eaten more than 1 hour after training is complete.
Athletes generally need approximately 500-600 grams of CHO per day, although requirements vary depending on body weight and training load.
A meal consisting of about 150g CHO:25g PRO-4 hours prior, 80gCHO:15g PRO-1 hour prior and 75gCHO:15g PRO immediately after training is suggested for optimal performance and energy levels. Athletes must also maintain adequate amounts of fat, water, and vitamins and minerals in order to use the energy properly. So be wary of those info-mercial diets of eating strictly carbohydrates or proteins, this will definitely lead to a disastrous season.
Replacement of energy starts immediately after training and will be the key to a successful season.
Remember that perfect practice is what really makes a perfect athlete.
