Nutrition for endurance and ultra-endurance athletes with Trent Stellingwerff, PhD | EP#265
Dec 21, 2020
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Trent Stellingwerff, Director of Performance Solutions at the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific, discusses the importance of nutrition and shares his top advice for endurance athletes. Topics include periodized nutrition, "train-low" paradigm, advice for ultra-endurance athletes, and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S).
Proper fueling and timing of nutrition interventions are crucial for optimizing performance in endurance and ultra-endurance sports.
Periodized nutrition, including micro, meso, and macro periodization, can enhance performance and adaptation by aligning nutrition with training phases.
Monitoring and optimizing iron levels is important for endurance athletes, with oral iron supplementation often being effective.
Training the gut to tolerate higher levels of carbohydrate and fluid intake during races can improve performance.
Deep dives
The Importance of Nutrition in Endurance and Ultra-Endurance Sports
Nutrition plays a crucial role in endurance and ultra-endurance sports, with proper fueling and timing of nutrition interventions being key to optimize performance. Athletes should aim to include nutrition options every four to six hours throughout the day, spreading their caloric intake evenly. Nutrition around training, especially post-workout, should also be prioritized, with 20-25% of total nutrition and calories being consumed during this time. Practicing and refining carbohydrate and fluid intake plans for competition is essential, particularly during long and intense events. Overall, athletes should aim for a balanced, nutrient-rich diet to support their training and performance.
Periodized Nutrition and its Benefits for Endurance Athletes
Periodized nutrition involves purposefully timing nutrition interventions around training, recovery, and daily requirements. This can include micro, meso, and macro periodization, where nutrition is adjusted to align with training phases. By matching nutrition interventions to specific training demands, endurance athletes can optimize their performance and adaptation. For example, low carbohydrate availability training can enhance signaling proteins in skeletal muscles, potentially promoting mitochondrial biogenesis and fat utilization. However, the impact of periodized nutrition on performance outcomes is still being researched. Contextual factors such as the athlete's level, training duration, and individual nutrition expertise should be considered when implementing periodized nutrition strategies.
Managing Iron Deficiency and Optimizing Iron Absorption in Endurance Athletes
Iron deficiency is common among endurance athletes, particularly females, and can impact performance and overall health. It is important to monitor and optimize iron levels through regular blood work. Generally, oral iron supplementation is effective, with a ferritin cutoff of around 30 to 35 ng/mL indicating a need for supplementation. For individuals with persistently low iron despite supplementation, further investigation and more frequent blood work may be necessary. Factors such as hepcidin levels, timing of iron supplementation, and dietary considerations should also be taken into account to enhance iron absorption and utilization.
Carbohydrate Availability for High Intensity Workouts
It is important to maintain high glycogen stores and fuel appropriately before high-intensity workouts to maximize neuromuscular overload and wattages.
Training the Gut for Endurance Sports
Training the gut to tolerate higher levels of carbohydrate and fluid intake during races is a valuable intervention that can improve performance. This can be achieved by implementing a gut adaptation protocol in the weeks leading up to a major event.
The Link Between Energy Availability and Overtraining
Energy availability, which is the balance between energy intake and exercise energy expenditure, is an important factor in both overtraining syndrome (OTS) and relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S). Understanding the link between energy intake, energy availability, and symptoms of OTS and RED-S can provide valuable insights for managing and preventing these conditions.
Future Directions in Endurance Sports Research
Future research in endurance sports should focus on understanding and addressing specific needs of female athletes, further exploring the periodization of iron supplementation, and investigating the effects of low carbohydrate availability training on performance.
Trent Stellingwerff, PhD, is the Director of Performance Solutions at the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific in Victoria, Canada. His primary research focuses are in the field of nutrition and physiology interactions, as well as in environmental (heat and altitude) physiology. In this interview, we discuss the current best practices from and applied and scientific perspective in endurance and ultra-endurance sports.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT:
-The importance of nutrition, and the simplicity of doing it well enough
-Periodised nutrition and the "train-low" paradigm (training with low muscle glycogen levels)
-Specific advice for ultra-endurance athletes (athletes doing events lasting longer than 4 hours)
-Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)
-Trent's top nutrition advice as an applied practitioner to endurance athletes
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