[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”152094″]All you eat or drink during workout or competition will not only have an effect on your ability to exercise and your well-being, but also on the rate of your recovery. In part two of the article, you will learn how to effectively replenish energy substrates in the form of carbohydrates and how to ensure optimal hydration. These two factors, from the perspective of nutrition, have the greatest effect on the improvement in exercise capacity and delay of fatigue.<\/strong><\/p>\n Authors: Klaudia Buczek, MSc Eng., and Micha\u0142 Mi\u015bta, MSc Pharm.<\/p>\n Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n Fatigue occurring during physical activity may have various reasons, e.g. damage to muscle fibres, accumulation of metabolites which interfere with the muscle function (lactate, ammonia, hydrogen ions), overheating of the body or physicochemical changes occurring in the central nervous system. However, the key reasons, especially in long-term exercise, are as follows:<\/p>\n Let us have a closer look at them.<\/strong><\/p>\n Hypoglycaemia (also called low blood sugar) is a condition of a decreased blood glucose level below normal (4.0 – 5.5 mmol\/L, corresponding to 70 \u2013 100 mg\/ 100 mL (dL)). It may occur not only in diabetic patients treated with insulin, but also in healthy, active subjects, especially during long-term exercise. This abnormality was identified in athletes taking part in the Boston marathon in 1923 who, due to increasing fatigue, fell down at the end of the race. As it turned out, those athletes had a decreased glucose level.<\/p>\n Possible hypoglycaemic symptoms include tremor, dizziness, nausea, weakness, reduced concentration and increased anxiety. Since the time of the above-mentioned marathon, numerous studies have confirmed a hypothesis that a supply of carbohydrates during activity protects the body against hypoglycaemia, especially in long-term exercise and depleted glycogen reserves in the muscles and liver.<\/p>\n Applying this strategy makes it easier for the body to maintain a constant blood glucose level, which not only saves muscle glycogen, but also enables reduction in the cortisol level and muscle protein catabolism.<\/p>\n Now you probably wonder how much carbohydrates you should take. This primarily depends on the duration of exercise: the longer exercise, the higher demand.<\/p>\n Although an optimal amount of carbohydrates will have a good effect on sports performance, too much of them, i.e. amounts exceeding 90 g\/h or such that your body is not accustomed to during exercise, can lead to their accumulation in the digestive tract and occurrence of gastrointestinal disorders. So, it is not always \u201cthe more, the better\u201d! If you do endurance sports, it may be important to get your digestive tract accustomed to consumption of higher amounts of carbohydrates during exercise, so called gut training.<\/p>\n What to eat during a workout? An interesting suggestion would be dried date fruits, a snack highly valued by athletes, which would be ideal for long-term physical exercise.<\/strong><\/p>\n Light<\/strong> sources of carbohydrates, with low fibre content are high glycaemic index<\/strong>, would be the best choice during physical activity. You can choose liquid (isotonic drinks), semi-liquid (energy gels) or solid forms of sugar (ripe banana, date fruit bar or dried dates). It is essential to choose such a form that will be tasty and also easy to take on the go. Certain forms may have an advantage over others, e.g. when your activity takes place at a high temperature. If this is the case, the most recommended option is an isotonic drink, which supplies not only carbohydrates, but also fluids and electrolytes. On the other hand, when exercise takes place under cool conditions, solid products, such as a banana or bar, could be more beneficial. You must remember, however, that the form and type of carbohydrates is less significant than the amount supplied.<\/p>\n An interesting fact showing how much nutrition during exercise can be individualised was the famous snack of Adam Ma\u0142ysz: bread roll and a banana. It was an element of a nutritional strategy developed by Professor Jerzy \u017bo\u0142\u0105d\u017a, a physiologist of the ski-jumping team. He noticed that the athletes under his care had problems with maintaining concentration and condition during hours-long competitions. The snack he proposed enabled quick supply of a significant amount of energy without prolonged digestion and burden on the alimentary tract, which reduced the probability of gastrointestinal problems. Moreover, the meal was easy to prepare, transport and store.<\/p>\n The peri-workout snack proposed by Professor Jerzy \u017bo\u0142\u0105d\u017a, bread roll and a banana enabled the ski-jumpers to supply high amounts of energy during training and competitions, without long digestion and burden on the gastrointestinal tract.<\/strong><\/p>\n During an intense activity, lasting up to an hour, you can also benefit from carbohydrate consumption. In this case, improvement in exercise capacity can be achieved by regular, 5-second mouth rinsing with a carbohydrate solution, which results in the stimulation of oral receptors which, by sending signals to the brain, affect the reward system. Remember that the mechanism is activated in a situation of reduced carbohydrate availability and reduced resources of liver and muscle glycogen. This happens when the workout is performed on an empty stomach or a long time after a meal. From the perspective of the receptor mechanism, it does not matter if you subsequently swallow the drink or spit it out.<\/p>\n A reduced exercise capacity may be related to body dehydration. That is why, aside from carbohydrate replacement during long-term activity, one must also remember to supply appropriate fluids. The risk of dehydration is higher in subjects doing endurance sports and exercising at a high temperature. This is an effect of intense sweating, which is a natural thermoregulatory mechanism. Its pace depends on individual conditions, such as body surface area, humidity and air flow, as well as the temperature difference between skin and the environment.<\/p>\n In the circle of active people, much is talked about the risk of dehydration. It is worth mentioning, however, that both insufficient and excessive fluid consumption during long-term activity is related to reduced performance and a threat to health. If your body weight after exercise is higher than that recorded before the activity, you probably took too much fluids! Excess fluids may lead to a drop in plasma sodium level, so called hyponatremia. Its mild form does not normally cause any noticeable symptoms, but larger deficits result in muscle spasms and weakness, impaired nerve conduction, as well as nausea and syncope. In extreme cases, it may even be fatal!<\/p>\n How important it is to keep balance between lost and supplied water may be illustrated by the fact that dehydration of 2% body weight can significantly reduce your exercise capacity, while a 3% loss is considered critical, resulting for example in damage to thermoregulatory mechanisms. When you exercise at high intensity, during heat, or you sweat a lot, the risk of dehydration is significant. In such case, it is worth considering an individualised hydration strategy. It requires individual planning and should be adjusted to the needs resulting from e.g. exercise length and intensity, rate of sweating, or water and electrolyte loss, and atmospheric conditions (air temperature and humidity).<\/p>\n Try to balance the amount of fluids you take in and lose. You can easily check that by calculating a difference in your body weight before and after exercise. Adjust your fluid supply plan, depending on duration of your exercise.<\/p>\n\n
Fatigue during exercise<\/h2>\n
\n
Hypoglycaemia \u2013 what it is, signs and symptoms, nutrition<\/h2>\n
Amount of carbohydrates<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"dry](\"https:\/\/cyberfolks.madebydiet.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/09\/dry-date-fruits.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nCarbohydrates during physical activity<\/h2>\n
![\"adam](\"https:\/\/cyberfolks.madebydiet.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/09\/adam-malysz-snack.jpg\")
<\/p>\nStimulation of the nervous system<\/h2>\n
Dehydration and overhydration during a workout<\/h2>\n
Strategy of fluid replacement during physical activity<\/h2>\n
Drinking during exercise<\/h2>\n