Water is essential to keep you hydrated. When you are physically active, dehydration is not only dangerous, but can also keep you from performing your best.

In order to stay hydrated, keep a water bottle with you and drink throughout the day. Carbohydrate loading is a technique used to increase the amount of glycogen in muscles. It involves eating extra carbohydrates during the week before a competition, while at the same time cutting back on your training.

Although some extra protein is needed to build muscle, most people get plenty of protein from food. Eating enough calories especially from carbohydrates! is actually more important for building muscle than having extra protein. It depends. There are many different energy bars you can buy. Foods that have some carbohydrate and protein in them such as yogurt, cheese and crackers, or peanut butter and fruit are typically just as good if not better and may cost less than energy bars.

Athletes need more fluids than non-athletes because of additional sweat loss from exercise. Do not wait until you are thirsty to start drinking water, because thirst means that you are starting to dehydrate. Remember to drink even more in hot and humid weather. Before exercise: The goal of drinking fluids before exercise is to be well hydrated before you are physically active.

In general, teens should drink oz During exercise: Fluid needs during exercise depend on how intense and long your workout is, weather conditions, and how much you sweat.

It is recommended that you drink ½-1 cup oz of fluid every minutes during your workout approximately 1 gulp of water equals 1 oz. If you are going to be exercising intensely for more than 90 minutes, it may be helpful to drink water with electrolytes or a sports drink to replenish the electrolytes lost in sweat.

After exercise: Calorie-containing drinks such as milk, juice, or a sports drink can replace water and glucose. Milk will also provide protein to help rebuild and repair muscles. A light yellow, somewhat clear color is a sign of good hydration. However, if you see a darker yellow color, this means that you need to drink more fluids.

To restore hydration, you should try to regain lost fluids between oz or cups within the 2 hours after you finish the exercise. In general, water is the best fluid to drink before, during, and after exercise. Sports drinks such as Gatorade® or Powerade® help replace water, carbs, and electrolytes.

If you are exercising for longer than 90 minutes it is likely that water will be the best source of fluid unless exercising vigorously or in the heat.

Remember: Athletes need more food and fluids than non-athletes. Regular meals and healthy snacks will help fuel your body before and after exercise. The average sodium loss per liter of sweat is 1 gram or 1, milligrams as mentioned above, this varies significantly between athletes.

Replenishing these losses post-training and competition is vital to help the body retain the fluids consumed, restoring optimal plasma volume and levels of extracellular fluids. Any athlete should aim to prevent micronutrient deficiencies through a balanced intake that meets total energy, macro, and micronutrient needs.

And while all micronutrients have an indirect role in supporting energy production—and thus performance—there are three we should be extra aware of as they pertain to muscular function and speed:.

Calcium aids in the regulation of muscular contraction and nerve conduction. As we know, calcium facilitates the myosin and actin interaction within the muscle cell. It is then, when calcium is pumped back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum, that the muscle relaxes.

Calcium is also an important mineral in bone health along with vitamin D and phosphorus , which can help prevent bone injury.

It is important to note that high levels of calcium in the blood can cause muscle weakness, and supplements should be used under the direction of a physician or dietitian.

Vitamin D has a role in bone health aiding in calcium and phosphorus absorption and playing a biomolecular role in mediating the metabolic functions of the muscle. Athletes living above the 35th parallel, or those who train and compete indoors, are at the highest risk of deficiency. Supplementation may be warranted in amounts of 2,—5, IUs daily as indicated by lab work.

We know iron deficiency, with or without anemia, reduces muscular function and work capacity, as maximal oxygen uptake will be limited. Elite athletes, especially females, can be at risk of developing iron deficiency. Where opinions differ is on the use and benefit of antioxidant supplements like tart cherry juice.

I do not recommend that my athletes use these antioxidant supplements in the off-season or pre-season when our goal is adaptation, as these supplements could negatively influence it.

Instead, they should be used during the season, potentially in the evening before competition or key training sessions. The role of supplementation in positively impacting speed performance lies in providing energy system fuel, preventing acid-base disturbances, and reducing perceptions of fatigue.

There are four supplements I lean on to help optimize sprint performance:. Supplements should be third-party tested with effectiveness and dosages backed by research.

Creatine is one of the most studied and safest supplements on the market and, in my opinion, the most impactful on performance. Creatine has been shown to have numerous benefits, but for the purposes of this article, we primarily see performance improvements in repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise with short recovery periods.

Based on our earlier discussion of surrounding energy systems, we know phosphocreatine is the substrate used in the ATP-CP, our main energy system utilized in maximal sprints. Creatine phosphate provides a rapid source of phosphate to resynthesis ADP to ATP.

On an omnivorous diet, most individuals will get between 1 and 2 grams of creatine daily found in meat, fish, and eggs. Supplementation is then recommended to saturate muscular stores. Creatine monohydrate is highly bioavailable and is what I recommend to the athletes I work with. Creatine can be taken using a loading phase of 20—25 grams.

Creatine intake post-training with carbohydrates and protein is found to enhance creatine storage caused by increases in blood flow and the effect of insulin. Caffeine can also help with the release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which we discussed earlier.

Gums with caffeine content, which are increasing in popularity, are absorbed more quickly and could be taken closer to competition. The half-life of caffeine depends on genetic factors but ranges from 2. This would be most beneficial in sports with repeated high-intensity sprints 1—7 minutes and may not be beneficial in single, maximal sprint events.

Gastrointestinal symptoms are a known side effect of sodium bicarbonate, and tolerance should be tested during non-key training sessions. Splitting the amount into smaller doses spread over the pre-training period may help.

This occurs through the increased synthesis of carnosine, which lowers the ph balance in the muscle by exchanging hydrogen ions for calcium within the muscle, leading to enhanced efficiency of contraction in coupling and excitation. When compared to sodium bicarb, beta-alanine provides more chronic muscular adaptations.

Parathesis is a known side effect of beta-alanine, but it can be reduced by dividing the daily dosage and spreading it throughout the day or using a slow-release capsule.

While your competitors obsess over finding the latest and greatest training fad in speed development, get an advantage by making sure that the V8 engine you built during training has the right high-octane fuel to use all that horsepower.

When looking at nutrition for speed development and competition, consider the Fueling Speed Hierarchy: carbohydrates, protein, hydration, micronutrients, and supplementation. Implement a few of these strategies into your training, and let those horses sing! More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes.

Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics.

Thomas T, Erdman KA, and Burke LM. Naderi A, de Oliveira EP, Ziegenfuss TN, and Willems MET. Maughan RJ Ed.

Burke L, Deakin V, and Minehan M. Clinical Sports Nutrition 6th Edition 6th ed. Lindsey Salwasser is a Registered Dietitian and a Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics.

Lindsey has spent the last five years as an Associate Athletic Director and Director of Performance Nutrition at the Division 1, Power 5 collegiate level most recently, Washington State University. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. Even though the server responded OK, it is possible the submission was not processed. This article will discuss the five nutritional practices I believe have the biggest impact on helping athletes improve their strength, power, and explosiveness in ways that translate to increases in speed: Ensure sufficient carbohydrate intake.

This fuels our most utilized energy systems and provides the substrate used more directly in speed and explosiveness as the preferred fuel for the brain and central nervous system.

Plan adequate protein intake, timing, and dosages. Doing so will optimize muscle protein synthesis and allow for muscular adaptations to training. This plays a crucial role in muscular contraction, body temperature regulation, and injury prevention. Consume an adequate intake of micronutrients vitamins and minerals.

The benefits of this include helping regulate muscle and nerve contraction and providing antioxidants. Supplement as needed with vitamins, minerals, and compounds.

Finding the right supplements can improve power and explosiveness by reducing perceptions of fatigue, providing energy system fuel, and preventing acid-base disturbances. Click To Tweet Knowing the causes of central CNS and peripheral muscular fatigue in these maximal, short-duration training and competition scenarios allows us to better identify the nutritional strategies that can help support optimal speed and power output.

Ensure Sufficient Carbohydrate Intake Yes, Power Athletes, You Need Them Too! Carbohydrate depletion leads to fatigue. Click To Tweet Carbohydrate depletion leads to fatigue, which would typically be thought of as occurring in a longer duration sprint through the reduction of glycolysis.

Click To Tweet This has been demonstrated mostly in to minute activities e. Plan Adequate Protein Intake, Timing, and Dosages If carbohydrates are the king of performance nutrition, protein is the queen. A good goal for most athletes is to consume doses of 20—40 grams of protein every 3—4 hours while awake to optimize muscle protein synthesis and hit total daily protein intake needs.

Click To Tweet Protein intake in the post-training window can also lower carbohydrate needs to achieve the same glycogen resynthesis. Click To Tweet The average sodium loss per liter of sweat is 1 gram or 1, milligrams as mentioned above, this varies significantly between athletes.

Consume Adequate Intake of Micronutrients Any athlete should aim to prevent micronutrient deficiencies through a balanced intake that meets total energy, macro, and micronutrient needs. And while all micronutrients have an indirect role in supporting energy production—and thus performance—there are three we should be extra aware of as they pertain to muscular function and speed: Calcium Vitamin D Iron Calcium Calcium aids in the regulation of muscular contraction and nerve conduction.

Vitamin D Vitamin D has a role in bone health aiding in calcium and phosphorus absorption and playing a biomolecular role in mediating the metabolic functions of the muscle.

Amino acids are critical to maximizing muscle protein synthesis MPS and therefore important to muscular growth and development. Research suggests that 1. Of course, this provides a broad range of possibilities for the athlete.

This usually results in approx. It can be difficult to state a more specific intake, as each athlete will be different and must be assessed and monitored as an individual.

It is important to find the ideal intake with the athlete as muscle growth and development are largely caused by enhanced MPS and a positive nitrogen balance. Common practice for many athletes is to consume excessive amounts of protein daily in order to ensure they are reaping all the benefits.

This has diminishing returns as once they hit a peak of protein assimilation; additional protein will not be used for building muscle. Training is a stimulus for increasing strength and power while nutrition simply supports this. Too mush protein results in an unbalanced diet and a possible reduction in performance.

Excess protein levels can also result in greater urine production, thus causing more fluid to be excreted by the body, possible leading to dehydration. A high quality and complete protein will supply all 22 amino acids to the body. Sources such as diary, eggs, meat, fish and protein supplements when required.

This will have a significant effect on MPS too and thus strength and mass results. Just like for all athletes carbs will play a key role in the diet for strength and power athletes. Due to the nature of their exercise, anaerobic metabolism requires glycogen for energy. Insufficient glucose from the diet will mean reduced glycogen stores in the muscle which can lead to decreased athletic performance.

Some athletes will perform very short yet intense activity eg. sprints, while other will conduct longer lasting anaerobic exercise lasting 30 seconds plus.

Although all of these activities will use glycogen as primary fuel source, the rate of depletion of it depends on the length of time for the exercise. Strongmen, bodybuilders or rugby players will therefore need higher levels of carbohydrates than say a power lifter or sprinter, due to the increased length of their activity.

For those athletes undertaking exercise that lasts less than 30 seconds at a time e. sprinter, more moderate carb consumption on a daily basis is sound practice. Greater carb consumption will be needed for athletes training more often.

Aside from glycogen replenishment, strength and power athletes will see strength and size benefits from having crabs in the diet.

Carbs stimulate insulin production, which is considered an anabolic hormone. By driving nutrients into cells, we see a metabolic process of activity that results in tissue repair or growth.

Insulin is a hormone that stimulates anabolism. As a result, with adequate amounts of carbs within a balanced diet and with appropriate nutrition for strength training , athletes will see greater responses in muscle recovery and growth.

Many athletes will do well with grams per kg in weight. This should still always relate and conform to the overall energy balance to maintain a healthy macronutrient spit for the athlete. For example, Jack our strongman: ÷ 2. To provide Jack with a balanced diet, the higher end of these recommendations could not be used anyway.

Therefore you should typically use carb intake as a percentage of daily energy requirements, but the higher end of the spectrum may apply in certain athletes. Always assess each client on an individual basis and be prepared to adjust this daily intake based on feedback and results.

The type of carbohydrates consumed should also be considered. The glycemic index ranks carb foods accordingly to blood glucose response after intake. Therefore lower GI foods, such as oats, whole grains, fruits and vegetables should be the bulk of carb intake during the day.

For a more rapid supply of glucose, higher GI foods would appear most beneficial around training e. white rice, potatoes and carb supplements. The anaerobic nature of strength and power activates requires for little fat to be utilized by the athletes. This means it can make up a smaller percentage of the diet.

Fat is still important, providing essential fatty acids for general health, support to anabolic hormones and aids in the digestion and absorption of fat soluble nutrients. Therefore a moderate amount of healthy fats in the athletes diet can prove beneficial. It is suggested that an equal breakdown of dietary fats should be aimed for when it comes to daily fat intake.

Significant benefits can be seen, including improved athletic performance, lower total blood cholesterol, reduced inflammation markers, improved insulin sensitivity and blood pressure. Diets rich in polyunsaturated fats may help spare muscle glycogen and potentially increase the time it take to reach muscle exhaustion.

For monounsaturated fats, good choices include olive, canola, nuts and avocadoes. Good sources of polyunsaturated fats are corn, sesame, canola, soy, nuts and seeds. For saturated fats, red meat, dairy, coconut oil are all good choices.

There has not been as many studies or research conducted on micronutrients for athletes, unlike the macronutrients. But as with all active individuals, there may be a higher requirement for certain micronutrients than others.

Below are common considerations for the strength and power athletes. Thiamin, riboflavin and niacin are the key B vitamins for athletes. B vitamins are potent for energy production so increased daily levels are important. The intake of high B vitamin foods is recommended with possible supplementation.

These are potent antioxidants that reduce oxidative damage. They can also work in synergy with one another, making their benefits greater when combined. Vitamin C should be consumed at mg per day and vitamin E at mg per day. This can be achieved through a diet including ample amounts of fruit and veg, but may also be supplemented.

Iron is a common deficiency and strength and power athletes are at greater risk of this, as they lose more via urine and sweat. Iron aids in transporting and utilizing oxygen, and is important for maximum performance.

A diet rich in iron foods should be sufficient. It is also used to aid muscle contraction and relaxation, movements essential for athletes to maintain at peak performance for a time.

You can also adjust according to your training cycle. Example ,distance runners ramp up their mileage before their season starts and generally do the least amount of mileage at the end of their season.

They may focus more on their strength right after season completion versus the start of their season. All 3 are critical for every day health and especially for performance.

Cutting one of these out would be like to trying to show up one man short on the field or court. Carbohydrates are critical to performance as they are the key fuel source for exercise.

When carbohydrates are stored they are referred to as glycogen gas tank When your gas tank glycogen is insufficient you fatigue quickly, have a reduced ability to train hard and your immune system is suppressed hence why athletes tend to get sick towards the end of season.

The more endurance component of your sport the higher the carbohydrate recommendation. For personalized recommendations, please reach out to your sports dietitian. Individuals who may chose to implement nutrition changes agree that Featherstone Nutrition is not responsible for any injury, damage or loss related to those changes or participation.

So many days I have a run and strength session. However, is it best to break them up with a few hours in between to make sure I replace my glyogen stores vs coming back from my run and lifting immediately after?

Or does it matter as long as I was properly fueled before my run and then refuel immediately after that lift session. Do you still recommend something like a banana or could I eat energy chews or gels instead?

You can definitely do them back-to-back! Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email. How do I fuel for a strength training immediately before running? Lisa Maciel.