Carbohydrate supplementation: two sugars for maximum performance
in Hydration and fuelling on the move
Andrew Hamilton looks at recent research on the best type of carbohydrate supplements for endurance performance MORE
Carbohydrate on the move: does mouth rinsing really work?
in Hydration and fuelling on the move, Nutrition for endurance athletes
Numerous studies over the past 30 odd years have shown that taking carbohydrate drinks to replenish carbohydrate on the move (or at the very least, slow down the rate at which your body’s stores of muscle glycogen are depleted) prolongs time to exhaustion and improves endurance performance. These findings have helped sports scientists to develop... MORE
Gut feeling: keeping the tummy blues at bay
in Dietary basics, Endurance health and lifestyle, Hydration and fuelling on the move, Nutrition for endurance athletes
Gastric distress can ruin even the best-laid race plans, and make life generally miserable for endurance athletes in training. Andrew Hamilton looks at the causes of this potentially debilitating condition, and what the science says about how to successfully overcome it MORE
Carbohydrate – still your best performance friend!
in Hydration and fuelling on the move, Nutrition for endurance athletes
The importance of carbohydrate for endurance performance was first established in the early 20th century. One hundred years on, Andrew Hamilton explains why, for most athletes, for most of the time, carbohydrate is still pivotal for enhancing performance The study of carbohydrate metabolism in relation to the field of sport and exercise is an area... MORE
A guide to sports drinks, health products and muscle...
in Hydration and fuelling on the move, Supplements
How many of these fancily packaged and extravagantly advertised products actually work? In recent years, there’s been an explosion in the quantity and types of sport supplements available and the sports supplement industry is now estimated to be worth a staggering 15 billion US dollars a year. But how many of these fancily packaged and... MORE
Overtraining: how the right nutrition can help prevent it...
in Dietary basics, Hydration and fuelling on the move, Nutrition for endurance athletes, Recovery nutrition, Recovery strategies, Supplements
Professor Mike Saunders explains how specific nutritional practices can prevent overtraining and accelerate exercise recovery Where should we draw the line between appropriate ‘heavy training’ and overtraining? And are there specific nutritional practices that can prevent overtraining and accelerate exercise recovery? Mike Saunders explains and shows that these two concepts are intimately linked. In simple... MORE
Carbohydrate drinks, gels and bars: two carbs are better...
in Hydration and fuelling on the move, Nutrition for endurance athletes
Genuine advances in sports nutrition are bit like politicians who actually say what they think – rare enough to count on the fingers of one hand. But as Andrew Hamilton explains, recent research into carbohydrate nutrition has resulted in a new breed of carbohydrate products that really do deliver improved performance! Even if you’ve only... MORE
Triathletes: drinking too much during a race can cause...
in Hydration and fuelling on the move
Ultra-endurance athletes need to avoid overdrinking during triathlons if they want to avoid a serious episode of hyponatraemia (an abnormally low blood concentration of sodium). That’s the key message from a major review of exercise-associated hyponatraemia by experts from South Africa and New Zealand. Since it was first described in 1985 by sports scientist Tim... MORE
Sports nutrition: is Coca-Cola an effective sports drink?
in Hydration and fuelling on the move
Top athletes seem to love Coke, not just as a dinner drink to wash down a cup of yoghurt, a cinnamon-raisin bagel, and a bowl of broccoli, but as a sports drink to provide a little fire during the last stages of a prolonged endurance competition.Coke as a sports drink? It does seem strange, but... MORE
Sports nutrition: energy drinks
in Hydration and fuelling on the move
Sports drinks – can you have too much of a good thing? There’s no doubt that ensuring optimum fluid and carbohydrate replenishment is vital as a sports supplement for maximising sport performance. But, as Richard Godfrey explains, while this strategy is fine for competition, some scientists are wondering whether the routine use of carbohydrate/fluid replacement... MORE
