No matter your sport or discipline, making sure that your body is fuelled optimally for the event ahead is crucial and can often be the difference between success and failure.
First of all, we need to ask ourselves, ‘Why is pre-event fuelling important?’ Well, there are a multitude of reasons but primarily pre-event fuelling is utilised to:
- Maximise muscle glycogen stores
- Increase carbohydrate availability during the event
- Reduce the feeling of fatigue during the event
- Decreases the feeling of hunger
- Hydrates the body
Now, many people tend to assume that pre-event fuelling simply refers to carbohydrate loading. Whilst this may be considered pre-event, as carbohydrate loading tends to be within the 48 – 72 hours prior to the event, specifically we are talking about the hours leading up to the event. The pre-event meals can typically be split up into 2 – 4 hours prior to the event and within the hour leading up to the start of the event.
2 - 4 Hours Prior to the Start of the Event
The first of these meals should be predominantly carbohydrate based alongside a moderate protein intake. We want to really avoid any high intake of fat in the hours leading up to the event as this typically leads to gastrointestinal issues during the event and inevitably a dip in performance.
Within this window an athlete should be aiming to intake 1 – 4 g / kg of bodyweight. Previous research supports the notion that an intake between this range, alongside further pre-event fuelling, will significantly increase muscle and liver glycogen. This is particularly important when we take into account that the athlete will be in a fasted state overnight.
This meal should be predominantly formed of complex carbohydrates, which will help to provide a slow release of glucose into the bloodstream due to their low – medium glycaemic index (GI) score. Great low GI sources include wholemeal pastas, brown rice, bran cereals and spaghetti.
1 Hour Prior to the Start of the Event
In the hour leading up to the beginning of the event an athlete has one more opportunity to maximise their energy availability and ensure that any feelings of fatigue are minimised. Within this window we want to move away from low GI carbohydrate sources to high GI sources. This is because with such a short time prior to the start of the event we want to minimise any gastrointestinal issues that could be caused by high GI foods.
Low GI sources are simpler in their structure compared to high GI foods and can be broken down for utilisation much quicker. In actual quantities, we want our athlete to be aiming to ingest 1 g / kg of bodyweight in quickly digestible carbohydrates. Some people may automatically assume that they need something full of sugar, such as a chocolate bar or jaffa cakes. Yes, these will provide you with the simple carbohydrates you require but will also come alongside large quantities of fat which will only serve to increase indigestion and be detrimental to the athlete’s performance. Alternatively, reach for something such as a banana. A banana will provide the same performance enhancing effects without the added fat content. Other good alternatives can include:
- Fruit loaf
- Carbohydrate gels (SIS for example)
- Dried fruits such as raisins
- Tart cherry juice
An athlete’s performance, especially at the elite level, definitively comes down to fine margins and a well devised nutritional plan can be the component to give an athlete that extra edge over their opponents. This is particularly true within individual events where an athlete cannot rely on anyone else, but themselves, to ensure that they’re in the best physical condition they can be.
For more information on our bespoke, tailored athlete plans book your free consultation now through the consultation section of our website. All consultations are on a 1:1 basis and are completely free.
