How to Fuel High Intensity Training Sessions

Knowing how to fuel your training sessions makes the difference from barely completing your training session, and suffering true. Compared to the person who knows how to exactly fuel each training session optimally, squeezing every ounce of juice out of their efforts from their training maximising their performance.

Fuelling your training correctly allows you to get the desired adaptation from your training whether that is getting faster stronger more powerful which ultimately will lead to you improving your performance and getting quicker race times.

Reaching the end of this blog you will be rewarded with;

1. A better understanding of how to match your nutrition to your training exactly how the elite do it.
2. How to avoid the number one mistake athletes make with their race day fuelling.
3. Be able to give yourself that insurance policy of preventing debilitating GI issues that stop you from training & finishing races.

 Quick recap

What does a high-intensity session look like?

Short duration, working at 85-100% Vo2max/HR max, in zones 3/4&5, with periods of relative rest.

What's the aim of the session?

Typical speaking high-intensity training sessions are used to mimic race day intensity and increase metabolic capacity & Vo2 max. Increasing your ability to work at a higher % of your Vo2 max for longer. Sticking with our Carb periodization model these sessions will be trained high (high carb availability) allowing you to work at the desired intensity.

What adaptations are we looking for from this?

The main aim is to maximise your carbohydrate oxidation (breaking down and utilizing carbs for energy) while also training your gut to consume higher amounts of carbs on race day. Also if you are under fuelled or have depleted glycogen stores your training intensity will suffer. Meaning you won't achieve those desired performance gains were after. Therefore you will need to utilize training high carbohydrate strategies.

How to train High Carbohydrate ?

There're a few ways in which you can do this, and guess what you get to eat more carbs, happy days right?

There are 3 key ways to train high;

High Carb diet (upwards of 60% of your calorie budget donated to carbs)

Training with high-carb availability (can be done by eating carbs pre & during your sessions or high-carb meals throughout the day)

Practising your race-day nutrition (simulating your diet for the days leading up, the morning of and throughout the race simulation session)

One thing to remember is you are fuelling the work required, so if your training blocks are peppered with low-intensity sessions or recovery sessions, you need to revert to training low for these sessions – FUEL THE WORK REQUIRED.

If you're looking for more information on carbohydrate periodization, follow the link below to read all about what is carbohydrate periodization.

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Intra training fuelling

Intra-training fuelling refers to the nutritional strategy you adopt to fuel while you are exercising/completing your training. This strategy is dependent on the type of training you are completing and the main aims of the training session. However, for the purpose of this article, we will be focusing on high-intensity / race-pace training. Therefore from a nutrition standpoint, we want to fall in line with this type of training focusing on increasing your carbohydrate oxidation.

What's our main aim here?

When it comes to fueling during your high-intensity or race-pace training sessions there is a couple of options that we have depending on our goals for the individual training session or our plan for the stage of the season we are in. You can either fuel the work required to provide enough carbohydrates to maintain those high-intensity efforts & outputs. You can also train the gut to give us that insurance policy for preventing GI issues in other training sessions or when competing and lastly you can take advantage of these training sessions and start to practice your race day nutritional strategy.

Option 1 – Fuelling the work required

 For your first option of fuelling the work required your primary aim is to get fast-digesting carbohydrates into your system while you're exercising to elevate blood glucose levels to provide the energy needed for your exercise.

Down below are the three main tips you need to consider when fuelling during your training session.

• Aim to consume between 30-90 grams per hour (note for higher concentrations train the gut first, starting small and increasing gradually).
• Simple CHO source (pick carb sources that are simply fast and easy to digest, the optimal ratio is to consume a 2:1 glucose: fructose mix).
• Consume carbs from multiple sources ( for example get carbs in form solid/gel/liquid forms to help avoid GI distress)

I recommend you identify your carbohydrate intake per hour and then divide that by three so you'll have X amount of grams of carbohydrates every 20 minutes. For example, if your intended target is 60 grams per hour every 20 minutes you would aim to consume 20 grams of carbohydrates.

Option 2 – Training the gut

 If your goal is to increase the number of carbs you can absorb and handle while competing aiming for 90+ grams per hour, while also reducing the occurrence of GI distress. Then you need to pick from the training gut strategies below.

• Train with a relatively high volume of liquid or food in the stomach
• Train immediately after consuming food
• Train with a relatively high intake of carbs during training
• Increase the carb content of your diet.

For someone starting off training the gut the first time, I would recommend starting as so, first increase the carb content of your diet by 10-20% , secondly, I would introduce training with a high volume of liquid in your stomach and progress onto high a volume of food in your stomach during training. Working your way down the list.

Option 3 – Practising Race Day Nutrition plans.

 When it comes to designing your race day nutritional strategy you need to look at these three questions first to determine where you'll start.

1. Physiological demands of the sport (duration and intensity will dictate the fuels used and hence needed).
2. Physiological profile of the person (height, body weight and body composition).
3. Training status (the more trained an athlete is the higher their ability is to use fat as a fuel source potentially).

Once you have worked through and answered the three questions above you need to identify your carbohydrate target per hour. Typical recommendations are to start off between 30 to 60 grams per hour working away as high as 90 to 120 grams per hour. Note gut training must be undertaken to consume these higher concentrations to prevent GI issues

Once you have decided on your total carbohydrate intake for your Raceday, I highly recommend using the 30/30/30 principle to help avoid GI issues.

The 30/30/30 principle

30% From Fluids (30% of your hourly carb target should come from liquid sources i.e. high 5 carb drink)

30% from Gels (30% of your hourly carb target should come from gel sources i.e., SIS energy gel)

30% from Solids (30% of your hourly carb target should come from liquid sources i.e., Clif carb block)

Note solid forms of carbohydrate intake can come from whole foods such as fruit, pastries, smoothies, flapjacks etc.

If you're looking for more advice on how to fuel pre and post-your training follow the link below to read our guide on the 4 keys to master of what to eat for your training.

Read More

Actionable steps

1. Aim for between 30-90 g of CHO per hour during your intense training.
2. Make sure the carb fuel source during training is in a simple form with a 2:1 glucose: fructose mix
3. Use the 30/30/30 % principle from solid/gels/liquid carb sources during your training & Raceday.
4. Train the gut at least 4 weeks out from your race to give your body time to adapt and make changes where needed
5. Practise/Practise/Practise your race day nutrition minimum 3 times before your event.

Keen to discover more about how you can fuel for each specific duration of training? 

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References

• Burke, L., Hawley, J., Jeukendrup, A., Morton, J., Stellingwerff, T. and Maughan, R., 2018. Toward a Common Understanding of Diet–Exercise Strategies to Manipulate Fuel Availability for Training and Competition Preparation in Endurance Sport. International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 28(5), pp.451-463.
• Jeukendrup, A.E. (2017) "Periodized nutrition for athletes," Sports Medicine, 47(S1), pp. 51–63. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0694-2.
• Parr, E.B., Heilbronn, L.K. and Hawley, J.A. (2019) "A Time to eat and a time to exercise," Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 48(1), pp. 4–10. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1249/jes.0000000000000207.
• Viribay A, Arribalzaga S, Mielgo-Ayuso J, Castañeda-Babarro, Seco-Calvo J, Urdampilleta A. Effects of 120 g/h of Carbohydrates Intake during a Mountain Marathon on Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage in Elite Runners. doi: 10.3390/nu12051367
• Cermak NM, van Loon LJ. The use of carbohydrates during exercise as an ergogenic aid. Sports Med. 2013. doi: 10.1007/s40279-013-0079-0. PMID: 23846824.
• de Ataide e Silva, Thays et al. Can carbohydrate mouth rinse improve performance during exercise? doi:10.3390/nu6010001
• Impey, S.G. et al. (2018) "Fuel for the work required: A theoretical framework for carbohydrate periodization and the glycogen threshold hypothesis," Sports Medicine, 48(5), pp. 1031–1048. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0867-7.