endurance & fitness nutrition

Energy consumption in endurance sports

Every breath, every movement, especially every physical activity costs energy. The longer and more intensively you exercise, the greater the calorie consumption.

The energy requirement of a person is calculated from the basal metabolic rate and the performance metabolic rate. The basal metabolic rate describes the minimum energy requirement in complete rest. Humans need about one kilocalorie per hour per kilogram of body weight to live. In the case of power conversion, the energy that is needed for a specific activity is added.

Endurance sports such as marathon running, cycling, swimming or triathlon place unique demands on the human body. One of these aspects is energy consumption. Understanding energy and calorie needs is critical for endurance athletes to perform at their best and maintain health. In this article, we'll take a closer look at the energy and calorie needs for endurance sports.

Energy use and why it matters

Energy expenditure describes the amount of energy that the body needs to maintain its basic functions and to carry out physical activities. Higher energy expenditure is observed in endurance sports as the body works at high intensity for longer periods of time.

Determination of calorie needs

The calorie requirement of an individual is made up of the basal metabolic rate (the energy expended at rest) and the energy expenditure from physical activity. Basal metabolic rate can be affected by factors such as age, gender, body composition and general health.

Endurance athletes have an increased calorie requirement due to the high training intensity and duration. The exact requirement varies depending on the type of sport, training intensity, duration, gender, age and individual metabolism.

Carbohydrates as the primary source of energy

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for endurance sports. They are converted to glycogen and stored in the liver and muscles. However, glycogen stores are limited during prolonged exercise, making it important to optimize carbohydrate intake before, during and after exercise.

An endurance athlete might need anywhere from 6-10g of carbs per pound of bodyweight per day, depending on the intensity of the workout.

Proteins for repair and growth

Proteins support the repair and growth of muscle tissue. An endurance athlete needs about 1.2-1.7g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, although the amount can vary depending on the intensity of the training.

Fat as a secondary energy source

While carbohydrates are the main source of energy, fat serves as a secondary source of energy, especially during longer endurance sessions. A moderate fat consumption of 20-30% of the daily calorie intake can be useful for endurance athletes.

Hydration and Electrolyte Balance

Hydration is also linked to calorie expenditure, as dehydration can slow metabolism and reduce calorie expenditure. In addition, the loss of electrolytes through sweating can affect energy needs. It is essential to stay hydrated during exercise and to replenish electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and magnesium.

The energy and calorie needs of endurance sports is a complex issue that should be considered individually. Not only is it important to eat enough, but also to consume the right nutrients at the right time to optimize performance and promote recovery. An individualized nutritional strategy, possibly with the advice of a sports nutritionist, can help endurance athletes achieve their goals.

The following overview gives the approximate energy consumption per hour for selected sports. The calculation was based on a person weighing 67 kilograms.

• Volleyball 200 kcal
• Cycling (8-12 km / hour) 260 kcal
• Walking (flat to hilly terrain) 320 kcal
• Cycling (15-12 km / hour) 400 kcal
• Tennis 440 kcal
• Swimming (breast, Kraul; medium pace) 480 kcal
• Skiing (level; medium pace) 480 kcal
• Ball games (football, handball) 560 kcal
• Swimming (breast, Kraul, high speed) 640 kcal
• Skiing (hilly terrain, high speed) 1120 kilocalories

The energy requirements of an athlete depends on his sport and the training load. It makes a big difference whether someone without haste or jogs a time record will: More effort usually means more energy consumption. Only well-trained athletes have with the same energy costs, a lower turnover, because the metabolism in trained muscles economic expires.

The energy must be consumed through food replaced. Carbohydrates, fats and proteins are the energy supplier of the body, with the proportion of high fibre carbohydrates at least 50 percent. If the energy storage is not refilled, this is usually the weight loss, which in turn performance degradation can result

A balanced diet is the best basis for sporting success!

The concept of a nutritional fitness athlete or Body Builders is basically the everyday eating habits of a normal consumer.

Is it in a healthy and meaningful "sports nutrition" matter, according to athletic orientation, some personal goals. The athlete must have a special diet (diet = Greek way of life) obligations, thus feeding accordingly to his athletic performance. Precisely who intensive sport or under stress, has an increased need for nutrients.

The promotion of muscle building, through intensive training and optimal nutrition is the whole secret. The athletes must be the one to train adequately, and the eat what his personal goals necessarily requires. So you need to build muscle protein food, whether in the form of meat or as a protein powder. How big is the actual need of protein for each one depends on the efficiency and intensity of the training of the athlete and can be individually different. As a benchmark for Hantelsportler, 2 grams protein per kilogram of body weight per day to be. Of course, it is also necessary energy metabolism adapted to the training. As a supplier of the energy act carbohydrates. The optimal management of the energy metabolism can be linked to the consumption kohlenhydratreicher dietary supplements practice. This is especially important for an effective training and also for rapid regeneration. There are so-called Weight Gainer recommended. Weight Gainer combinations are mixtures of high-quality protein and carbohydrates.
Also we should not ignore that fat as an energy source and as a supplier of fat-soluble vitamins in the diet in mind. Because of the additional requirements for an athlete of micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals and trace elements is also increased. Causes of this are the strong fluid loss (including welding loss) and the enhanced metabolism by the increased physical activity of the athlete.
For the energy needs of every human being fats and carbohydrates play an important role. Fats provide not only energy but also contain essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins. Protein / protein for muscle building enormously important, but also serve as an energy supplier.
Nutrition is the intake of dietary substances which an organism to build his body, to maintain his vital functions and making certain benefits in different life situations. Nutrition is a precondition for the preservation of life of every living organism.
Among human nutrition is the care of people with food in the form of food and benefit funds.
The human nutrition serve raw, cooked or otherwise prepared, fresh or canned food. Malfunctions of food intake as eating disorders.

Nutrition forms

In the first place, what is man eats, as he prepared (cooking) and to be adopted (eating habits), and also what he did not eat (food taboo), from its habitat and its culture dependent, and that strong regional differences subjected. Despite the sometimes extreme variations of the traditional regional cuisines, the need for nutrients is usually covered. A single "correct" form of food it can not give.
Since but especially in the industrialized countries, the diet from the traditional forms wegentwickelt and by the increase in sedentary activities of the lifestyle and so the calorie and nutrient needs total change, there is today for many people is a mismatch between demand and nutrient diet. Therefore, the question of the "right" diet depending on the way of life by the Dietetics scientifically researched.
In particular, the increase in diseases of civilisation, among other influences of a modern attributed to malnutrition. This has meant that there is now a vast variety of opinions, theories and teachings on the "right" diet, such as the theories of the whole diet, the raw-teaching, the diet after the 5 elements of the traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda teaching, macrobiotics (food science from the perspective of yin and yang), the separation food-teaching, the Stone Age diet, and many more. The answers to the question of a "right" nutrition are often ideologically influenced.
The German Society for Nutrition has formulated dietary rules, as full-nutrition ".
Increasingly common, the food, pharmaceutical and food supplement industry brochures and Internet information on nutrition issues.

Shortages and malnutrition

Does a diet does not meet the requirements of the human organism, we speak of miscarriage or malnutrition. The terms are often uneven and sometimes used synonymously. Most malnutrition means that one or more food ingredients in the wrong quantity consumed, for example, Too fat or too vitaminarme food, while malnutrition among understands that the energy or calories needs of the body not covered.

Combinations of both disorders.

Causes of shortages and malnutrition can famine by harvest failures, war or disasters and diseases, as well as in industrialized countries, especially an unbalanced diet by a lack of knowledge about healthy diets and bad eating habits. Here plays the large supply of industrial hochkalorischer convenience foods with declining physical activity and the elimination of eating as a social, mostly ritual familiengebundenes a role.
However, there is also a large number of diseases, especially the so-called diseases of civilization, for the discussion, whether the diet at least co. A scientific proof of this assumption, there are only a very few diseases. In general, relationships between diet and disease, methodically conditionally, difficult to prove.

Healthy food

• Contains all the necessary food components (see above)
• Contains the ingredients in a meaningful composition (eg kaloriengerechte amount of carbohydrates, proteins / fats and proteins)
• Is balanced (a bit of everything)
• Contains enough liquid
• After harvest or slaughter immediately processed and consumed
• Contains the ingredients in their natural form
• Contains no unhealthy levels of bacteria and pollutants