Fuel Right For Winter
Top Five Nutrition Tips
Whether it is running, swimming or cycling, we are here to help you get the most out of your nutrition to ensure the training you put in for winter is reflected in your spring and summer performances. Read our top tips to help you win winter training and capitalise on your nutritional needs.
1. Incorporate supplements into your diet
The easiest thing to do come winter is to push too hard. The colder climate can be a strain on the body before any sort of training commences. Also colds or viruses will thrive in the colder conditions and the adrenaline and cortisol you produce during training can impact your immune system. To fight the onset of illness head-on we'd recommend making use of daily supplements, for example Vitamin D, and include them as part of your winter diet. This will give you the best chance of staying fit and healthy during the winter season.
2. Don't Get Hung up on Weight Loss
It can be easy to try and jump ahead with your summer weight goals by shaving some additional weight over the winter months. However, it is entirely natural for the body to increase mass over the winter, with shorter days causing a reduction in Vitamin D. Having that additional fat over the winter will help keep you insulated. Be that as it may, it doesn’t mean you should look to gorge on those holiday chocolates and sweets as this will only further impact the problem of winter weight gain. Look to eat clean natural nutrition to ensure your body takes on the right carbohydrates and nutrients when you need them the most.
3. Keeping tabs on your nutrition should not only be when outdoors
If you are looking to take your training to your treadmill or turbo trainer it is important that you are taking on the necessary carbohydrates to feed the session. That could be through an energy drink, gels or chews, all these can help to feed those sessions and help to maximise your training. Look out for those with caffeine added to them as the use of caffeine supplementation into your training has shown to help improve your performance.
4. Don't neglect fluid intake
Even in winter the body sweats and can become dehydrated. Therefore topping up on liquids during the day and repaying the fluid debt after the session is key. As a rough way to ensure you are hydrated, weigh yourself before and after the session and for every half a kilogram lost look to take on 500ml of fluids.
5. Boost performance with protein
Protein intake is incredibly important and will help your muscles repair and grow after each session. This will ultimately lead to an increased level of efficiency when training and more power. Look to take on 1.2-2 grams of good quality protein per kilo of body weight. This can be ingested using recovery drinks or recovery bars post-session to ensure you are feeding the muscles immediately and increase the level of protein synthesis. Maintaining protein intake will ensure optimal recovery of those hard-worked muscles and will allow you to reap the rewards of all that tough training.
Although it can easily be forgotten about, adapting your nutrition strategy can be the key to unlock that untapped potential as well as minimising the effects of the colder season on our body. We all want to be at our best come the spring and summer and reap the rewards of all that hard work. We sincerely hope that these tips will help you get through the winter and come into the warmer weather at your best.
