Extreme Sports Nutrition
Extreme sports nutrition hits very close to home. In 2005, I went from working out 20 hours per week, to not being able to run 3 miles.
I pushed my body so hard, I had made myself sick from working out.
Good sports nutrition helped me recover in just 6 months and led me all the way to the starting line of
Primal Quest.
This sports performance guide is for athletes wanting to perform at the top. This guide shows you how to fuel properly with electrolytes and sports drinks, how to recovery, the pre-race meal, hydration and more.
Fueling the body with proper nutrition is crucial for extreme sports. We are especially hard on the body. Proper fueling helps us have fun while we do what we love.
Many companies offer a sports nutrition guide, but most do not handle extreme sports nutrition. After trying a free sample of Hammer Nutrition at a race, I was hooked.
These products are awesome and keep me feeling good during racing, training and recovery. In addition to learning about fueling during a race, I have discovered a race changing strategy the
pre-race meal.
Once you have obtained your fitness, fuel can give you the edge that can put you at the front of the pack.
SPORTS SUPPLEMENTS
Extreme Sports Nutrition
There are several areas of extreme sports nutrition addressed here.
Each is very important to our success as athletes.
I have finally learned you can work out hard, but what you do afterward does one of two things:
-tears your body down
-builds you up
Sports Nutrition supplements are something I thought I did not need.
I eat organic meals, eat out about 3 times per year, and have a very healthy diet.
Until I had the right mix of supplements however, I would get flu-like symptoms about every 3 weeks.
By using DHLA,Green Tea, COQuinol, Brain Complex, B Complex, Royal Jelly, and Gold 360. I am now able to compete intensely and not get sick.
From clearing lactic acid to strengthening my immune system each of these sports nutritional supplements play an important role. To learn about how I use these products see
Premier Research Labs: Kim's supplements.
I also use Hammer Nutrition Products. The multi-vitamin not only has super greens, but enzymes and vitamins made for hard working athletes.
To see which extreme sports nutrition products I use and what might be right for you see the link below.
Hammer Nutrition Supplements
HYDRATION
Extreme Sports Nutrition
Extreme sports nutrition must include fueling. It is a key factor in poor sports performance. Fueling needs vary greatly, for the length of your events.
Events less than 2 hours require just carbohydrates.
Events lasting over 2 hours require a protein carb mix.
This year I discovered Hammer Nutrition and use Sustained Energy and Perpeteum to fuel my races and training.
I also discovered I was over-hydrating, which is just as dangerous as not enough water. Having the right amount of water or "fuel" is crucial. We will cover the fuel below, but right here check out how much fluid you need to be taking in and what type of fluids are best.
Hammer Nutrition has fantastic information on how to fuel for your event and how much water to drink.
Click below for detailed information on
Hydration.
FUEL
Extreme Sports Nutrition
Many athletes try to take in the same amount of calories they burn. I tried this in my first 24 hour race. My stomach did not feel well the next morning. I had eaten twice the amount of calories my body needed.
When looking at calorie/energy sources, Hammer Nutrition has 4 products in this category in their sports performance guide.
Events over 2 hours
Our body cannot process excess amounts of calories though our body is burning up to 800 per hour.
Each person is different, but no more than 300 calories can be digested each hour. I settled on about 150 calories per hour.
Protein should be ingested if your extreme sport is beyond 2-3 hours. This prevents the body from eating itself, by burning muscles.
Soy protein should also be used. Whey protein creates ammonia which produces lactic acid.
Because of digestion avoid taking in a lot of solid foods. I use Sustained Energy and Perpeteum as a liquid source of calories.
The taste is not bad, and can be mixed with gels or HEED for varying flavors. I like mixing Orange HEED with my Perpeteum. They also have flavors that are neutral and I like those the best.
Sustained Energy
contains about 87% carbohydrates and 13% isolated soy protein, excellent for exercise lasting anywhere from 3hours-12hours.
Perpeteum
contains 75% carbohydrates, 13% fatty acids, and 10% soy protein. This is an ideal product for extreme sports lasting anywhere from 6 hours to many days in length.
Both of these products contain I-carnosine, I-carnitine, and chromium polynicotinate, and soy protein, but the levels differ slightly depending on which product you choose for your sports event. Hammer Nutrition has an excellent sports nutrition guide to help you choose.
Sustained Energy has a neutral flavor while Perpeteum has an orange/vanilla flavor.
EVENTS SHORTER THAN 2 HOURSWhen fueling your body, avoid the simple sugar fuels. The reason for this is that you would have to intake enough liquid to push yourself into a possible over hydration situation in order to intake enough of the sugar to be effective for fuel.
For events shorter than 2 hours you just need carbohydrates.
Hammer-Gel and HEED have only carbohydrates as their energy source. Neither contains any added sugars.
While Hammer-Gel is a concentrated complex carbohydrate gel, HEED is a powdered sports drink mix. Hammer-Gel comes in 8 different flavors, while HEED is only available in 2 citrus flavors.
There are other subtle, but important differences between these 2 energy sources and with different amounts of amino acids, sodium chloride and potassium. Hammer has a more detailed sports performance guide that details this.
Do not try something in the field you have not tried during training.
With hammer fuels we have the flexibility to try a variety of combinations during training to give you serious extreme sports performance options in the field. We can use any variety. They all compliment each other.
THE PRE-RACE MEAL
Extreme Sports Nutrition
The pre-race meal can give you an edge other athletes do not have.
Eating within 3 hours prior to the race can use up your glycogen stores quickly. Once I discovered this it changed my morning routine and the way I felt during workouts. The only sad thing is I don't get to eat breakfast anymore before 11 AM and I love breakfast!
Aside from the recovery meal what we eat before the race is our most important meal.
To learn what to eat, when to eat, and how close to the race to eat just read our article...THE PRE RACE MEAL
ELECTROLYTES
Extreme Sports Nutrition
Electrolytes are essential for peak performance. Lack of the proper electrolytes has caused many athletes to fail or have a dnf.
They are commonly found in sports drinks for re-hydrating the body after such extreme exercise.
These drinks contain varying amounts of minerals and supplements to balance the body.
Lack of electrolytes can cause cramping, heat stroke and poor performance.
I have finally found a great product in Hammer Nutrition for electrolytes. They work wonderful and have helped me perform at a more extreme pace.
To find out about this product and your electrolyte needs click here.
Sports Nutrition Guide: Electrolytes
RECOVERY
Extreme Sports Nutrition
Recovery consists of rest, refueling, rehydration, stretching, muscle stimulation, and sleep.
What you put in your body for up to 2 hours following a workout will greatly affect your next workout.
Recoverite (Hammer Nutrition) is what I use after a workout.
I try to eat a regular meal with a 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein, within 2 hours of finishing a workout. This has dramatically changed how sore I am and how I feel for the next work out.
For details about how to recover quickly by refueling, rest, muscle stimulation and sleep see our page on
RECOVERY
RESEARCHERS
Extreme Sports Nutrition
The nutritional sports information is taken from:- Dr. Bob Marshall
of Premier Research Labs
Steve Born, senior technical adviser for Hammer Nutrition
Dr. Bill Misner, researcher for Hammer Nutrition
“When you’ve finished training, you’re still not finished with training!”-Steve Born
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