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Crossfit nutrition

Nutrition plays an important role when it comes to crossfit workouts

Most crossfit trainings last about an hour and therefore correspond to high intensity train; apart from warm-up, coordinative units and cooldown. In other words, the training is rather short, but extremely intensive, similar to interval training.

Nutrition before training
If you want to do a high intensity training, it is essential to start the training with filled stores. Not with a full stomach, of course, but not sober either. Ideally, a few easily digestible bites should be taken shortly before training: depending on preferences and tolerance, this can be a small banana, an easily digestible sports bar, a honey bread, a carbohydrate-containing sports drink or something silimar.

During training
During a crossfit training there is usually no or very little time for food intake. Sports drinks that contain a carbohydrate-electrolyte solution and thus support endurance performance and fluid intake are particularly suitable for this purpose. ISOTONIC or the mildly aromatic, acid-free COMPETITION are the beverages of choice for crossfit athletes. If the training lasts longer than one hour, a LIQUID ENERGY GEL tube (with or without caffeine) can help to keep the blood sugar level high and to avoid hangers during the workout. Solid food is not appropriate during a crossfit workout, as the athlete has neither the time to chew nor the energy to digest.

After the workout
The immediate nutrition after a high intensity workout pursues the following goals: hydration, supply of electrolytes and energy, regeneration. For these reasons it is important to supply the body with carbohydrates, liquids and protein within 30 minutes after the training. Besides protein-rich ready-to-drink products such as PROTEIN SMOOTHIE or PROTEIN DRINK, regeneration products such as PRO RECOVERY or RECOVERY SHAKE, which are mixed with water or milk, are indicated. But also a PROTEIN 50 Bar or a PROTEIN LOW CARB Bar, a low-sugar quark dish or a small cheese roll serve regeneration.

Protein for crossfit athletes
Protein fulfils many important functions in your body. To perform its tasks optimally, your body must be provided with the necessary basic protein requirements. The Swiss Society for Sports Nutrition therefore recommends athletes a daily amount of approx. 1.3-1.8 g protein per kg body weight. For a woman of 60 kg this means about 80-110 g protein per day, while a man of 80 kg body weight needs about 105-144 g dietary protein. For special phases such as strength building, diets or weight training, higher recommendations of 2.0-2.7 g protein per kilogram body weight apply. With our protein calculator the recommended daily requirements can be calculated to cover your individual needs.

Protein: timing of intake
The body protein is in a dynamic equilibrium. It is constantly built up and broken down. This is called anabolism or catabolism. Therefore, you are dependent on a regular intake. For optimal protein synthesis, about 20-30 g of protein should be consumed every 3-4 hours.

» download infographic «protein synthesis» (PDF)

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LOW CARB PROTEIN SHAKE
Use: weight management, basic protein blend, meal replacement
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Conclusion
With the right nutrition, crossfit training does not get easier, but definitely more effective. Above all, it should not be forgotten that individual tolerance and personal taste preferences are always to be taken into consideration.
So get ready for your next crossfit training, the kettlebells are waiting!

Author: Remo Jutzeler
Head R&D SPONSER SPORT FOOD
Ing. Applied Food Sciences UAS
MAS Nutrition & Health ETHZ

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Game, set, match

All you need to know about sports nutrition in tennis

During the short breaks after the sets you can see cracks like Roger Federer eating half a banana and or having a drink from time to time. Does a tennis athlete need specific sports nutrition and if so, what do you need to know?

Short breaks on the court
Numerous, but short breaks during sets mean that sports nutrition in tennis has to meet special needs: Sports nutrition must not only be consumable quickly, but must also be as tolerable as possible. So if you see tennis stars eating half a (ripe) banana during the sets, there is nothing wrong with that. For a match lasting several hours, however, this snack is definitely not enough.
Tennis players can therefore rely on liquid energy from the tube, for example with a LIQUID ENERGY GEL (with or without caffeine), a high-quality, carbohydrate sports drink such as COMPETITION, LONG ENERGY or ISOTONIC or a few bites of a HIGH ENERGY BAR. In search of a noticeable caffeine kick that reawakens motivation and concentration, we recommend an ACTIVATOR ampoule or a few POWER GUMS out of the bag. The previous and regular use of MENTAL FOCUS can offer clear advantages in terms of cognitive performance both in technical training and in competition.

Indoor or outdoor
From a nutritional point of view, it makes no difference whether a tennis match is played indoor or outdoor on sand, grass or hart court. However, the climatic conditions can vary significantly and thus have a corresponding influence. Temperature and humidity are central parameters that must be taken into account when eating on the tennis court. In the cold and in low humidity, nutrition has primarily to cover the energy demands of an athlete. In the heat or in great humidity the body needs considerably more liquid. If matches over three, four or sometimes five sets including tie-break are expected, a carboloading two days before the competition is recommended. If the heat on the court is high, a previous soda loading with LACTAT BUFFER can be very useful. Players with a high sweat rate and a tendency to cramp additionally use SALT CAPS or MUSCLE RELAX shots.

Regeneration during tournaments
In tennis tournaments lasting several days or even two weeks, regeneration plays an important role. The recommendations are therefore: Regular carboloading with CARBO LOADER, every second or third day. In hot and humid regions, soda loading with LACTAT BUFFER is recommended to increase sodium levels and thus prevent dehydration and cramps. Always take a carbohydrate-protein shake such as PRO RECOVERY after every match and additionally consume a protein shake MULTIPROTEIN or CASEIN in the evening before going asleep. If frequent travel and/or contact with large crowds is necessary, the use of IMMUNOGUARD prevents the risk of infection.

Drinking after energy gels

Drinking after energy gels in training and competition

When using gels or solid foods, drink sufficient water, at least 200 ml per 20 to 30 g of carbohydrates, in order to prevent a reduction in blood plasma volume. (Evans et al., 2017: Optimizing the restoration and maintenance of fluid balance after exercise-induced dehydration. J Appl Physiol 122(4):945-951). Otherwise, rehydration is impaired, which can lead to gastrointestinal discomfort during exercise.

Author: Yvonne Forster

Nutrition tips Swiss Epic

Which nutrition strategy is recommended for Swiss Epic?

On a multi-day event like the Swiss Epic, certain conditions that influence nutrition change almost daily. Factors such as weather, acclimatisation, training status, body weight and individual biological variability are too varied to permit universally binding nutritional recommendations. In addition, the diet must be adapted to the objective: Is it about winning or is it simply about comfortably finishing? And, last but not least, the general conditions and catering options on site must also be incorporated into the nutrition strategy. For these reasons, it is not possible to provide generally valid nutrition rules in quantity and order for the Swiss Epic mountain bike race or similar long-distance endurance events.

Of course, there are certain basic rules and measures that remain roughly the same. One conceivable nutrition strategy could be the following:

Before the start
• The two days before the competition: Carbo loading with CARBO LOADER, 4 x 1 portion per day each
• 3 to 4 hours before the start: POWER PORRIDGE, portion size according to your own feeling of satiety.
• Up to 1 hour before the start: LONG ENERGY sports drink and one / a few bites of HIGH ENERGY BAR, depending on the individual feeling of hunger and thirst, also depending on whether you are able to eat at all at this moment.

During competition
• Drink sufficiently, adapted to the situation and according to your feeling of thirst. Recommended drink is the mildly flavoured, acid-free LONG ENERGY sports drink.
• During competition it is recommended that you take some easily digestible solid food every 3 to 5 hours. However, this must be tested under similar conditions beforehand! For example, half a bar, but also a few bites of white bread or a ripe banana are useful to maintain gastrointestinal activity. To a certain extent, the ULTRA PRO drink can also be taken instead during long periods of endurance activities (1 sachet every 3 to 4 hours). This may already be sufficient for one-day events.
• For competitions lasting several days, something «solid» between the teeth is highly recommended, as solid food supports digestion. What and how much varies from person to person. A few easily digestible bites (white bread, banana, pretzels, energy bars, or similar) every few hours are enough, the rest can be taken in liquid form.
• If warm food (such as pasta, boiled potatoes, rice, etc.) is offered on site, make sure you try to use it. Also POWER PORRIDGE would be a valuable warm catering, if the possibility exists.
• Our OAT PACKs are recommended as very long satiating bars. These are based on oats and contain nuts, which increase the total energy content, but also puts a little more strain on the digestion. In contrast to the HIGH ENERGY BAR, OAT PACKs are also suitable for competitions in the cold because they are not as hard as the finely ground HIGH ENERGY BARs. However, the HIGH ENERGY BAR is the ideal solution for one-day competitions.
• If performance drops and/or tiredness occur, LIQUID ENERGY gels with caffeine are recommended (approx. ½ tube or 1 sachet, followed by some gulps of water or sports drink). An ampoule of ACTIVATOR with caffeine can also help in this situation; the caffeine's effect lasting about 2-4 hours.
• Especially during long competitions, the LIQUID ENERGY SALTY is very well received. This energy gel contains more salt and tastes sweet and salty, thereby offering a welcomed taste alternative.
• En route, it is important to estimate the situational needs correctly. In the case of cold/weakness, it is advisable to consume more carbohydrates in the form of gels or sports drinks. If stomach problems become noticeable, suitable solid food, oat bars or white bread should be eaten. Pure water is not recommended if diarrhoea occurs! In such a case it is advisable to eat and drink salty.
• Most important during very long events is keeping enough flexibility and listen to one's own desires. Experience has shown that even the most popular drinks/foods can quickly put you off if exertion lasts for several days.
• Furthermore, particularly with events lasting several days and high intake of (usually) carbohydrate-rich sports food, a sudden appetite for salt, protein and fat appears. This usually happens at a stage when the body has already reduced exercise intensity (partly from exhaustion) and can therefore tolerate such food. In this situation one can tolerate a lot of «normal» food in a reasonable amount: dried meat, sausages, chips, nuts, cheese or whatever else the organizer offers. However, fatty foods are of course unsuitable for daytime events and for strictly performance-oriented goals. During long exercise bouts and low intensities, however, one should and may listen to one's body desires, even if a food may be somewhat more difficult/slower to digest. Specific hunger for a certain food is usually a good indicator that it also can be tolerated.

Recovery after competition
• For occasions where you do not want to take too many different products with you, it is a good idea to use the ULTRA PRO as a regeneration drink. Also conceivable: LONG ENERGY Berry in double concentration (60-80 g + approx. 500 ml water). Like this, there is no need for additional recovery products. It is recommended to drink a portion within 30 minutes after finish arrival and possibly a second one, if there is no main meal within 90 minutes.
• On multi-day events, it makes sense to take another portion of CARBO LOADER or a portion of ULTRA PRO before going to bed in order to start the next day with energy stores refilled.

Rough nutrient dosage guideline

Carbohydrates
Approx. 60-80 grams per hour, during long-term endurance up to slightly more than 100 g/h can be absorbed and metabolised.

Liquid
Depends on and varies strongly according to the situation, 0.4 to 1 litres per hour advised. Note: with drinking volume also the ingested energy content changes, which has to be considered with the intake of other energy sources accordingly.

Protein
Basically not necessary, but some studies point to an increase in performance and recovery if protein is already taken during performance. Approx. 20 g protein every 3 to 4 hours for events lasting 6 to 8 hours or longer. Ideal for this: ULTRA PRO or AMINO 12500. The ULTRA PRO drink can be considered an alternative to solid food, but must be prepared with water immediately before consumption and cannot be mixed several hours in advance. On shorter occasions it is easier to add/take some protein directly in the sports drink or swallow capsules/tablets such as AMINO EAC or BCAA.

Fat
Fat intake only plays a role at endurance duration beyond approx. 10 hours, when performance intensity is very low and fat can be digested. It can be neglected and should not intentionally used in a one-day event as it may quickly act negatively, if exercise intensity becomes too high.

Author: Remo Jutzeler
Head R&D SPONSER SPORT FOOD
Ing. Applied Food Sciences UAS
MAS Nutrition & Health ETHZ

Gigathlon in blazing heat

Read the full text in German:

Die fünf wichtigsten Ernährungsgrundsätze

Ein Gigathlon ist ja an sich schon eine anspruchsvolle Sache. Wenn zum sportlichen Pflichtprogramm noch hochsommerliche Temperaturen kommen, die den Athleten das Leben schwer machen, kommt der Wettkampfverpflegung eine noch höhere Bedeutung bei als ohnehin schon. Worauf ist zu achten?

Je länger und heisser der Wettkampf, desto wichtiger ist eine regelmässige Zufuhr von Flüssigkeit, Kohlenhydraten und Elektrolyten. Das tönt in der Theorie sehr simpel. Doch die Praxis zeigt: Je höher die Leistung, desto schwerer fällt das Einnehmen von Nahrung während des Wettkampfs. Und auch die Verdauung setzt bei hohen Intensitäten irgendwann aus. Magenprobleme, Hungerast, Dehydrierung, Muskelkrämpfe oder gar Durchfall und Erbrechen können die Folgen sein.

Damit der Traum vom Finishen auch bei Gluthitze nicht platzt, sollen folgende Tipps beherzigt werden:

1. Bei heissem Wetter ist es wichtig, regelmässig zu trinken! Der Bedarf orientiert sich primär am Verlust. Die Trinkmenge ist aber von Athlet zu Athlet sehr unterschiedlich und gerade bei Maximaltemperaturen kann die Zufuhrmenge deutlich über der Faustregel von 0.5-0.8 Litern pro Stunde liegen. Wir empfehlen das mild aromatisierte und säurefreie Competition®-Sportgetränk, welches einen breiten Mix an Kohlehydraten mit unterschiedlichem glykämischem Index und Elektrolyten aufweist. Wer bereits an die Erholung nach dem Wettkampf denkt, der steigt auf Long Energy um, welches inhaltlich dem Competition® entspricht, aber zusätzlich noch etwas Eiweiss enthält.

2. Solche Kohlenhydrat-Elektrolyt-Getränke verbessern die Aufnahme von Wasser während der körperlichen Betätigung und tragen zur Ausdauerleistung bei längerer Belastung bei. Zusätzlich kann bei Bedarf in jeder Getränkeflasche auch noch eine Salt Cap aufgelöst oder auch direkt runtergeschluckt werden. Der Bedarf kann erhöht sein bei ungenügender Akklimatisation, kurzfristigem Wetterumschlag, «Heavy Sweaters» oder «Salty Eaters» (also stark schwitzenden, oder gewohnheitsmässig salzreich essenden Personen), bei Personen mit Krampfneigung und grundsätzlich eben auch bei heissem Wetter und damit verbundenem erhöhtem Schweissverlust.

3. Mit Trinken alleine ist es bei Langzeit-Ausdaueraktivitäten nicht getan. Zur Unterstützung der Leistung empfiehlt es sich, kohlenhydratreiche, leicht verdauliche Flüssignahrung in Form von Liquid Energy Gels einzunehmen. Diese sind von Sponser Sport Food in verschiedenen Varianten erhältlich: süss oder salzig, mit oder ohne Koffein, mit oder ohne BCAA. Die Faustregel für kurze bis mittlere Belastungszeiten von bis zu 4-6 Stunden lautet: eine Zufuhr von 1 g Kohlenhydrat pro kg Körpergewicht pro Stunde. Mehr als 60-90 g Kohlenhydrate sollten nicht eingenommen werden, es können sich Magen-Darm-Probleme unter Belastung ergeben. Ein gewisses «Antrainieren» höherer Zufuhrmengen ist für Ultra-Ausdaueranlässe aber möglich.

4. Wer schon mal ein Langzeitausdauer-Event bestritten hat, weiss: Mit der Zeit mag man kaum noch süsse Nahrung sehen, geschweige denn, schlucken. Da empfehlen sich dann die angenehm salzigen Liquid Energy Salty aus dem Sachet, welche eine willkommene Abwechslung in den primär süssen Menüplan eines Gigathleten bringen.

5. Auf dem Rad nimmt man mit Vorteil auch ein paar Bissen feste Nahrung zu sich, denn der Darm braucht Festnahrung, um die Transportfunktion aufrechtzuerhalten (Peristaltik). Am besten sind leichtverdauliche Energieriegel wie die High Energy Bars, die in süsser oder salziger (High Energy Bar Salty Nuts!) Ausführung erhältlich sind. Aber auch ein paar Bissen Weissbrot, Kuchen, Bretzel oder reife Banane machen Sinn.

Zum Schluss ein Typ gegen Krämpfe
Wer bei Hitze mit Muskelkrämpfen zu kämpfen hat, packt vorzugsweise auch noch Muscle Relax ein. Diese bitter-saure Gurkenessiglösung hilft bei akuten Muskelkrämpfen im Wettkampf. Man sollte den Shot ein paar Sekunden im Mund halten/spülen, danach schlucken oder wieder ausspucken. Es gibt auch Anhaltspunkte, dass Muscle Relax prophylaktisch funktioniert. In diesem Falle wird geraten, Muscle Relax relativ kurz vor der Leistung oder erwartetem Krampfauftreten, je nach Verträglichkeit, einzunehmen.

Autor: Remo Jutzeler Leiter
F&E SPONSER SPORT FOOD
Ing. Lebensmittelwissenschaften FH
MAS Nutrition & Health ETHZ