Long Distance Running

Divide your daily food intake into 5-6 meals

To ensure the body is fuelled efficiently and recovers effectively you should aim to eat 5-6 meals a day spacing your meals every 3 hours. Ensure each meal provides good quality food source delivering complex carbohydrates (for fuel), protein (for maintenance/repair/strengthening of muscles) and essential fats known as EFA’s (promoting/maintaining optimum health).

Consume ample protein from a variety of protein sources

If you’re dietary nutrition is deficient, performance and recovery will be impaired. Protein is very important for the maintenance, recovery and strengthening of the body’s muscles. It is not just weight training that causes muscle break down, any physically demanding sport does this. To help muscles recover from such demands it is important to supply ample protein steadily through out the day. Good source’s of protein come from chicken, turkey, fish, beef (lean cuts), pork, eggs and low fat cheese such as cottage cheese. Protein supplements are an ideal, convenient and delicious way to supply the body with very high quality protein.

Ensure you eat enough overall quality calories

The body’s preferred source of energy is provided from carbohydrates which help fuel the body and allow protein to repair and strengthen your muscles. Apart from requiring ample protein the overall calorific demands of any endurance sports person will be far greater than most. Relying solely on solid food alone may prove difficult and inconvenient to obtain those extra calorie’s and this is where supplements can be a benefit. Manyflapjacks and protein bars are high protein, low fat and low sugar, an ideal snack to increase calorie intake. Weight gainers and Meal Replacements are high calorie drinks supplying quality protein, carbs and healthy fats and are a convenient way to deliver good calories. Weight gainers and Meal Replacements can be used to substitute a meal or can be taken between meals. 

Improve Recovery and overcome fatigue

When taking part in an endurance type sport such as running, a large build up of lactate is produced eventually leading to your blood becoming more acidic. This is one of the causes of fatigue with endurance sports. Many of our products contain beta Alanine a supplement proven to reduce production of lactate which in turn helps improve performance, increase endurance, reduce fatigue and aid recovery. Recovery products can also be taken anytime in the day to boost protein and beta Alanine intake. To learn more about Beta Alanine click here.

Maximise recovery immediately after every training session or event. The body after an intense workout is thrown into a catabolic state (muscle breakdown) and will continue to break muscle tissue down if the right nutrition is not consumed. It is an important time known as the “window of opportunity” to replace lost nutrients and speed up the recovery process, by delivering fast acting proteins and carbohydrates in an easy digestible form. Supplements 4 Sport provides many quality Recovery products which are easily digestible and contain high quality protein to help repair muscle tissue with carbohydrates to restore the body’s energy levels. Our Recovery products have been specifically developed to aid recovery and are to be consumed immediately after every training session/event.

Strengthen your immune system

Glutamine is an amino acid with numerous benefits. Studies have shown glutamine reduces vulnerability to infections after prolonged exercise. Supplementing with Glutamine will help improve recovery and immune function. For details of study proving benefits of glutamine click here 

Protein, Carbohydrates and fats are classed as Macronutrients and need Micronutrients (vitamins/minerals) to do their job properly. The body needs vitamins and minerals for maintaining a healthy profile, immune system and is vital for optimum recovery and growth. Fresh fruit and vegetables are a good natural source but many will not consume enough to cover the demands that Athletes require. Supplements 4 Sports Health category ensures we supply you with virtually all the unique vitamin & mineral formulas plus additional anti-oxidants, Vitamin D3 and ZMA. The importance of vitamins and minerals cannot be stressed enough, but is often overlooked and dismissed by many.

Strengthen joints and connective tissue

Injuries occur with many people who participate in many sports, whether muscular or joint related. This is why it is essential a good diet is implemented providing sufficient protein vital for the repair, strengthening of muscle tissue and help speed up recovery of any injuries sustained. It is not only the body’s muscles that need to be strengthened but also joints, tendons and ligaments which come under tremendous stress especially from the constant high impact many sports impose. In fact an injury to these areas can be much more problematic than sustaining a muscular injury. Our Joint Support supplements contain many ingredients which are proven to help protect and strengthen joints.

Drink plenty of water daily

Water is the most abundant and important nutrient in the body. Water aids the digestion/absorption of food and removes toxins/waste from the body. Research has proven that even a slight state of dehydration impairs performance dramatically, so being hydrated will assist in optimum performance. Aim to drink at least 3 litres of water a day and ensure you drink before, during and after every workout.

Get plenty of rest

Make sure a good diet is consistently followed and you get plenty of rest to allow maximum recovery. 

Here is an example of how a diet may look.

Meal 1. (breakfast)
Cup of porridge oats with a small amount of honey made with water. 3 egg whites with one yolk. If you feel you need more protein you could have a 1 scoop of Protein.
Multi Vitamin & Mineral tablets in a morning
Creatine

Meal 2. 
Chicken, turkey, fish, pork fillet or Lean steak (fillet) with a cup of rice or baked potato with green veg.

Meal 3. 
Tuna in brine or Chicken salad sandwich made with granary/wholemeal bread.

Meal 4. 
Chicken, turkey, fish, pork fillet or Lean steak (fillet) with a cup of rice or baked potato with green veg.
Creatine

Meal 5. 
As meal 1, 2, 3 or 4.

Have 2-3 pieces of fruit a day.

Eat 2-3 pieces of oily fish a week to provide EFA’s (essential fatty acids). Our EFA’s supplements are a convenient way of introducing healthy fats into your daily diet.

Meal Replacements are a high protein meal that can replace any of the above meals.

How much to eat is the biggest question that gets asked and the simplest way to find out is to weigh yourself once a week on the same scales at the same time. Ideal time to obtain your true body weight would be to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before breakfast. If your weight (on the scales) stays the same then you are on maintenance calories and if you want to lose weight cut back slightly on the carbohydrates (less energy) and if you wish to gain weight increase your food slightly in the form of protein and carbohydrates.