Nutrition for Optimal

Sports Performance
Your Sports Nutrition Game Plan
Sports Nutrition
is the practical science of hydrating and
fueling before, during, and after exercise
Executed properly, sports nutrition can help promote
optimal training and performance
Done incorrectly or ignored, it can derail training and
hamper performance
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YOUR SPORTS NUTRITION GAME PLAN

OVERVIEW

1.  The 3 Principles 2.  Your Sports 3.  Healthy Eating

of Sports Nutrition Nutrition Tips
Game Plan for Athletes

•  Stay hydrated
•  Provide fuel for your
muscles

•  Promote optimal
recovery after exercise
THE 3 PRINCIPLES OF SPORTS NUTRITION

-  Stay hydrated
-  Provide fuel for your
muscles

- Promote optimal
recovery after exercise
Apply these principles correctly, and
you can consistently maximize the
gains from your training and compete
at your best

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THE 3 PRINCIPLES OF SPORTS NUTRITION

HYDRATION
During exercise, you lose fluid and electrolytes as you sweat:
  The key electrolyte is sodium
  If you don’t replace both fluid and sodium during exercise, you can
become dehydrated
The single largest contributor to fatigue during exercise is
dehydration caused by fluid and sodium losses:
  Inadequate fluid and sodium make your heart work harder and
make exercise much more difficult
  Dehydration also impairs concentration and the ability to make
tactical decisions
Complicating matters is that thirst alone is not a good indicator of
your hydration needs during exercise
  Drink before you are thirsty
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THE 3 PRINCIPLES OF SPORTS NUTRITION

HYDRATION
Losing over 2% of your body weight Stay within your hydration zone during
due to fluid loss during exercise exercise:
means you are dehydrated, and your   Avoid gaining weight during exercise due
performance has already been to overconsuming fluid
hampered:
  Don’t lose any more than 2% of your
  A 2% loss is just 3 lbs for a 150-lb body weight due to fluid loss
athlete
Fortunately, dehydration and
  It is common to lose this much fluid, or overhydration can be avoided or
more, during a workout or competition minimized by sticking to a disciplined
Consuming too much fluid during hydration plan
exercise leads to overhydration or
hyponatremia, which also impairs
performance and can have serious
health consequences

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THE 3 PRINCIPLES OF SPORTS NUTRITION

FUELING
  Carbohydrates are the primary   Starting exercise with full
fuel for most types of exercise carbohydrate stores can delay
  60–90 minutes of endurance the onset of fatigue and help
training or a few hours in the you to train and compete more
weight room can seriously effectively
deplete carbohydrate muscle   The more intense your training
fuel stores or competition, the higher your
  If your diet is too low in carbs, daily carbohydrate intake
your workouts and performance should be in the suggested
will suffer range of 2.3–4.5 grams of carbs
per lb (5–10 g/kg) body weight
daily

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THE 3 PRINCIPLES OF SPORTS NUTRITION

FUELING
There are two forms of When you’re fully loaded with
carbohydrate in your body: carbs, you have:
  Glucose, which circulates in   About 40 calories of glucose in
the bloodstream
the bloodstream
  Glycogen, which is bundles of
glucose stored in the liver and   About 1,900 calories stored as
muscles glycogen in the muscle, plus
liver glycogen

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THE 3 PRINCIPLES OF SPORTS NUTRITION

FUELING

  When you run out of muscle

glycogen stores, you rely on
your small reserves of liver
glycogen to maintain blood
glucose levels
  After liver glycogen stores
are used up, blood sugar
level drops, and you are
forced to either slow way
down or stop
“Hitting the Wall”   In some sports, this is called
“hitting the wall” or “bonking”

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THE 3 PRINCIPLES OF SPORTS NUTRITION

FUELING

Avoid running out of

muscle fuel during
workouts and competitions:
  Start training sessions and
competitions fully fueled
  Refuel as needed during exercise
  Replenish glycogen stores after
exercise

Low-carb diets are NOT

appropriate for athletes!

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THE 3 PRINCIPLES OF SPORTS NUTRITION

RECOVERY
  Workouts and competitions   Recovery involves reloading
deplete your glycogen stores carbohydrate fuel stores,
repairing and building new
  Muscle tissue gets damaged muscle tissue, and rehydrating
as you train and compete, and
requires repair   Recovery doesn’t start after
exercise until you provide your
  Your muscles also are being body the nutritional
stimulated to adapt to your components it needs:
training workload
  Carbohydrates
  Protein
  Fluids and sodium

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THE 3 PRINCIPLES OF SPORTS NUTRITION

RECOVERY
Promote rapid recovery after
exercise
As soon as possible after training
or competing (within 30-60
minutes), consume:

  Carbohydrates for glycogen

restoration
  Protein for repairing damaged
muscle tissue and for building new
muscle tissue as an adaptation to
training workload
  Fluids and sodium for rehydration

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YOUR SPORTS NUTRITION GAME PLAN
Hydration to Recovery

Putting the principles of sports

nutrition into practice:
  Start exercise fully hydrated
and fueled
  Stay in your hydration zone and know
what to hydrate with during exercise
  Refuel as needed during exercise
  Promote full recovery after exercise
  Practice your regimen during training

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YOUR SPORTS NUTRITION GAME PLAN
Start Exercise Fully Hydrated and Fueled

  Start exercise fully hydrated

by drinking 14–20 fl oz (400–600 ml) of
water or sports drink 2–3 hours before
training or competing
  Keep hydrating as needed during warm-ups
  Top off muscle energy stores
by consuming a high-carb meal 2–4
hours before exercise
  Choose familiar high-carb foods and
beverages
  Avoid slow-to-digest fatty and high-fiber
foods prior to exercise
  Eat a high-carb snack
40–60 grams of carbs 30–60 minutes
before exercise, along with fluids (see
appendix for examples)
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YOUR SPORTS NUTRITION GAME PLAN
Match Your Sweat Rate and Know What
to Hydrate With During Exercise

To stay hydrated during exercise,   Matching your sweat rate generally

consume fluids at a rate that closely requires about 13–26 fl oz (400–800 ml) of
matches your sweat rate: fluid every hour of exercise. But sweat
rates vary

  To calculate your sweat rate, and for a

personalized plan to meet your unique
hydration needs, access the
PowerBar Sweat Rate Calculator at
www.PowerBar.com/src

  A sports drink is recommended for

exercise of 1 hour or longer and any time it
is hot or humid

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YOUR SPORTS NUTRITION GAME PLAN
Refuel as Needed During Exercise

Carb Refueling Recommendations

Exercise lasting less Carbohydrate intake during exercise is not required to fuel your
than 1 hour performance

However, a sports drink with carbs and sodium (PowerBar® Endurance

sports drink) can help hydrate you more effectively

Exercise lasting Consume 30–60 g carbs during each hour of exercise to boost
1–2 hours performance and extend endurance (PowerBar Endurance sports drink,
PowerBar® Gels, PowerBar® Performance Energy bars, PowerBar® Energy
Bites, and PowerBar® Gel Blasts™)

Intense training lasting Consume 45–90 g of a 2:1 blend of glucose and fructose (C2MAX) per
longer than 2–3 hours hour of exercise to increase energy delivery to muscles and extend
endurance. C2MAX is found in PowerBar Endurance sports drink,
PowerBar Gels, PowerBar Performance Energy bars, PowerBar Energy
bites, and PowerBar Gel Blasts

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YOUR SPORTS NUTRITION GAME PLAN
Refuel as Needed During Exercise

PowerBar C2MAX Carbs —

The Leading Edge of Muscle Fueling:
  PowerBar C2MAX is a dual source energy blend
featuring a 2:1 blend of glucose to fructose
  Breakthrough studies show that this blend delivers
20–55% more energy to muscles than glucose alone
  A recent study showed this unique fuel produced an
8% improvement in athletes’ cycling times*
*Currell, K. Jeukendrup, A. Superior endurance performance with ingestion of multiple transportable carbohydrates. Med Sci Sports
Exerc 2008; 40:275–281.

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YOUR SPORTS NUTRITION GAME PLAN
Promote Full Recovery: After Exercise

Carbohydrates
To speed glycogen restoration after strenuous exercise:
  Aim for carbs in the amount of 0.5 grams per lb (1.1 grams per kg)
body weight within 30 minutes of finishing exercise
  For a 150-lb (68-kg) athlete, that equates to 75 grams of carbohydrates
right after exercise
  Repeat this within 2 hours after exercise, or eat a
high-carb meal
  For heavy training, repeat this hourly for the first 3 hours after exercise,
or eat high-carb meals and snacks
  Simple carbs right after exercise are more effective at speeding
glycogen restoration

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YOUR SPORTS NUTRITION GAME PLAN
Promote Full Recovery: After Exercise

Protein
Focus on timing your protein intake in relation to
workouts and meeting your total daily protein needs:
  For endurance training:
  Aim for 10–20 grams of protein as soon as possible (within 30
minutes) after finishing exercise to promote muscle tissue repair and
adaptation to your training
  For resistance training:
  20–40 grams of protein intake just before and/or as soon as possible
after resistance training (within 30 minutes) is essential for optimal
recovery, including the growth and maintenance of muscle tissue
  Total daily need for protein:
  0.55–0.77 grams per lb (1.2–1.7 g/kg) body weight (teens may
require more)
  About 82-116 grams of protein per day for a 150-lb athlete
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YOUR SPORTS NUTRITION GAME PLAN
Promote Full Recovery: After Exercise

Fluids and Sodium

Even if you are diligent in your hydration efforts during
exercise, you may lose more fluids and sodium than you
take in:
  Weigh yourself before and after exercise to gauge your net loss
of fluids

  Replace fluids lost by gradually consuming 23 fl oz of a sports

drink, recovery beverage, or water for every lb of weight lost
(1,500 ml/kg body weight lost)

  Rehydration will be more effective when sodium is included with

the fluids and food you consume as you recover

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YOUR SPORTS NUTRITION GAME PLAN

To help meet your   Bagel with low-fat cream cheese

carb, protein,   Peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches
sodium, and fluid   Slice of thick crust veggie pizza
needs after training
  Whole wheat salted pretzels dipped in peanut butter
or competing, the
following list of   Fruit and yogurt parfait topped with granola
foods are great   String cheese and crackers
options:   Low-fat yogurt or pudding
  Low-fat chocolate milk
  PowerBar® Recovery beverage
  PowerBar® Recovery bar
  PowerBar ProteinPlus® bar
  PowerBar ProteinPlus® Bites
  PowerBar® Nut Naturals Energy bar
  PowerBar® Performance Energy bar
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YOUR SPORTS NUTRITION GAME PLAN
Practice Your Regimen During Training

To apply sports   When your training and sports

nutrition principles nutrition regimen are in sync, you
correctly, practice
them during
maximize your performance gains
training:
  It is only through a system of trial
and error during training that you
can develop your own personalized
sports nutrition plan

  Practice your sports nutrition

regimen during training. Don’t try
anything new on race or game day
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HEALTHY EATING TIPS FOR ATHLETES

Aim for a well-balanced diet:

  Consume a variety of whole grains, vegetables, and
fruits; lean protein sources; and healthy fats
Focus on carbs:
  Carbohydrates are the major muscle fuel source,
and should be the primary focus of your diet
  Fill ¾ of your plate with carbohydrate-based foods such as
fruit, cereals, pasta, bread, potatoes and vegetables
  Fill the other ¼ of your plate with lean protein foods, such as
fish, poultry, lean beef, low-fat dairy products and beans
  Drink up early:
  Have a large glass of water every morning when you
wake up
Keep up your energy levels:
  Eat 5–6 meals per day

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ANY QUESTIONS?

Credit: tdwsport.com

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APPENDIX

Examples of high-carbohydrate pre-exercise meals

(2–4 hours before exercise)

Breakfast Lunch or Dinner

  Cold or hot cereal, fruit, and low-   Pasta with tomato sauce, French
fat or nonfat milk bread, steamed vegetables,
low-fat/nonfat milk, pudding, and
  French toast or pancakes with canned fruit
maple syrup   Grilled chicken sandwich, baked
  English muffin with jam and potato with low-fat sour cream or
peanut butter, banana, and salsa, and low-fat frozen yogurt
fruit juice   Thick-crust cheese pizza, low-fat
gelato, and canned peaches
  Baked or grilled chicken, turkey,
fish, or lean beef, steamed rice,
roll, green beans, low-fat frozen
yogurt, and fruit juice

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APPENDIX

Where can I find carbs? Grams of Carbs

1 cup cereal with 1 cup milk 45

Sandwich, 2 oz turkey 32
16 oz (480 ml) chocolate 1% milk 52
1 cup flavored yogurt 47
1 cup white rice or pasta 41
Fruit smoothie made with low-fat or nonfat milk (8 fl oz/240 ml) 30–35
1 serving fresh fruit or 100% fruit juice (1 cup) 25–30
Low-fat or nonfat yogurt (6-oz/180-ml container) 33
Fat-free frozen yogurt, gelato, or sorbet (1 cup) 45
PowerBar® Performance Energy bar 41–45
PowerBar® Fruit Smoothie Energy bar 43
PowerBar® Gel 27
PowerBar® Gel Blasts™ energy chews: 1 pouch 45
PowerBar® Energy Bites 1 serving (4 Bites) 26
PowerBar Harvest® Energy bar 45
PowerBar® Endurance sports drink (20 fl oz) 42
PowerBar® Recovery beverage (20 fl oz) 50

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APPENDIX

How do I get 100 grams of protein?

Sample daily intake for about 100 g protein per day Grams of Protein

1 cup cereal, 1 cup milk 11

PowerBar® Performance Energy bar 9
Sandwich, 2 oz turkey 20
½ cup baby carrots 1
1 cup low-fat milk 8
8 oz low-fat yogurt 8
4 oz chicken breast 28
1 cup brown rice 6
1 cup cooked broccoli 2
1 PowerBar Harvest® Energy bar 10
Total grams of protein 103

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