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Author: Wildfire Sports & Trek Date Posted: 22 January 2025
Great performance in any sport starts with eating well! Here's a guide for what to eat before, during and after exercise for best results.
Going for a run, climb, swim, ride, or gym session can be a great way to clear your head at the end of a long day or week or prepare yourself for a coming list of tasks. On top of creating endorphins, exercising regularly (key word here) helps us to become fitter, stronger, healthier and happier. Have you noticed though that crossing the distance or time threshold after a while can become more difficult? Maybe you run 7km but you can’t quite do 10, after an hour of riding in the hills you start to fade, or the weights just become too heavy to hold.
This, my friends, all comes down to food.
Food = energy, energy powers our bodies, and without power - like you might have noticed during a blackout - things stop working.
Our bodies are fascinating factories of chemical reactions and metabolic pathways. When we eat food many different reactions happen, food is transformed into energy and can be used straight away or stored. Depending on the amount consumed, this can be stored as glycogen or fat. Our muscles store a small amount of glycogen (made up of carbohydrates) to provide energy directly to the muscles, this is what allows you to exercise without having to constantly eat to avoid collapsing.
It takes more time and energy to build your blood sugar levels up again than it does to maintain them. Eating carbohydrates before you feel fatigued can help maintain your blood sugar levels, while waiting until you’re tired increases your chances of crashing.
This can be a delicate dance however, since the body doesn’t have as much energy to digest and process complex carbs like starches while exercising. So during exercise, most people will reach for simple carbohydrates like gels, drinks with electrolytes and glucose or simple chews, which provide spikes of energy quickly.
During especially long hikes, rides or races, you might find yourself craving something more substantial and food-like. Nibbling at energy bars or simple sandwiches can help with this feeling, but be careful to avoid filling your stomach with complex carbs it can’t digest.
Of course when you’re not exercising, complex carbohydrates are an important part of a balanced diet, providing longer-lasting, less aggressive peaks of energy.
Not every gel, chew or bar suits everyone’s gut (or tastebuds)! We recommend that you start small and try one type of fuel at a time while training, to minimise any digestive complications and find what works best for you. Those of us who have had one too many gels when exercising know the panic for a bathroom well.
If you often experience digestion discomfort when eating while exercising, then it may be best to prioritise fuelling up before starting any exercise, to limit your need for top-ups on the go.
Nutrition needs can vary slightly depending on the type of exercise, the duration and the intensity that you do. Generally, moderate workouts of 60-90 minutes or less don’t require any extra fuel during, so just make sure you’re eating healthy before and after exercise. Workouts longer than 90 minutes at a higher intensity will require fuel during this active period.
If you’re an experienced or very fit athlete, then it’s possible that your body has improved glycogen storage and utilisation, meaning that you may not need in-activity-fuel because your body is so used to storing more glycogen or breaking it down more slowly. This is part of the “fitter reward” when exercising regularly.
This is only general advice, and if you’re exercising at a competitive level or have any specific dietary requirements or medical conditions, please consult a nutritionist for a personalised plan.
Asking around the Wildfire team, some of our go-to fuel sources include:
Water is perfect for workouts ≤ 60 minutes, take frequent small sips to prevent dehydration and avoid getting a pain in your stomach from too much fluid too quickly.
Once you start sweating, especially in hot or humid environments, or when your workouts last longer than 60 minutes, we recommend adding electrolytes to maintain a balance of fluids.
‘Electrolytes’ refers to a variety of minerals and ions necessary to keep the body working optimally. This includes potassium, sodium, calcium and/or magnesium, minerals essential for fluid balance which can help with rehydration, prevention of muscle cramps and, at the extreme end, avoiding hyponatremia (a dilution of blood sodium levels which can have serious health consequences). Most sports drinks and many gels will include some combination of electrolytes, to replace those lost in sweat.
Whatever sport you’re doing at whichever intensity, we suggest finding what you like and what will help you the most. Maybe don’t eat spoonfuls of Nutella or have a greasy fast food meal beforehand, but choose the healthiest, tastiest option that works for your individual dietary needs. And most importantly, have fun!
