Nutrition Advice

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrate (CHO) is the body's preferred source of energy during exercise and is stored in the body within the muscle and liver as glycogen. When you work out, especially for long periods of time, you deplete your glycogen stores. When this happens, fatigue sets in and your level of performance will drop.
Supplementing your carbohydrate intake when exercising helps to ensure the muscles have sufficient energy to maintain a high work rate for the duration of your activity.

Fluid and Electrolytes

When we exercise, our muscles produce heat. For effective performance our body needs to keep heat levels within safe limits, around 37/38°C. In order to keep our body temperature at the right level we sweat. Sweating gets rid of heat from the body through evaporation.
It is important to continually replace the fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat in order maintain hydration otherwise dehydration will occur and performance will suffer. Dehydration by as little as 2% of body mass can reduce both mental (concentration, reaction time) and physical (endurance) performance. Sweat and electrolyte loss is dependent on exercise intensity and duration, environmental conditions and the type of clothing worn. Individual factors such as body weight, heat acclimatisation and fitness will also influence sweat rate for any activity. As a result, an individual's sweat response can vary greatly.

Protein

Protein is a key nutritional component for successful athletic performance. The ability of the muscle to recover and adapt is based on the balance between muscle growth (protein synthesis) and breakdown (protein breakdown).
Protein consumption is proven to increase protein synthesis especially in combination with exercise, aiding the recovery of muscle tissue.

Caffeine

The brain is the control centre for the central nervous system and is responsible for the efficient functioning of many of the key mental attributes required in sport. Caffeine acts on the central nervous system and is proven to improve focus, alertness, concentration and reaction whilst also reducing the perception of effort.

Creatine

Strength training places a large demand on the short term (PCr) energy system. Creatine supplementation increases muscle creatine stores and increases maximal energy production.
The result is an increased ability to perform repeated bouts of higher intensity training, leading to increased muscle mass and power.