Factors Affecting

Performance
HSC Core 2

How can nutrition and recovery

strategies affect performance?

Syllabus Content
STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT
Nutritional considerations
Pre-performance, including
carbohydrate loading
During performance
Post performance

STUDENTS LEARN TO:

Compare the dietary requirements
of athletes in different sports
considering pre, during and post
performance needs

Pre-Peformance:The training diet

The aim of the training diet is to achieve
adequate nutrition to support training and body
composition goals.
Food consumption needs to take into
consideration the type of food consumed (food
and drinks) and being aware of the most
appropriate time for food.

 Carbohydrates are a key fuel source for exercise,

especially for prolonged and high intensity
exercise.
Food = fuel for exercise while fluid = cooling
heated muscles, preventing dehydration.
If athletes diets do not provide adequate energy
and CHO this can lead to fatigue, inability to
improve in training, poor concentration during
training, reduced immune system functioning and
increased susceptibility to injury.

Pre-performance: Eating before exercise

Consuming food and fluid before exercise should be seen as an
opportunity to fine-tune carbohydrate and fluid levels and to
ensure you feel comfortable and confident.
When should I eat?
A general guide is to have a meal about 3-4 hours before exercise
or a lighter snack about 1-2 hours before exercise.
Food requires adequate time to be digested.
Athletes need to experiment to find the timing, amount and make up
that best suits their individual needs.
What should I eat?
Food eaten before exercise should provide carbohydrate.
It should also be low in fat and moderate in fibre to make digestion
easier and reduce the risk of gastrointestinal discomfort.
For most exercise sessions, the emphasis on carbohydrate and
fluid for the pre-event meal.

The following foods are suitable to eat 3-4 hours before exercise:
crumpets with jam or honey + flavoured milk
baked potato + cottage cheese filling + glass of milk
baked beans on toast
breakfast cereal with milk
bread roll with cheese/meat filling + banana
fruit salad with fruit-flavoured yoghurt
pasta or rice with a sauce based on low-fat ingredients (e.g. tomato, vegetables, lean meat)
The following snacks are suitable to eat 1-2 hours before exercise:
liquid meal supplement
milk shake or fruit smoothie
sports bars (check labels for carbohydrate and protein content)
breakfast cereal with milk
cereal bars
fruit-flavoured yoghurt
fruit
The following foods are suitable to eat if there is less than 1 hour before exercise*:
sports drink
carbohydrate gel
cordial
sports bars
jelly lollies
* A small number of people experience an extreme reaction following the intake of carbohydrate in the hour prior to
exercise.

Carbohydrate Loading
What is carbohydrate loading?

Carbohydrate loading is a strategy involving changes to training and nutrition that can
maximise muscle glycogen (carbohydrate) stores prior to endurance competition.
The technique was originally developed in the late 1960's and typically involved a 3-4
day 'depletion phase' involving 3-4 days of hard training plus a low carbohydrate diet.
This depletion phase was thought to be necessary to stimulate the enzyme glycogen
synthase. This was then followed immediately by a 3-4 day 'loading phase' involving
rest combined with a high carbohydrate diet. The combination of the two phases was
shown to boost muscle carbohydrate stores beyond their usual resting levels.
Ongoing research has allowed the method to be refined so that modern day
carbohydrate loading is now more manageable for athletes. The depletion phase was
demonstrated to be no longer necessary, which is a bonus for athletes as this phase
was very difficult. Australian marathon runner, Steve Moneghetti has described the
depletion phase as making him feel like "death warmed up". Today, 1-4 days of
exercise taper while following a high carbohydrate diet (7-12g/kg body weight) is
sufficient to elevate muscle glycogen levels.

Traditional versus Contemporary CHO

Loading

7-10 days from

competition

CHO
Training

3-4 day tapering

CHO

Increased
Glycogen Stores

Does carbohydrate loading improve performance?

Muscle glycogen levels are normally in the range of 100120 mmol/kg ww (wet weight).
Carbohydrate loading enables muscle glycogen levels to
be increased to around 150-200 mmol/kg ww.
This extra supply of carbohydrate has been
demonstrated to improve endurance exercise by allowing
athletes to exercise at their optimal pace for a longer
time.
It is estimated that carbohydrate loading can improve
performance over a set distance by 2-3%.

 A trained athlete is much more efficient at storing

carbohydrates than the normal population.
Replenishment rates are also higher immediately after
exercise.
If an athlete has less than the suggested carbohydrate
intake, this will cause glycogen stores to be depleted and
performance will be diminished.
Prior to competition, it is advised that an athlete allow 3-4
hours for a large sized carbohydrate meal and less than
two hours for a light meal or snack.

Who should carbohydrate load?

Anyone exercising continuously at a moderate to high
intensity for 90 minutes or longer is likely to benefit from
carbohydrate loading.
Typically, sports such as cycling, marathon running, longer
distance triathlon, cross-country skiing and endurance
swimming benefit from carbohydrate loading.
Shorter-term exercise is unlikely to benefit as the body's
usual carbohydrate stores are adequate.
Carbohydrate loading is generally not practical to achieve
in team sports where games are played every 3-4 days.
Although it might be argued that players in football and AFL
have heavy demands on their muscle fuel stores, it may
not be possible to achieve a full carbohydrate loading
protocol within the weekly schedule of training and games.

During Performance
The goal of nutrition intake during exercise is to minimise the
fluid deficit and, in the case of exercise of moderate to high
intensity lasting longer than 60 minutes, provide an additional
fuel source for the muscle and central nervous system
Intake of carbohydrate during exercise provides an additional
fuel source and has the potential to improve exercise capacity
in situations where muscle or liver glycogen stores may limit
performance.
Research shows it is beneficial to athletes competing in
individual and team based sports of an intermittent nature
lasting longer than 60 minutes.

 Depending on the nature of the event, suitable

carbohydrate rich food and fluid options may include
bananas, sports gels/bars and sports drinks. The latter has
the advantage of helping the athlete meet his or her fuel
and fluid demands simultaneously.
Dehydration to the extent of just 2% of an athletes starting
body weight can have detrimental effects on performance,
which include:
Reduced aerobic performance
Increased perceived exertion
Reduced mental function
Slowed gastric emptying- resulting in stomach discomfort
Athletes should look for opportunities to consume fluids
during their sport to maximise hydration and performance.

CHO Recommendations during exercise

Post Performance
After extensive performance glycogen levels in both the
liver and muscle are depleted.
For the athletes recovery and preparation for the next
performance, it is important that the body is returned to its
normal state as quickly as possible. This is best achieved
through proactive recovery.
Proactive recovery places great emphasis on
immediately refueling and rehydration that continues until
a pre-event state is obtained.

 Proactive recovery begins immediately after and

continues for 8-12 hours following performance. This
enables optimisation of body repair and regeneration
process.
Research suggests that following endurance based
activity, a carbohydrate intake of 50-100 grams in the first
two hours is highly beneficial.
This initial intake is then followed by intakes of 50-75
grams every two hours until a total of 500-600 grams of
carbohydrates has been consumed.

 The best way to recover is to act quickly and eat food with high
carbohydrate content. This is best achieved through:
Immediately replacing depleted muscle and liver glycogen
stores this includes an intake high in carbohydrates and
inclusive of food and drinks with a high GI (high spike in
insulin)
Rehydration to replace fluid and electrolytes lost during the
event (water/carbohydrate solutions of 5-8%) in quantities
larger than normal
Active rest to enhance the manufacturing of red blood cells
and new proteins.
Additional information can be found at the following website:
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/competition_
and_training/recovery_nutrition