Reduced Fatigue During Long Workouts

Preventing fatigue is a number one concern for active people who exercise for long periods of time. To prevent fatigue for exercise bouts lasting over 60 minutes you need to:

1)Prevent dehydration

2)Keep your blood sugar from dropping

SWEAT AND DEHYDRATION:

Perspiring is our bodies way of dissipating heat and maintaining proper body temperature. Our exercising muscles can produce many times more heat than at rest. When sweat evaporates, it cools the skin which in turn cools the body.

Overheating and loss of fluids are limiting factors regarding exercise performance. As you lose fluids, the blood becomes more saturated with abnormally high substances such as sodium. This triggers the thirst mechanism which begins the rehydration process.

Unfortunately our trigger point to drink is not always accurate. It is best to drink before you are thirsty. Losing too much fluid before you feel a signal to drink contributes to early fatigue.

Studies have shown that athletes often replace only one third of the fluids lost in an extended exercise session. It's better to drink a little past your quenched state. Don't, however, severely overdrink as this may cause a dangerous condition called
hyponatreamia.

CARBOHYDRATES AND BLOOD SUGAR

You can significantly increase your strength and stamina by eating a pre-exercise carbohydrate snack which fuels you for the first hour of moderate to hard exercise. At the same time drink adequately.

Depending on your size and ability to tolerate various types of fuel, you will want to concentrate on consuming about 100-150 calories of carbs. Smaller people need less and larger poeple need more. During moderate to hard endurance activities carbohydrates supply about 50% of your energy. As you continue to workout you run out of available carbohydrates and your body reaches for it's store of muscle glycogen. At this point you can ward off fatigue by consuming simple carbohydrates, a sweetened sports drink or an energy bar.

Your body doesn't care whether the carbs come as food or liquid. That's simply a personal choice. The myth that consuming simple sugars during your work can cause your blood sugar to crash isn't true. Like rehydration, too much food can cause slow the rate in which fluids leave the stomach so more isn't better.

Drinking and/or eating before, during and after exercise may be more than you are used to. It will take some practice, trial and error to see what amounts and what products help you prevent undue fatigue and contribute to the optimal enjoyment of your long, hard workouts.

Dr. Lanny Schaffer is an Exercise Physiologist and the President of The International Fitness Academy. For more cutting edge fitness information go to http://www.aerobics-exercise-coach.com.