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THE TOP 10 - THE BIGGEST MISTAKES ENDURANCE ATHLETES MAKE By:  Steve Born Steve's nearly three decades of involvement in the sports nutrition industry, as well as more than 20 years of independent research in nutritional fueling and supplementation, have given him unmatched familiarity with the myriad product choices available to athletes. -  Steve's Full Bio     1. EXCESS HYDRATION Optimum nutritional support for endurance athletics means consuming the right amount of the right nutrients at the right time. You can neither overload nor undersupply your body without compromising athletic performance and incurring detrimental results. The principle of avoiding both too much and too little especially applies to hydration where serious consequences occur from either mistake. If you don't drink enough, you'll suffer from unpleasant and performance-ruining dehydration. Drink too much, however, and you'll not only end up with impaired athletic...

How Well do Different Drinks Really Hydrate You? JUNE 20, 2016    BY ANDY BLOW How well different types of drinks are retained in the body is a question I get a fair bit, and it’s of some practical use. In theory, the longer you can keep the fluids you drink onboard the greater the chance they have of being absorbed into the bloodstream and used effectively in the body. There’s also the side benefit of less interruptions for bathroom breaks, which is useful during training and competing. Whilst you’re inevitably going to pee out a good proportion of all the liquid that passes your lips, all drinks are definitely not treated equally by the body in this particular regard. Substances like caffeine and alcohol have the potential to increase urine output and reduce fluid retention, whilst calories and electrolytes in drinks can slow the emptying rate of the stomach and positively influence the absorption of fluid from the gut into the bloodstream. Most of the f...

Why Carbohydrate is the King for Endurance Performance FEBRUARY 28, 2017    BY TED MUNSON Proper nutrition is often the missing link between training and performance gains. There are a lot of nutrition philosophies out there on the topic, but in this article we’ll highlight the different types of carbohydrates and how they work to fuel your body during different activity intensities. The Science Carbohydrates travel quite the journey before they finally absorb into the bloodstream via the small intestines. Energy (glucose) can be stored in the liver and muscle (as  glycogen ) to be used as energy during exercise. Taking on carbohydrate during exercise delivers rapid energy to the working muscles and prolongs your endurance capacity. However, the effects of the energy you receive can differ drastically depending on the type of carbohydrate you use. Different Sources Carbohydrates come in a variety of forms. Sugars, including glucose, sucrose and fructos...

Proper hydration is critical for optimal performance. However, this means more than simply drinking water. Nutrition expert Allen Lim provides some ideas and answers to common questions around hydration, discussing how hydration effects performance, the basics of hydration physiology, coping with heat, assessing hydration status, sweat composition, practical recommendations, and more. This Talk has a bunch of amazing information to take in and inject into your program with regards to how you hydrate and why.