STAY STRONG How to Fuel During Activity If your workouts are less than 90 minutes, the food and nutrients from your pre-workout meal should be enough to sustain you through your workout. However, if you are exercising in a hot environment at high intensities or for longer than 90 minutes, you may need nutrition during your workout to help you perform at your best.39 Eating during exercise helps replenish your body’s resources and enhance and maintain your performance. Just as there are many kinds of exercise, there are also many strategies for nutrition during training. While sports drinks are common, the intensity and duration of your activity should determine how you fuel, and you will probably find that water and whole foods work just fine.
KEEP IN MIND Your body has carbohydrates stored up in your muscles to use during exercise, so you don’t need to replenish gram-for-gram.
The next two pages provide advice on fueling several different activities: running or a game, a weight-training workout, and a hike. Regardless of your activity of choice, you can use a hybrid of these strategies to perfect your own fueling plan for exercise.
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