Fueling for cross country skiing
Let’s talk about fueling!
What's the best fuel for high intensity skiing?
December 17, 2020
Today, the focus of our workout was high intensity skiing (specifically, a Zone 3/Threshold workout (2-4 x 12 minutes ON/3 minutes recovery).
What’s the best fuel for this type of high intensity workout?
Simple carbohydrates (also known as “fast burning” carbs). Because these are simple sugars, your body can break them down, absorb them quickly (they are easy to digest), and use them for energy. When you are working at high capacity - easy digestion is key!
There is a good body of evidence showing that carbs during workouts can help improve speed, reduce fatigue, improve motor skills, improve recovery from the workout, and limit exercise-induced immunosupression.
During the short recovery, athletes chewed on FRUIT2 energy fruit bars and sipped water between intervals (thanks xact nutrition!). FRUIT2 's have 26g of carbs (similar to energy gels) – but taste 10x better (like strawberry jam!). Also – compared to gels, you can nibble on them instead of having to take it all in one go and there is no gooey mess. And one of the best parts – is that they don’t get rock hard when it is cold!
Isn't Sugar Bad for Us?
Wait a minute - aren't simple carbs and sugars bad for us? It's all about context. A body that is moving and burning a lot of energy deals with sugars differently compared to when it is sedentary (like sitting at a desk studying all day!).
What's Coming Up for uOttawa Nordiq?
Now that exams are almost done, athletes will have more time and shift the focus to more volume-based training over the holidays. That will give us more opportunities to practice fueling some long distance skis – with carbs from a lot of different sources (like Christmas cakes & cookies!).
It will also be a chance to move up the ranks on the Nakkertok Nordic kilometer board (AKA the Nakkerboard,) and participate in the UBC Nordic Ski Team's distance day challenge!
