Wednesday, 22 December 2010

Role of nutrition for Triathlon training

Nutrition plays a key role in the life of a triathlete.  For a triathlete eating the right food at the right time means they are able to train harder, recover faster, adapt better and ultimately help them to perform to the best of their ability.  Nutrition plays four key roles in the life of a triathlete:

Fuel:  Triathletes have a heavy training load which means they need plenty of calories to perform all their training at the desired intensity, recover afterwards and stay healthy.
Health:  For a triathlete staying free from illness and injury is a constant battle due to the heavy training load.  Getting the nutrition right around training allows the body to fight off illness and prevents injury.
Function:  The food we eat provides the body with the nutrients it needs to repair itself and function effectively day to day.  Food provides the building blocks of the body and allows the body to make sure that everything works in the way it should.
Performance:  Eat for energy, health and function and you will maximise your training.  Nothing improves performance like training.  When race day comes eating the right foods will push a triathlete beyond their normal performance.  Get it wrong and they will go slower.