Fueling Aerobic Function

Now that you’re on your way to developing maximum aerobic function through proper training—the fine-tuning of your body’s fat-burning engine—it’s important to get the right fuel for this task. This fuel comes from the nutrients in many of the foods we should eat. In addition to increased fat burning, these nutrients are needed for our brain, muscles, metabolism, and all bodily function.

There are three groups of nutrients in our diet:

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  • Macronutrientsinclude carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Most of our energy comes predominantly from carbohydrates and fats, but protein also plays an important role. Other macronutrients include water and fiber.
  • Micronutrients—the vitamins and minerals—are equally valuable in helping carbohydrates and fats convert to energy. They also help prevent muscle damage, improve recovery, and many other important features.
  • Phytonutrientsinclude thousands of plant compounds that may be just as important as micronutrients in helping to control inflammation, improve immunity, and assist in repair, recovery, and other healthy functions.

There are no magic formulas or special diet plans unique to endurance athletes, except eating a balance of real foods. This will improve your endurance better than anything. And, it’s most important to rely on your food intake to provide all three categories of nutrients. Only after making your food intake as optimal as possible should the use of dietary supplements be added if necessary. If you match the body’s needs with the appropriate foods, your endurance will improve dramatically, as will your health. In addition, the rest of your body will function optimally, perhaps like it did when you were younger—or even better. Or if you’re a youngster, you’ll avoid the injuries, ill health, and poor performances that many athletes experience at alarming rates in their twenties, thirties, and later in life. With proper nutrition and training, your endurance could—and should—actually improve with age.

Once you find the proper dietary balance, this will result in nearly unlimited levels of energy and endurance for sports as well as other areas of your life. Ergogenic nourishment refers to the consumption of food to obtain nutrients for optimal human performance.

Athletes, scientists, and clinicians have long agreed that eating habits directly affect endurance in general and, specifically, training and competition. In many cases, it’s not a question of the latest research but rather an understanding of basic physiology and biochemistry. For example, it’s well known that water is the most important ergogenic aid in sports. Even minor deficiencies cause dehydration and can be devastating to your performance results. This same principle applies to electrolytes—reduced sodium content in the body, for example, will usually have major adverse effects on training and competition. But just consuming these nutrients may not help if your adrenal gland system, which helps regulate water and electrolytes, is not properly functioning.