News & articles

10. July 2018

Carbohydrate – the King for Endurance Performance

Carbohydrate is the main fuel for high intensity and prolonged endurance exercise. Although fat may provide more energy, it is used slowly. Carbohydrate yields more energy per litre of oxygen consumed and is a more efficient fuel, providing energy quickly to be used by the working muscles. Although an athlete can enhance the way they use fat a fuel source, potentially sparing muscle glycogen stores, race-winning performance is fuelled by carbohydrates. Where carbohydrate comes from? Carbohydrate comes in a variety of forms. While they contain similar calories, they are all metabolised differently, thus affecting our performance output: Must be converted into glucose in the liver before they can be metabolized Is oxidized at a much lower rate during exercise May cause gastrointestinal issues (stomach cramps/ sickness) Sucrose (also known as table sugar): A chemical combination of glucose and fructose Has been shown to digest quickly Maltodextrin (made up of chains of glucose molecules): Has a high glycemic index (GI), meaning that energy is available quickly Digested quickly during exercise Reduce the risk of developing gastrointestinal complaints during prolonged exercise How body digests carbohydrates? The digestion of carbohydrate for fuel begins when it first enters your mouth until it is absorbed...
10. July 2018

Weight management – advice from elite athletes

Weight management for athletes and active individuals is unique because of their high daily energy expenditure; thus, the emphasis is usually placed on changing the diet side of the energy balance equation. When dieting for weight loss, active individuals also want to preserve lean tissue, which means that energy restriction cannot be too severe or lean tissue is lost. Which...
10. July 2018

Consumer Guide – you don’t stop, so neither do we

Nutrition plays a key role in all sports. Matching the correct nutritional intake to the individual requirements  can result in optimal performance. For further information, please read through Consumer Guide – Download PDF! FUELLED BY SCIENCE Science in Sport (SiS) believes that the most sophisticated piece of sports equipment you’ll ever own is your body. If you don’t put high performance sports...
10. July 2018

Caffeine – the key to legal performance enhancing

WHAT IS CAFFEINE? Caffeine is one of the most heavily researched and beneficial ergogenic aids available. It is mostly consumed in coffee, with 1 cup containing around 75mg of caffeine. The understanding of the performance effect has increased and this has widened its use. Most people know that it may improve performance, but what does it actually do and how...
10. July 2018

Hydration in the heat – how to survive?

STAYING HYDRATED Staying hydrated is a much vaunted subject for runners, particularly in the warmer months. Even small levels of dehydration can impact performance, affecting your cooling mechanism and increasing your perception of effort. As you become more dehydrated your blood volume decreases, causing your heart rate to increase without any increase in work output. Your peripheral blood flow starts to...
10. July 2018

Energy gel – how does it work?

each energy gel is not the same – read carefully, why? There are a huge range of energy gels out there, but they can all be very different. Some of them use different energy sources, some contain protein, and others are so thick in consistency you struggle to get them down. The consistency of energy gel relates to it’s tonicity. This...
10. July 2018

Marathon running – nutrition

When you’ve got a lot going on, it’s not always easy to get the right levels of hydration and energy for training. Recovery In some respects, this can be even more prominent than nutrition during training. You’ll have to get used to back-to-back training days, but minimising muscle damage and encouraging adaptation is the key to ensuring on-going strength and...