You probably already realize that your need for calories and improved nutrition increases the harder you work out. But if you're engaging in extreme training -- perhaps for a marathon, a triathlon or an Ironman event -- you'll need to pay careful attention to your daily calories and nutrient intake. If you eat enough -- and make sure you're getting the right kinds of calories and nutrients -- you may improve your performance.
Calorie Needs
High-intensity exercise burns plenty of calories. According to Harvard Medical School, a 155-lb. person burns more than 600 calories in a half-hour running at 10 mph or biking at 20 mph or more. If you don't want to lose weight in the course of your extreme training activities, you'll need to replace those calories on a daily basis. Therefore, if you're training two to three hours each day, you'll need to eat a tremendous amount -- potentially an extra 3,000 calories each day.
Nutrient Needs
Your extreme training diet should emphasize carbohydrates and de-emphasize fatty foods and large quantities of protein, according to Cerritos College. Try to get about 60 percent of your daily calories from carbohydrate-type foods, including fruits, vegetables and grains. You'll also need about 1 g of protein for every 4 g of carbohydrates you consume. Fat should make up about 25 percent of your daily calories, but make sure you consume healthy fats, such as olive oil.
Food Strategies
Before an extreme training session, you should pack on easily digested carbohydrates, such as bagels, corn flakes, white rice and potatoes. These will help you perform optimally, because the body can turn them into sugar for fuel quickly. Following a training session, you also should emphasize carbs, but look for nutrient-rich whole grains such as brown rice and whole-wheat pasta, along with green vegetables such as broccoli. These will help build your reserves for your next training session.
Considerations
When participating in extreme training, you need to stay well hydrated, since your body sweats out plenty of water and minerals as you heat up. Sports drinks containing added electrolytes can help you stay hydrated and keep your levels of minerals such as sodium and potassium high. In addition, some sports drinks include added antioxidants, which you also need during extreme training.
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