Hydration & Nutrition To Maximize On Field Performance
What really works — when it comes to nutrition and elite athletes?
Nutrition expert Heather Mangieri, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN — Author of FUELING YOUNG ATHLETES and CEO/Nutrition Consultant at Nutrition CheckUp shares her valuable insights on how to fuel your body so it can perform well in the last 20 minutes of the game.
Related Article — Soccer Lovers Book Review: Fueling Young Athletes
Diane Scavuzzo: What are the tricks to finding a way to have as much energy in the last 20 minutes of a soccer match as the first
Heather Mangieri: Research on adult athletes shows that consuming carbohydrate during activity lasting longer than one-hour can delay the onset of fatigue, help maintain blood glucose levels and ultimately benefit performance on the field.
Finding ways for athletes to have as much energy in the last 20 minutes of a match as they did in the first 20 minutes — this can be the difference between winning and losing.
To Win – Players need energy in those critical last 20 minutes of a match.
There are real tricks that can help players who need to perform at peak levels at the end of a soccer match.
Diane Scavuzzo: What does an elite youth soccer player — or a professional player — need to do to have energy in those important last minutes of the 90-minute game?
Heather Mangieri: The exact amount of carbohydrate that is consumed will vary based on duration and intensity of the athlete, but consuming fuel is critical for success — and, consuming some is better than nothing.
The body is limited in how much it can handle during activity, so more is not necessarily better.
As a general rule of thumb, athletes should aim to consume 30-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour.
That can be in the form of liquid fuel such as sports drinks, other sports engineered products such as carbohydrate gels, chews and beans or quick digesting carbohydrates such as a piece of fruit, a few rice cakes or pretzels.
Diane Scavuzzo: Does hydrating with a sports drink help?
Heather Mangieri: The benefit of choosing a sports drink is that the fuel and fluid is packaged together in one drink.
For those that prefer solid foods or other engineered products, it’s important to make sure you are consuming adequate water with the foods.
Fueling Young Athletes by Heather R. Mangieri is a GREAT READ. Available at Amazon.
