Hey everyone,
I hope you are all enjoying your runs in this glorious weather. With the sun out this week and heat rising, I bring to you some sports nutrition tips you may want to take on board during your runs when the weather is hot and sunny 🌞
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Carbohydrates – when body temp increases, it causes a change in hormones meaning we go through our carbohydrate stores faster as the body favours these stores under heat. These can be consumed in gels or food (I wrote a post about this a couple of weeks ago), and should be ingested at 30-60g per hour of exercise.
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Keep cool – once you are home, take the time to relax in some shade, or inside. Have cold towels ready/ice packs/pour cold water over yourself. Overheating is very common and can be dangerous, it is important to take the time to cool down when home.
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Increase salt consumption – Sweating decreases the electrolytes left in your body, this really impacts muscle contractions and imbalances your body temperature. If making your own sports drink, adding in 1-2 pinches of salt really helps during exercise. Once you get over 1 hour of exercise, you can sweat out 400-1000mg of sodium. It is key to continue focusing on salt intake after your runs (in meals over rest of the day) to replace this.
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Fluid Intake – You want to be thinking about consuming 12-16 ounces of liquid every 30-40mins of intense exercise under heat. This is important to not just be water but a mixture with electrolytes (I did a post about making your own sports drink a few weeks ago, this is a great example to use for runs when it is hot). Dehydration can lead to irregular heart rate, increased body temp, headaches and earlier fatigue.
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Hope this helps! Enjoy your sunny runs, but stay safe and train early in the morn while it is cooler if you find it effects your training! 🏃🏾♀️🏃♂️