My Two Rules to Perfectly Fuel Your Workouts
By Matt Johnson
Founder of The Feed.
The most popular question we receive at The Feed is about how to best fuel for a run, ride, race, etc. Well, this article serves to simplify that answer to following two rules: nail your hydration and carb intake.
The top question we receive is "how to fuel" for my next run, ride, race, or workout. I will give you the most straightforward explanation of how to do this with only two rules.
Rule 1: Hydrate
You know this, but you want to pick hydration with electrolytes. So pick any of the ones we sell at The Feed; you can't go wrong. Here are five to choose from:
Most Flavor: Gnarly Ruby Red Grapefruit
Most Salt: LMNT Electrolytes
Higher Carbs: Maurten 320
High Performance: Victus During (02)
Most Popular: Skratch Lemon Lime
Rule 2: It's all about the Carbs
Stop thinking about calories and think about carbs per hour. It's pretty simple. You aim to get to around 80 carbs per hour for any workout over 90 minutes (60 minutes if it is intense).
1. First, take your carbs from your hydration. It could range from 0g of carbs with an LMNT to 80g with Maurten 320. Aim for the middle with Victus During (02) with 45g of carbs.
You are halfway to your goal if you drink one bottle per hour.
2. Now, pick if you are a Gel or Chew person. It doesn't matter which you choose, both work just as well. Most Gels and Chews are 25g to 30g per serving. Here is how to pick:
Chews:
Larger Portions: Precision Chews
Most like Gummy Bears: PowerBar Chews
All Organic: Honey Stinger Chews
Bitter & Sweet: Skratch Chews
Most Popular: Clif Bloks
Gels:
Best Taste: Neversecond C30
Easy to take: Envervit Liquid Energy Gel
Love Maple: Endurance Tap
Real Food: Spring Energy Awesomesauce
Most Popular: Maurten Gel 100
Here are some of the most common questions I've been getting lately on fueling:
Q: I want to lose weight. Do I still want to use Gels and Chews?
A: Yes. You want to keep fueling your workout, be smart about what you eat before and after your training, but fully fuel your training. You will have a better workout, burn more overall calories, and improve your fitness, which will burn more calories even after your workout.
Q: How many bottles of hydration do I need?
A: The golden rule is one bottle or 22oz per hour. But I often go under this amount unless it is sweltering. So I like to aim for 2x 22oz per hour as I drink more in the 2nd hour than the first.
Q: How often do I drink and eat?
A: The best rule for me is to eat every 20 minutes, and the new head units even let you set a reminder to do this. I would do this more frequently in terms of drinking, like every 10 to 15 minutes you take a sip.
Q: I'm not too fond of Gels and Chews
A: No problem. You can also get all the carbs you need from your hydration using higher-carb products like SIS Beta Fuel, Neversecond, Envervit, Precision, Maurten and Victus. You will get your hydration, electrolytes, and carbs in your bottle.
Q: How do I eat when I'm going hard?
A: I also struggle with this; you are at your limit running or on a long climb on the bike, and it is hard to get your hands to open up a package of chews or a gel.
- Get Endurance Tap with a free flask. This is all-natural maple syrup, ginger, and sea salt. It is one of my favorite energy gels. The best part is it comes with a free flask that holds the equivalent of 7 Gels, which is very easy to twist open in your mouth and fuel while going hard.
- Get Enervit Liquid Energy Gel. It is a fully liquid Gel with 30g of carbs you can take in under 1 second and instantly swallow, so it doesn't affect heavy breathing.
Q: Why 80g per hour?
A: Most athletes burn between 160g and 180g of carbs per hour at moderate to high intensity. So at most, you are only replenishing half of what you are burning. The reason for 80g is that this is where most people's stomachs can tolerate the amount of carbs. After acclimating to 80g, some athletes go as high as 100g or 120g per hour. You can drop this to 50g to 60g of carbs during less intense workouts under two hours.