How to Fuel Your Workout - Posted on MyVega.com

Edited-See full post at myvega.com

As a professional triathlete, coach, husband and father, I am always looking to maximize but also balance my energy. My diet as a lifelong vegetarian and now into my third year as a vegan really helps with this. As far as I know, I am one of only a few 100% plant-based professional endurance athletes around.

Fueling correctly for your workout is essential and not as simple as what you eat or drink in the 2 hours leading up to your training session. It really starts the day/night before. Ensuring that you are going to bed fueled and hydrated is crucial in setting your body up for a good workout the next day.

Eating a well-balanced, nutrient-rich dinner will help you have a good night’s rest as well as replenishing your glycogen stores which you will need access to the next day when you do your workout. 

Generally, I just drink water in the evening but if it has been a hot day and/or I have had a big training day, I like to add a serving of Vega® Hydrator to help top up my electrolytes.  In addition, 3-4 nights per week, after hard training days, I will use Vega Rest and Repair to aid my recovery while I am sleeping. This product contains protein, magnesium and melatonin. The protein is to rebuild/repair tissue, the magnesium helps support nerve and muscle function and the melatonin helps you sleep well.  Your body is doing most of the repair work to make you stronger while you sleep so taking this product helps to give my body what it needs to do its job. 

I aim to get 8 hours of sleep every night.  My typical breakfast, normally 60-90 minutes before I start the workout, is 2 pieces of rye bread with almond butter, banana and cinnamon.  I have this with a cup of black coffee and a couple of glasses of water. If I have not slept that well or I have a really hard training session coming up, I will give myself a little boost by having a serving of Vega Energizer about 20-30 minutes before I start working out.

My training sessions can vary from 30 minutes to 6 hours so my fueling plan differs drastically based on this. Here is a guide on how I fuel during a workout:

Low Intensity: (1-4/10 effort level); easy/aerobic building/endurance type training e.g. 60min recovery ride, 4hr endurance ride

Moderate Intensity: (5-7/10 effort level) somewhat hard/ Triathlon 70.3 race specific training, interval work e.g. 30min controlled hill climb, 20-30min tempo run (70.3race pace)

High Intensity: (8-10/10 effort level) Very hard/VO2 Max and Anaerobic Threshold training/Olympic/Sprint specific interval work eg. Short bike or run hill efforts (30seconds-5min)

Within 10-30 minutes after finishing my session, I either have a serving of Vega Sport Protein powder, which I mix with iced water in a shaker bottle or a Vega Sport Protein bar. These two products taste amazing and have everything you need to help your body recover so you can improve your performance.