Nutrition plays a fundamental role in exercise performance and athletes should be aware of how to fuel correctly before exercise and adjust their nutritional intake to meet the demands of their training. 

Through this module, GetPRO Professional aims to provide sports nutritionists with the tools and resources to address these questions.

These resources are particularly suitable for use by sports nutrition professionals with recreational or amateur athletes.

The module’s key learnings are:

• Energy comes from the carbohydrates, fats and protein in our diet. In particular, sufficient carbohydrates are essential when it comes to exercise performance.  
• Glycogen stores are limited, highlighting the importance of topping up stores if exercising at high intensities or for long durations (>80mins).  
• Periodising carbohydrate doesn’t mean no carbohydrate! The amount you need is dependent upon your individual goals and activity levels.  
• The closer you are to exercising, opt for foods with a higher glycemic index and lower in fibre, fat and protein to limit gastrointestinal issues.  

Written by Michael Naylor