Nutrition Tips for Snowshoeing By Kevin Doberstein CFT
Snowshoeing can be a very demanding exercise. It doesn’t really
matter if you are a seasoned racer or a weekend recreational
trail user. Going through a deep snow draws both the glycolytic
and oxidative energy systems of your body. The glycolytic system
uses glycogen that is stored in the liver and muscles for
short-term explosiveness actions. An example would be going up a
grade of deep snow. The oxidative system uses oxygen to oxidize
long-chain fatty acids, proteins and glucose for energy.
Because a snowshoeing hike generally lasts longer that a 30
minutes, you want to plan you’re snowshoeing nutrition
accordingly.
During the first 90 to 120 minutes of snowshoeing both glycogen
and body fat are the primary energy sources. After that body fat
is the primary source. To use body fat efficiently for fuel, the
body must have some glycogen stored in the liver and muscles.
Your target macronutrient ratio should be 15% protein, 25% fat,
and 60% carbohydrates.
Here are some nutrition tips you can follow to help benefit your
snowshoeing hike:
Consume smaller meals five to six times a day instead of two to
three large ones. This helps keep the blood sugars level and
prevents spikes in insulin.
Eat a low glycemic food two to three hours before snowshoeing to
load your body with slow burning glycogen fuel.
Do not consume large amounts of dietary fat before or after the
hike.
Drink plenty of water. For every gram of carbohydrate you take
in your body absorbs 3 grams of water. Also your body will lose
fluids through sweating. Dehydration will greatly reduce
performance and also can cause serious health implications.
15 minutes before snowshoeing drink a high glycemic drink like
fruit juice or Gatorade. You can even drink it during the first
part of your hike. This will spare the stored glycogen in your
body and allow the use of fat instead for energy.
After snowshoeing you should have a whey protein and
carbohydrate drink to replace the glycogen that you used and
rebuild muscle tissue.
Kevin Doberstein is a Certified Fitness Trainer living in
northern WI. He has been a natural bodybuilder for 25 years. His
web site is Nature Boy, Your
Natural Bodybuilding web source. Check out his book Pre-Workou
t Nutrition for Bodybuilding
About the author:
Kevin Doberstein is a Certified Fitness Trainer living in
northern WI. He has been a natural bodybuilder for 25 years. His
web site is Nature Boy, Your
Natural Bodybuilding web source. Check out his book Pre-Workou
t Nutrition for Bodybuilding