Endurance sports represent a great challenge both for the athlete and for our body, they are in fact activities that require long efforts, with prolonged muscle fatigue, and it is therefore very important to know how to dose strength, to know how to evaluate one's energy reserves and to know also how to reintegrate them, to avoid running out of energy, sugar cramps, cramps and ultimately problems that can hinder the continuation of the activity.

An endurance sport is any sport in which it is necessary to maintain an intense level of activity while enduring a level of physical stress. Numerous physiological factors influence success in endurance sports, including energy system efficiency, aerobic capacity, lactate threshold, muscle strength, Energy and muscle endurance.

The fundamental characteristic of endurance sports, as far as the effort of our organism is concerned, lies in the long aerobic activity to which we subject our body, with peaks in the anaerobic metabolic phase that can repeat themselves and therefore burden physiological fatigue.

We have dealt with the biological meaning of 'aerobic phase' and 'anaerobic phase' in our article on heart rate.

During moderate-intensity exercise (eg, about 65-70% V̇o 2 max), carbohydrates are oxidized at a rate of 1 gram of carbohydrate per minute or 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour (36.38). When you consider that endogenous carbohydrate stores can be severely depleted after 60-90 minutes of prolonged exercise, replacing lost carbohydrates is a primary concern for the endurance athlete. Studies have shown that carbohydrate ingestion during exercise alters hepatic glucose production (8,16), but its impact on muscle glycogen utilization is ambiguous. However,

Per training needs, resistance can be divided into four groups based on the dominant metabolism that supplies energy to the muscles:

  • Speed ​​resistance - duration 20-30 seconds, the anaerobic metabolism is the basic energy system that ensures motor activity at the beginning of the movement (phosphagen system).
  • Short Duration Endurance: Between 30 seconds and 2 (3) minutes, high-intensity motor activity is primarily supplied with energy by the anaerobic lactate system (rapid glycolysis).
  • Endurance Over Average Time: Between 2 (3) minutes and 8-10 minutes, from this time on, the aerobic system is dominant but the lactate portion of the anaerobic metabolism may still be large (fast and slow glycolysis).
  • Long service life: from approx. 10 minutes up to several hours. Motor activity is ensured by an aerobic energy system greater than 90% (oxidative system).

Energy bars are an excellent solution to reintegrate in our body the substances that allow us to prolong aerobic sports activities and give the right amount of energy even for frequent anaerobic efforts .

Key features of energy bars and gels

In summary, we can say that they offer the following benefits:

  • integrate sugars that give a rapid but continuous glycemic restoration, with carbohydrates with different glycemic index (simple sugars and complex sugars);
  • provide, for each individual bar, an adequate but not excessive calorie content, so as not to burden digestion;
  • ensure good digestibility. In fact, occupying the body in the digestion process weighs down and takes away energy from the rest, which is why the energy bars are optimized not to weigh down digestion;
  • do not require or stimulate excessive use of water, as dehydration is another problem related to endurance sports. The bars must not be excessively salty (and any reintegration of salts is optimized with other solutions such as water-soluble supplements);
  • allow easy consumption during sports activities, even during a competition;

Among the various ingredients of energy bars available on the market today, we find above all the following substances:

  • glucose and sucrose (common sugar);
  • fructose: a simple sugar, easily digestible and assimilable, very caloric, very sweet;
  • maltodextrin: it is a complex carbohydrate, digestible more slowly and for this reason it is absorbed for a long time;
  • Vitargo®: is a polysaccharide (complex carbohydrate) and is a patented and registered formula; it is highly effective in restoring glycogen reserves;
  • creatine: it is a supplement with various characteristics;
  • caffeine: it is a substance with a stimulating effect, it acts on the nervous system and can lead to an increase in the blood supply to the muscles.

Other substances that often complement the action of the food supplement in the form of a bar are:

  • glutammina;
  • amino acids and branched chain amino acids;
  • various vitamins;
  • vitamin C, which helps protect cells from oxidative stress;
  • vitamin B6, which contributes to the physiological energy metabolism.

DIRECTIONS gels and energy bars

The energy bars provide the sugar reserves that our body consumes in endurance sports .

The quantity of bars to consume and when to use them (before, during, how often, etc.) are variables that can differ from person to person, depend on one's physiological metabolism and also on different tastes and uses.

Generally, the best way to take advantage of this supplement is to consume an energy bar (or half a bar) about half an hour before the start of the sporting activity, in order to store a good reserve of sugars and be guaranteed not to have disorders due to digestion (even if the bars today are still optimized to not weigh down the digestion).

Per very long and tiring activities, the bars should also be consumed during the activity. The most common methods suggest the use of energy bars during activities that last at least two hours, in which case it may be useful to consume one bar (or half a bar or lower parts) every 90 minutes; for some bars shorter times are also indicated, up to a minimum of 45 minutes (the weight of the single bar and the caloric intake vary).

Once the activity is over, it is then useful to take substances that facilitate recovery, but for this phase we refer to a future blog article.

How to choose energy bars or gels

The vast market of food supplements now allows us to have a wide choice of types of energy bars as well. Which is the best energy bar is impossible to establish; each single type can in fact offer various characteristics with differences in weight, caloric intake, additional substances. Last but not least, it is also important to evaluate the taste (which is undoubtedly an important factor but still very personal). As main guidelines we suggest the following aspects:

  • The best bars to replenish energy and therefore sugars for endurance activities are energy bars;
  • protein bars are instead optimized for other benefits, as are meal replacement bars or bars for particular food diets

Per the purpose we are dealing with in this article, that is energy reintegration during endurance sports, we recommend the exclusive choice of energy bars. A valid alternative are energy gels, which offer carbohydrate supplementation in liquid / gelatinous form.

Recommendations

Food supplements are never intended as a substitute for a healthy and varied diet; we remember the importance of following a healthy lifestyle and a balanced natural diet. Per a correct sporting activity (especially at a competitive level) and to better evaluate the specific personal physiological characteristics and diet or the simple use of supplements, it is always better to contact specialized centers and qualified trainers.

To choose quality products, it is recommended to carefully read the ingredients and Nutrition information ​​present in the product sheet, paying attention to any food intolerances.