Sports
14/10/2020
Let's focus on another fundamental aspect of running: calorie consumption. with this knowledge, it enables the athlete to regulate his or her food intake optimally.

The amount of energy required when running does not depend on the speed at which you run, but on the distance covered. 

You can use the approximation of 1 kcal for each kg of weight and for each km run, i.e. the consumption of the run can be easily calculated from the weight and the distance covered using the following formula 

C = P * d

C = consumption in calories / G = weight in kg / d = distance in km 

In addition, the individual variable of efficiency should also be taken into account, which can influence more or less 20%. 

It is much more interesting to consider the "fuel" used by the athlete. It is assumed that the athlete normally uses carbohydrates, and this only at low speeds to mature fats (e.g. marathon runners use an estimated 20% of fats). 

Indeed, it has been proven for some time that proteins are used for energy purposes even when glycogen stocks are low. 

The fuel used depends on three factors: 

1. the speed at which you run

2. training level

3. the ability to run in glycogen depletion 

The third point is that the ability to burn fat and protein increases the more the athlete is used to running with a low carbohydrate supply. This happens in those who train daily (athlete A) and often have to do so without having fully recovered from their previous training.

Those who train three times a week (athlete B) will do the training after full recovery and their body will continue to use carbohydrates. For a 20 km slow run, it is assumed that athlete A's mixture is made up of 60% carbohydrates, 30% fats and 10 proteins, whereas athlete B's mixture contains 80% carbohydrates, 15% fats and a maximum of 5% protein.

Apart from the percentages, it should be noted that this new approach is capable of explaining why type B athletes tend to have poor recovery capacity. When their glycogen stocks are not at their maximum, their performance drops dramatically, whereas in Type A athletes the drop is less significant.