The Complete Package Revisited
‘The Complete Package’ was a previous TMSM article on sports nutrition in triathlon. It looked at various uses for legitimate sports nutrition supplements in relation to endurance sports performance. The original concept was to rationalise what is actually needed versus what isn’t and then group them into six broad categories: carbo-loaders, pre-event meal supplements, fluids, energy and electrolyte beverages, sports gels, sports bars and post-event recovery products. Here, we revisit the package with a more detailed account.
As a coach and exercise physiologist, my concern is how little practical knowledge of sports nutrition application exists in the marketplace. Constant education and re-education of athletes is needed due to the persisting nonsense about how to fuel and refuel during training and competition. The fact of the matter is, it isn’t rocket science – the companies and coaches making it harder than it needs to be are doing you a disservice.
I suggested ‘someone’ should assemble all the needs for various duration endurance events in packages (e.g. the sprint distance triathlon package, the marathon running package, the Ironman triathlon package). Then, sell the packages to athletes along with some educational material on their appropriate use. It is really disappointing to hear stories of athletes preparing for and competing in events and returning sub-optimal performances (or DNFs) because they didn’t know how to feed themselves appropriately in the lead up and during events.
It’s amazing just how little carbohydrate hard-working triathletes actually eat during training and competition and then expect their bodies to perform. Not to mention how much misinformation there is in the marketplace in relation to sports nutrition (e.g. the protein myth).
Products designed by sports scientists, nutrition experts and athletes are needed. Science in Sport (SiS) has taken this approach with its range currently available. Some companies are now providing the option to package the various products.
