Posted: December 16, 2005

Science of Sport: Tip-Top Fuelling For Winter

Nutrition is vitally important for athletes throughout the year, but when the cold snap arrives, it’s perhaps even more important.

“In winter, because it’s cold, athletes don’t necessarily feel the same compulsion to drink an adequate amount of cold fluids, because it simply isn’t as palatable as it is in warm weather," explains EIS Nutritionist, Karen Reid.

“However, if athletes are training outdoors they’re generally wearing more clothes and because of this, the thermal effect of extra clothing still means that a significant amount of sweat loss can occurr. It’s often a case of athletes underestimating how much fluid they need to take on board and how much they have lost through sweating.”

To avoid that, Reid suggests that athletes need to be as aware of their fluid loss as they would be in perhaps more obvious circumstances – like a hot sunny day. Also, there a few simple things that make fluid intake more appealing on a cold winter’s night.

“During the winter, it’s often useful to have a flask of something like hot lemon and barley to drink after training, when another litre of cold fluid is the last thing you would want to drink. However, unlike sports drinks, a home made mixture will not provide the necessary salt to restore electrolyte balance in the body, so it’s important to snack on salty things – perhaps a sandwich, savoury crackers or savoury rice cakes.”

For many sports, another consideration in winter is that it is a period of hard training to prepare for the competitive season ahead in spring or summer, so it’s important to carefully consider specific energy demands, with close reference to any training programme set by a coach or strength and conditioning coach, as Reid explains.

“Because the training is of perhaps higher intensity during the winter months, it’s vital that athletes are fuelling themselves properly, and bring a carbohydrate based snack, such as a sandwich, cereal bar, dried fruit or a low fat flavoured milk drink to take within 30 minutes after training, which ideally includes 1-2 pieces of fruit to provide vitamin C and antioxidants for the body.

“As with cold drinks in summer, it’s often very appealing to eat fruit when it’s warm, but not so when it’s bitterly cold, so it’s extremely important to include fruits like satsumas and clementines – which are plentiful throughout winter – along with typical fruit like bananas.

“As an alternative, making batches of home made soup or stew with plenty of fresh vegetables is a good idea – again, it may be a lot more appealing to some athletes than a salad on a dark, cold evening.”

Another factor to consider is the regular summer break from training, which often sees athletes return to training conscious of losing excess body fat which has developed during a training lay-off.

“It’s essential to look at the training demands, when an athlete feels they need to lose body fat,” explains Reid. “It’s important not to dispense with carbohydrate altogether as it provides a vital function for recovery so it’s often a case of controlling energy intake by eating enough carbs at the right times – but it certainly isn’t the time to panic.”

© 2005 English Institute of Sport - Posted with Permission.