Power of the cross-country skier - diet of the cross-country skier

The power - cross country diet is a diet that, broadly speaking, affects all sports practitioners with long or very long performance times; the cross-country skier is therefore the one who practices: running or running, walking, cycling (road or mountain -bike), cross-country skiing, swimming - long competitions, rowing - long competitions, canoeing - long competitions, triathlon, spearfishing etc.

The nutrition - diet of the cross-country skier-agonist, both in professionalism and in amateurism, often requires more extensive work than simple ADVICE or dietary ADVICE; every sports nutrition professional is well aware that, in order to be sure to cover ALL the needs appropriate, the only REALLY effective and safe method provides the traditional grammar dietary approach. From here, the subject has the possibility (and assumes responsibility for it) to use the tool provided "literally" or as if it were a generic "guideline".
The power - runner's diet aims to:

1. Cover the energy and nutritional needs of the subject based on: sex, age (growth or seniority), special conditions (pathologies or para-physiological conditions), etc.
2. Cover the energy and nutritional needs of the subject IN TRAINING or IN COMPETITION
3. Ensure optimal psycho-physical recovery
4. Optimize the super-compensation of the training stimulus
5. Minimize muscle catabolism

To set up the power - the cross-country skier's diet it is necessary to:

1. Understand the subject's basic nutritional needs
2. Obtain sports energy expenditure and daily or weekly needs (depending on the dietary method used) of the same
3. Understanding the availability (temporal - logistic - organizational and economic) of the athlete
4. Evaluate the relevance of dietary supplements

.... and finally...

5. CORRECT THE NUTRITIONAL SCHEME ON THE BASIS OF THE VENATOR AND PERCEPTIVE RESULTS OF THE ATHLETE.

Estimate the energy needs of the subject: customary energy expenditure and expenditure with training

There are 2 methods to calculate the energy requirement for the cross-country runner's diet:

1. Calculate the basic requirement (basal metabolism + level of physical activity at work) of the 7 days, also taking into account variables such as: hours of sleep, tendency to hyperkineticism, etc. To it, it is then necessary to add the energy expenditure of the weekly micro-cycle; then carry out the indiscriminate average for all 7 days. In this way you will obtain a simple diet, with a FIXED caloric intake and with REPLACEABLE ISOCALORIC meals in the various days. It is not very precise BUT it represents the simplest and most TOLERABLE solution for athletes. Eg of a beginner cross-country skier:
1. Athlete's usual daily requirement: estimated at 2,200kcal / day
2. Athlete's customary weekly requirement: 2.200 * 7 = 15.400kcal
3. Energy expenditure of the 6 weekly training sessions:
   400 + 550 + 700 + 550 + 550 + 400kcal = 2.750kcal
4. Athlete's TOT weekly requirement: 15,400 + 2,750 = 18,150kcal
5. Athlete's TOT daily requirement: 18.150 / 7 = 2.593kcal
2. Calculate the basic requirement (basal metabolism + level of physical activity at work) of 1 day, also taking into consideration variables such as: hours of sleep, tendency to hyperkineticism, etc; add to it the energy expenditure of the specific training and create 7 days different. In this way you will get a complex diet, with VARIABLE caloric intake and with meals NOT ALWAYS isocaloric, therefore NOT ALWAYS replaceable over the various days. It is very precise BUT it represents the most uncomfortable and LESS tolerable solution for athletes. Eg of a beginner cross-country skier:
1. Customary daily requirement of the athlete: estimated at 2,200 kcal / day
2. Athlete's customary weekly requirement: 2200 * 7 = 15.400 kcal
3. Energy expenditure of the 6 weekly training sessions: 400, 550, 700, 550, 550, 400 kcal
4. Athlete's TOT daily requirement:
1. 2.200 + 400 = 2.600kcal
2. 2.200 + 550 = 2.750kcal
3. 2,200 + 700 = 2,900kcal
4. 2.200 + 550 = 2.750kcal
5. 2.200 + 550 = 2.750kcal
6. 2.200 + 400 = 2.600kcal
7. 2,200 + 0 = 2,200kcal

Estimate the specific nutritional needs of the subject: breakdown into energy macronutrients - vitamins and mineral salts

The power of the cross-country skier is NOT the same in all disciplines; remember that, in addition to the subjective ability to digest and / or tolerate the sense of gastric "fullness", the mechanics of movement and the position of the body during the exercise also affect significantly on the choice of foods and the respective portions to be consumed prior to the service; on the contrary, with regard to meals placed VERY before and after the exercise, the criteria to be used in the choice of food and portions are the same as for a healthy and balanced diet (always taking into account the needs of the specific case).
Breakdown into energetic macronutrients: the power of the cross-country skier foresees a nutritional distribution quite similar to the traditional one. To correctly choose the fractions of the caloric nutrients it is essential to think about the energy and metabolic demands of the subject during the performance; in short, the limiting substrate of the cross-country skier is that of carbohydrates and, in particular, the glycogen reserves present within the muscles. To tell the truth, the sources of sugars for the athlete who practices cross-country skiing are: blood glucose (sustained by the meal before the performance), muscle glycogen (intended for the energy production of the district specific) and the hepatic glycogen which, in the event of hypoglycemia during performance, is split and released to support the central nervous system (CNS - obviously, following the blood release of hepatic glucose, nothing prevents the muscles from using it for contraction) . The amount of carbohydrates in the cross-country skier's diet should cover at least 55-60% of the total energy, but not more than 65%; as far as simple sugars are concerned, we know that in a balanced diet they should NOT constitute more than 10-12% of the total energy, on the other hand, given the importance of the overall caloric expenditure of the cross-country skier, similarly to the needs of the child, percentages that touch 15-16% could be considered acceptable.
On the contrary, proteins and their amino acids constitute a very bad energy substrate (both in terms of the slowness of their digestion and absorption, and in terms of the slowness of their metabolic use - see neoglucogenesis), "with reserve" for branched chain amino acids (BCAA ). In sport, proteins have ESPECIALLY plastic and anti-catabolic function, therefore, the choice of their quantity must take into consideration above all the importance of the FAT-FREE mass of the subject, rather than the overall energy expenditure. The calculation of the requirement will therefore be performed using a coefficient of P = 1.5 or 1.6 or 1.7g / kg of desirable physiological weight (if there is an overabundance of adipose tissue); this coefficient must increase in proportion to the real weight if the percentage of fat mass is 14-15% or less in men or 24-25% in women.
NB. BCAAs are a faster substrate than normal AAs, but not fast enough to replace glucose.
As far as dietary lipids are concerned, in the cross-country runner's diet (and not only), they should be understood above all as a vehicle of essential fatty acids (2.5% of total kcal) and fat-soluble vitamins (vit. A, D, E and K) It is true that fats are used effectively by cross-country skiers but, considering that 1000g of fat provides about 7000kcal, their availability is ALMOST never a limiting factor, since adipose tissue normally constitutes several kg of body weight. In the diet of the ADULT cross-country skier, dietary lipids should make up about 25% of the total energy, while for the growing subject the percentage reaches 30%.
Requirements for vitamins and essential fats: the cross-country skier's vitamin requirement is greater than that of a sedentary; in particular, it is necessary to introduce greater quantities of vit. water-soluble and especially group B, which are necessary to support the increased muscle energy production. On the other hand, translating numerous dietary regimes of athletes, we can realize how the contribution of these elements INCREASES almost proportionally to the overall energy of the diet. respecting the nutritional balance described above, by means of a NORMAL caloric energy intake And not abusing of food supplements maltodextrin (which occupy a good slice of energy without giving the right amount of vitamins), the intakes of Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Pyridoxine, Biotin, Folic acid and Cobalamine (... as well as Ascorbic acid), are almost never inferior to the real needs of the organism.
The same goes for the vit. fat-soluble and essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids; an intake of 25-30% of lipids in the diet largely guarantees the achievement of the recommended rations for athletes but, among the various sources of fats, it is advisable to prefer those containing essential fatty acids over junk foods rich in hydrogenated or saturated fats.

CONTINUE: Need for Mineral Salts "