92 | AustrAliAn triAthletenutRition
Training TOOLBOX
The training
microcycle is the
pattern of
training that you follow over the week.
This is all about how the length and
intensity of your sessions change
depending on your work and lifestyle
commitments, and also what works best
for optimum performance.
Periodising your nutrition around the
weekly microcycle is a concept that can
be tricky at first, but if you chat to an
experienced Sports Dietitian, they will be
able to train you to do it yourself
automatically in no time at all! The benefits
of adapting your intake daily to match your
training demands are extensive. The biggest
one many athletes find is that they can
achieve better energy balance and
maintain body composition at their goal
levels. Also, by fuelling those tough
sessions adequately, you will find that you
can maximise your performance and hit
the goal intensities of the session.
For higher training days, where the
sessions are longer or harder, your body
will require additional energy and
carbohydrate. This is because your need
for muscle glycogen is higher as your heart
rate increases. To achieve this, ensure you
are eating frequently over the day, timing
intake around your sessions and prioritising
carbohydrate more than usual. This could
mean adding a high-quality carbohydrate
source to your salad for lunch or having amore carbohydrate-centric meal for
dinner, such as a rice or pasta dish.
On recovery/lower training days, the
intensity of any session is lower, so your
energy and carbohydrate requirements are
also reduced. To match this, reduce your
portion sizes of carbohydrate where
possible and instead replace it with higher
fibre, lower energy dense foods – options
like fresh fruits, salads and veggies are
perfect. This ensures that you remain full
and satisfied, as overall food volume and
variety remains high. All that colour also
helps boost your immune function to cope
with the risk of illness while training hard
over the week!The Microcycle:
Adapting your intake
during the weekA LIcIA eDGe
Alicia is an Advanced Sports
Dietitian with an online sports
nutrition business, Compeat
Nutrition. She is also a mum and
triathlete, so advice extends
beyond the basics and is instead
focused on providing effective
and achievable nutrition for both
training and racing.7
daysBy considering your training and
competition cycle, it is possible to maximise
the fuelling and adaptations to be gained to
then enhance performance.
— Alicia Edge
Summing Up
All triathletes will have different goals,
body compositions, nutrition needs,
lifestyle factors and training schedules.
With this, there is no one program that is
going to meet the needs of all athletes.
However, by considering your training and
competition cycle, it is possible to
maximise the fuelling and adaptations to
be gained to then enhance performance.
To give you an idea, or what this may
look like from a Sports Dietitian point of
view when I work with an athlete, I utilise
their training program to build a nutrition
platform based on their training and
lifestyle demands each week. We consider
not only the performance side of things
but also food preferences, work and family
commitments, cooking skills and of course
timing. This is done with both the
macro- and micro- cycles in mind, and
with the added goal of coaching the
athlete to be able to be independent in
nutrition periodisation after a few rounds.
Nutrition intake as we enter the
off-season can be your key to a bigger and
more successful 2017/18 season.
By considering the periodisation of food
choices now, your adaptations to training
will be amplified by the time the new
season hits!MIcrocYcLe:
The benefits
of adapting
your intake
daily to match
your training
demands are
extensive.