Food and Physical Performance
You can improve exercise capacity by increasing the amount of explosive muscle creatine phosphate. This can take supplements of this substance for periods from one week to one month before the exercise.
The most important effect of diet to enhance physical performance, especially in sporting events over 60 minutes, occurs through the ability to increase muscle glycogen stores. In fact the increase in physical performance that occurs within a few weeks into the training is mainly due to improved storage of glycogen by muscle and its ability to increase the combustion of glucose and fatty acids.The amount of muscle glycogen can be increased with an adequate regimen of diet, exercise and rest. First, it is desirable to have some time before the competition exercises that consume all of the muscle glycogen. Thus, it stimulates glucose uptake by muscle and its storage as glycogen. Periods of muscle glycogen depletion should be followed by two or three days to perform moderate exercise and diet rich in carbohydrates slow absorption. The sequence of the exercise regimen, feeding and resting vary depending on when you are the athlete and by training or competition situation.
Hydration
During the performance of prolonged exercise, especially in hot environments requires attention to hydration, since the loss of fluids and salts in sweat decreases performance a lot. Hydrating solutions should contain glucose, which helps to save muscle glycogen, a small amount of sodium chloride. These solutions should be about 10 or 12 º C, just before starting exercise and throughout the duration of this of this, to replace fluid losses.
Athletes do not need supplements of vitamins and protein. Exercise increases energy needs and to eat more, take more protein, minerals and vitamins you need, so you need not drink extra amounts. Only some young women may develop iron deficiency anemia, which in this case, it is necessary to overcome with supplements.
credit to: Dr. Gonzalo Martín Peña