Carb-Loading Strategies for a Marathon

Carb-loading is essential for runners before a marathon. It allows their body to store as much fuel as needed days before the big demand. How do they do it?

Eat more carbs 3 days before the marathon.

The goal is to consume about half o three-quarters more carbs than you used to for three days before the marathon. Supposing you normally consume 4 cups of rice a day, add two or three cups of rice each day on the last three days before the big day. You can also add carbs by eating pasta or potatoes. At the same time, cut down on protein and fat.

Have servings of carbs per meal.

Spread the servings of carbs throughout the day by including them in each meal. You can add variety by eating a different kind of carbohydrate each meal. You can have white or brown rice, pasta, and bread.

Forgive yourself for stuffing more sugar into your body.

The last three days are the perfect time to forget about managing your carb intake. You can eat and drink sugary stuff just for this period. That’s because you need as much glycogen as possible before the marathon. Snack on cookies, granola bars, and crackers in between meals. This is the time to enjoy sweet fruit juices and sweetened coffee.

Minimize fiber intake.

This has to be pointed out. Fiber is good, but you don’t need the gastrointestinal bloating it causes. So skip fiber a few days before running in a marathon.

Don’t worry about getting fat.

It’s just for three days. It’s like overeating for three days only to burn the excess carbs on the day of the marathon. It doesn’t make you fat. Instead, your body turns the extra carbs into glycogen, which is stored in the liver and muscles. On the day of the marathon, your body starts using the available glucose, much of which comes from the food you ate earlier. When blood glucose runs low, your muscles will begin to metabolize stored glycogen, and then the liver breaks down glycogen to further sustain you throughout the course of the marathon. If you don’t load yourself up on carbs days prior to the marathon, you won’t have enough reserves and your muscles will run out of fuel.

Eat a regular breakfast 2-3 hours the start of the marathon.

You don’t need a huge meal hours before the ultimate run. You should have enough stored glycogen from the carbs you stuffed into your body days before. Also, it’s hard to run at your maximum performance after a huge meal.  

How to Prepare for a Marathon

True runners consider the marathon as the ultimate endurance test. Every runner dreams of competing in a marathon, and most of the time it’s not for the glory of winning but for the personal challenge. However, preparing for a marathon can be both exciting and disgusting. When the weather is fine and you had great sleep, everything is perfect. But not every day of training is always like that.

Running for a marathon is a demanding, high-risk sport. You have to be absolutely fit for this. Even highly trained and experienced runners get injured on the track. This is why you have to be absolutely careful and disciplined.

Have realistic expectations.

Runners are not made the same. Some just have better genetics than the others. Some runners are built for competing. Others are just for recreational marathons. The latter can always work harder to try to get their goals. Know what you are capable of at the moment. Also, picture yourself amid different runners you know. Don’t try to compete with someone who has been around on the tracks for years. Try to use them as an inspiration to get better.

Know this is a high-risk sport.

Thousands of runners get injured each year. Some luckily survive their injuries and get back on training just fine. Others are not so lucky enough. Running for a marathon is so much different than the daily jogging you do in the neighborhood. It is so much more physically demanding. It puts so much stress on your entire body, not just muscles and joints. Many runners have collapsed during the competition due to dehydration or hypothermia.

Check your health.

People with heart problems can’t run on a race. You best hope your heart is in absolutely great shape before training for a marathon. Running demands so much cardiovascular work. If your heart is not up to par for the demands of a race, you are probably better off finding a less strenuous sport. Needless to say, people recovering from injuries may have to spend months in rehabilitation before getting back to training.

Build your endurance.

This is both fun and difficult. No famous runner ever started with superior endurance. Everyone had to train. Everyone had to start somewhere. You too have to start where the winners once did. Jogging may be boring, and you are probably itching to sprint. No! Start slow. Take it easy. Don’t be carried away by your enthusiasm. Your muscles, tendons, bones, joints, heart, and lungs all have to adapt slowly to a step-by-step increase in demand. So you start with jogging. Then you move to running, and you slowly build mileage and speed. This takes months and years. Be patient.

Run 3-5 days a week.

Once you feel that your muscles and joints are strong enough, start incorporating weekly runs into your training. Mileage and speed are two important factors. Aim to increase mileage and speed by a max of 10% each week.

Join in low-key races.

Once you have built endurance, once you can run 10 miles without feeling like you’re going to die at the end, then start joining local marathons. Local marathons are great for amateurs because of the familiarity of the track. See how you fare against other local runners.

Continue with your training.

Challenge yourself. Increase mileage and speed. Join more competitions.  

How to Get the Most Out of Your Cardio Workout

Cardio is an important aspect of weight loss programs. If you’re overweight and trying to lose weight, much of what you do would be cardio. Cardiovascular workouts are named as such because they mainly increase your heart rate. When done regularly over a long time, they improve heart health and build stamina and endurance. However, for people with extra pounds to lose, the most important effect of cardiovascular training is weight loss. If you are looking to lose weight through cardio, here are a few things to maximize the benefits.

Include short bursts of high-intensity cardio.

Moderate cardio is good, but your body adapts to it after a while and your hit that plateau. One way to overcome this and get more effective with your weight loss workout is to do interval training, wherein you alternate between moderate cardio and intense cardio. This method can be incorporated on any type of cardio training. For instance, those who like running can alternate between 3 minutes of running at moderate pace and 2 minutes of sprinting. This is effective for fat loss.

Go intense.

If you only have 15 or 20 minutes, go intense. Studies show that intense cardio for 15-20 minutes is more effective than moderate cardio for 30-45 minutes. You can do a circuit of different workouts like squats, mountain climbers, high-knee runs, and burpees. Perform them with little to no rest in between sets. The thing about high intensity cardio is you can’t sustain it for long, but it’s more effective for fat loss.

Do more than one type of exercise.

If running is your favorite way to burn fat, you will notice eventually that your weight loss hits the dreaded plateau. Why? The body adapts to your routine, and that means it becomes efficient in doing it. When it becomes efficient in doing something, it needs less energy in doing it, hence the weight loss plateau. There are many ways to keep this from happening. One is by switching to different activities so that you body gets varying stimuli. Also, different activities use different muscle groups. You can alternate running with swimming or strength training.

Do more difficult versions of your exercises.

Another way to challenge your body aside from switching to a different exercise is to do harder versions of what you’re doing now. In other words, make your cardio routine harder. For instance, when you have been spending weeks jogging, start incorporating running. There are actually different ways to do this. Runners can supercharge their routine by picking an uphill track, covering the same distance within a shorter time, and increasing mileage. If you are doing cardio circuits, do more reps and challenge yourself to do each circuit within a shorter period of time with less or no rest period in between sets.

Time yourself.

This is a good way to stay on track. For example, do mountain climbers for 20 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds. Then do as many burpees as you can for 20 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds. Then crank out as many squats as you can for another 20 seconds. And so on.

Timing your workout is also an important way of tracking your progress. For instance, you start with a 15-second plank. When you get comfortable with that, you move to a 20-second plank and then 30 and finally a 1-minute plank.

Your timer should tell you whether you’re workout is too short or too long. It also tells when to stop.