1. THE FUEL REVOLUTION - MIX YOUR OWN ENERGY GEL. In cycling and long-distance running, awareness of the need to consume energy both during training and competition has exploded. There is now a new standard for how much carbohydrates one should take in—often discussed is 90–120 grams of carbohydrates per hour, and sometimes even more. Previously, the accepted theory was that the gastrointestinal tract could only absorb about 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour. However, by mixing fructose and maltodextrin (which consists of glucose chains), two different absorption mechanisms can be used, increasing the potential intake. The blend most commonly recommended is 0.8 parts fructose to 1 part glucose.
To handle these higher carbohydrate doses, training is required—the gut needs to be trained, both during practice and competition. Ideally, this gut training shouldn’t only occur during the longest workouts but as often as possible.
This new fuel revolution has also led to an explosion of gels, sports drinks, and complete fueling solutions on the market. A number of new brands have emerged, including Maurten, Precision Hydration, Skratch, Näak, and others. But staying at the forefront comes at a price—consuming 100 grams of carbohydrates per hour can cost between 7 to 12 Euro / 8 to 14 USD). Multiply that by your training hours, and it amounts to a lot of money per month.
As an old nutritionist, my thought is that it must be possible to solve this in a cheaper, better, and perhaps more natural way. So let me present the recipe which gives a perfect carbohydrate balance at a fraction of the cost, and with extra vitamins and minerals.
Basic Recipe (gives 90–100 grams of carbs/bottle): This recipe gives a total of 380 gram mixture which are poured into two vials. I use small bottles/vials (HammerFlask from Hammer Nutrition).
Ingredients:
70 grams fructose
90 grams maltodextrin
200 grams fruit – freely choose and experiment: apple, pear, banana, mango, melon
Juice of one lime or half a lemon
1 pinch (1-2 grams) or more of salt (adjust according to how much you sweat)
You will need:
A blender (preferably a countertop model, a handheld one may be tricky)
A kitchen scale
Two small plastic bottles (I use Hammer bottles from Hammer Nutrition, cost about 3 Euro / 3.50 USD each)
Fructose and maltodextrin powders (order online, fructose around 4.50 Euro / 5.30 USD, maltodextrin around 24 Euro / 28 USD for 5 kg.
Fruit of your choice (peel apples or pears if you use them)
Squeezed lime or lemon to provide some acidity and balance the sweetness
Salt, as needed
How to:
Weigh out fructose, maltodextrin, and fruit. Squeeze in the lime or lemon and don’t forget the salt. Blend until smooth and pour into the two bottles.
Each bottle now delivers 90–100 grams of carbohydrates in a 0.8:1 proportion between fructose and glucose (from the maltodextrin). The exact amount of carbohydrates depends on the fruit you choose, which will also affect the vitamin and mineral content as well as the fiber you get.
The price per bottle with 90–100 grams of carbohydrates is about 0.82 Euro / 0.90 USD — roughly one-tenth of the equivalent commercial products.
This gel contains no preservatives, but can be stored for a couple of days in the refrigerator.
1. PHYSICAL, FLEXIBILITY AND STILLNESS, a different and more holistic way to plan your training.
If you ask someone how much they train the answer will often be specified in hours per week (or maybe miles/kilometers per week if you ask a runner). Time is the normal way to define and measure training and there is nothing strange about that. But the time dimension is limited, one-dimensional and can create problems. Moreover, it is usually just time for the so-called real physical training we post. We rarely keep as detailed track of time for stretching, yoga, meditation or other things that also can/should be a part of the overall training . During my 37 years of endurance training I've had a number of occasions when I run myself into the ground physically and mentally, and it has always been linked to increased training time, increased dose of exercise without adequate rest. All the opportunities we have today to externally measure our training with watches and apps have only increased the time focus and the external pressure to accurately record our workouts. Can we instead find a more complete and holistic way to plan our training? A way to plan that takes in all dimensions, motivates and drives us to implement, makes us push ourselves a little extra when needed, balances activites and recovery, while providing the opportunity to take into account the reality we live in? Reality in the form of fatigue, injuries, time/life balance and everything else that can't be planned in detail. This is an experiment and the weekly training schedule is divided into three parts: physical, flexibility and stillness. Physical is of course all the usual: endurance, strength, speed, technique that is specific to your sport. Flexibility is activities that we need but not always prioritize: yoga, stretching, or the like. Stillness is often a completely overlooked part of a training program. To practice stillness might include meditation or just to be with yourself in silence (no distractions, information or entertainment). These activities can advantageously be carried out in nature.
PS. Many of you already have some form of stillness practice (meditation, etc.) included as an everyday routine. But my experience is that if we also have this stillness practice written into an exercise plan "we increase the value" and prioritize stillness activites in a different way.
Content: Start - Flow - Experiences - Tools - About
Change to our Swedish site
