What should I eat and drink before exercise?
Eat an easily digestible carbohydrate-rich meal 2-3 hours before your training session. Between this meal and the start of your run, it's best to drink another 500-1000ml. In addition to water, sodium-rich sports drinks like the 6d Hydro Ors or the 6d Sports Drink ensure efficient hydration, especially in warm weather. Since carrying sports drinks isn't always practical, it's important to start with an optimal fluid balance.
If you want to carbohydrate-load in the run-up to a race, the 6d Ultra Drinkis your best choice. 15 minutes before the start, you can still take a 6d Sports Gel or 6d Sports Chew, especially if you haven't eaten enough leading up to your activity.
What should I eat and drink during exercise?
During a triathlon (training), you quickly burn 400–600 kcal per hour. During rides that take longer than 1 hour, especially at high intensity or in warm weather, it's essential to replenish both your energy and fluids in time. Certainly when you are looking to do multiple sessions in 1 day!
Therefore, primarily choose the 6d Sports Drink with 1 Sports Unit (exactly 30g carbohydrates) per 500ml and simultaneously replenish your fluid and salt losses. Drink 125 to 250ml every 15 to 30 minutes. How much extra water you might need depends on your sweat loss. You can accurately determine this via a sweat test. While running, drinking is often difficult. For shorter sessions, you can then opt for the 6d Sports Gel. Do you prefer a bite? Then opt for the 6d Sports Chew.
During a swim sessioen, you can combine 500ml of 6d Sports Drink with a gel, while on the bike you can add more solid nutrition like the 6d Sports Chew, 6d Sports Bar, 6d Sports Nougat or 6d Sports Cake. During the run, simply chose for the 6d Sports Gel every 30 minutes. Because our gels contain sodium, you can fuel your whole effort using only 6d Sports Gels and some water. Drink a few sips of water immediately after each gel for optimal absorption. Variants with caffeine provide an extra physical and mental boost.
For intensive training sessions from three hours , you can add a third Sports Unit every hour or you can switch to two Ultra products for more convenience:
- 2 6d Ultra Gels / hour
- or 1 6d Ultra Gel + 1 6d Ultra Chew / hour
- or 500 ml 6d Ultra Drink / huur
How many Sports or Ultra Units you need depends on the duration and intensity of your training. You can find more information about this on the pages of our Sports Series and Ultra Series.
Train your nutrition
All 6d sports drinks, gels, and chews are rapidly absorbed and easily digestible thanks to their unique, scientifically proven composition. This minimizes the risk of discomfort during your triathlon. Furthermore, our products, available in various flavors, have been extensively tested and approved by Vincent Luis and the triathletes of the BMC Pro Triathlon Team.
Nevertheless, acclimatization is essential to prevent stomach and intestinal issues, especially when aiming for higher carbohydrate intakes. Train your nutrition plan multiple times before your race.
What should I eat and drink after exercise?
After exercise, it's important to replenish both your energy (carbohydrates) and fluids. Your muscles also need recovery with the help of quality proteins. Take 1 Protein Unit (exactly 20g of protein) to repair muscle damage from the exertion and stimulate training progression.
Do you have another tough training session planned for the next day? Then choose 6d Recovery Shake. It contains not only 20g of protein but also the right amount of carbohydrates to quickly replenish your energy reserves. Before going to bed, preferably take another 40g of protein (2 Protein Units), so your muscles can also recover optimally during the night. This can be done with a double portion of the 6d Whey Shake, 6d Vegan Protein, 6d Whey Drink or 6d Whey Shot.
For a series of consecutive efforts, in addition to the products from our Protein Series, you can also consider 6d Cherry Juice or 6d Hydro Ors as extra recovery drinks.
If you have several days to recover, or your training was less intensive, 1 Protein Unit after exercise is usually sufficient. In that case, one serving of the 6d Whey Shake, 6d Vegan Protein, 6d Whey Drink or 6d Whey Shot is sufficient. Thanks to the variety in taste and texture, our Protein Series offers something for everyone.
What are the best supplements for triathletes?
In addition, there are also supplements that can improve your performance or promote your recovery as a triathlete. These are primarily interesting for triathletes working towards an important athletic goal.
Do you often suffer from nutritional deficiencies, aches, or ailments? We can also help you with an extensive range of health-supporting supplements.
