I love being in the mountains, and so I decided to take off the other day, just relax in the woods, and discuss recovery.
In this case, I have been getting a bunch of questions on how to fuel a workout, and this is my favorite quick combo. Let’s say you’ve just finished work for the day, you’re not ready for dinner, but you’re feeling low energy…what can you do to give yourself a boost that won’t upset your stomach?
Or, let’s say you’ve headed out on a super day-long hike, and want some extra energy packed into your water bottle….any suggestions?
What about if you are done with your workout for the day, you know you need to refuel, but you just aren’t hungry for a couple hours. Ideally you have a 45 minute window to pack the most energy back into those cells….What can you do in this instance?
Easy!
Two ingredients: I use Nuun (a low sugar electrolyte tablet) and glutamine (which is an amino acid). Both are easily found and totally legal! (You’ll understand that comment when you watch the video 🙂
10 grams of glutamine replicates 60 grams of consumed carbohydrates…so easily accessed energy for workouts, but you don’t have to actually eat the carbs which might upset your stomach.
Glutamine does not have any flavor, and the addition of the Nuun (or Gatorade/Powerade/etc) gives the drink a little flavor as well as electrolytes. In the Nuun case, it has very low sugar while the -ades have lots of sugar. I shoot for low sugar; both do the job.
I have used this combo before soccer games, during the Tough Mudder race, and my husband takes it in his water bottle for every tennis match he plays.
Watch the video below for a little demo on mixing them together and a story about a big bike race!
Let me know in the comments below (or on my Instagram laura.coleman27 ) if you like it or other fueling combinations you prefer! Super interested to hear about it!
That is so helpful Laura, thank you. Our son really likes Nuun after rowing and I’ll share this tip about Glutamine.
Might you have a suggestion for a Nuun equivalent that isn’t “fizzy?” I prefer non-fizzy so haven’t indulged in Nuun yet.
Thank you!
Hi Susan! Thanks for writing! I think my best suggestion would be to let the fizzy fizz out…could you make the drink the night before, and leave the lid off, and let it go flat? I was going to suggest Emergen’c, but you run into the same problem. Otherwise try the G2, which is the low sugar version of Gatorade. You really just want something to give the glutamine some flavor, and getting those electrolytes in is handy!
Hi! I’m a workout junky who is very injured but I do what I can. Cycling, swimming (when I can get a lane in these crazy reservation only times) hiking, walking, paddletennis (not good for my neck but can’t give it up! ) and I have a hard time figuring out what to eat for fuel. I’m always hungry. I’m pretty much a vegan. Just brought some yogurt back in on occasion for protein. Fish on occasion. Once every few weeks. Not a fan of tofu or any of those fake proteins. I’m excited to try your suggestion of amino acid. Always looking for ways to fuel that I can swim on and then after as well. I’m always hungry scavenging for food! So thanks for that suggestion. I will definitely be trying it! What amino acid product do you recommend? Thanks
Hi Teri! Thanks for writing! The L-glutamine amino acid product I use happens to be made by Designs for Health, but you can find it in any nutrition store. What is going on with your injuries? Good for you for continuing to move despite being injured!