Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes

Most books are written with the idea of reading them cover to cover in a more or less continual read. In the process of reading books for review I tend to do the same thing with books that are not intended to be read that way and in so doing, I may be doing them a disservice. This is a distinct possibility with Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes.

Consumed in a single read front to back, the book gets somewhat redundant. After outlining the basic principals upon which the book is founded, Monique tends to begin each new section or chapter with a restatement of those same principals. Then I realized that each section is really designed to stand alone. Thus, if you are interested in basic nutritional information on food groups, Part One, Chapter Three, Nutrients for Optimal Performance is your likely choice, and in that chapter the author presents all the information you need to make nutrition decisions. On the other hand if you were say prepping for a marathon you might head straight for Part Three, Chapter Eleven, Nutrition for Distance Running, where once again all the information you need would be presented with footnotes referring you to Part 2 Chapter Six, Creating the Optimal Training Diet.

So then, taken in the context of a training Manual with heavy emphasis upon the Table of Contents as an index, the book becomes an effective reference book for your particular nutrition needs.

Monique stresses specific nutritional needs associated with the particular requirements of the various sports disciplines. The sudden burst of energy required of a sprinter differs from the energy requirements of a cyclist and so do the nutrition requirements to fuels the effort. In her chapter on menu planning the author delivers specific food recommendations and charts for menu planning, as well as portion recommendations based upon the intensity of the competition or training session.

If you are wondering why you bonk on some days and not on others, or if you are trying to figure out how to fuel your next ultra-24 hour Mountain Bike Event, this is the text for you!