Stop Bonking in Training: Your Guide to Smarter Everyday Fueling

Right then, let's talk about fueling. Not the frantic, last-minute gel stuffing you do five minutes before a race, but the actual groundwork: how you fuel your body day-in, day-out, and during your training. Because, let's be honest, nailing your race day nutrition doesn't magically happen. It starts way earlier, likely on that Tuesday tempo session or that long Saturday slog. We've thankfully moved past the era of "bonk training" (a truly baffling concept, wasn't it?), yet a fog of confusion still hangs heavy over hydration packs and jersey pockets everywhere.

How many carbs? Is sugar the devil incarnate? How do you figure out what your body needs without ending up doubled over on the side of the road? Let's cut through the noise.

Meet the Macronutrients: Your Body's Fuel Crew

Remember high school biology? Briefly? Good. Your body runs on three main macronutrients: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.

• Carbohydrates: Your primary high-octane fuel source, especially when the intensity ramps up. Think of them as the easily accessible energy.
• Fats: The long-burn fuel, crucial for lower-intensity endurance efforts and general existence.
• Proteins: Less of a direct fuel during exercise, more the vital construction crew for rebuilding muscle and signaling bodily processes.

Crucially, your body is always using a mix of these. It's not a light switch – "Carb Mode: ON!" – but more like dimmer dials. As intensity increases, the carb dial goes up. As duration extends at lower intensity, the fat dial gets more play. Protein is always needed for repair and function. The takeaway? Drastically cutting any single macro is usually a recipe for suboptimal performance and health. Balance, people.

Fast Fuel vs. Slow Fuel: Timing is Everything

Here’s where wires often get crossed. The fuel you need during exercise is fundamentally different from your Tuesday night dinner.

• During Training/Racing (Fast Fuel): You want energy delivered to your working muscles ASAP. This is where simple sugars (glucose, fructose) shine. They bypass complex digestion and get straight to work. Worried about all that sugar? Don't be. When you're exercising, those sugars are largely shuttled directly to contracting muscles, not lounging around causing metabolic mayhem like they might if you mainlined gels while watching Netflix. If someone served you a gel for dinner, you'd rightly question their sanity and culinary skills. On the bike or run? It's precisely what you need.
• Everyday Eating (Slow Fuel): This is where you focus on nutrient density, fiber, complex carbs, quality proteins, and healthy fats. Think whole foods, balanced meals that take time to digest and provide sustained energy and micronutrients for overall health.

Separate these two concepts in your mind. One is for performance now, the other is for long-term health and recovery.

Dialing In Your Carb Intake: The 60g Starting Point

The current "high-carb" trend is generally a good thing (far better than intentional bonking!), but more isn't always better for everyone. Gut distress is a notorious fun-killer and race-ender.

So, how much do you need during training rides or runs lasting longer than about 90 minutes to two hours?

1. Start with Science: A solid baseline for most endurance athletes is 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour. This is often equivalent to about two standard energy gels or a bottle of potent sports drink. It's achievable and provides a good performance boost. (Remember: 1 gram of carbohydrate = roughly 4 calories. So 60g/hr is ~240 kcal/hr).
2. Trial and Error: See how 60g/hr feels on different types of rides (long and steady, hard intervals). If it sits well and you feel good, nudge it up.
3. Increment Gradually: Try increasing in 10-15g/hr increments. Maybe 75g/hr next, then 90g/hr.
4. Find Your Sweet Spot: Many athletes find their optimal range between 60-90g/hr. Elite athletes pushing very high intensities might experiment above 100g/hr, but for most, the risk of GI issues often outweighs the potential reward beyond 90g/hr. Your mileage may vary.

Choosing Your Fuel: Cutting Through the Marketing Mumbo Jumbo

The sports nutrition market is vast and noisy. Here’s how to choose wisely:

• Look for the Science: Decades of research show that combining different types of sugars, primarily glucose (or maltodextrin) and fructose, utilizes different transporters in the gut. This allows for higher absorption rates with less potential for stomach upset. Aim for products using this blend.
• Read the Ingredients: The first few ingredients should be those simple sugars. Be wary of products loaded with fibre, excessive protein/fat (unless specifically designed as a meal replacement for very long efforts), or trendy "superfood" buzzwords and vague claims like "natural energy." Sugar is sugar when it comes to quick fuel; fancy marketing doesn't change its function during exercise.
• Consider Form Factor: Gels, chews, drinks, stroopwafels – experiment to find what's easy for you to carry, open, and consume while moving. Cyclists often lean heavily on drinks and gels for convenience.

Train Your Gut: It's Like a Muscle (Sort Of)

Your gut can adapt to handling more carbohydrates during exercise, but it needs practice. Don't just try your race nutrition plan for the first time on race day!

• Use Hard/Long Workouts: Implement your target fueling strategy during your toughest or longest training sessions. This simulates race stress and teaches your gut to cope. Tempo intervals, steady-state efforts, or chaotic group rides are prime gut-training opportunities.
• Consistency Matters: Gut adaptation is relatively acute. You can't rely on the gut training you did six months ago. Practice your fueling consistently, especially in the weeks leading up to a key event.

Hydration: The Unsung Hero

You can have the world's most dialed-in carb plan, but it won't work if you're dehydrated. A dehydrated gut doesn't absorb nutrients efficiently.

• General Guideline: Aiming for 20-40 fluid ounces (approx. 600-1200 ml) per hour is a reasonable starting point for most people in moderate conditions.
• Get Specific (Optional): A simple sweat rate test can give you a more personalized number. Weigh yourself nude before a one-hour ride. Ride for exactly one hour, tracking how much you drink (in weight/volume). Weigh yourself nude again after. The difference (initial weight - final weight + fluid consumed) is your approximate hourly sweat loss for those specific conditions. Repeat in different temps/humidity to get a range.
• Separate Fuel & Fluids: Consider carrying one bottle with your carb-rich sports drink and another with plain water. This allows you to hydrate based on thirst and conditions without overloading on calories/sugar, and frankly, sometimes plain water is just what your sugar-coated palate craves.
• Adjust for Conditions: Hotter day? Drink more. It’s often that simple. Don't overthink it, but don't ignore thirst.

Pre-Workout Prep: Setting the Stage

What you eat before you train also matters, especially for big sessions.

• 24-36 Hours Prior: Focus on keeping your glycogen (stored carbohydrate) tanks full. Eat balanced meals, perhaps slightly emphasizing carbohydrates. Don't starve yourself – eat when hungry. Critically, consider reducing high-fiber foods (like massive salads or piles of beans) the day before a key workout or race to minimize potential gut rumblings. Think simpler carbs: rice, potatoes, pasta, tortillas paired with quality protein and some healthy fats.
• Morning Of (1-3 Hours Prior): Aim for 200-500 calories, primarily easily digestible carbohydrates. Think oatmeal, toast, yogurt, maybe with a little nut butter or an egg if tolerated well. Keep fiber, fat, and protein relatively low to speed digestion. Practice this! Find a pre-ride breakfast that works for you and is easy to replicate, especially if traveling for an event. That complex, 15-ingredient smoothie might be great at home but impossible in a hotel room.

The Bottom Line

Fueling for training isn't rocket science, but it does require attention and practice. Start with established guidelines (60g carb/hr, 20-40 fl oz/hr), choose scientifically sound products, train your gut on hard days, stay hydrated, and prep appropriately before big sessions. Listen to your body, make small adjustments, and find what works for you. Get this right, and you're building a powerful foundation for whatever performance goals you're chasing.