The keys to mastered preparation

When you start endurance sports, you quickly find yourself faced with a whole bunch of questions. And the longer the distances, the more these questions become. Nutrition, recovery, training... There's no reason to be bored. To help you see things a little more clearly, we asked a few questions to two members of Team Holyfat 2023: @thomas_pigois , coach, nutritionist and founder of expert.sport.coaching and @abragaperf , coach specializing in ultra distance.

They've both been part of the Holyfat adventure since the beginning. Thomas has been on a ketogenic diet for a few years now, while Andrea follows a more "traditional" diet.

Now that the introductions are over, we're going to ask these ultra distance enthusiasts for their tips on how to successfully prepare for a goal!

We get to the heart of the matter with Andrea

• What advice would you give to someone who wants to get into ultra (cycling or trail running)? "Be progressive in the evolution of the training load and above all listen to your body's responses to these loads." A. Braga

• What role do Holyfat products play in your daily routine? " I would recommend using Holyfat products daily to provide quality fats to regulate blood sugar levels." A. Braga

• The main mistakes to avoid when starting endurance sports? " Wanting to do too much and neglecting recovery and nutrition" A. Braga

• Nutrition, rest, and training. Three factors inherent in performance. How would you rank them? From most to least "important," explaining why? " Nutrition, training, and rest. Without nutrients, there's no performance, and without rest, there's no regeneration. This triptych is important." A. Braga

Thomas has a slightly different take on the matter. For him, " REST. Without well-timed rest, the best training plan for even the greatest champion is useless. Nutrition and training are on the same level for me. It will depend on the timing of the preparation and the athlete in question."

Finally, we asked Andrea the awkward question:

• What do you think about the use of traditional gels and cereal bars for long-term efforts? " You have to be prepared at the intestinal and stomach level to assimilate such quantities of carbohydrates, moreover they are often too sweet which can cause nausea in the long term."

Now it's Thomas's turn to give us some more in-depth advice.

• What distinction do you make between Holyfat products and other sports nutrition products? "To make a very simple comparison, the body works like a hybrid car with two different fuels. A small sugar tank that needs to be constantly refilled and a huge fat tank that requires far fewer pit stops and provides much more stable energy. 99% of brands have chosen sugar as the main fuel in their product, while Holyfat has chosen fat." T.Pigois

• What calorie intake and hydration do you recommend for 1 hour of exercise? "I don't work with calories because it is impossible to compensate for the loss caused by activity during the activity and the calorie remains a laboratory unit I think. Nutrition during exercise depends a lot on one's daily "diet" and one's more or less strong "addiction" to sugar. In terms of hydration, for one hour of exercise, I recommend 0.5 to 1l of a drink containing electrolytes with 5 to 10g of sugar. The temperature and the intensity of the effort are of course to be taken into account in this dosage. " T.Pigois

• We often talk about the glycemic index. What can you tell us about it ? "The glycemic index makes it easy to know how quickly a food is absorbed. The higher the index, the more quickly the sugar present in the food will be available (hence the name "fast sugar") and vice versa for the low glycemic index. One is not better than the other but they have different effects and are not to be used in the same way. It depends a lot on the daily diet and one's "tolerance" to carbohydrates." T.Pigois

• Ketogenic, paleo, and low-carb diets. What's the difference? Is there a miracle diet for performing in endurance sports? "These three diets may seem similar, but they're actually very different.

The Ketogenic or Keto diet was born in 1920 by Dr. Russel Wilder to combat epilepsy. This diet provides the benefits of fasting without its side effects. Its principle is simple. By reducing sugar intake in the broadest sense of the term (carbohydrates), the body will transform fats into ketone bodies (hence its name ketogenic diet) to "replace" excessive carbohydrate intake and produce the energy necessary for the proper functioning of our entire body. There are a multitude of more or less well-formulated deviations from this diet and must be adapted according to age, physical activity, and individual goals.
The Paleo diet is very similar to the ketogenic diet but does not incorporate the notion of ketosis due to a reduced carbohydrate intake. It is the "hunter-gatherer" diet based on a so-called natural, unprocessed diet, composed mainly of vegetables, fruits, and animal proteins. Unfortunately, the majority of fruits we find today are not the same as those we found millions of years ago and have become too great a source of carbohydrates to be consumed in large quantities every day and remain in nutritional ketosis...
Low Carb, as its name suggests, is a diet that encourages you to limit your carbohydrate intake. It doesn't allow you to reach a state of ketosis and often doesn't allow you to have enough energy depending on your physical activity... " T. Pigois

No more excuses for missing your goal now! :) If you would like to explore any of these questions further, please do not hesitate to contact us; we will be happy to discuss them with you.

Cover photo credit: @__elisecaron__