Training Camp Nutrition: The most common mistake in Mallorca, Girona or Gran Canaria
You've been looking forward to it for weeks: the training camp. Whether on the legendary road bike routes in Mallorca, around Girona or in perfect conditions in Gran Canaria. Finally escape from everyday life, finally train for several days in a row and significantly increase your training volume.
The first few days feel correspondingly good, sometimes even outstanding. You ride longer than at home, collect more vertical meters and the pace in the group is automatically higher. No one wants to drop out, breaks are short and the next session is already planned. Everything feels like progress.
After a few days, however, many athletes notice that their energy is slowly dwindling.
Suddenly their legs get heavier. Energy is lacking, even though you are "training so much". In the evening you are completely ravenous, eat large portions, sleep restlessly and still don't wake up refreshed the next morning. At the end of the week you feel exhausted and not infrequently even heavier than at the beginning. In the worst case, you travel home sick or are stopped immediately after returning home.
In nutrition counseling at betteryou, advisors hear exactly this feedback again and again. In many cases, the cause is not in the training itself, but in inadequately adapted nutrition.
More training means significantly more energy requirements
In a training camp, daily life differs massively from normal training operations. Where at home there might be one to a maximum of two hours of training, in the camp there are suddenly three to four hours of road bike training per day, often on several consecutive days. Especially in classic training regions like Mallorca, Girona or Gran Canaria. Due to the group dynamic, people often ride more intensely than originally planned.
Per hour of cycling, your body consumes around 500 kilocalories, depending on intensity and previous exertion, a large part of which comes from carbohydrates. During long sessions and several training days, this quickly adds up to an additional energy requirement of over 1,500 kilocalories per day, sometimes significantly more.
This is precisely where the crucial mistake happens. This additional need is underestimated. Although "more is eaten," it is rarely structured enough to really cover the actual calorie and carbohydrate requirements in the training camp.
What happens when your body gets too little energy
If more energy is consumed than supplied over several days, the body reacts. First subtly, then more and more clearly. Performance decreases, regeneration deteriorates and stress hormones increase. The body tries to save energy.
In the evening, this often manifests itself in strong cravings. Calories are then compensated late, often in large quantities or with less optimal foods. This stresses digestion, worsens sleep quality and promotes water retention. In short: regeneration suffers and the risk of illness increases.
A central insight is important here: A training camp is not the right time to try to save calories or reduce body fat. With this high exertion, covering the needs is clearly the priority. Only when the body is adequately supplied can the training stimuli unleash their desired effect.
Why "simply eating more" doesn't work in a training camp
Many athletes are surprised when measurements in nutrition counseling at betteryou show that the daily energy requirement in a training camp can easily be 3,500 to 4,500 kilocalories, sometimes even more. This corresponds to five to six main meals of 600-700 kcal per day. Without a clear structure, this is hardly feasible.
Large meals alone are usually not enough. They are often difficult to digest and come too late. Much more important is to distribute the energy throughout the day and supply it where it is relevant for performance.
The right nutrition strategy in a training camp
A carbohydrate-rich breakfast forms the basis for long training sessions. Lunch and dinner should be balanced and contain sufficient carbohydrates, protein and some fat.
However, the real game changer in a training camp is the energy supply during training.
During longer sessions, the body can easily utilize 80 grams of carbohydrates, and for trained athletes even up to 120 grams per hour. This stabilizes performance, spares glycogen stores and reduces stress on the organism. Those who economize here will pay the price later.
Suitable products to specifically cover this additional need are, for example, Carbo Basic Plus, CHO MAXX, Fast Energy or Ultra Energy.
Regeneration begins immediately after training
After training, the body is particularly receptive. Targeted recovery nutrition helps to initiate recovery and prevents extreme hunger from occurring late in the evening. A recovery protein in combination with an additional carbohydrate source or, in case of very high demand, a weight gainer, have proven effective.
A good indicator is the evening: If strong cravings occur regularly, the energy intake during the day was too low. In this case, it is worthwhile to increase sports nutrition during training or to plan additional snacks.
Don't underestimate training control in a training camp
In addition to nutrition, training control also plays a decisive role in a training camp. Many training camps fail because too much is wanted in too short a time.
A high proportion of easy sessions, combined with targeted intensities and sufficient recovery, brings significantly more in the long run than daily exertion at the limit.
If the body sends clear signals, it is worth listening. An additional regeneration day can ultimately bring more than another hard session.
This is what a successful training camp feels like
When nutrition and training work together, a training camp feels not exhausting, but productive. Energy remains stable throughout the week, recovery between sessions works, and you return home feeling that you have actually built something up.
That's exactly what it's about. Not just collecting as many kilometers as possible, but setting stimuli that work.
