Carbohydrate Intake During Workouts

Carbohydrate intake during long workouts per hour:
The standard:

• Men - 70-80g of carbs/hour (180 lbs plus)

• Women - 50-60g of carbs/hour (140 lbs or under)

Other:

• Women - 60-70g of carbs/hour (150-180 lbs)

• Men - 80-90g of carbs/hour (220 lbs plus)

• Men - 60-70g of carbs/hour (130-170 lbs)
  

It can be a combo of gels, solids or sports drinks. Examples:

• 1 GU gel = 20g carbs

• 1 scoop of carbo pro = 25g carbs

• 1 scoop of accelerade = 16g carbs

• 1 medium sized banana = 27g carbs
  

Once you have added up your carbohydrates, add up your potential caloric intake per hour. Take that total caloric intake per hour on the bike and subtract 30% to give you your estimated goal for caloric intake on the run.

Example: Ironman 70.3 athlete, Bernadette weighs 150 lbs and is taking 2.5 scoops of Carbo Pro in 1 bottle (24 oz) per hour on the bike. That will put her on the high end of the carbohydrates for her size. Each scoop of Carbo Pro = 100 calories. If she is on the bike for 3 hours, that's a total of 750 (1 scoop = 100 calories X 7.5 scoops = 750) calories she's taking in for the entire bike. 750 calories divided by 3 hours = 250 calories/hour.

So for the run, we have to subtract 30% from 250. 250 - 75 (30%) = 175 calories. Bernadette needs 175 calories on the run per hour in order to prevent her body from braking down and bonking.