Nutrition
Here are some important facts and tips about nutrition that soccer players need to be aware of in order to enhance performance.
1. Depending on your position and the type of match you’re involved in, your average heart rate for 90 minutes can be as high as 80-90 percent of your maximum.
2. The average distance you cover can be about 10km (6.2 miles), with an all out sprint every 90 seconds. The average calories burned will be in the 1600-1800 range, and most likely all of those calories burned will come from stored glycogen. The body makes that glycogen primarily from the carbohydrates you eat.
3. The glycogen you use during a match is stored mainly in muscle, and some in the liver. Typically, you will use all the glycogen stored by the end of a match.
4. If you train properly and take in carbs optimally, you can influence your muscles to store more glycogen, therefore pushing the limits of when you’ll run low or run out of energy (hit the wall).
5. Muscle biopsy studies in soccer players have shown that less well trained athletes run out of muscle glycogen well before a typical match is over. Well-trained athletes, on the other hand will either run out very close to the end or not at all. Not only are you better off by training and eating in ways that induce your muscles to store more glycogen, if you take in readily usable crabs (sports drinks) just before a match and during halftime, your body will burn that material right away, thus putting off until later the burning of your muscle glycogen.
