Daily nutrition is the substrate every session is built on. The position stands converge on surprisingly concrete numbers: protein in grams per kilogram, carbs matched to demand, micronutrients protected against the specific depletions endurance training causes.
Protein: the repair budget
Endurance athletes need more than the RDA — training breaks down muscle protein faster and rebuilds it with a higher ceiling. Strength-focused blocks sit at the top of the range (1.6–2.0 g/kg). A major, under-discussed finding: female athletes in hard training need the upper end, ~1.7–1.9 g/kg/day, higher than males — relevant for the female endurance athletes the method serves (Williamson 2023).
Distribution matters: ~0.3–0.4 g/kg every 3–4 hours, with leucine-rich sources, beats one giant dinner.
- Spread intake across 3–5 feedings rather than back-loading.
- For endurance, carbs scale with weekly volume; for strength, protein leads.
- Women: aim the higher end of the protein range in heavy training.
Carbs: match the demand
Carbohydrate needs track training volume, not body weight alone — a 6h/week amateur and a 20h/week pro live on different carbohydrate budgets. Daily intake should oscillate with the block: higher around long and hard sessions, lower on easy days. Chronic under-carbing is a classic cause of the 'tired but training' plateau.
Micronutrients: the endurance taxes
Heavy training specifically depletes iron (footstrike hemolysis, sweat, GI losses), vitamin D, and electrolytes lost in sweat. These are the gaps worth watching with a panel — and the reason the app flags them by name instead of recommending a blanket multivitamin.
How the app applies this
The daily check-in computes a personal protein target by sex, sport and phase — female athletes get a phase-adjusted figure that reflects Williamson 2023 rather than the generic male-default number.
Evidence
- › Thomas et al. 2016 — ACSM/AND/DC Joint Position Stand
- › Jäger et al. 2017 — ISSN protein position stand
- › Williamson et al. 2023 — Female athlete protein
- › Burke et al. 2001/2011 — Carb periodization