If you're old enough, you may remember the Jackson Brown song, “Running on Empty” It’s a great song with a good tempo to help you keep running or biking out there on the road and if you want to take a listen to it, well, here is a link to when he performed it live for the “Rock n Roll Hall of Fame”  

Now, the reason I chose this lead into this blog, is that often enough, many of us take off on our exercise runs, walks, maybe cycling, with only a basic combination of carbs and a  small amount of protein for breakfast or possibly a snack in the afternoon before we set off. Now that’s fine for a regular stint of exercise that you do either every day or 2-3 times a week. After all, you know your body better than anyone, but sometimes we get either lazy or fall into a habit of thinking stocking up on less is better than over doing it before you begin your exercise outing. But various studies have shown that your body, while it usually has enough carbs and protein stored in the morning from a night of sleeping, or you had a good lunch in the afternoon and think you can “Pony-Up” to your after work training regimen, well think again, it’s still not enough to help you get through a better than average exercise event. You need to be on top of your game when it comes to eating right when you're putting your body through its paces.

One way you can keep track of how well it’s, your body is performing, is to have the right tools with you like an Activity Tracker. The Garmin Vivosport Sport & Activity Tracker comes with a wrist-based heart rate and GPS technology that allows you to either work out inside or use the built-in GPS to accurately track your activities outside. Along with the fitness monitoring tools such as VO2 max and fitness age estimates, the "All-Day" stress tracking helps you stay in touch with your body’s response to potential stressors. And with the VO2 max feature you can measure up against previous results to see just how well you’re performing, along with the Heart Rate monitoring function that is wrist based.

But again YOUR NUTRITION is probably one of the most important things to look after when you’re engaging in an active cardio lifestyle, like running, fast walking and cycling. It can be the make or break when it comes to not just surviving the miles but actually enjoying the paces you’re putting your body through and being able to train without fatigue.

Now for when you’re taking on your first race or long distance run or biking event, your food intake is very important to make sure your body has the right combination of fuel to help you to get to the end point of your endeavor. You don't want to put "Economy Gas" in your engine when you’re training at a "Nascar" event level, do you?

Morning fuel: Your breakfast will be one of the most important meals you consume and will ensure you are fully fuelled when you cross the start line, so make sure you are comfortable with it and it works for you.
On the go feeding: Fuelling while running/cycling is key, so get confident at consuming food and fluid whilst at a good pace. Here at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com, we have looked into this important aspect of energy replacing foods and recommend the GU Energy Stroopwafel The Stroopwafel is made with a layer of delicious syrup between two thin wafers, and it’s individually packaged to make it portable and easy to take on a ride or run. It can be used before and during training and competitions. The GU Energy Stroopwafel (Different Name, Great Product!) delivers all the nutrients needed to power your performance: quality carbohydrates, and electrolytes that provide immediate and long-lasting energy from complex and simple carbohydrates, along with essential amino acids, which can help prevent mental fatigue and repair muscle damage during long-duration activities.

Then there are also the GU Energy Chews  This Chewy snack packs energy-dense calories in a portable packet to help sustain energy demands of long duration activities. The 90-calorie packet contains carbohydrates to keep you fueled while delaying bonking by sparing your glycogen stores. Sodium, the primary electrolyte lost in sweat, aids in hydration by maintaining water balance.

Now that we have a few energy packed chewable for you to work your teeth on, we want to make sure we quench your thirst with the right combination of drinks that provide you with more thirst quenching relief than just plain water. Remember, in order to remain healthy our body needs to stay hydrated. But during our daily workouts and intensive sweat sessions, water alone cannot help. Though water will quench your thirst, it won’t boost your energy levels so that you can perform efficiently. The engineers at Nuun Energy have developed a product that can provide your body with the fluid it needs to not only stay hydrated but to also help replenish the electrolytes and other minerals and vitamins your body is consuming as you’re putting it through its paces. The Nuun Energy Sports Drink Tablets  It contains important natural ingredients like:
Sodium: which reduces acidity produced in the muscles during intensive workout sessions which in turn improves speed among racers and cyclists.

Potassium: Which is an electrolyte that conducts impulses in our body. Therefore, it is required by our cells, tissues , nd organs to function optimally. It is vital for healthy muscular and digestive functions of our body.

Magnesium: Which is one of the 6 macro-minerals that make up 99% of our body’s mineral content. It is crucial to enable healthy nerve function, build bones and produce energy from the food we eat. In the absence of magnesium, our body will not be able to synthesize energy from food, muscles won’t be able to contract or relax and production of key hormones that control vital body functions will be hindered.

Vitamin C: Water-soluble vitamin, that has numerous health benefits which should be taken with food or health supplements. It boosts our immune system, helps lower hypertension; maintains elasticity of skin and aids healing of wounds by facilitating the growth of connective tissue etc.

Vitamin B12: is required to keep our nerves and red blood cells healthy. It also helps in the efficient functioning of our critical body functions.

Vitamin B6: plays a key role in converting food into energy and also metabolizes fats and proteins. It helps in keeping hair, skin, liver and eyes healthy.

Niacin: helps to lower and control cholesterol levels. It also releases energy into the body cell’s and helps to stay active and energized.
So as you can see, if you’re serious about being active and want to push yourself from time to time to see if you can in fact “Go the Distance”. Then you need to make sure your fueling your body with the proper energy making foodstuffs to see that you in fact, can “Go the Distance”.

There should never be a reason for you to have your body “Running on Empty” again. Like any good engine, you get out of it what you put into it.

See you at the end of the course, from the active gang here at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com !!