• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Fitness Fatale

Fitness Fatale

Conquering Fitness Goals One at a Time

  • About
    • Press
  • Blog
    • Archives
    • Workout Program Options
      • 21 Day Fix Resources
      • P90X Resources
    • PRs & Race Reports
    • Pregnancy
      • Twin Pregnancy
    • Recipes
  • Run the World Coaching Mentorship
  • Join My Next Virtual Bootcamp Group
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Fuelstrip – Science & Endurance Fueling Meet

image-22

Although I’ve been running for four years and doing triathlon for three, I still am not confident in my fueling strategy. It has been an ongoing experiment for me to figure out what my body needs to fuel itself for workouts and races. Trial and error has been my only method and I have been anything but consistent in tracking it.

Every run and race is under different conditions and our body reacts differently depending on many factors – temperature, humidity, altitude, your heart rate,  the amount of sleep you got the night before, what you ate for dinner or breakfast, how much caffeine you have in your system, if you had a drink or two (or more) the night before, how rested you are, and even for women, where you are in your cycle. One method of fueling one day may not work the next so it’s very hard to know what will work.

Lately, I have been training based on heart rate and a lot of my heart rate training is in Zone 2. When we are working in this zone, our body uses more fat for fuel compared to glycogen. When we work in higher zones, for example while doing a tempo run or during a race, we burn more glycogen and less fat. Our bodies have limited glycogen stores and when we dip too low, our energy levels can plummet and never return to normal (in a marathon this is hitting the wall). For endurance athletes, knowing when to fuel can be the difference in a PR or age group podium and a bad race. Unfortunately due to the aforementioned factors that can change how much fuel we need during each run, it’s hard to know how much we really need.

image-24

A product called Fuelstrip can help athletes take the guesswork out of fueling.  When your body begins to run out of glycogen and use muscle for fuel, your body produces metobolites. Fuelstrip has created a technology that can detect metobolites and therefore indicate how much glycogen you need to refill your stores. To read more about the science behind Fuelstrip, read here. 

The technology takes form in small strips that are easily stored in pockets, water bottle cases or bento boxes and can be used during activity to test your sweat. It is recommended that for hard efforts until 1 hour to test your sweat every 15 minutes and for efforts over 1 hour to test every 30 minutes. The strips contain a tiny square which when swiped on your sweat will change colors – orange for a full glycogen tank, yellow for 3/4 depleted, yellow for 1/2 tank and blue for 1/4 tank. Corresponding with these colors are suggestions on how many Fuelstrip chews or how much Fuelstrip carbohydrate sports drink to consume (30 calories each – 1, 2, 3 or 4 respectively).

I tried the Fuelstrips twice – first during my 2 hour long run last weekend and second this morning during my 90 minute trainer ride which was followed by a 60 minute aqua jog (thank you ankle sprain). One of my fueling concerns during my Zone 2 long runs is when to take fuel. I’ve notice that since I’m in the “fat burning zone” I definitely don’t need as much as I used to take (which was 1 Gu every 35-40 minutes). Fuelstrip confirmed this by indicating at 30, 60 and 90 minutes that I only needed 1 chew for a total of 90 calories for a 2 hour run. However, on a more intense run, I would likely have tested for higher caloric needs. Not all long runs are created equal.

Fueling on my run - Orange = 1 Chew
Fueling on my run – Orange = 1 Chew

This morning on the bike I first tested orange, meaning only 1 chew, but by the end of my 90 minute ride, I tested yellow, meaning I needed 2 chews now to sustain myself for my aqua jog. I took an extra chew knowing I wouldn’t be testing my sweat in the pool and had high energy throughout the workout. I’m really looking forward to using this on a harder effort run to see how my caloric intake increases with intensity. I’ll have to wait until the ankle heals for that one though unfortunately!

Bike Ride - Yellow = 2 Chews!
Bike Ride – Yellow = 2 Chews!

Fuelstrip has recognized a need by endurance athletes and has successfully met it. It takes the guesswork out of fueling and puts the power in our own hands. If you’re curious about Fuelstrip and want to give it a try, I’d recommend the starter pack at only $12.

Do you have a tried and true nutrition routine for training and racing? Would you try something like Fuelstrip? 

I was compensated for this post but all opinions and stories are truthful and my own. I would not write about a product I don’t believe in and never do. 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

January 13, 2014 By fitnessfatale 8 Comments

Filed Under: Running, Uncategorized Tagged With: fuel strip endurance product, fuelstrip running product, fuelstrip sweat test

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Abby @ Change of Pace

    January 13, 2014 at 5:39 pm

    Hmm- very interseting product. And kind of crazy how little fuel you need when not running hard.
    I never know if I’m fueling properly, and unfortunately never do the same thing or even remember what I did the previous time so have to totally go by fuel. So far, it’s worked ok for me, but I’m sure I could get better or at least scientific!
    How’s your ankle doing? How are you feeling about it all? Is it kind of nice to bike?

    Reply
    • FitnessFatale

      January 13, 2014 at 5:53 pm

      The ankle has made a lot of progress! The swelling is way down and the bruising (which appeared on day 3) is going away and there is little to no pain. However I’m not allowed to run on it until its been 2 days since the swelling, bruising or pain is gone … Hoping for a run next weekend but we will see. We haven’t talked about what will happen to Phoenix yet – bracing myself for the worst because I don’t want to race it if I’m not in the right shape for a BQ so we will see. I still got in nearly 8 hours of workouts last week but only 3 miles of running so I’m not sure how that will affect my fitness. Boo!

      Reply
  2. Leslie @ Triathlete Treats

    January 13, 2014 at 10:01 pm

    I have never heard of Fuelstrip. I would definitely be interested in trying it. Sounds like it is working for you and will be interesting to see when you start running again!! I feel like I used to not take in as much and that was a problem but now I take in more but maybe that is bad!! Fueling is harder than training! 🙂
    Hope your ankle is feeling better!!

    Reply
  3. Jesse - Questionably Texan

    January 14, 2014 at 11:35 am

    Had no idea such a product existed. Very interesting.

    I had some testing done on a New Leaf Metabolic system. It created a custom profile that I could upload to my Garmin. It shows me (almost) exactly how many calories I’m burning, including how many are fat calories. It’s been a very helpful tool for avoiding under/over fueling.

    Reply
    • FitnessFatale

      January 14, 2014 at 4:35 pm

      Wow that sounds awesome! My Garmin tells me calorie burn but I never assume its right. What a great tool!

      Reply
  4. Beth

    January 14, 2014 at 2:22 pm

    Does it help you stay in front of what you need? I mean, if it says you need two chews, how much does it know to process by the time you are behind in nutrition? Does that make any sense? lol

    Reply
    • FitnessFatale

      January 14, 2014 at 4:35 pm

      I think the goal is not to ever need 4 chews by keeping up with the testing so you don’t fall behind… But I’m not sure! I think it’s also good bc it keeps you thinking about it!

      Reply
  5. Maria Simone

    January 16, 2014 at 11:46 am

    Very interesting product! I’m intrigued…

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Building a Home Gym?

Free Gym Equipment Guide

Welcome to My Blog!

Nicole Dobransky

I’m Nicole. I’m a runner, mom to three girls (including twins!), and fitness lover who attempts to live a life of balance as a pizza, craft beer and coffee lover. I live and train near the ocean in San Diego and always keep it real here – there are lots of failures along with my successes in these pages, but what you’ll never see me do is give up!

I am a former accountant who started this blog from a place of absolute passion and love for health and fitness. I’ve now turned it into a way for me to reach and help more people as a health & fitness coach & it’s my mission to help as many women as possible achieve their own goals. I’ve brought hundreds of women into my community and helped them gain confidence and happiness through either my monthly accountability groups or by following their dreams as an online coach as well!

If you’d like to reach out to me for any reason, contact me at fitnessfataleblog at gmail dot com!

Let’s Get Stronger, Healthier & Faster Together!

I am a virtual health and fitness coach who specializes in working with runners and busy moms. While weight loss is a result of our programs, women in my groups often find that they have more energy, confidence and happiness after joining which is even better!!!

I help runners boost their run training and prevent injury with home strength training workouts and nutrition guidance.

Upcoming Accountability Groups:

March 1: 6 Week Run + Strength Race Training Group- Train for a virtual or in person 5K, 10K or Half Marathon with a professional running plan incorporating Beachbody workouts with a community of runners!!!

Ongoing: 9 Week Control Freak support group - start any Monday through Spring!

Team Run the World Beachbody Coach Business Mentorship: February 17th

Archives

  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011

Footer

Copyright © 2021 · Fitness Fatale