There is no scientific evidence showing that moderate caffeine consumption (< 5 mg/kg of body weight) during exercise has a negative impact on hydration levels, or that it causes dehydration at all.

Taken in the correct dosage, caffeine can improve endurance performance during longer events if consumed in the 60 minutes leading up to the event, as well as when consumed during the activity itself. Especially at the halfway point of a longer endurance session the consumption of caffeine can delay the typical feelings of tiredness and as a result improve performance.

It’s important to mainly reduce calorie and carbohydrate intake in periods where you aren’t competing to avoid a drop in performance and slowed recovery. Weight-loss strategies can also lead to an increased risk of illness and injury, and therefore should be planned carefully, in advance, and on an individual basis.

In the 3-4 hours leading up to the planned activity it is generally recommended to drink approx. 5-7 ml of fluid per kilo of body weight. In the final hour before a race, you should ideally consume approximately 200-300ml. Individual taste and preference should dictate what you should drink (e.g. sports drinks, sweet tea, or plain water), as long as you can tolerate it well. Some endurance athletes like to use caffeinated beverages, which may help improve physical performance. Amongst endurance athletes caffeine has long been considered as a real “mental booster”. Bear in mind that this is only really suitable if you are habituated to caffeine and tolerate it well.

CarboLoading is a tried-and-tested method designed to maximize the glycogen stores in your muscles; or fuelling your energy reserves if you like. The recommended strategies have evolved a lot in recent years. The methods recommended nowadays are much simpler: in the last 3 days leading up to a competition, you should follow a high-carb, low-fibre, low-fat diet while also tapering your training. In this so-called CarboLoading phase, the most suitable nutrition consists of carbohydrate-rich foods such as pasta, rice, mashed potato, dried fruit and fruit smoothies. Some simple advice for mealtimes includes: fill your plate with two additional helpings of rice, potato or pasta than you would normally eat, choose a banana instead of low-calorie soft fruit (such as berries) for dessert, and for a snack between meals an energy bar or a few raisins are good options. It's important to understand that effective CarboLoading leads to increased fluid retention (carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in combination with water in the muscle), which increases your body weight. As a result you’ll notice that you're slightly heavier than usual. It's therefore important to test this sport nutrition strategy before a long and intensive training session. But rest assured that CarboLoading can definitely lead to improvements during long endurance activity.

That's a very individual decision, but you should definitely try how many you might need during training in the months leading up to the event. As a rule of thumb though, depending on each person's tolerance, a carbohydrate intake of up to approx. 60g per hour (e.g. 1 Powergel every 30 minutes) is a sensible amount for a marathon. And remember it is also important not to neglect your fluid strategy.

The badly planned diet of an omnivore is no more balanced than that of a badly planned vegetarian diet. A well-planned lacto-ovo vegetarian or vegan diet has been found to be sufficient for the nutrient needs of an athlete. When planning a vegan diet, careful consideration must be given to include vitamin B12, iron and zinc. Many vegan and vegetarians have been found to have lower creatine stores than their meat-eating counterparts, which could reduce the ability for repeated sprints. In this case it might be beneficial to consider taking a creatine supplement to replenish the intramuscular creatine stores.

A common mistake during activity, alongside a sub-optimal fluid strategy, is either the wrong timing or the wrong amount of carbohydrate ingestion, which varies greatly depending on the main goal of training or duration of competition. One of the main determinant of successful endurance performance at the highest level is a continuous ingestion of carbohydrates, and the right amount and timing should be individually pre-determined during training leading up to the event. However, depending on the main training goal, for specific training adaptions, or for short-duration bouts of exercise, it might not always be necessary to consume any carbohydrates at all.

Every athlete needs a healthy and varied diet tailored to their individual requirements. Factors like managing your weight effectively, i.e. optimising the ratio of muscle mass and body fat and training scheduling have a strong influence on your daily energy requirements. This will also influence the ratio of the macronutrients - fat, carbohydrates and protein - in your diet.

Good foods to choose in the final hour before a race include small carbohydrate-based snacks such as energy bars (e.g. ENERGIZE or NATURAL ENERGY CEREAL bars) or a ripe banana, which would be ideal in combination with small amounts of fluid. If the nerves are getting to you, it's advisable to stick to liquid carbohydrate sources (e.g. gels dissolved in water) rather than solid foods.

You should recreate racing conditions during training, so you learn WHAT and WHEN to drink/eat during a race. This will allow you to avoid being confronted with any unpleasant surprises or negative symptoms due to low blood-sugar levels. It is beneficial to eat sufficient amount of carbohydrates in the last days prior to a competition (pasta, bread, dried fruits, etc.) to ensure you have well-filled glycogen stores in your body's muscles. In addition, the best preparation involves eating the correct types and amount of food in the last few hours leading up to a race.

Depending on the product, the best before dates can be found on the back of the packaging or base of tins. The best before information relates to the date by which the product can be consumed (if stored correctly and per instructions) without any potential changes in flavour, quality, etc. As this is a best before, and not an use by date, it is possible to consume the product even after the date has passed. However, we, the manufacturers of the product, cannot guarantee the quality of the product after this date if you choose to still consume it. When the date is passed, it doesn't mean that the product will be harmful, but it might begin to lose its flavour, texture or can diminish its effectiveness. To ensure that you get the maximum from our powder-based products, such as CREATINE, PROTEINPLUS 80%, PROTEINPLUS 92%, RECOVERY, MUSCLE UP, ALL IN ONE, ISOACTIVE and ISOMAX Isotonic Sports Drink Powder, we recommend that once opened products are firmly re-capped and stored in an enclosed, dry place away from all heat sources.

Individual tastes and preferences, duration, and intensity of activity should dictate the form of the chosen carbohydrate product. Those with a sensitive stomach or those who tend to get affected by nerves should opt for sports drinks and gels, and maybe not use solid foods. The same goes for very high intensity activities. For longer duration endurance events it is sensible to allow for a bit of change in the types of food you eat to alleviate monotony, so maybe try a combination of liquid and solid foods.