Marathon Des Sables or MDS is the most sought after & toughest race/marathon on earth by most athletes & sports persons with a passion for running. The marathon consists of covering 251 kms in 7 days. Although due to the current Pandemic situation the marathon has been cancelled, the same is rescheduled for April 2021.
For all those athletes & sportspeople who are looking to prepare for this mammoth marathon, this blog is for you. It is important to understand how your genetic insights can help you personalise your fitness & nutrition plan. By getting a DNA test, you can personalise your training routine & nutrition plan to get optimum results. Let us dig into more details.
The first & foremost thing to be considered is the muscle fibre composition: Fast twitch & slow twitch. For those aspiring to be athletes, it is important to note that you should be genetically predisposed to endurance based training & therefore it is desirable to have more of a slow twitch & less of fast twitch muscle fibre. The ratio between endurance & power training plays an important role in determining your athletic efficiency. For instance having a ratio of 70:30 between endurance & power makes you genetically prepared for marathon & long distance running such as MDS. The second most important factor is related to carbohydrate sensitivity. Having a low carb sensitivity essentially means that you can consume more carbs without worrying too much about weight gain since you need a good source of nutrition & energy if you are competing in a marathon like MDS. However, if you have high genetic risk to carbohydrates, you need to moderate carbohydrate consumption & consider an optimum mix of carbohydrate & fat intake. Another aspect to look out for is risk of injury. This essentially means that while you clock up miles, you should add mobility & injury prevention exercises to your workout schedule. Besides, these factors, your genomics testing will provide your insights on :
- Saturated fat sensitivity
- Poly unsaturated fats level sensitivity
- Lactose intolerance
- Salt sensitivity
- Celiac disease predisposition
- Alcohol sensitivity
- Caffeine sensitivity
- Omega-3 requirements
- Vitamin B & Vitamin D requirements
- Antioxidant requirement
- Detoxification ability
All these insights will help you personalise your training & nutrition schedule aligned with your goal to build your physical endurance for a marathon.
A marathon is a distance based event that requires endurance based training & hence a domination of slow twitch muscle fibre in your overall muscle fibre composition is desirable. Three long, steady state cardio running sessions with varying distances – 21 kms, 18 kms & 15 kms is a good starting point to build endurance for marathon.The goal of this training is to improve aerobic capacity, increase on VO2 max level, i.e. the maximum amount of oxygen your blood can carry. If your VO2 max level is high/responsive, you can encash quick & sustainable gains in aerobic capacity.
MDS is mammoth since there are 6 marathons in the desert carrying a rucksack which itself is an extra load in an uneven footing. Therefore for those willing to participate in MDS in 2021, we would recommend a muscular endurance session aiming at 2 to 3 sets of 15 reps each at 55% – 65% 1 RM (repetition maximum) with focus on legs & core. A high repetition of shoulder exercises is also recommended since during such a huge marathon as it is important to maintain the right body posture. For those predisposed to endurance training, the number of repetitions has special importance. Endurance responders will become fit faster when they match their repetitions to their genetics. Three sets of 20 repetitions would be much more effective than six sets 5 to 6 repetitions each.
Your workout should be broken down into: strength, cardio & rebalance. Both strength & cardio could be classified into Metabolic Resistance Training (MRT) with changes in type of movements & recovery time available. You can have more efficient gains from cardio class consisting of more jumping exercises with a small interval of rest. If you have a high genetic risk of injury, you should include 2 to 3 rebalancing exercises or blend yoga, stretching & mobility workouts with specific goals such as strong glutes, core stability or general mobility. This will help you full range of motions in key joint areas related to running such as ankle, hips & knees.
If your genetics indicate a higher need of antioxidants to overcome oxidative stress then you should consume a lot of Omega-3s which are naturally anti-inflammatory. In the months & weeks leading up to the penultimate day of race, you should increase consumption of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, etc., that helps in removing toxins. These micronutrients are essential for recovery between workout sessions. If your training is hard & your sessions are really gruelling, you need at least 48 hours of recovery & other recovery aiding methods. Ice baths would be useful for recovery. Depending upon your carb sensitivity, you may follow a mediterranean diet, paleo or a ketosis.
During the training phase, we recommend limiting consumption of meat, chicken & fish cooked at high temperatures to once or twice a week due to rapid phase detoxification. The reason for this is when you workout, you build up more toxins than usual. Food prepared at high temperature has a greater number of toxins which when metabolised quickly accumulates in your body quickly making it difficult for your body to recover.
When training for endurance, no carbs should be consumed 2 to 3 hours pre workout. This helps in performance adaptation on a long term basis. If the endurance session exceeds 90 minutes, then for every 30 minutes in excess of 90 minutes, you should consume 15 grams of carb to replenish your glycogen stores. 30 minutes post workout you should consume 30 grams of carbs which may consist of :
- At least two fruit servings
- Two slices of 100% whole grain bread with avocado or nut butter.
- 1 cup of yogurt with handful of nuts
Discover your personal traits & learn about your specific genetic predisposition to endurance based training with our genetics based personalised fitness program. Whether you are a busy professional, homemaker or a sportsperson/athlete, by subscribing to our Transformation, Pro-Athlete, Get that X-factor or Get Toned personalised fitness programs, you will not only receive information about genetic response to various aspects of nutrition & fitness but also be coached by an international fitness coach who will cover both genetic powered nutrition & exercise aspects of the program. Sign up here.
