Marathon Training Diet Indian Menu ( Off Season Training Diet for Runners )

Fitness isn’t a seasonal hobby, it’s a lifestyle. Even during the off-season, runners never rest. Their training mellows down a bit and there is an addition to general fitness of the body.  It is beneficial to take a break from normal training, regardless of your sport. This gives your body rest and helps recover on a deep tissue level. Marathon Training Diet Indian Menu (Off-Season Training Diet for Runners )

Little or no training gives your mind a chance to re-energize. But it also causes you to lose fitness, shape, and injury changes accelerate. Hence it is best to practice the bare minimum and maintain your fitness by eating healthy.

Marathon training during the off-season

• Combinations of running and walks are good to ease your body into the exercise and minimize the chance of any running injury.
• Train on the treadmill to build stamina. It also helps to keep a track of time, speed, and distance.
• Try running out on road in different weathers to know your body’s capacity to run.

The best way to take an off-season break is by cross-training or participating in fun activities outside of your main sport.

Effects of Marathon Training during the Off-season

• Building Core

Hips, pelvis, and lower spine strength are crucial for performance and injury prevention in most sports. Lack of exercise fails to activate these muscles resulting in inefficient movements and injuries. Runners may experience knee injury if there is weakness and instability in the hip abductors and pelvis. Circuit strength training, pilates, and yoga enhance core strength.

• Improving Stamina

High aerobic capacity in the body gives high stamina. Aerobic capacity is to utilize oxygen at a high rate. Higher the oxygen-using capacity harder the muscle works. Marathon being a relatively long duration run, the runner should have a very high stamina level. Off-season marathon training mainly focuses on developing aerobic capacity. Swimming, cardio workouts, and cycling are a few sports that develop stamina.

• Developing Flexibility

Dynamic flexibility is required to relax non-working muscles like the glutes. So when you run hip flexor muscles can swing your leg forward. Squats, lunges, lower body stretch exercises, pilates, and yoga help in increasing flexibility.

• Train specific muscles

Cross training gives break from the main sport but it has to focus on the muscles involved in running. Thus train your glutes, hip flexors, lower back, and core along with lungs for stamina. It’s also best that you choose a sport-specific form of cardio exercise.

Marathon Training Progression for Beginners / Irregular Runners

At the beginning of your off-season cross-training period, your body does not adjust well to a new sport. So keep them simple. After the first week, each week intensify your cross-training workouts.

Increase the number of repetitions of each exercise and/or increase the number of exercises you do in your core workout. In aerobic cross-training workouts, progression is achieved by increasing the duration or intensity of the workouts.

Relaxing your runs and focusing on different activities will give you a good mental and physical break too. However, the major challenge with off-season workout reduction is weight gain and being out of shape. Follow the regular diet tips that you follow during the training sessions but with a few modifications. The nutrition tips and modifications to keep fit and maintain internal stamina throughout the year are mentioned below. Marathon Training Diet Indian Menu (Off-Season Training Diet for Runners ).

Marathon Training Diet Indian Menu (Off-Season Training Diet for Runners )

Before we see the Marathon Training Diet Plan with the Indian menu, and Off-Season Training Diet Chart, Here are a few pointers that you must always follow during your running off-season.

• Keep Weight Gain at the Bay

There is an overall reduction in energy expenditure because of cutting down training time. Cut down on the unwanted extra snack bars, sports drinks, sugar candies, fruit juices, and recovery snacks that were a part of your training diet. This is difficult initially but later becomes easier as you begin to recognize your body’s hunger cues.

• Weight Loss

The offseason is a good time to target weight loss if necessary. Losing weight during training hampers performance and health. There is no ideal body shape or size for the runner. The thing that matters is the ability to run, the stamina, and the strength to survive till the end of the race.

Consume at least 1 gm/ kg body weight of proteins. Concentrate more on complex carbohydrates like whole grain cereals, salads, veggies, millets, and fiber-rich products. Weight loss of not more than 1 – 2 kg per month is advised. This will correct the body fat and muscle composition in the body. Daily reduction of 250 to 500 calories below recommendation and minimal training will lead to weight loss.

• Atkins diet plan for weight loss 
• High protein diet plan for weight loss
• Mediterranean diet plan for weight loss 
• Low-carb diet plan for weight loss

Strength training can lead to a positive weight gain in the lower body which is required for running. Athletes will perform their best when they reach and maintain their optimal body composition. Work to achieve a healthy, maintainable body weight that makes you feel your best and you will perform your best.

• Mindful Eating

Whether you want to lose or gain weight during the offseason, you should carefully select what goes on your plate. This is the time you can experiment with different foods that your body can accept. Try different diets and settle on one pattern that will help you during marathon runs. Adding new foods to your diet can stimulate your palette while also introducing beneficial nutrients that may have been lacking in your training diet. Discuss with your registered sports dietician about the best diet that will suit you.

• Focus on food composition

Eat more foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, like colorful fruits and vegetables. These help boost stamina, reduce fats, and boosts immunity. Avoids high fatty, fried, creamy, and cheesy foods to reduce body fat. Increase dals, pulses, milk and products, lean meat, and eggs to promote muscle strength.

• Recognize hunger cues

During the season you tend to eat without thinking or even without hunger pangs just to provide energy for training. In the off-season, try to listen to your body when it says it’s hungry and when it says it’s full. Intuitive eating plays a huge role in healthy weight loss and maintenance.

End note:

A perfect balance of training, rest, and diet will prepare you to run a marathon. Respect the training, honor the commitment, and cherish the results. It will hurt, take time, and requires dedication and willpower. There will be temptations, but when you reach the ultimate health goal, it’s all worth it. Hope this Marathon Training Diet Indian Menu (Off-Season Training Diet for Runners ) helps you in meeting your goals. Please check our article on half and full-marathon running training programs for intermediate-level runners.