Good Learning Co.
SavannahYear 8
← PE
PESports science: how the body performs22 min★★ difficulty

Fuelling performance: nutrition, hydration and recovery

You cannot out-train poor fuelling. What you eat and drink decides whether the last ten minutes of a match feel the same as the first ten.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Health and fitness: Take part in competitive sports and activities outside school through community links or sports clubs, and lead healthy, active lives

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Take part in competitive sports and activities outside school through community links or sports clubs, and lead healthy, active lives

Key learning points

  • • The three energy nutrients
  • • Timing matters as much as content
  • • Hydration and the sweat problem
  • • Rest, sleep and lifelong activity

This lesson at a glance

  • 22 minutes
  • 16 parts to scroll through
  • 4 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

competitivesportsactivitiesoutsideschool

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 16 · Discover6%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 16

Watch first

Fuelling performance: nutrition, hydration and recovery

An English teaching video on this topic from TED-Ed. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Take part in competitive sports and activities outside school through community links or sports clubs, and lead healthy, active lives

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 16

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · The three energy nutrients

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 16

Learn

The three energy nutrients

Carbohydrate is the body's fastest fuel, stored as glycogen in muscle and liver and the main source in moderate to high intensity work. Fat provides slow, plentiful energy for long, low-intensity activity. Protein is mainly for growth and repair — vital after training — and only used for energy when other stores run low. Alongside these, vitamins, minerals (iron for oxygen transport, calcium for bone), fibre and water complete a balanced diet.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 16

Learn

Timing matters as much as content

A carbohydrate-based meal 2-3 hours before competition tops up glycogen without leaving food in the stomach. Endurance athletes may carbohydrate-load in the days before a long event. Afterwards, a mix of carbohydrate and protein within about an hour supports glycogen replacement and muscle repair. Heavy, fatty or very high-fibre meals just before exercise slow digestion and cause discomfort.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 16

Quick check

Which nutrient is the main fuel for high-intensity exercise?

6

Quick check

Part 6 of 16

Quick check

Losing 2% of body mass as fluid is likely to:

7

Reset break

Part 7 of 16

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 16

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Hydration and the sweat problem

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 16

Learn

Hydration and the sweat problem

Sweating cools the body but costs water and electrolytes. Losing even 2% of body mass in fluid measurably reduces endurance, concentration and reaction time; further loss brings headaches, cramp and heat exhaustion. Drink before, during and after activity. For sessions under an hour, water is enough; beyond that, a sports drink replaces both carbohydrate and electrolytes.

10

Explore the idea

Part 10 of 16

Learn

Rest, sleep and lifelong activity

Adaptation happens during recovery, not during the session, so rest days and 8-10 hours of sleep are part of training rather than a break from it. Beyond school, community clubs, park runs, swimming, cycling and walking keep activity going — the UK guideline for young people is an average of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a day across the week, with muscle- and bone-strengthening activity three days a week.

11

Quick check

Part 11 of 16

Quick check

The best recovery snack after a hard session combines:

12

Quick check

Part 12 of 16

Quick check

How much moderate to vigorous activity a day is recommended for young people?

13

Challenge round

Part 13 of 16

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

14

Challenge round

Part 14 of 16

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

For sessions under an hour, water is enough; beyond that, a ____ drink replaces both carbohydrate and electrolytes.

15

Mastery quiz

Part 15 of 16

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Fuelling performance: nutrition, hydration and recovery

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. Which nutrient is the main fuel for high-intensity exercise?

  2. 2. Losing 2% of body mass as fluid is likely to:

  3. 3. The best recovery snack after a hard session combines:

  4. 4. How much moderate to vigorous activity a day is recommended for young people?

16

Lesson round-up

Part 16 of 16

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Article

What a warm-up is actually for

A warm-up raises the heart rate, sends more blood to the working muscles and raises muscle temperature by a couple of degrees. Warm muscle stretches further before it tears, and messages between brain and muscle travel faster, so movement is more accurate.

A good warm-up has three parts: a few minutes of easy movement, mobility that takes joints through the range the sport needs, and short bursts at close to game speed.

Long, still stretching before explosive sport can slow the muscle down. Save that kind of stretching for the cool-down.

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Explain in your own words two things a warm-up does to the body.
  2. Design a ten-minute warm-up for one sport, with times for each part.
  3. Keep a training log for three sessions: what you did, how long, and how you felt after.

  • Training log

    Writing

    Write what you did, for how long, and how your body felt afterwards.

    Half a page

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 16 · Watch & discover

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    Take part in competitive sports and activities outside school through community links or sports clubs, and lead healthy, active lives

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