Training the gut

Explore our lecture series on “Training the Gut” with Professor Asker Jeukendrup. Across three lectures, Asker explains why gut training may be important for athletes, covering gastrointestinal problems, the regulation of gut function, and carbohydrate absorption limits during exercise. The series also discusses evidence that the gut is adaptable, and practical strategies to improve tolerance, reduce symptoms, and support more effective race-day.

What we will cover:
Which athletes should consider training the gut?

   What does training the gut refer to?
   What are the benefits of training the gut for athletic performance?
   What are the best approaches to improve gut tolerance?
   How can athletes incorporate gut training into their weekly training schedule?

Gastrointestinal problems are still remarkably common in endurance sport and they rarely have a single cause. The stress of hard exercise redirects blood flow away from the gut and suppresses its function; heat and dehydration add to the load; the volume of fluid and food can tip things over; and even the mechanical jolting of running plays a part. Carbohydrate intake is one factor among many, and some GI distress is largely independent of it. The result, whatever the trigger, is nausea, bloating, cramping, compromised fuelling, and races that unravel.

Training the gut is one of the most effective tools we have. It improves tolerance to fluid and food, reduces GI distress, speeds gastric emptying, and improves absorption so athletes can deliver more energy and fluid to the muscle without discomfort. With elite carbohydrate targets now climbing toward 120 g per hour and beyond, that ability matters more than ever. This lecture builds the full picture, from why GI problems occur through to the protocols that reduce symptoms and improve delivery when it counts most.

Part 01: Why train the gut.
Why GI distress happens —  the multifactorial picture of exercise stress, gut blood flow, heat, dehydration, and fluid and food volume — and the payoff of a trained gut: better tolerance, less discomfort, faster gastric emptying and absorption, and improved delivery of fuel and fluid in the challenging conditions where demands are highest.

Part 02: What's actually trainable.
The science of gut adaptation. How carbohydrate transporters, gastric emptying, and the gut's own sensing of food respond to repeated exposure, what the evidence supports, and what it doesn't.

Part 03: From evidence to practice.
The human studies, and how they become strategy. Individually tailored gut-training protocols, intake volume, composition, texture, and timing. Plus real-world lessons from working with world-class triathletes and World Tour cycling teams.

Professor Asker Jeukendrup

Asker Jeukendrup has spent more than thirty years working at the forefront of carbohydrate metabolism research and as an applied practitioner in professional cycling, soccer, Ironman triathlon, marathon, and ultra-running at the highest level. Much of the research underpinning current fuelling guidelines has come directly from his lab and his collaborators. The underlying physiology, however, is not elite-specific. The same evidence base informs fuelling decisions for trained age-group athletes, team-sport players, and recreational endurance athletes. Targets scale with workload and tolerance; the principles do not change.

Asker spent most of his career as a professor at the University of Birmingham (UK) as Head of The Human Performance Laboratory. Currently he is a (visiting) professor at Loughborough University. He has authored 9 books and over 250 research papers and book chapters. During his career Asker has worked at the forefront of research as well as directly with athletes, including Olympic and World champions, Tour de France cyclists and Champions league football teams.

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Training the Gut

What to expect

What you'll learn

Who it's for

Professor Asker Jeukendrup