What to eat during exercise: the guide for 60–90 minutes of exertion

What to eat during 60 to 90 minutes of exercise is a direct question with a direct answer: from 60 minutes of moderate to high intensity exercise, your body needs external carbohydrates. Without fuel, your performance will drop. With the right carbohydrates, at the right time, you will cycle, run, or swim stronger to the finish. In the complete guide to energy bars for cycling you will find the full fueling framework. Here I focus specifically on the 60 to 90 minute window: when to start, how much to take, and how a fruit performance bar fits into that strategy.

Why does your body need fuel after 60 minutes of exercise?

Your muscles run on glycogen: stored carbohydrates in your muscles and liver. That supply is limited. During moderate to high intensity exercise, your body burns 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrates per hour. The average athlete has a reserve of 400 to 500 grams, but a large part of that is not directly available during exercise.

After 60 minutes, that reserve begins to noticeably deplete. Pace drops. Concentration deteriorates. What many athletes experience as "hitting the wall" is actually glycogen depletion. Not weakness. Physiology. And physiology is solvable.

The solution is simple: replenish while you move. Not before, not after. During exercise.

How many carbohydrates do you need during 60 to 90 minutes of exercise?

For exercise up to 75 minutes, 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour is sufficient. If your workout lasts 75 to 90 minutes, that need increases to 60 grams per hour at high intensity. These carbs ideally come from a combination: sports drink (6–8%, 500ml per hour = ±30g carbs) as a liquid source, supplemented with solid fuel.

My 25-gram fruit performance bar provides 20 grams of carbohydrates. This makes the calculation concrete: for an hour of exercise, you take one bar halfway through, in addition to your drink. For 90 minutes, you take one at 30 minutes and one at 60 minutes. No guesswork. No fuss.

The carbohydrates in the bar are composed of a 2:1 glucose/fructose ratio. That's not a detail. That's the foundation of modern sports nutrition science. How solid and liquid fuel relate is explained in a separate blog.

What is the difference between glucose and fructose during exercise?

Your gut has two separate transport channels for carbohydrates: one for glucose, one for fructose. Each channel has a maximum throughput capacity. The glucose channel processes a maximum of 60 grams per hour. After that, it is saturated. Extra glucose will not enter your blood faster, but will end up in your intestines and cause stomach problems.

By combining glucose with fructose in a 2:1 ratio, you use both channels simultaneously. Result: up to 90 grams of carbohydrates per hour available instead of 60 grams, without additional intestinal burden. That's 50 percent more fuel via the same route.

My fruit performance bar is specifically built on this principle: 2 parts glucose to 1 part fructose, consistent with what peer-reviewed research shows to be the most efficient ratio during exercise. Why this also supports the clean-label argument is explained here.

When is a gel better than a fruit performance bar?

A gel is liquid, fast, and delivers 20 to 30 grams of carbohydrates in one go. This has advantages at ultra-high intensity, when chewing literally costs too much energy. But gels also have disadvantages: synthetic taste, stickiness, and many contain colorings or artificial flavorings.

My fruit performance bar is not a gel and not a brick. It is functional, solid fuel: easy to chew, easy to dose, without artificials. For exercise of 60 to 90 minutes at an intensity where you can still breathe and chew normally, the bar is the better choice: an endurance training in Zone 2 or Zone 3 (60–80% of your maximum heart rate), a race of 60 to 75 minutes, an MTB ride with regular descending sections.

At maximum exertion, such as time trialling at full power or the decisive climb in a race, consider the Eagle Boost fruit performance bar with 50mg of caffeine, or switch to liquid carbohydrates. The science behind caffeine in sport can be found here.

Eagle Boost contains caffeine. Not recommended for children, pregnant women, or caffeine-sensitive individuals.

Is nutrition necessary for every sport of 60 minutes, or does it depend on intensity?

Intensity dictates everything. At low intensity, such as walking, leisurely cycling, or a recovery run, your body burns relatively more fats and fewer carbohydrates. External supplementation is then less urgent.

At moderate to high intensity, such as cycling in Zone 3 or higher (80%+ of maximum heart rate), running above 65 percent of your maximum heart rate, or triathlon, glycogen consumption is high enough that at 60 minutes you already make a measurable performance difference with or without fuel.

The rule of thumb: if your heart rate reaches more than 65 percent of your maximum and your training lasts 60 minutes or longer, plan for nutrition. Not as an option. As a strategy.

How do you plan nutrition during a 60 to 90 minute workout?

Timing is concretely applicable. Below is the schedule for the most common scenarios, always in combination with a sports drink:

Duration of effort	Intensity	Fueling advice
Up to 60 minutes	Low (Zone 1–2)	No external carbs needed. Water suffices.
60 minutes	Moderate–High (Zone 3+)	Sports drink + 1 Eagle bar at 30 min
75 minutes	Moderate–High	Sports drink + 1 Eagle bar at 30 min
90 minutes	Moderate–High	Sports drink + 1 Eagle bar at 30 min + 1 at 60 min
90+ minutes	High–Maximum	Sports drink + 1–2 bars/hour → see longer rides guide

Don't start too late. A classic mistake is waiting until you are hungry. Hunger during exercise is a lagging signal. Your glycogen is already dropping. Plan your first bar at 30 to 45 minutes, regardless of how you feel.

What if you're not hungry during exercise?

Yes. Feeling hungry during exercise is an unreliable indicator. Your body actively suppresses hunger signals during intense exertion. This is a physiological defense mechanism. You won't feel hungry while your glycogen reserves are depleting. Only when the decline is critical does fatigue set in. By then, it's too late to compensate quickly.

Fueling during exercise is not a matter of feeling. It's a strategy based on physiology. Those who ride or run by feel always fuel too late.

My fruit performance bar is developed as fuel during exercise. Not afterward, not as a recovery product. This focus is deliberate. A 25-gram bar provides 20 grams of carbohydrates in a format you take on the go, not at the table. Why fruit as a carb source works better than candy or cookies is explained here.

What makes my fruit performance bar suitable for cycling, running, and triathlon?

My fruit performance bar is designed for athletes who are moving and eating at the same time. This places specific demands: compact size, no stickiness, no artificial aftertaste, easy to open with one hand.

For cyclists, the bar fits in a back pocket and is easy to consume on the saddle. For runners, it fits in a race vest or hip belt: 25 grams, no fuss. For triathletes, the high carbohydrate density of 80 grams per 100 grams is an advantage: maximum fuel in minimal volume, ideal for the bike section.

All variants are vegan, gluten-free, and lactose-free. Relevant for athletes with food intolerances or a plant-based diet. No compromises in composition. No artificials that upset your stomach when every step or revolution counts.

No gel. No brick. Fuel.

Nutrition during exercise is not a luxury for endurance athletes. It is a basic principle for anyone who moves for more than an hour at intensity. Clean, functional, without artificials. That's what you need during exercise. No more, no less. For longer durations: see the complete guide.

Fuel your flight.

 

 

Choose your fuel