Djenyfer Arnold is one of Brazil's leading triathletes, and her debut at the Ironman 70.3 Brasília couldn't have been more remarkable: a victory in her very first participation in the distance. But beyond her physical and technical performance, what stands out is the care she took with her nutritional strategy, which sustained her performance throughout the nearly four hours of competition.
During the race, Djenyfer relied on supplementation that was 100% based on Z2 Performance products. For the cycling portion, she used two bottles of Neutral Power Powder —each containing a... Saltz stick — in addition to two 40g carbohydrate gels and an Iced Coffee flavored gel, one of his favorites. For the run, he opted for three gels: two with Original flavor and caffeine. and a flavor Pitaya is also among her favorites.
In total, his intake amounted to 378g of carbohydrates, 2,438mg of sodium, and 550mg of caffeine — which is equivalent to approximately:
➡️ 95g of carbohydrate/hour
➡️ 610mg of sodium/hour
➡️ 137mg of caffeine/hour
This high-intake strategy is only possible thanks to one essential factor: gut training . This practice consists of adapting the digestive system during training, simulating the consumption of carbohydrates, fluids, and electrolytes under the same conditions as competition. This helps the body absorb large volumes without causing gastrointestinal discomfort, such as nausea or abdominal pain—common problems in long-distance events.
Training your gut is just as important as training your legs. Introducing supplements into training, testing flavors, amounts, and formats (liquids, gels, capsules) allows you to understand what works for each athlete. In Djenyfer's case, gut training was crucial in ensuring that the entire planned strategy was well absorbed and converted into performance. A clear example that performance is built far beyond the clock.
