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One of the essential laws of thermodynamics that pertain to mountain athletes is this: energy is never really created and it’s never really destroyed. Instead, energy is transferred from one entity to another. In a nutshell, the energy in the food you eat is converted into a usable form for the mountains you climb, as well as for the baseline energy needs of your body. If you take a closer look at the macronutrients in food, you’ll see that they are made up of organic molecules, with many carbon-hydrogen bonds. When these bonds break, you get a burst of energy that is used to fuel the process by which ATP is formed from ADP (adenosine diphosphate) and P (phosphate).

ATP use is triggered by nerve communication as you are about to contract a muscle. Although it can come from new nutrients, most of the ATP in your body comes from stored nutrients, so the food you ate yesterday or the day before will be used for today’s energy needs. The exception is long endurance activities, such as multipitch trad climbing, backcountry skiing, and big wall climbing, which require a lot more energy, so during these activities foods you consume at that moment will also be used for energy, in addition to stored energy. Otherwise, during most activities—including short-duration exercise (such as bouldering and lifting)—the energy you need comes from long-term stored nutrients in the liver cells, the muscle cells, and the fat cells. For these reasons, if you want to perform well in the future, it is important to have optimal nutrition quality and good daily eating habits.