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How To Eat Your Way To Peak Athletic Performance
Many times I've been asked about sports nutrition on what should an athlete eat so as to be able to perform at peak performance during training and events.
Many times I’ve been asked about sports nutrition on what should an athlete eat so as to be able to perform at peak performance during training and events.
An athlete’s body is subjected to enormous amount of strain during workouts. Also a great amount of energy is required and consumed during these periods. In order to perform well, the muscles must be strong enough and has enough energy to sustain the vigorous activities required during workouts.
For the past many years, a lot of arguments have surfaced regarding what is the optimal diet for the athletes that will enable them to perform at their best potentials. All over the world, dietitians have different opinions on the best food plan for their athletes. There’s no sign of these arguments stopping soon. In fact, we can expect them to continue on for the coming years ahead.
Despite the various arguments, many people agree that optimal nutrition can enhance performance levels and recovery in intense physical activities. They do agree that the intake of appropriate food and fluids at the right time and the use of appropriate supplements are vital to having optimal health and performance for these athletes.
During high physical activities, the body needs a great amount of energy. The main source of energy comes from carbohydrates. Stored as glycogen in the muscles, they provide the body with the fuel for intense short burst of energy. The more intense the activities and the longer the duration of such activities, the more glycogen is used up. When glycogen is depleted, you’ll have no more energy left and will need to stop exercising. Therefore, you’ll need to consume a sufficient amount of carbohydrates in order to maintain enough glycogen in your body. Experts recommend to consume 3.6g of carbohydrates daily for every pound you weigh. So, consume 504g of carbohydrates each day if you’re weighing 140lbs.
In order to build strong muscles, you’ll need protein because it is the basic building block for muscle tissues. Plenty of protein is required by athletes, especially those on strength training, to build those muscles. Experts recommended a daily dosage of 0.6 to 0.8 grams for each pound of body weight for serious strength athletes.
Besides carbohydrates and protein, fat is also an essential nutrient. Fat provides fatty acids and fat soluble vitamins to the body. Moreover, a moderate amount of energy is also provided by fat. But it is not healthy to consume too much of it. Unsaturated fat should provide only 20% to 25% of your total calories requirement for each day.
It is important for athletes to be well hydrated. Additional to the normal daily requirement of consuming 8 glasses of water, they should also have fluid intake before, during and after exercises and races to compensate for the fluid loss during these periods. Two hours before any workouts, you should drink 2 cups of fluid. Every 15 to 20 minutes during the workouts, you should drink 4 to 8 ounces of fluid to keep hydrated. Drink 16 ounces of fluid after the fluid to replenish fluid lost. To be more precise, you can weigh yourself before and after workouts. Drink 16 ounces of fluid for every pound lost during these workouts.
When your workouts are prolonged, lasting more than 1 hour, energy bars and sports drinks can help you to keep energized. Besides providing energy, you’ll also get to be hydrated by sports drinks. After workouts, it’s important to eat some protein and carbohydrates to help repair and rebuild your muscle tissues and to refill your glycogen stores.
Creatine may be consumed to give slightly more power to the muscles during workouts. Of course, this has to be combined with a good diet and a good strength training program in order to realize the benefits. Meat is a good source for creatine. You can also get this nutrient from supplements. To speed up muscle gain, you can load creatine into your muscles with a dosage of 5 grams of creatine monohydrate 4 times a day for 5 days. Thereafter, consume 2 grams a day for maintenance.
I’ve just shown you some great sports nutrition tips. Keep them in mind and use them for your personal success.