High-Performance Nutrition for Athletes – Part One
24.05.2024
“To fail to plan is to plan to fail.”
The success of an athlete largely depends on what the body is able to do.How to help the body function at a higher level and improve abilities to run faster, jump higher, have more power, explosiveness and strength, all while protecting against common injuries?Nutrition plays a key role in helping the body function at its highest possible level.
Unlike training, which can take weeks, months, and even years to achieve the effect of body adaptation that results in improved performance; nutrition can immediately improve the body’s ability to move and function.For this reason, what you do nutritionally on a daily basis can really mean the difference between success or failure; between creating a team or not; between injury or not.In athletes, radical changes in body composition and performance can occur by following small daily steps.Proper nutrition strategies will not only help you become a better athlete, but also improve your health, mental focus, energy levels, and recovery time.The best part is that you can start making changes right away.
Follow the recommendations, tips and recipes and I guarantee you will see a significant improvement in the way you train, feel and recover.
My approach to your diet is simple – feed and nurture yourself! My goal is to help and educate you on how to provide your body with the correct fuel that will maximize the effects of your training and contribute to faster recovery.As you can see from the 7 habits below, we will focus on a protein-based diet with plenty of vegetables and fruits along with adequate consumption of complex carbohydrates and healthy fats.My goal is to help you develop healthy, consistent eating habits that are quick and easy to implement. Nutrition should be the main priority for you as an athlete if you aim for good results on the sports field.
Nutrition is the way we obtain energy so that our body can carry out all its tasks and functions.The food we choose and put into our body can have a dramatic impact on the results on and off the field.In fact, every meal is an opportunity to improve our body, abilities and performance, or to make them worse.There is no in between.Since you are already training a lot and hard to achieve a certain goal, you should start focusing on choosing foods that will optimize the effects of your training.
Why put in so much effort in the gym and on the field to throw it all away because of bad eating habits?
Below are the 7 Must-Have High Performance Eating Habits – BASE, BUILD, IMMUNITY, FUEL, GROWTH, REPAIR, SUPERCOMPENSATION.
1. FOUNDATION – DAILY HYDRATION
Hydration is the basis of high performance nutrition for athletes. Athletes should consume a minimum of 2 L of water every day in addition to hydration for training. This will ensure that hydration is not a limiting factor in your training and results. Water will help your body recover and maintain its ability to continue to perform at a high level. Dehydration slows down recovery and reduces the effects of good training.
Daily hydration schedule:
| 2 l of water per day: 500 ml in the morning, 500 ml before noon, 500 ml for lunch, 500 ml before bed |
| 2 l of hydration for training: 500 ml 1 hour before training, 1000 ml during training, 500 ml after training |
| Additionally: 1 cup of green tea per day |
2. BUILDING – PROTEIN IN EVERY MEAL
As athletes are very active and have regular resistance training, proteins are extremely important for good nutrition.If you want to be stronger, faster, leaner and a better athlete, then you need to consume a sufficient amount of protein.Although the amount of protein depends on your body size and your goals, as a rule, more protein will allow for better muscle growth, improved recovery and higher energy levels – all of which are important for athletic performance on the field.
As a general rule of thumb, I recommend that 30-35% of total caloric intake come directly from protein-based sources.This can be achieved by consuming a total of 2-2.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.
Table 1. Protein sources recommended for high performance nutrition
| · Whole Eggs · Chicken · Turkey · Veal · Lamb · Beef · Salmon · Trout · Tuna · Seafood | · Quinoa · Legumes (beans, peas, lentils, green beans) · Nuts – almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts · Seeds – chia, flax, sunflower, pumpkin · Almond and peanut butter · Tahini paste | · Greek yogurt · Cheese · Milk · Supplements with whey protein · Supplements with BCAA |
3. IMMUNITY – 3 PORTIONS OF VEGETABLES, 2 PORTIONS OF FRUIT DAILY
Vegetables and fruits have a high NUTRIENT DENSITY which is a vital concept for maximizing the results of your training.Vegetables and fruits provide your body with the necessary vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to restore immunity after training.These vitamins, minerals and antioxidants will help you maximize your protein consumption as they play a vital role in repairing and building muscle cells.A high protein diet without vegetables and fruits will not produce the same increase in muscle mass.
Try different methods of preparing vegetables, including grilling or steaming; add different spices to improve the taste.
Table 2. Types of vegetables recommended for high performance nutrition
| · Spinach · Kale · Swiss chard · Broccoli · Zucchini | · Cauliflower · Carrot · Mushrooms · Beets · Radish | · Celery · Tomato · Pepper · Cucumber · Onion |
Table 3. Fruit types recommended for high performance nutrition
| · Strawberries · Raspberries · Blueberries · Blackberries · Pear · Apple · Cherries | · Tangerines · Bananas · Pineapple · Peach · Grapefruit · Oranges · Cherries | · Watermelon · Melon · Grapes · Avocado · Apricots · Grapes · Figs |
4. FUEL – COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY AND AFTER TRAINING
Carbohydrates give you energy and are a great source of fuel for your body when consumed correctly.A key concept of carbohydrate intake is that not all carbohydrates are created equal.This is a concept that athletes need to understand, especially if they want to reduce body fat.There are 3 types of carbohydrates in order of complexity: monosaccharides, disaccharides, and oligosaccharides.Complex carbohydrates (oligosaccharides) are carbohydrates that are digested more slowly, and glucose or sugar is released into the blood more slowly.The simpler the carbohydrates (monosaccharides), the faster they are digested and the faster glucose or sugar is released into the blood.When a large amount of sugar is released into the bloodstream in a short period of time, our body recognizes this as excess energy.If at that moment the need for this energy is not increased (e.g. training) then our body will store energy primarily in fat cells.This is why fiber-rich foods are important because they slow down the release of glucose into the bloodstream, allowing the food we eat to be gradually used for energy.
The goal is to properly consume carbohydrates that help build muscle, improve performance and aid in recovery.Carbohydrate intake recommendations for athletes are:
- 35%-40% of daily caloric intake should be healthy sources of carbohydrates.
- Complex carbohydrates in the morning and after training to maximize the synthesis of muscle fibers.
- Vegetables for everyone.
- 2 servings of fruit per day.
As a general rule, unless you have just completed an intense workout, you should choose complex/fibrous carbohydrates.If you want to reduce body fat, you should only eat fruits/vegetables with an emphasis on vegetables over fruit, unless you have just done an intense workout.For those looking to gain weight, eat fruits and vegetables with every meal and focus on starchy carbohydrates in the morning and after training and possibly a small amount before bed.This will help ensure the best muscle mass gains while minimizing excess body fat, which will only serve to slow you down and decrease your performance.
Table 4. High performance carbohydrate sources
| Complex carbohydrates |
| · Quinoa· Sweet potato (sweet potato)· Integral rice· Regular potato· Legumes· Integral pasta· Integral flour bread· Integral flour tortillas· Oat bran· Fruits and vegetables (Table 2 and 3) |
Simple carbohydrates to avoid at all costs: Juices (fruit, soda), sweets and cakes, chocolate treats, pastries, ice cream, sauces (ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc.).
5. GROWTH – 4 SOURCES OF HEALTHY FATS EVERY DAY
Fat is the biggest secret to athletic performance that is often overlooked by many individuals.Fats have a number of important functions:
- They provide a source of energy
- They produce and balance hormones, including testosterone, to help build muscle and strength levels
- They help the absorption and transport of fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, K)
- They provide essential fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic acid)
- They are part of cell membranes for efficient intercellular communication
- They slow down the digestive process in order to properly absorb nutrients
- They improve recovery after training
In nutrition for athletes, I recommend:
- 30% of total caloric intake in the form of fat
- 3 to 6 grams of Omega-3 fish oil daily
- 4 servings of healthy fats every day (2-3 servings plus a daily dose of omega-3 fish oil)
Recommended fat sources are listed below. You will notice that there are foods that overlap with the recommended sources of protein, as these foods are often high in protein and fat, making them nutrient-dense foods.
Table 5. Healthy sources of fat for high performance nutrition
| · Omega-3 fish oil· Avocado· Flaxseed/oil· Olive oil· Coconut oil· Coconut flakes· Coconut milk· Sunflower seeds· Chia seeds | · Nuts – almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, pistachios· Butters from nuts (almonds, pistachios, peanut butter) · Almond milk · Cottage cheese · Goat cheese · Grain cheese | · Salmon · Lamb · Eggs · Beef · Veal |
6. RECOVERY – SUPPLEMENTS BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER TRAINING
Nutrient utilization during and after training is vital to optimize proper recovery and performance.In high-performance nutrition for athletes, I recommend the following supplements for before, during and after training:
- Before/during training – 1 scoop (5 grams) of creatine monohydrate, 1 scoop (5 grams) of BCAA in 500-700 mL of water
- After training – 1-2 scoops of formula for active recovery in 700-1000 mL of water
7. SUPERCOMPENSATION – LIST OF SUPER FOODS
This concept is very simple. As a training athlete, you need to eat large amounts of nutrients and healthy food. By choosing foods from tables 1-5 (proteins, carbohydrates, fats) you will ensure that you are consuming superfoods! Feed and nourish your muscles!
