Competition Nutrition

Whatever your event, your food intake needs to work alongside many other components to help improve performance. Your competition diet may be affected by a range of factors such as travel, nerves, timing of events, facilities/ availability of food at venues, or making weight for a weight category sport.

Different events have different needs. A long-distance athlete may need to load up on carbohydrates; and a sprinter, whilst s/he doesn’t want to start with an empty fuel tank, doesn’t need to consume the same volume. Whatever your sport/event, you should start with sufficient fuel on board to match your needs.

For more skill-based sports it is important to prevent stomach/digestion problems and to ensure your diet helps you to concentrate.

It is also important that you sip fluids little and often the day before and the morning of the event to ensure you arrive well hydrated. Check your urine against a pee chart to make sure it is a pale and straw-like colour.

Fluid: Drink upon waking and continue to sip fluids little and often to ensure you are hydrated before exercise. An isotonic sports drink can offer additional energy and can be useful if you struggle to consume adequate food prior to exercise.

Food: A meal three to four hours before exercise should be relatively low in fat and fibre, high in carbohydrate and contain a moderate amount of protein. If needed, eat a high carb snack 30-60 minutes before exercise.

Most people find it best to eat a meal three to four hours before competition to allow digestion time and to ensure that the energy from the meal becomes available for your body to use. Events that start early in the morning, at lunchtime or in the early evening when most people have their main meals, might mean some adjustment needs to be made to your normal eating plan. This should all be practised in advance.

Immediately before the event...

Some people find it helpful to have a small carbohydrate-based snack such as an energy bar or a piece of fruit 30-60 minutes before starting exercise. There has been some concern about this causing rebound hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels). The evidence suggests that there isn’t a problem with athletes doing this in general, but some people are more susceptible than others. Practise is the key to knowing if you are one of the few who may be affected. It is important to establish well in advance exactly what kind of snack suits you and the requirements of your sport. During the last hour before the event many athletes will also top up their fluid intake with water or a sports drink.

Once you have prepared for the start, consider the competition itself. Is your sport the type where fluids and possibly foods will be needed during the event? Whatever drink you are going to use in the immediate lead up to or during an event should be packed with your kit. Some events have fixed time periods and others have a time scale that may vary. Plan to carry sufficient fluids and foods to cope with the longest possible time that your event may last.

Fluid: Drink according to thirst to prevent dehydration (more than a 2% body weight loss). For light to moderate exercise for short periods, water should be sufficient. Include electrolytes (sodium) for exercise in the heat or exercise that lasts more than 60 minutes.

Food: For hard exercise lasting more than 60-90 minutes you can consume you can consume carbohydrate foods that provide you with a readily available source of energy. This is usually in a fluid or gel form.

Timing of nutrient intake is central to achieving efficient recovery. Aim to consume a snack and/ or drink containing carbohydrate, fluid, and protein as soon as possible after a hard workout or competition. This will help your body refuel, rehydrate and repair quickly so that you are ready for your next training session. Milk products are a great recovery food choice because they provide fluid, electrolytes, carbohydrate, and protein all in one. The most challenging recovery situation is when your recovery period is also the preparation period for your next event. There may not be enough time between events to allow you to eat a carbohydrate rich meal three to four hours before so use the time available to you wisely. You may be tired and want to rest but you may need to eat immediately to ensure you have sufficient energy to cope with the next round of competition.

Some suggestions that may work include:

• 1 hour between events: Sports drinks, squash, jelly sweets, sports gels/bars.
• 1-2 hours between events: Sports bars, cereal bars, fruit, smoothies, jam sandwich, breakfast cereal, iced bun, plus you will need to stay hydrated. Try a sports drink to provide both fluid and carbohydrates.
• 2 hours between events: Sandwiches, breakfast cereal, scones, scotch pancakes, malt loaf, cereal bars, jacket potato with beans, pasta, and sauce, plus you can use a sports drink, squash, or water to replace fluid.
• 3-4 hours between events: Try to eat a well-balanced meal which is high in carbohydrate and contains some protein.

Fluid: Replace ~120-150% of fluid loss (calculate by weighing yourself pre and post-exercise). Include electrolytes to help retain the fluid you are drinking. This can be in a drink, snack or as part of a recovery meal.

Food: After an intense or prolonged session, carbohydrate foods will help replenish the carbohydrate (glycogen) stores used during exercise. The addition of protein, especially after resistance exercise will provide amino acids for the building and repair of muscle tissue, 15-25 g is sufficient.