Fueling For Competition
april 15, 2019 | WORDS BY arielle bloom
FOR THOSE COMPETITORS OUT THERE!
Over the past 6 years, I have lost count of the amount of times I’ve heard people say, “I have a competition coming up, so I need to lose weight.” This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Competitions should be a the time to focus on pushing yourself and trying new things! This is not the time to put yourself in a calorie deficit or try a new diet.
If you are truly interested in improving your performance in preparation for competition, here are some things you can do to ensure you are ready to hit your workouts hard each week.
Sleep 7-9 Hours! – Getting enough sleep is crucial to your recovery, brain power, and your perceived exertion (aka how hard you feel like something is).
Eat Carbs! — Your body needs carbs to properly fuel and recover from high-intensity exercise. During competition, you are more likely to push yourself harder because of the atmosphere! This is great, but it also means your body will need more carbs to recover. Focus on high-quality sources of carbohydrates like rice, oats, potatoes, and try to eat them around when you work out (a little 1.5-2 hours beforehand, and some more after (~2 hours after).
Drink Water! — This is honestly something you need to be doing all the time (much like getting enough sleep), but it makes a huge difference when you are pushing yourself harder in workouts. Just because it’s getting a little colder outside, that doesn’t mean your body isn’t losing fluids when you workout. Aim for at least 1/2 your bodyweight in ounces daily. If you sweat a lot, you might need some more, so don’t stop there if you’re still thirsty!
Eat Protein! Much like carbs, your body needs protein to recover from the intensity of the exercise you do! While you probably won’t be getting all that much stronger while competing, you’ll still need adequate protein to recover from each of those workouts. In general, most people should be getting at least 1 serving (3-4oz) per meal, with 3-4 meals per day. If you are on the bigger side, you can put some more in there (3-4 meals), and if you are on the smaller side, you can make those portions slightly smaller (3 meals), but in general this is a good place to start. Try to aim for lean, high-quality proteins, coming mostly from animals and less from protein powders or processed foods.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, but if you are looking to maximize your performance during your next competition, this is a great place to start.
