When I think of nutrition for sports performance, I don’t just think about the performance event, I also think about the training. For me the training is more important because what’s completed in training is to an extend executed and repeated in the performance. Nutrition is therefore essential for both and should be relatively (if not completely) consistent for both.
Nutrition for sports performance is broad because different sporting events require different stimuli. For example, a powerlifter requires short bursts of energy to lift heavy objects over a small period of time, whereas a marathon runner requires a long-sustained source of energy. For the purposes of this article, I’m going to look at fuelling the body for GAA – a time spam of 70-95 minutes, the norm of training, or a game that goes into extra time.
Full in season GAA training can be tedious, with most teams training twice a week, a game every week to every second week and potentially some kind of gym session (or two) in between. Training and playing involves both short distance intermittent sprints, longer durations of submaximal running, and general continuous movement (jogging, walking) for the duration of a game/training session. On top of that add in some polymetrics jumping, kicking, and handpassing (a polymetric throw) and you have a body that needs optimal fuel to perform.
The main source of this movement fuel is carbohydrates. Carbohydrates will fill your muscle glycogen stores which the body will use after it has used its initial ATP- PC stores along (ATP-PC system can sustain all-out exercise for up to 10-15 seconds) which is pretty much straight away.
To calculate the carbohydrates, you require, first assess your overall maintenance calories. If you don’t know you daily calories requirements the Katch Mc Cardle method is the best one to search on the internet. Calories want to be at maintenance, as a surplus may lead to unnecessary fat gain and a deficit may lead to unnecessary protein loss (more about that soon) and being in a deficit will also hamper performance.
Once maintenance calories are set then you need to assess the amount required for training and competition days. Realistically you are probably not resting for three days in a row so a three-day tapering method is not suitable, instead opt with the two day version. This means two days before a game; you want to maximise your glycogen stores by eating low GI carbohydrate foods. You should aim to consume 6-10g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight per day. For the 80kg athlete this means 480g to 800g of carbohydrates per day, from sources such as oats, brown rice, wholegrain pasta, sweet potato and wholemeal bread (although some may find bread impacts digestion).
Game day then should just be about topping up these stores without impacting digestion, keeping hunger at bay, and keeping well hydrated. Research suggests doing this involves eating a meal which contains low GI (and low fibre) carbohydrates and some protein 2-4 hours pregame. This however I believe is very dependent on the athlete and what works for them specifically on game day, if you cant stomach food 2 hours prior to a game, then don’t do it, regardless of what science says. Instead utilise the method that works best for you, just keep in mind low GI carbohydrates are key, negotiate types and amounts to suit self.
Once adequately fuelled, the next gaol is to stay adequately hydrated. The process is simple, drink the fluids. In generally day to day life a person should drink 1 litre of water per every 23kg of body weight, or 2 litres per every 2,000 calories expended during the day. The former is easiest to calculate. The best source of hydration is water or course, after which energy drinks are an option.
With energy drinks there are three types
- Hypotonic – have some carbohydrates and a lower particle content of salt and sugar than in the body fluids (low osmolality)
- Isotonic – a higher amount of carbohydrates and similar sugar and salt particle content (same osmolality) as in the body
- Hypertonic- Higher levels of carbohydrate and higher levels of sugar and salt (higher osmolality) than body fluids
The first two are during competition options which hypertonic being used post competition to replenish carbohydrate stores. Which takes us to the final part post game nutrition.
After competition you want to replenish glycogen stores, replenish fluid losses and regenerate and repair muscle damage. To replenish glycogen stores a high GI carbohydrate meal is necessary, 1g per kg of body weight of foods such as white bread, white rice, white pasta, the odd person might even dip into the coco pops here. Fluid intake should be predominantly water and perhaps an isotonic drink (hypertonic are hard to get hold off on the Irish market). The next meal should then include protein. Protein is king for all things muscle: building, repairing it and preserving it. Ideally one should be consuming 1.2-2g of protein per kg of body weight. Probable not realistic coming up to and on a game day to be hitting the higher end of that spectrum but worth considering on the proceeding days after a game. Protein sources shough be high-quality low-fat meats such as mince, turkey, chicken, fish, eggs, protein powder. So post game lower the carbohydrates down to normal values and increase the protein.
That is all well in good but how do I work it all out now. Simple
Step One – Estimate your calorie needs (use the catch mc Kardle formula)
Step Two – Estimate your carbohydrate needs. Start at the lower end of the spectrum 4-6g per kg of body weight (4g non training days 6g the two days prior to a game)
Step Three – Estimate protein needs, 1.2g – 2g per kg of body weight
Step Four – Estimate fat needs, basically the remainder of calories should go to fats
Step Five – Use my fitness Pal to track all this food and get yourself used to portion sizes and macronutrient content
Step Six – Trial and error. If you haven’t assessed and micromanaged your nutrition in this depth before then don’t go hell for leather and eat 800g of carbohydrates next Friday and Saturday before a game! Slow and stead wins the race. Start with the basics, eating at maintenance with a balanced amount of carbohydrates for one to two weeks, once you’ve adapted well to this then start adjusting, up the carbohydrates to the next kg, see how this impacts performance for training, then repeat again. It will take time to find the balance that works best for you, you might increase by a certain amount for training and up that amount pregame, or you might find that a certain amount works best regardless if the event is training or a game. You will only find the best approach for you by trailing a few. Once you do find that balance you will be 100% sure that you are optimally (and science supported!) fuelled to perform at your best for yourself and your team.
Note that this article has not mentioned supplements, this article is aimed to deal with the foundations, solid nutrition, only once that base is established should someone source additional nutritional aids, as supplements do exactly what the name suggest, enhance the diet, not replace missing elements of the diet. A blog post on which will surely follow at some point.
For now if you have any questions regarding your nutrition, do not hesitate to get in touch with me through my social media platform, WhatsApp or email.
Formulating Fitness 