Nutrition for the athlete must be adapted to the weight, height and sport practiced because maintaining proper nutrition before, during and after training is one of the keys to success in competitions.
In addition, it has been clearly demonstrated that nutrition affects physical performance and that, coupled with genetic potential and proper training, is a key factor for success.
Nutrition for the Bodybuilder
In nutrition for the athlete of bodybuilding is essential the consumption of foods rich in carbohydrates like energy bars or fruit before the training to give energy and to avoid the muscular wasting to obtain energy. In addition, depending on the athlete and the intensity of the training may even be necessary to make a sports drink with carbohydrates during the training.
After the workout it is important to consume foods with protein and carbohydrates like chocolate milk or fruit vitamin to replenish the muscle glycogen that was spent during the workout.
Nutrition for the high-performance athlete
In nutrition for the high-performance athlete it is essential to ingest carbohydrates before, during and after training as well as hydration.
- Before workout - foods rich in low glycemic index carbohydrates such as All Bran cereals, corn bread, pasta, butter beans, soybeans, peas, chickpeas or peanuts, for example, and proteins such as eggs, lean meat or fish. In addition hydration is critical.
- During the workout - carbohydrate gels or dried fruits like raisins or apricot grapes. For hydration use sports drink or homemade serum and do not use only water because it leads to loss of sodium and may cause hyponatremia, cramps, fatigue and even convulsion.
- After workout - ingesting high glycemic carbohydrates along with lean proteins like vitamins, skim milk with chocolate, bread with turkey steak or white cheese, for example.
Foods high in fat should be avoided, fat must be consumed in small amounts and use healthy fats such as olive oil, nuts, almonds or almonds, for this reason, therefore, counseling with the nutritionist is critical.
