Eating Tips for Athletes (That’s You!)
Posted on | December 26, 2010 | No Comments
With the holiday season coming to an end, it seems like an appropriate time to discuss some more nutrition tips for martial artists. When you train in jiu jitsu regularly, you really need to eat more like an athlete, and not like a regular person. You work hard, and your body needs fueled correctly. Here are three quick tips.
Hydrate!
Water is your best friend. And don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink it. At that point, you’ve already started to dehydrate, and that’s bad. Your body largely consists of water, and a small imbalance can have a big effect on your training. And you need water, not tea, energy drinks or, God forbid, soda. Taking a one gallon jug for class wouldn’t be overkill. With the kinds of classes we have at New Breed, you can probably use it.
Eat Properly
This tip has three parts
- Eat More – You’re expending massive amounts of effort and energy. You need to replenish that. While your exact caloric intake is based on a lot of variables, likely it’s higher than you realize. Of course, that’s not free reign to eat junk food. You need to eat more of certain foods. Which brings us to…
- More Protein and (Maybe) Fewer Carbs – You are building muscle on the mat, even if you don’t lift weights. So you need lots of protein. Figure on 1 gram per pound of lean body weight. I hope you like tuna. And complex carbs like whole wheat breads are the perfect way to refuel for rolling, but if you’re trying to achieve single digit body fat, they need to go too. Then it’s all about lean protein and vegetables.
- Eat More Often – You may have realized that I’m telling you to ingest a lot of calories in very specific ways. You can’t do it if you stick to 3 meals a day. You probably will want to eat 6 times a day or so. Just balance your meals properly, and you’ll be fine. Like with water, eat whan you’re not hungry for best results.
Eat Natural
There are many supplements and fad diets on the market. Most are useless, and offer no proof to their effectiveness. A protein supplement is critical, but past that, well, you can probably just pass. There is no replacement for a healthy, well balanced diet.
There are plenty of other guidelines to follow if you want to go hard on your diet, but these are three that everyone who trains seriously should follow. Even the best jiu jitsu school in Holland, MI is useless if you don’t eat well.
Tags: brazilian jiu jitsu > eat like an athlete > jiu jitsu Holland MI > johnny ramirez > martial arts nutrition > New Breed Holland MI > new breed los angeles > nutrition tips for athletes
Comments
Leave a Reply
Los Angeles
Portland
Chicago
Train At New Breed – FREE!
