Better nutrition for better results Valentin Uzunov Hataitai Gymnastics, Wellington, New Zealand ABSTRACT Nutrition is a critical factor for optimal performance in any sport. Gymnastics is no exception. To be able to sustain performance over the long trainings in gymnastics, proper nutrition is a must, unfortunately this is rarely enforced, or practiced by parents, gymnasts, coach. The major reason for this is believed to be lack of education. This article hopes to highlight some of the basic and practical concepts to improving the gymnast’s performance trainings thought a better understanding of the basic overview of the importance of adequate nutrition, the different absorption rates of foods, which foods and when to eat, effective pre and post training meals, raising awareness of proper dieting for children in sport, and practical. The subject of dieting and nutrition is almost taboo in the modern gym because of its association with eating disorders. However this does not have to be the case, if the coach has educated himself on the subject effectively, he/she should be number one resource for parents to approach regarding their child and gymnasts nutrition for improved performance. Key Words: glycaemic index, performance enhancement, diet, training improvement
INTRODUCTION Over the last few decades research has clearly demonstrated that the nutritional habit of athlete’s plays a very significant role in their athletic performance (4,5). Unfortunately, children are among the most nutritionally neglected participants in sport (2). This is easily confirmed just by looking at what kids/gymnast have to eat before training, snacks during training and immediately after trainings. Children, particularly adolescent athletes who do not meet their daily energy requirements, quite often suffer from fatigue, irritability, and poor concentration, signs all too often seen and experience by coaches and even parents (2). Parents and coaches must realize that the regular three meals on a training day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are more than likely not enough to meet the energy requirements for preadolescents and adolescent children engaged in regular sporting activities (2).
A good energy balance is particularly important for gymnast due to their long training hours (training sessions can last longer then 3hrs). Unlike adults, a child’s energy intake must be sufficiently high to meet both growth and exercise demands, as well as providing a balanced nutrient intake (2). Regrettably most coaches, parents, and gymnasts do not have the necessary information made easily available to them to make the right decisions about the gymnast’s nutrition. The scope of this article is to provide parents, coaches, and the self motivated gymnast with a few key concepts on the nutritional requirements for gymnasts, in order to help maximize training performance.
DISCUSSION and REVIEW There are 6 major nutrients essential for survival and optimal performance. They are: Vitamins, Minerals, Water, Fat, Carbohydrates, and Protein (1). Only Carbohydrates, Protein and Fats (lipids) provide us with energy, otherwise known as calories or kilojoules.
©2008 The Gym Press. All rights reserved
Vitamins and Minerals aside from many other functions help convert this food energy into an energy sources that the body can use, and water provides the right environment for this to occur (1).
Gym Coac h Vol.1 May, 2007
- 5-
It is beneficial to maintain an energy surplus (meaning more calories are consumed then expanded) all the way through to training. An energy deficit (meaning more calories are burned up then consumed) caused either by increased expenditure (like playing soccer during lunch rather then talking to friends), or a decreased intake (for example by not eating lunch, because he/she played soccer instead) leads to a negative nitrogen balance and in the long term can lead to a loss in muscle mass. As a result the gymnast ends up becoming weaker over time with training rather than stronger, physical performance plateaus, reduced performance during trainings or if there is improvement in training it comes at a very slow rate (4). It is important to at least match energy needs with energy consumption so as to prevent loss of muscle mass/strength (4).
Figure 1 Illustration of the glycolysis depicting how glycogen in the
liver and muscles is broken down into glucose, which is used to create ATP, which fuels the muscular contractions during activity. Pyruvate is a byproduct that can be re-used, to produce more ATP.
Gymnastics is predominantly an anaerobic activity (3), which means it is primarily fuelled by the anaerobic glycolysis energy pathway. Anaerobic glycolysis (figure 1) is primarily fuelled by glucose within the bloodstream, and glucose stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver, to produce and provide the necessary ATP (adenosine triphosphate) needs. ATP is the key energy carrying molecule or simply the energy source used by muscles to contract (1). Athletes need the calories/energy they consume to come from or be in the form that they use most often, in this case glucose (1). The primary source of glucose in our diet comes from carbohydrates. An adequate carbohydrate intake is therefore vital to a gymnast’s performance. Until recently, it was believed that carbohydrates could be classified in two ways, simple or complex, but this is not quite the case (1,2). It was generally assumed that simple carbohydrates were released into the bloodstream quickly, whilst complex were absorbed more slowly (2). However, the speed at which carbohydrates are absorbed into the bloodstream is now best explained by the glycaemic index (Gi) (2) rather than their composition (simple/complex). It is important to know the Gi of foods in order to make the right choices as to what to eat at what time, and when. A low Gi food is one with a value between 55 or less, medium is 56-69, and a high value is 70+. The daily energy requirements of a gymnast (figure2) in general are higher than for the average boy or girl, especially on a training day energy intake could increase by as much as 35-85%, depending on the duration and intensity of the trainings, and their weight (4).
Along with increased carbohydrate intake requirements for gymnast, it’s important to increase total protein consumption (4). Due to body growth, the protein consumption for children and adolescents is higher than that for adults (1). The good thing is the required addition protein intake is/should be met by the increased total energy intake. Protein intake for children and adolescents should range between 1.2 and 2 grams per every kilogram of body weight, this similar to an adult athlete (6). If a gymnasts is not eating enough protein, this will also effect their nitrogen balance and more directly so than though energy deficits. Consequently the gymnast may become more susceptible to fatigue, unable to build or maintain muscle mass, and may be slower to recover from injury (1). Even though fat is an important source of energy during exercise (primarily during aerobic exercise, such as long distance running) fatigue is not related to fat availability, especially in gymnastics. For an anaerobic athlete fat plays a minor role towards their energy demands. Even though gymnasts may train for long periods of time, they do not actually burn a great amount of fat or calories (1). Parents need to be aware of this when planning training meals, because its important to know from where and what the calories are coming from, in order to make
Figure 2 - Chart of the daily USDA and Gymnastics nutritional recommendations (1). the right choices in meal preparation. Just like you would not want to eat a tub of ice-cream before bed, you don’t
want to be eating the wrong foods throughout a day in preparation for training. By now it should be quite clear that a banana before gym will not hold fatigue at bay, or be enough of an energy fuel. The key is to load on carbohydrates during the day, in order to have ample amount of energy during trainings to delay fatigue and improve performance. Having a low carbohydrate intake will results in early fatigue, poor concentration, and a slow recovery from training. In order to meet carbohydrate needs, gymnast should have throughout the day frequent, small meals, with lowmedium Gi values leading up to training, and high Gi values 1-hrs before training, during and after trainings. Preadolescents should have 7-8g of carbohydrates for every kilogram of body weight each day (2). So if a child weight 32kg they would need between 224-256g of carbohydrates each day. This can be easily worked out by measuring the serving sizes and referring to the nutritional information on the food packaging. By creating a varied (very important, be creative with the choices you make for your child) and consistent diet plans for training days,
children can start to establish good eating habits, that will not only help them in the short term with training but also in the long term with good nutritional habits. As stated earlier the daily energy requirements of the gymnast on the training day can increase by 35-85%. In this case a child should be having between 9-14g of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight on a training day which is between 36-56calories per kilogram of bodyweight and more for adolescents. In total a gymnast daily energy/caloric intake should be made up of 62-65% Carbohydrates, 15-18% Protein, and 20% Fat (1). The problem with everything said so far is that it requires a lot of planning and organization of each meal. However once this a diet plan for training days is established, it’s very easy to keep and follow routinely. Kids like routine and the same applied with their food. If you can create a diet plan that they will enjoy, than they will follow it happily. The benefits for better performance in trainings and developmental growth are guaranteed.
CONCLUSIONS Nutrition is a critical aspect of any serious athletes training program. Essentially what you put in is what you get out. This is particularly true with nutrition and performance. The scope of this article is to educate coaches, parents and gymnasts that dieting does not have to be something that you do when you want to lose weight, but rather needs to be something you need to do, in order to get the most out of your body at trainings. Based on what is discussed in this article the following recommendations are made*: Throughout the course of the day, children/gymnast should have frequent low-medium Gi value carbohydrates meals with 60g or more, leading up to trainings and medium-high Gi values closer to or during trainings. Meals and snacks should also included 10-15g of protein (eg. 300ml glass of skimmed milk) with each meal. Carbohydrate snacks like energy bars, sandwiches, creamed rice are ideal for school and before, during and after training. Be creative with the sources of carbohydrates you use to keep kids interested, but be just be aware of the Gi value if possible, to make sure it’s the right thing at the right time. A good source of information on Glycemic Index values of foods and on the Glycemic Index itself is www.glycemicindex.com/. An hour before training a child should have a highcarbohydrate (remember that 60g of carbohydrates), lowfiber meal with a low/medium GI value to help ensure that there will be is a steady supply of fuel during training and to avoid an upset stomach (due to high fiber). Avoid foods high in fiber such as wholegrain, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and legumes prior to trainings. Foods like bagels, certain cereals, white rice, and peanut butter sandwich are ideal. 10min prior to training a gymnast could have some kind of high Gi snack such as confectionary or sports
drinks. Ideal for young kids doing long trainings, as this serves as a treat for turning up to trainings. No training no candy. A homemade sports drink (which is similar in performance value to commercial drinks) can be made by mixing 50g or 2 table spoons of glucose or dextrose power which can be purchased from the supermarket (avoid using table sugar as it is highly refined) into 1L of water, with 0.5-1% of salt (a small pinch of salt). This will help replenish fluids and carbohydrates during practice. During practice gymnast should replenish their fluids, on a regular basis. Encourage your gymnasts or child/ren to drink plenty of water, even when they are not thirsty. By the time they become thirsty they are already dehydrated, and dehydration has been associated with loss in performance (4). Children to not regulate their body heat like and thus sweat less, which is all the more reason to keep fluids up to cool them down (4). Give your gymnasts a short pit stop break halfway though long (3-4hr) training session so they can have something to eat and drink. Preferably something with a high Gi value. Ideally in the form of a sports drink, energy bar, or peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Avoid snacks that have lots of fat or fiber. Immediately (within 1 hr) after training the gymnast should have a meal with at least 60g of carbohydrates and 10-15g of protein, for optimal recovery. Immediately after or within a 1 hour of exercise the body is most receptive to replacing glycogen stores, at a rate 300% above normal (6).
Even though the use of Gi values as a means of choosing the right food for the right time of day is a method with limitations, it is still a good guideline. Its recommend that parents and gymnast as a start plan a training day diet using the information provided in this article and consider carefully the recommendation provided. By having a better diet throughout the day, the gymnast will have more energy, better training, faster results, will be more focused and will enjoy doing gymnastics much more
*Recommendations are based on estimates for an 8yr old, 40kg child, eating 12g of carbohydrates per kilogram of bodyweight, and 1g of protein per pound of body weight. Every care is taken to assure the accuracy of the information published within this article. The views and opinions expressed within this article, are those of the author/s, and no responsibility can be accepted by The Gym Press, Gym Coach or the author for the consequences of actions based on the advice contained herein.
Address for correspondence: Valentin Uzunov, Hataitai Gymnastics, Wellington, New Zealand. valentin.uzunov@gmail.com.
REFERENCES and RECOMMENDED READINGS 1. USA Gymnastics (1995). Athlete’s Cookbook. Indianapolis, IN. Masters Press (A division of Howard W. Sams & Company, A Bell Atlantic Company) 2. D. Jenkins & P. Reaburn (2000). Guiding the young Athlete: All you need to know. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. 3. R. C., Deutz, D., Benardot, D. E., Martin, and M. M. Cody (2000) Relationship between energy deficits and body composition in elite female gymnasts and runners. Official Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine. Vol 32(3):659-668 4. C.V., Gisolfi & D.R., Lamb (2001) Perspectives in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine Volume 2: Youth, Exercise, and Sport. Traverse City, MI, Cooper Publishing Group. 5. Sport and Recreation New Zealand, SPARC (2003). The Principles of Sports Coaching Level Two. Wellington, NZ: Astra Print Ltd. 6. Baechle T.R., and Earle R.W (2000). Essentials of strength training and conditioning (2 nd Ed). Auckland: Human Kinetics.