9.18.17 Competition Nutrition
MetCon//
10 rounds for time
10 Wall Balls
10 AbMat Sit Up
35 Double Unders
This Saturday is Wodtoberfest in Gresham, so if you're competing, consider the following when you're grocerie shopping this week!
When Mac and I first began competing, we were pretty staunch paleo snobs. "I should be good with eating some almond butter and a boiled egg or two. Well because I'm fat-adapted and fat is our preferred fuel source." idiot. No amount of low inflammation salmon, almonds, or grass fed jerkey can reverse the pain of competition day.
This is probably my favorite fitness topic to discuss just because there are a lot of factors to consider when eating on competition day, but when you put together the whole equation, you get a pretty clear idea of what you should be eating.
It is very safe to say that the events we expect are short to medium and very intense efforts. As short as a millisecond for a heavy event, but then not usually longer than 14 or 15 minutes for any other event. What is the primary fuel source for those efforts? Carbohydrate! I'm pretty fickle and can be convinced to consider many viewpoints, but I won't debate this- The most important consideration for competition day is how to stay sufficiently topped off with carbohydrate or glycogen.
Your breakfast should be pretty normal, but as long as "normal" means it usually has protein, fat and slow digesting carbohydrate. If you usually eat some sort of carbohydrate with breakfast, try adding like a half-serving to what you would normally eat. I'm talking like a slow digesting fruit or whole grains, not slamming an extra half of a waffle or bowl of cereal. //Sausage, Eggs, Broccoli, Steel Cut Oats// Cottage Cheese, fruit// Meat and Veg Omelette with hash browns// (thats 4 different ideas btw, not one). The idea is to prep for the first event like your normal 1-a-day workout at HCF. Feel as normal as possible, but with some slow digesting carbs to last into and maybe beyond the first event. Normal Coffee Volume, nothing excessive.
Before the first event, I recommend you skip the pre-workout-blue-drink. You're already amped about the comp and the extra caffeine or stimulants will tempt you to go off your game plan. Also, if you feel like you need a pre workout for a later event, it'll be less effective.
After the first event, what you'll want is some protein and a fast digesting carb//focus on the carb. I like a protein shake made with coconut water rather than water and a fruit pack. Anything resembling those bags of puréed fruit you feed your kids. Apple sauce or baby food. Eating carbohydrate is important, but we also want to turn it into muscle glycogen ASAP, so skip the slow digesting stuff. Fat and fiber also slow down digestion so you can avoid it. This is where that traditional paleo theory won't help you. Fatty meat, eggs, whole grains, fibrous fruit and veg are off limits. White! Bread! Bagel! Jelly! Enjoy it today only. After the shake, slowly consume more fruit pack or fast carbs slowly until you start feeling better or close to normal. Eating slowly is important because fast carbs are really easy to over-eat. You want to top off the fuel stores, but avoid stomach discomfort.
After each event thereafter, try to keep slowly eating carbs and hydrating. It's really normal after the second event to be having the thoughts "I don't know if I really want to do awesome in the third event because I might make the finals and have to do another event." Those thoughts come from fatigue and conditioning. We don't recommend training twice a day, let alone three or four times a day, so you should really just expect to be completely shot after two or three events. The only way you can stave off those feelings is by eating ample carbs and/or quitting your job to train full time// dealing with the pain after the third event, but daily!