Sprinting Nutrition
As a sprinter, you want to build muscle mass to help you move faster. Good nutrition is essential to building that muscle, and your training will make sure the muscle is in the right areas as excess muscle will only slow you down. The other half of sprinting nutrition is preparing on race day. On race day, you must be not only in your top condition, but also sure that you are not experiencing stomach discomfort, dehydration, or sluggishness.
Building Muscle: A sprinter’s training will be composed of various explosive and athletic movements. Recovering from your workout requires muscle building nutrition. Refer to my Muscle Building Nutrition paper.
Race Day Nutrition: A general rule is make sure that you eat enough that your energy levels are high, but not so much that you have extra weight on you or that you don’t feel good. To make sure you meet this rule here are a few guidelines:
- Eat food that is light
- Do not eat within an hour of competition. Normally, it takes a person one hour for the food to pass through their stomach.
- Don’t eat foods that will upset your stomach. Dairy, spicy foods, high fat foods are examples of some foods to avoid on race day.
- Your last meal should be high in carbohydrates. Carb-loading makes sure that you have the energy to draw from as fast as possible.
- Have some sodium in your system. This will help you avoid cramps, and stay hydrated.
- Speaking of Hydration, drink enough water that you’re hydrated, but don’t over drink.
A example food to eat an hour or two before your race would be goldfish, or most crackers. They are light, won't upset your stomach, high carbohydrates, and have a lot of sodium.
More example foods:
Bagel, Granola bars, Spaghetti (At least 3 hours before race)
No comments:
Post a Comment