How Sports Players Eat

Between seasons of sports games, the athlete either works to maintain his physical form at a certain level, or to improve speed and strength training without excessive weight gain (no more than 2-3 kg per year). It is also necessary to constantly maintain high endurance and resistance to temperature fluctuations, since the games are played in different weather conditions outdoors.

The caloric content of the athlete's diet between the seasons of sports games should provide the possibility of gaining mass, and during the competition — to maintain the condition + take into account the costs of physical exertion. The approximate caloric content of the daily ration for game sports is equal to 4500-5500 kcal for men weighing about 70 kg, 4000-5000 kcal for women weighing about 60 kg. However, these are very generalized data. Taking into account the significant differences in the needs of athletes due to their weight, the nature of loads in a certain type of sports and other factors, the composition of the diet must be calculated individually.

Basic nutrients

According to the literature, the optimal diet for a sports player is a diet containing 60-65% carbohydrates, 20-25% fats, and 10-15% proteins. However, as we already know, these indicators cannot be considered absolute, since the peculiarities of the body of each athlete and the type of games play the last role. However, the basis of the diet should be proteins and carbohydrates.

Normal performance can be achieved due to a high carbohydrate content in the athlete 's diet — 6-8 g/kg of body weight per day. If the results should be maximum, it may be necessary to increase the amount of carbohydrates to 10-11 g/kg. But do not forget that with an increase in carbohydrates in food, we also increase its volume, especially fibrous food.

Protein is necessary for athletes to maintain muscle strength. Since the body's resources are depleted due to long-term activity with variable loads, the amount of protein should be quite high - 1.5-1.8 g/kg. In some cases, the diet of athletes of sports games can have more protein than that of power sports — up to 2.4-2.6 g/kg.

To prevent excessive exhaustion during long trainings and competitions, only 20-25% of fats from the total caloric content of the diet . You should not limit the consumption of fats very strictly, because the fat mass is used by the body as a reserve source of fuel to increase resistance to sudden changes in temperature.

You also need to think about the liquid. The amount of water should compensate for the athlete 's fluid losses with sweat and urine — usually, it is at least 2 liters per day. This amount does not include caffeinated beverages. Tea and coffee have a diuretic effect, so players need to take this into account so that they don't have to run off the field to the toilet. The general scheme is to drink in small portions - 200-300 ml - but often.

If the loads are intense, then you should also pay attention to maintaining the salt balance. Athletes sweat profusely, and at the same time the body loses a significant amount of salts. Because of this, it is sometimes necessary to drink mineral water instead of ordinary water, or to consume supplements of mineral salts.

The duration and intensity of the loads cause the athlete 's body to have greater needs for vitamins, and most of all - for vitamins of group B and vitamin C. However, other antioxidants - vitamins A and E - will be no less useful. The need for the body of an athlete- player can sometimes be higher than the usual dose 4-5 times.

Participants in sports games are usually given such supplements as: mineral water, multivitamins and mineral salts, natural caffeinated drinks, natural ergogenic agents (for example, ginseng or lemongrass). And with an intensive training regime, food substitutes are sometimes introduced.

Construction of the ration

Athletes ' diets are often unbalanced in terms of essential nutrients. Most often, it is characterized by an excess of saturated fats and a lack of vegetable proteins. The main goal should be to provide a sufficient amount of protein and carbohydrates, while not overloading the body with fats. It is not the most difficult to follow these rules in making a diet for tennis players - the energy needs of the body of such athletes are very high, but the food must be easily digestible. If the diet is not enriched with dietary fibers, this can result in a malfunction of the digestive tract.

Proteins in the diet should be varied. The amount of meat should be small, but products such as cottage cheese, fish and poultry, legumes should always be included in the diet . This combination of proteins of different biological value ensures their high assimilation. However, you should not forget about the compatibility of food products to prevent digestive disorders.

Carbohydrates should be obtained mainly from cereals and vegetables, as such products will provide the body with a sufficient amount of dietary fiber. Of course, athletes should not get carried away with "fast" carbohydrates (like all of us) - white bread and sweets. An athlete 's body needs a lot of carbohydrates, so enough attention should be paid to the combination of fibrous and easily digestible products. If possible, you need to enrich the diet with fruits.

As for fats, saturated fat and cholesterol are not quite suitable representatives of this category in an athlete's diet , although it will not be noticeable at first. Fats should be obtained from low-fat products of animal origin and vegetable oils. Although, the type of games plays a big role here. For example, hockey is played at low temperatures, since the high content of fats in the diet is not critical for athletes , since they simply need a thin layer of fat. But tennis players need to prevent the accumulation of fat, so they more strictly control calorie intake.