Fuelling Success

What Should I Eat in the 24hrs Prior to Competition to Maximise Sporting Performance?

Whether you’re running a marathon, playing team sports or competing at an athletics event, maximising your physical performance will enhance your overall sporting performance. Your nutrition can play a key role in your physical performance, therefore it is important to get it right in the build up to competition. During this blog I’m going to talk about why your nutrition is important to physical performance and what you should be eating prior to competition.

The Purpose of Nutrition Prior to Competition

The main purpose of your nutrition at this point is to maximise your immediate physical capabilities. Altering your nutritional intake can have significant instant effects on your physical performance, which can lead to instant improvements in overall sporting performance. Changes in your nutritional intake lead to improvements in physical performance by delaying the onset of fatigue.  

We can achieve this with immediate results by altering our intake of certain nutrients. Throughout this blog I will go through some of the most important nutrients and ergogenic aids for maximising performance; supplying you with information that could provide you with an advantage over your competitors.

Causes of Fatigue During Competition

Fatigue can be caused by a variety of factors including energy store depletion, dehydration, depletion of central nervous system fuel, disturbance of pH, depletion of phosphocreatine stores, gut disturbances, and salt depletion (Burke, 2019). Whether you take part in endurance events, sprinting events, team sports, combat sports, athletics, water sports, horse riding or motor racing then the early onset of fatigue will have a negative effect on your performance. Fortunately, all these factors can be avoided by implementing optimal nutrition strategies. 

Carbohydrates Are The King of Performance

Why?

Carbohydrates are the predominant energy source during most forms of exercise. They are used by the muscles to create movement, but also by the brain for cognition. Therefore, if there are no carbohydrates available for use, then the functionality of the muscles is reduced, resulting in muscular fatigue. Also, if there is a lack of carbohydrates for the central nervous system and the brain, then the brain will signal a fatigue response. For further reading on the importance of carbohydrates to sporting performance click here.

Sources:

Rice, pasta, potatoes, cereals, oats, bread products, sugary snacks, sweets, fruit, energy gels/powders, sports drinks

Keeping Hydrated During Competition

Sources:

Water, concentrated drinks, sports drinks

Why?

Becoming dehydrated can have a negative impact upon performance. This is due to a reduction in cardiac function decreasing the amount of oxygen delivered to the muscles (Cheuvront, 2003). Producing energy without oxygen is very fatiguing for the muscle. Therefore, the intensity can only be sustained for a short period of time. 

Are You Getting Enough Electrolytes?

Why?

Electrolytes (salts) are needed to maintain the salt balance within the body. This aids with hydration levels as water retention is improved. It may also delay the onset of muscular fatigue and cramping as electrolytes are involved in the muscle contraction process. During exercise we lose an increased amount of electrolytes through our sweat. 

Sources:

Salty food, sports drinks, bananas, coconut water

Making The Most of Caffeine 

Why?

There are 3 factors that cause caffeine to delay the feeling of fatigue (Odell, 2020). Firstly, caffeine binds to receptors in the brain to stop the brain signalling the feeling of fatigue. Next it stimulates the breakdown of fats to produce energy, this spares carbohydrates so that they can be used later in the exercise. Finally, caffeine triggers calcium release which is important for muscle contraction. Using these 3 mechanisms allows maximal performance to continue for longer.  

Sources:

Caffeine pills/powders, caffeine gum, energy drinks, coffee

Supplementing With Creatine

Why?

Creatine is a well researched supplement. It is naturally found in small quantities in meat, fish and dairy. However, it is best consumed as a supplement and is commonly vegetarian and vegan friendly in this form. Creatine can be used to provide short bursts of energy up to around 10 seconds. This can enhance performance during sprinting and events that require short bursts of energy, such as most team sports. Creatine should be consumed daily over an extended period of time for the benefits to be seen. You are unlikely to be benefited from consuming creatine as a one off prior to competition. If using supplements such as creatine, ensure they are Informed Sport Tested. Use their website to find out if your supplement is batch tested by them.

Sources:

Creatine monohydrate

Other supplements such as nitrates (beetroot juice) and collagen may be beneficial for some individuals in certain scenarios. Get in touch if you have a query about these. 

Individuals should consume varying amounts of these nutrients based on individual differences and the demands of their exercise. For personalised information on your nutritional intake prior to competition get in touch and I can provide tailored nutritional plans for competitions/matches/races.

Making changes to these factors of nutrition can lead to immediate improvements in your physical performance, which may lead to improvements in your overall sporting performance.

Get in touch here for more information on how you can maximise your sporting performance. 

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