24 hour build up
Tomorrow I will be playing for Northampton saints academy against Gloucester and during the day I’ve been keeping an extra keen eye on what food I eat and the amount of water I consume, it made me realise some people may not understand the importance of the build up to a sporting event on the nutritional side.
For the majority of people (other than professional athletes) the 24 hours leading up to a sporting event is treated as a normal day. You probably wake up, have a bacon sandwich and cup of tea. Then you forget your lunch and wing it by purchasing a meal deal from your local Tesco with a bottle of coke accompanied by a brownie, dinner then comes along and your mum or wife puts a pizza in the oven because she has had a hard day at work. But whatever level you play at you should have the correct nutrition on a build up to a sporting event, whether it’s to prevent you from throwing up on the side of the 5-a-side pitch with your mates or putting in a good performance on the rugby pitch so you can have a laugh in the local after the match.
Key points:
- Eat a larger quantity of carbohydrates than you would on a normal day. These carbs provide the body with glucose which effectively provides the bodies working muscles with energy to perform in a physical activity. So by eating extra pasta, rice , potatoes or bread your body will have more energy when it comes to your event.
- Drink plenty of water! Dehydration has a massive effect on your sporting performance. As you work your muscles they will heat the body up and to cool you down your body responds through sweat and evaporates. After the sweat has gone if you do not replace it, the body may become over heated causing you to be dehydrated this can effect your level of performance or create serious health risks. So replacing your fizzy pop with water can go a long way.
What to avoid!
Now that I have said to eat more carbohydrates including bread and potatoes, that does not mean go to McDonalds for your dinner. Junk food at fast food diners like a beef burger from McDonalds may have carbs from the bread and protein from the beef, but it lacks the vital nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. Because of this you may feel chronically fatigued and have a lack of energy, which is the reverse of the effect we are looking for from what we eat.
So no matter what level of physical activity that you take part in, keep in mind the key points above and you should be able to make your body as prepared as it possibly can be for whatever physical activity you take part in!
jamelhamiltonblog 