As a sportsman, your lifestyle has a big impact on your physical progress. Combining it with regular and responsible sporting activities should allow you to improve your results, but that is not always easy….
What do you think about dietary supplements?
Muscle development is a goal for many athletes. But be careful how you get there! It’s the same for supplements which help you lose fat. Supplements are a serious matter, especially when their composition is questionable. Indeed, as ANSES explained in a survey conducted in 2016, there are several possible effects on athletes from food supplements: among others things, they increase cardiovascular and psychical risks.
If you really want to take supplements to improve performance then talk to a professional who will recommend products tailored-made to your needs, health and sporting activities. In addition, beware of supplements found on the internet which are not compliant with French regulations, because they could be fraudulent and more importantly, have consequences on your health.
Regarding the use of protein powders for athletes wanting to gain body mass, we have already given you our opinion about that. What do you really need to know? Building body mass doesn’t necessarily require Whey, you can progress seamlessly by simply changing your diet. If it sounds complicated, our mass-market program is for you! We can develop menus adapted to your needs and goals in muscle mass gain.
How to have a better hydration?
Let’s talk first about the consequences of dehydration. Failure to drink enough water can result in impaired physical and mental performance, such as decreased concentration, increased reaction time, decreased performance, and increased risk of injury and fatigue caused by dehydration. Athletes are subject to dehydration because of high water losses during their training.
Be sure to always be well hydrated. As soon as you wake up, drink regular amounts of liquids even if you are not feeling thirsty; check the colour of your urine (the clearer it is, the more hydrated you are!) and continue to drink while exercising. After the activity, a water enriched in sodium will allow better hydration.
During this same activity, you could also take an energy drink, especially if you are feeling tired or if your sporting activity of a long duration. It will give you sugar in appropriate quantities as well as minerals to mitigate your losses and improve rehydration. These are not to be confused with energysing drinks, taurine and other substances which increase your water and mineral losses.
After exercise, in order to allow muscle rebuilding, it is often a good idea to take a recovery drink, if your next meal is more than 30 minutes after you finished tour sporting activity.
What should an athlete eat?
A balanced diet is all the more important for athletes as it allows them to steadily progress while simultaneously reducing the risk of injury, or simply, by giving them a more enjoyable workout. It is important to cook as much as possible, avoiding processed products or prepared dishes and focusing on raw foods (you can make your compotes, small dishes and snacks). The ideal dish should consist of meat or fish or eggs, vegetables and starchy foods. Finish it off with a fruit and a yogurt and you should be feeling great!
- Meat, fish and eggs help maintain muscle mass and reduce fatigue.
- Fresh fruits and vegetables are perfect for regulating transit, improving your hydration and bringing you a fillip of vitamins and minerals.
- Starchy foods (complete or semi-complete, preferably) will give you the necessary energy for your activity.
- Do not remove fats,- they supply energy and are essential to your cells. However, it is important to choose them carefully; prioritise high quality vegetable oils such as linseed, olive, nuts, rapeseed, virgin oils and cold pressed oils.
- Feel free to eat oily fish (sardine, tuna, mackerel, herring) and oleaginous products (avocados, almonds, cashew nuts, non grilled and unsalted).
- Finally, dairy products help recuperation, bone solidity and maintenance of your body mass!
You’ve now got all the info needed to hit your target! So there’s no excuses any more, just get on with it. 🙂
Sources :
1.CCAMP (2016). Mission Nutrition : fiches pratiques et application NutrINSEP. [online] INSEP. Available at: https://www.insep.fr/fr/actualites/mission-nutrition-fiches-pratiques-et-application-nutrinsep [Accessed 16 Nov. 2018].
2.Anses.fr. (2016). Compléments alimentaires destinés aux sportifs : des risques pour la santé pour des bénéfices incertains | Anses – Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail. [online] Available at: https://www.anses.fr/fr/content/compl%C3%A9ments-alimentaires-destin%C3%A9s-aux-sportifs-des-risques-pour-la-sant%C3%A9-pour-des-b%C3%A9n%C3%A9fices [Accessed 16 Nov. 2018].
