Nutrition before training/games

[Portmanteau]

Does anyone have a good idea of dos and don'ts of eating/drinking before training and games, whether it be what to eat in the hours leading up or in the days before a game.

Recently I'm finding myself a bit flat at trainings, but am quite fit. I have a feeling this may be down in part to diet, because I am getting enough rest etc.

 

[monkeyshine]

Hydrate.

Eat fruit.

Plenty of carbs too.

 

[jgb99]

Usually have a solid high protein, moderate-low carbs, moderate fat meal about 3 hours before the game (eg. omlette, lean sausage/bacon, piece of fruit and handful of mixed nuts) and sip on a protein/gatorade blend before and during the game (breaks) i.e. . Personal thing really ... best to stick to foods you know both digest well with you and make you feel engergised.

I can't handle high carb meals... fruit is fine, but I feel very lacklustre after eating a lots of bread/rolls or a big bowl of pasta/spaghetti/noodles etc.

Quote from Charles Poliquin on whether high carb meals are for you:

8. Caveman Carbs

One thing people have to distinguish between is neo-carbs vs. paleo-carbs. With paleo carbs the simple rule is: Were they available to a caveman? Would he have access to grapes and raspberries? Yes. Bagels and pasta? No. Usually, people who are gifted for hypertrophy are gifted for carb intake as well. They can eat a boatload of neo-carbs and feel fine. Also, if you're white, **** it. You've got to come from a region where there was a lot of agriculture for a long time to be able to handle neo-carbs. If you're from German or Norwegian extraction and come from a line of meat eaters and hunters, then neo-carbs are not for you.


9. The Breakfast Test for Carb Tolerance

The most simple field test for carb tolerance is eating carbs for breakfast. You wake and you rate yourself on a scale from one to ten for energy, ten meaning very good, one meaning you feel like shit. Then have a high carb breakfast, say pancakes and maple syrup. An hour later, if you feel sleepy and want a nap, then carbs aren't for you. If you feel more energetic and ready to climb walls, then carbs are for you, you lucky bastard.

 

[Mismatched]

Probably the best time to be having a high carb meal would be thursday night(before a saturday game) so if you're club does you meals or something after thursday training whilst you're waiting for the teams to be read, definitely go for a pasta or something, the old theory of having a high carb meal the night before has been phased out a bit.

As jgb99 said, you probably want to have a decent meal 3-4 hours pre match, containing carb, protein and fat, probably just a decent breakfast, maybe bowl of cereal and egg or two and a banana or something. Then probably over the final 2 hours before the match, you probably want to have a powerade as well as plenty of water, between 1-2L probably and continually hydrate during the match. If you still need a boost, caffeine has been proven to increase performance and is approved by the AIS and WADA.

Before trainings, I'd make sure you have a quality lunch (no alcohol), maybe a decent baguette or something and again make sure you hydrate well before hand (either Powerade or water).

Again its up to you, there's no perfect pre-game nutrition formula, everyones different. I've played with blokes who regularly have a large BigMac meal pre game, some who just have a mars bar and a smoke and these are blokes who are the elite runners in the side, not the fat full forward who never leaves the goalsquare. Worth perhaps trialing a few different things to find out what works best for you.

 

[The King of Leon]

3mg's of caffeine for every kilo of body weight, guaranteed 3% performance increase.

 

[Lukesta63]

You have to be the guinea pig and trial everything!I find big carbs on competition day are detrimental.A small easily digested food.Lately I've been having a protein shake that has 40-50g of carbs as well in water.Works for me.On the hydration side I do BJJ and a bit of boxing ,in hot weather I found having a couple of gatorade's on the way to training really helps!!

 

[Cal!]

I've been told by 2 coaches two start drinking a lot of water starting 2 days before until the game i did it and it really helps lets me run for longer

 

[scotty4]

i know i do that for big cross country meets, and same with swimming, but probably to a lesser extent for football. i usually go for a carb meal about 2-3 hrs before a game, but not anything huge, i save that for the night before and the morning, if it is an afternoon game.

 

[Cal!]

I do that before training too

 

[Santi]

The AIS have some very good sports nutrition guidelines:
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition

Eating before sport is a personal thing. You need to experiment and find a formula that works for you. Just make sure you've got the basics of nutrition down pat first.

Personally I prefer a lot of very regular small meals throughout the day of a game/event. One overlooked benefit is that it gives good flexibility to make adjustments as you go while simultaneously limiting the chance of overeating. I also like to try and taper off foods that are heavy in fibre as the game/event approaches so that I don't feel "weighed down". These things are as much mental as they are physiological in many ways.

The key thing to remember is that you can't create magic in the 24-48 hours before a game and that consistency at all times is going to have the biggest impact on performance.

 

[BadSeed]

In regards to Santi's post.. a link for those of you unable to find the correct page relevant to AFL.

http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/sports/australian_rules_football

 

[JungleMuffin]

Im not a massive fan of Coffee or Energy drinks. but have one of those pre game or even 1/2 time, and youll be amazed at the difference.

Try not to be reliant on them carrying you though

 

[JDC!]

Personally I find that I can't train/play as well if I have had a big meal earlier in the day, especially at a fast food place like McDonalds.

 

[Lionel456]

Fresh fruits juices are more beneficial nutrition before training.
These fresh fruits juices provide extra energy for the performance in game and improve the fitness level.

 

[ThePezDispenser]

Can we red card this bloke or what?

 

[evo]

the language seems disjointed. Is he a bot?

 

[ThePezDispenser]

A very helpful one from India