Sports Nutrition Diet Plans For Best Performance In Different Types Of Sports
Every athlete wants to have an edge in every competition. Besides, coaches and the large Heterogeneous supporters demand the best performance from every athlete in any give competition. Of course, daily training is essential for every athlete to succeed, yet, proper sports nutrition is a key element for optimal athletic performance.
Meanwhile, drawing a good diet plan can be tasking, especially without a sports nutritionist. To make it easier, I have compiled a comprehensive sports nutrition diet plan tailored to meet your physical and mental health demands and complement your hard work in training.
Note that this sports nutrition diet plan is suitable for every athlete in different sport categories. Whether you are just doing sport for a recreational purpose level or competing at a professional level, this nutrition plan will help you achieve your athletic goals, whether strength, endurance, speed, or all to the three.
FOOTBALL
Football is one of the most famous sports in the world. Football requires strength, speed, and stamina. With the new development in today’s football, Footballers tend to train at least five days a week, and when the season is on, they would have to play at least one match every week.
Though most football clubs have club-owned training facilities and gyms to ensure fitness and improved energy for best performance, proper sports nutrition is essential for every footballer to have a good time at the training pitch and be productive on the match day.
Here a sample of the nutrition plan for training days and match days.
Breakfast: Skimmed milk, porridge made with jumbo oats, and water.
Pre-training: 2 – 3 oatcakes with low fats cheese, and fruit drink.
Training: Drink only water or isotonic drink throughout.
Lunch: 4 squares easy flapjack, handful mixed nuts, banana drink, and green tea.
Evening: Basmati rice, whole-wheat pasta, white fish, chicken/turkey, lean red meat, salad, and vegetables.
BASKETBALL
Basketball is a sport that requires players to be fit and lean. It also requires a lot of stamina, strength, and jump power. As a basketball player, you need to take your sports nutrition diet plan seriously, as it determines your overall performance on the court. You must also ensure that you eat something that can help you optimize your power to weight ratio.
To maximize performance, follow this diet plan to get maximum energy for your training sessions and your forthcoming matches.
Breakfast: 25g of whey protein in water. You can also take oatmeal, skim milk, dried fruit, 2 slices of granary bread, natural peanut butter, fresh fruit juice, tea, or coffee.
Lunch: Take about 4-6 granary bread to make sandwiches. You can also take a few food items for your lunch, including chicken, large mackerel fillet, salmon low-fat mixed salad, low sugar yogurt, and more.
Pre-exercise: Banana Drink, natural peanut butter.
During training: Sip water throughout
Post-training: Mix 30g of whey protein in water
Dinner: Chicken breast, fish, lean fillet steak, boiled or dry roasted potatoes, basmati rice, and vegetables.
CYCLING
Cycling requires much endurance. It’s a sport in which athletes would have to ride for several hours for a long-distance trip. Cycling can place a high demand on the muscles and cardiovascular system of the cyclists. That makes sports nutrition for cyclists a different one from other athletes in other sport categories.
As a cyclist, you need a special diet plan that will make you fit to ride through the flats and the hills and improve your power to weight ratio.
Here is a sample of a sports nutrition diet plan for a long-distance cyclist.
Breakfast: 100g oats, 250 – 300ml skimmed milk, 2 slices of granary bread, natural crunchy peanut butter, fresh fruit juice, and tea or coffee.
Lunch: Use your granary bread to make sandwiches. You can also eat olive oil-based spread with chicken or mackerel fillet, about 100g mixed nuts, dried fruits, mixed salad, and low sugar yogurt drink.
Pre-training: Eat up to 6 oatcakes and drink water.
Training session: Sip water at intervals as you train.
Post-training: Mix 20g dextrose and 20g maltodextrin in water and drink.
Dinner: Chicken breast, lean red meat, fish, basmati rice, whole-wheat pasta, and vegetables.
GYMNASTICS
Gymnastics demands a lot of physical activities. A gymnast may have to endure strength training cardiovascular exercise. As a gymnast, you need to be very careful about what you eat to maintain a fit body for better performance.
Professional gymnasts cannot afford to take sports nutrition for granted. The sport requires athletes to be light, strong, and agile, so excess body fat is not an option. As a gymnast, eating anything that comes your way would only mar your career.
This nutrition plan will help you during the long training sessions.
Breakfast: Low-fat soft cheese, toasted granary bread, fruit juice, or tea.
Lunch: Sandwiches, mixed salad, mixed nuts, dried fruit, chicken oatcakes, whey protein powder mixed in water, and fruit drinks.
Dinner: Dry roasted potatoes, fish, 100g cottage cheese, and low-fat natural yogurt.
Final Words
The above sports nutrition diet plan provides a sufficient amount of every nutrient that enhances athletic performance. However, you need to be aware that this plan is merely a guide for you to have an idea of what to eat for your breakfast, pre-training, post-training, lunch, and dinner. Feel free to substitute any food item that belongs to the same nutrient category of the plan’s items.
Also, note that there is no mention of the actual size or portion on purpose. It is to give you the liberty to take as much portion as you would prefer. However, remember that men need a larger portion than women and that overeating can be harmful to your health.
Ensure that you eat a wide variety of different fish and meat – avoid repetition. Also, make sure that you eat complex carbohydrates, different types of fruit, vegetables and drink a lot of water.
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