Article by Tom’s voedingsadvies (10 March 2021)
Tom is a nutrition coach. He recently joined our team to help our members with their dietary questions. He offers 1-on-1 coaching and will soon start organising masterclasses.
The CrossFit Open is about to begin! For those of you who participated before, you know how tough these weeks can be. The intensity is higher than what you might be used to.
How do you prepare yourself to perform well during the workouts? And how do you make sure you recover.
Optimise nutrition around your workouts
Use these tips to optimise your nutrition to make the most out of your workouts!
Make sure to fuel yourself. The workouts require a lot of energy! Eating carbs is important and you can already start eating extra the day before: eat a nice pasta for dinner. On the day of the workout: eat a (large) carbohydrate-rich meal 2 hours before you’re scheduled to perform. A small meal with carbs (like a banana or a currant bun) can be eaten up to 1 hour before the workout starts.
Make sure to hydrate yourself: both the day before and up to 1 hour before the competition. Isotone is best consumed right before or during the workout.
After the workout you should combine protein with carbs. For example by eating quark with fruit or pasta with chicken/fish!
Eating fatty food is a no-go: instead of providing you with energy, this drains energy from your body. Make sure to limit your fat intake to prevent yourself from feeling slow and exhausted. After the workouts you can resume eating fat.
Keep in mind that every body is different. Try what works best for you! Of course you can also experiment with different types of food during normal workouts (just make sure not to experiment during a competition).
Finally make sure to look after your body during the week in between workouts: eat healthy, train with moderate intensity, fuel yourself and give yourself time to rest and relax!
Good luck and have fun these next couple of weeks!
